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These beautiful creatures, as many of us know, are in great danger. Currently, 6 out of 7 species of sea turtles are endangered, and the largest threat to them is pollution, habitat destruction, and fisheries. Pollution is probably the most impactful harm in this case. Millions of pounds of plastic, fishing gear, bottles, and other trash float around our oceans and can trap sea turtles, or the turtles can ingest them and die. They also face problems when coming in contact with fisheries, accidentally getting caught in nets. Destruction of beach habitats due to human reasons or climate change are also detrimental to the populations of turtles, as that is where they will hatch and begin their journey to the ocean.

Many of you might have heard of this famous wildlife researcher, known as Jane Goodall. She dedicated her life to immerse herself into the environment of chimpanzees in Tanzania for research purposes. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which raises money and awareness for research and conservation of chimpanzees. She emphasized the relationship between human to animal and drove her mission based out of compassion. She works with thousands of youth all over the world to inspire and educate them on conservationism. Watch this video to see an in depth look on her research!

About Jane

As with many other species of endangered animals, the mountain gorillas are facing serious threats due to habitat loss, disease, and poaching traps. The average gorilla will weigh around 440 pounds, standing at about 4.5 feet tall. They have a much thicker coat than their close relatives, the Eastern Gorilla, to ensure their survival in the mountains. Since 1902, the population of these animals have been declining, with only around 880 left in 2020. To help reduce the risk of extinction for this critically endangered species (who also share 99.6%of our DNA!), the installment of protected habitats and conservation efforts to keep them safe. If you want to contribute to the cause, you can actually pay for a gorilla trekking pass with Adventures in Will Safari and part of the money will go to funding conservation and research efforts.

Asian Elephants are an endangered species that live in Southeast Asia and India. Poaching for the elephants ivory, lack of agriculture development, deforestation, and the elephant skin trade are the reason for their threat of extinction. There is also an extremely high amount, around two thirds of the Asian elephant population, that is smuggled into the tourist industry. The elephants are trained using cruel methods of fear based training, otherwise knows as abuse, to teach the animals to do tricks or give rides. The Asian Elephant Conservation Fund was founded in 1997 and now works to support projects to limit the amount of human-elephant contact, educate forest rangers and people in the area, increase law enforcement to stop poaching and hunting, and create rapid response teams for incidences involving asian elephants.

You may be thinking, “I have never ever heard of this creature in my life,” but let me assure you they are one of the most interesting species I have ever seen. These animals, also called the black apes, are critically endangered. Most of this population lives in lowland tropical rainforests in Indonesia. A large majority of their natural habitat has been burned or cut down, but hunting is their number one threat. The meat of these animals is considered a delicacy, so they are hunted and sold in the meat trade. To protect these animals, many conservation groups have been created to spread awareness and educate on the issue, as well as create sanctuaries and breeding programs.

In my opinion, the best education to give to the world to seek change is about the personalities of this primate. The Crested Macaque is an extremely sociable, loving animal. They live in troops of up to 100 monkeys, and spend their days giving cuddles, hugs, and kisses, and playing in the branches. They even have a specific sign that indicates they need a hug, the tongue roll.

For a good smile, watch this video that really shows off their character: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IPCymrG9hA

“The Monkey Selfie”

There are 41,415 species of animals that are categorized as endangered. This means that over 40,000 species are threatened to become extinct in the near future. These species include anywhere from blue whales to bluefin tuna to bengal tigers. I would say the biggest reason for extinction for many of these animals is because of humans. According to “Endangered Earth,” humans have driven 800 species into extinction over the past 500 years (https://www.endangeredearth.com). For example, Chimpanzees are endangered mainly because of deforestation. The beautiful tropical rainforests these happy little creatures once spent their days frolicking from tree to tree in, are being invaded and destroyed for logging purposes, diminishing the natural habitat for these animals and many others. The same situation is occurring to our adorable Panda bears. Humans are clearing the bamboo forests that pandas need to survive off of. The devastation only worsens as the human desire for more continues to grow.