10 Endangered Species That Might Surprise You (And How You Can Help)
In Katherine Applegate’s Endling series, Byx is a dairne — a mythical doglike species. When her pack is killed by poachers, she fears she may be the last of her species and sets out on an epic journey to discover if there are more dairnes in hiding.
Though the book is a fictional fantasy series, the concept of an “Endling” is becoming a part of everyday life as the Earth faces its sixth mass extinction. There are over 27,000 species threatened with extinction with more being added each day as the threats to our global biodiversity escalate. While some animals like giant pandas, mountain gorillas, blue whales, and tigers are commonly known to be endangered, others might surprise you.
Here are 10 species protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act that you might not have known are imperiled but that need your help now!
1. Chimpanzees
Did you know chimpanzees are one of humans’ closest cousins? Scientist Jane Goodall spent her life dedicated to studying these amazing animals, but many people don’t realize that like gorillas, several species of monkeys, and other primates, chimpanzees are also endangered due to severe habitat loss, deforestation, human interference, and poaching.
2. Lemurs
Lemurs are popular residents at many zoos, but in the wild, they are actually only found on Madagascar, an island off the southeast coast of Africa. Due to deforestation, poaching, and illegal trade, they’re rapidly losing their island habitat and are now among the world’s most endangered primates.
3. Spiders
Next time you see a spider in your home, think twice before stepping on it and instead consider capturing and re-releasing it into the wild! There are several species of spiders around the world that are critically endangered including the ornate tiger spider, tooth cave spider, and spruce-fir moss spider. Spiders are important to ecosystems because they eat pests and help keep populations of roaches, mosquitoes, flies, and other insects in check.
4. Butterflies
Did you know that the majority of endangered butterfly species are found in the United States? Butterflies are a sign of spring, but there are several species, such as the Miami Blue butterfly and the Shaus swallowtail butterfly, on the verge of disappearing forever due to habitat loss, climate change, and from collection of specimens for international trade.
5. Hammerhead Sharks
Movies like Jaws paint sharks as blood-thirsty human-eaters, but the truth is that they’re vital to their ecosystems and most attacks on humans are accidental. The scalloped hammerhead shark was the first shark species on the US Endangered Species List, but with increasing ocean pollution, poaching, entanglement in commercial fishing gear, and human interference, more species are becoming at risk.
6. Toads
Like spiders, toads are vital for keeping mosquitoes and other insect populations under control, and they also act as an important food source for birds, snakes and many other animals. Some species in the United States that are currently endangered due to habitat loss, disease, and a variety of other human-caused threats include Houston toads, Wyoming toads, Yosemite toads, and Arroyo toads.
7. Pigeons
If you’ve ever visited a big city like New York, you wouldn’t think that pigeons are endangered, but there are many species like the pink pigeon, the white-tailed laurel pigeon, and the Chatham island pigeon which are under threat from deforestation, hunting, and invasive predators.
8. Deer
In certain parts of the world, it seems like deer are everywhere, but there are actually over 20 species of endangered deer across the world, including the diminutive Key deer in Florida. Threatened by habitat loss, many species of deer are also hunted by humans for their meat, skins, and antlers.
9. Mice
Mice can be pesky when they’re in your home, but they’re actually quite useful for scattering seeds in the wild and they act as a necessary food source for many other animals. Like deer, there are over 20 species of endangered mice around the world, many native to Australia.
10. Cats
Crazy cat ladies (and gentleman) unite because the cats need your help. No, not domesticated house cats, but wild cat species like the Leopard Cat, Tiger Cat, Marbled Cat, Iriomote Cat, and Andean Cat are all endangered and under threat of extinction across the world. They face the loss of their homes due to human growth and development, poachers after their fur, and the illegal pet trade.
What can you do to help?
There are many things you can do to help these species and others including looking into different organizations that specialize in the animal that you’re interested in helping, volunteering with local or global rescue centers, supporting conservation programs, or maybe even “adopting” an animal in need through a non-profit conservation organization. It’s also important to speak to local, state, and federal representatives to make animal conservation a priority, and voice your support for the Endangered Species Act and other laws that seek to protect animals in need.
For more information on these and other endangered species and more of what you can do to help, visit awionline.org
Also, check out Katherine Applegate’s Endling series: https://www.harpercollins.com/childrens/endlingbooks/
