For my last post, I thought I would mention one of the most well-known conservation issues: bees. Unless you have been living under a rock or something, you have definitely heard about the problem of declining bee populations worldwide. The movement to save bee populations has spread like wildfire across the United States, and people are right to worry.

In the winter of 2018-19, 40% of United States honey bee colonies died, and one-third of wild bee populations are in serious decline. This decline is also shown in many other insect species, and if this trend continues, most insect species could be extinct within a hundred years.

Fig. 1 Honey Bee

If bees and other insect species go extinct or even severely decline further, it could spell disaster for the entire planet. Insects are major food sources for many species of birds, lizards, fish, and mammal species, so if they go extinct, these animals will go extinct as well. Insects are also vital to pollination for many plant species, most significantly in fruit, vegetable, and nut production. If insects go extinct, humans could lose a great deal of our food sources, causing widespread famine. In the United States, honey bees alone pollinate over 15 billion dollars of food crops.

There are multiple factors for the declining bee populations. The geographic range that bees live on has declined by 25%, mostly due to habitat loss. Another major factor in the declining population is farming practices. Bees’ natural habitats are being destroyed for farmland and the pesticides and fertilizers being used have caused major damage. If a large part of a bee colony is wiped out, the colony has a very difficult time rebounding before more damage occurs.

FIg. 2 Declining Bee Population

While many people get annoyed at all the insects that end up in their yards and houses, they truly do play a vital role in the Earth’s ecosystem. If insects disappear, a total collapse of ecosystems across the globe will occur.

It seems to be quite a trend to “save the bees” and many people brush off these people as trying to be “hipster” and just following along with trends, but even if some people may come off as cringy, this is still a real issue that needs to be resolved. Insect populations are declining, and despite many people’s hatred towards them, this is not an issue to just brush off and ignore. The loss of insects could spell extinction for us.

I have covered plenty of mammals, so I thought it would be time to inform you about one of the most recognizable birds to most people. Many know this amazing bird from its feature in the Harry Potter books as Hedwig. The snowy owl resides in the far northern reaches of North America and is the largest owl of the Americas. They are known for their stunning white feathers, easily blending into the snowy habitat they call home, but due to climate change, these birds are losing this habitat very quickly.

Fig. 1 Snowy Owl

Since their natural habitat is usually in very northern, sparsely populated areas, the main threat to snowy owls is not hunting or other direct human contacts, but humans are responsible for their sharp decline. While they are not formally labeled as endangered yet (they are currently at a ‘vulnerable’ status), a drastic decline in the population of 85% has happened since 2003, leaving only 28,000 left in the wild.

The most likely cause of this decline is climate change. I previously did a post about climate change harming the arctic ecosystem, and snowy owls have not escaped these dreadful changes. The warming climate and melting ice caps of the arctic circle has caused a population decline in the prey of the snowy owl, therefore causing a decline in the snowy owls. The main prey of snowy owls is brown lemmings, small mammals similar to mice. These lemmings have very specific requirements for survival. They only come above ground when the snow has melted, and because of global warming, the snow has been melting earlier and earlier in the season. This causes the lemmings to be above ground for a longer period of time, allowing all of the predators in the area to consume more of them than usual, ultimately causing a population decline as more lemmings are killed than born each year. The decrease in their main food supply has led to the snowy owls not being able to raise as much young as they normally would.

Fig 2. Brown Lemming

The lemming population has a trend of decreases and increases, and the snowy owl population usually follows this pattern with them, but lately, there have been more decreases than increases, which ultimately worries scientists and conservationists. The snowy owl population has only been decreasing for a relatively short time now so it has not garnered as much attention as other species have, but I still felt them worthy of showcasing in my blog post for this week.

This bird is such a staple of the arctic ecosystem, and to see them slowly become endangered has broken my heart.

Since my last post was about Giraffes, it only seemed right to jump over to the subject of elephants, specifically Asian Elephants. While African Elephants are also struggling, Asian Elephants are taking a much harder hit when it comes to being threatened by multiple factors. Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants, but are still extremely large animals, growing up to 11,000 pounds as adults. They also have smaller tusks than the African elephants, but the male elephants can still grow decent sized tusks. These elephants can be found all throughout southern and southeastern Asia, but lately, their population is in decline, and only 40,000-50,000 remain in the wild, causing them to gain the title of endangered species.

Fig. 1 Asian Elephants Walking Through a Field

Like many of the animals I have covered before, Asian elephants are suffering greatly from illegal poaching. Even though their tusks are smaller than that of the African elephant, they still sell for large sums of money on the black market. Asian elephants are also illegally taken out of the wild alive as trophies, shown off as tourist attractions. People have taken advantage of these animals and drastically harmed their population.

Even though poaching has decreased the Asian elephant’s population, the factor that has had the most effect is habitat loss. The population of Asian countries are greater than any other place in the world and is growing at a substantial rate, and the more people there are, the more space they take up, and the more forests have to be cut down, drastically reducing the natural habitats of the Asian Elephant.

Fig. 2 Asian Elephant Family in Natural Habitat

The loss of natural habitat and the cutting off of migration routes has also caused other devastating factors to the decline of the Asian elephant. Since their habitat has decreased, more elephants have been making their way onto farms and into human settlements, causing them to be killed by farmers and locals trying to protect their land and themselves from the elephants. The elephants are also suffering in another way due to habitat encroachment. As human development cuts through their habitat, elephant populations are split up with no way of reaching each other. This causes the genetic pool to become smaller and issues arise from inbreeding. The smaller isolated groups are also more easily wiped out by things like natural disasters and disease.

The Asian Elephant may not be as large or as well-known as its African cousin, but they are a wonderful animal that does not deserve this population decline. They are not the only species suffering in Southeast Asia, but they serve as a good example of what is happening to animals not only there but across the entire world due to human decisions, and only humans can try to stop any more damage from happening.

Everyone knows giraffes. They’re one of the go-to animals when you think of the African savannah along with lions and elephants. But what most people don’t know is that giraffes are officially listed as critically endangered in the wild. Like many species in the African savannah, their population is suffering from many different factors including illegal hunting and loss of habitat.

Fig. 1 Giraffe in the Wild

In the past three decades, we have lost over 40% of the giraffe population, leaving us with under 100,000 still left in the wild across all of Africa. The main reason for this sharp decline is the habitat loss giraffes have been facing. As human development continues to increase, giraffe populations are being cut off from one another and slowly separated into little colonies, instead of the huge groups of them that used to wander the plains. Much of the African savannah is becoming used for farming and ranching as well as for the growing charcoal industry there. These developments might greatly benefit the people living in this area, but they are causing devastation to many species who are struggling with the drastic loss of habitat. The inbreeding caused by the separation of the giraffe population has also caused new diseases in the animals, leading to potentially shortened lifespans and even further issues.

Fig. 2 Giraffe Mother with Baby

As with many large mammal species, poaching is also a huge issue causing population decline. Like I have discussed before with the Amur Tiger and the Cheetah, poachers target “exotic” animals to sell in different countries where the animal is not found. Online and even in places in the United States, people buy products like giraffe rugs and giraffe bones used as knife handles, all of which were legally obtained because the United States government hasn’t officially designated poached giraffe parts as illegal to bring into the country, unlike some other animal parts.

Trophy hunting is also a large issue in Africa at the moment. Many foreign hunters visit the African savannah and are proud of the “large kill” they make on an animal such as the giraffe, not realizing that they are helping cause the decline in the population of such an important animal.

So many of the animal species that people love are slowly going extinct, and if we don’t do anything about it, the situation is only going to get even worse. Species go extinct every single day, most of which are still undiscovered when they disappear off the face of the Earth forever, and many of the ones we cherish in our lives are suffering as well. Personally, hearing about these animals and knowing that humans are one of the direct causes of their population declines is the reason I want to pass on this knowledge to other people to raise awareness of the damage we have done before it’s too late.

Everyone loves sea turtles. It seems like all people talk about nowadays is “save the sea turtles” when using metal straws instead of plastic. Its time to dive back under the sea with this critically endangered animal: the Hawksbill Sea Turtle. The hawksbill is found in the ocean in tropical areas, with subspecies in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Their habitat mostly consists of coral reefs, and they feed off of the sponges growing there. They also eat sea anemones and jellyfish around the reefs. Sea turtles, not just this species, are extremely vital to the coral reef ecosystem because once they eat the sponges off of the surface, reef fish have better spots to feed, benefitting the entire ecosystem. Turtles don’t only have significance in the ecosystem, but they also have great importance to people around the world as well. Sea turtles have significance in many native populations around the globe, and today serve as a strong source of tourism in these areas. Without the turtles, many communities would lose a vital source of income.

Fig. 1 Hawksbill Sea Turtle

These are great and all, but the important point is that Hawksbill Sea Turtles have become critically endangered. One of my previous posts covered the dying coral reefs, and this was bound to have affected the sea turtle populations as well. This has had an effect on the turtles, but what’s causing them the most harm by far is humans. Coastal development has ruined the nesting sites of these turtles by either completely destroying them, or altering them in a way that the turtles are unlikely to return.

Hawksbill sea turtles are extremely easily caught in fishing nets, and because they need to periodically go to the surface to breathe, once they are caught, many drown. Since the fishing industry in many areas is continuing to increase in productivity, more and more of these turtles are suffering because they can’t get unhooked from these lines and nets in time.

Fig. 2 Hawksbill Sea Turtle 2

There is also the issue of the illegal wildlife trade. Even though there are many laws in many countries protecting this endangered turtle, their shells still sell for big prices in the illegal trade. The shell of the hawksbill is a unique brown and yellow, making it ideal for illegal makers of ornaments and jewelry. There is also a popular trade in Hawksbill eggs, which are seen as a delicacy in some places.

This amazing turtle species is under direct threat by humans, and personally I see this as an issue. People constantly talk about plastic straws as the cause of declining turtle populations, but there are also some very large issues at hand. From the destruction of nesting sites to fishing mishaps to illegal traders, the turtle population is at one of its worst declines.

After talking about some extremely large issues, I feel like it is time to mainly focus on one animal again. This time I will be discussing the endangerment of the largest cat species in the world: the Siberian Tiger. Personally, I am a big fan of the big cats and hearing that tiger populations like this one are on an extreme decline worries me.

Fig. 1 Siberian Tiger

The Siberian Tiger is also known as the Amur tiger but got its nickname of the Siberian due to over 95% of its population residing in the far east of Russia. Currently, only 500 of these wondrous animals reside in the wild today, a small number for an animal that once ruled over Russia, northern China, and the Korean peninsula.

Fig. 2 Distribution of Siberian Tiger

In the 1940s, hunting of these animals caused extreme damage to their population, leaving only around 40 left in the wild until Russia finally became the first country to pass protection laws to try and save this tiger species. These protection laws were a step in the right direction as they allowed the tiger population to grow to its current population, but the tiger is still under threat. Only around 10% of the tiger population lives in the protected lands designated by the government, and elsewhere illegal activities in Russia’s far east have severely threatened the ecosystem of the tigers. Due to the remote environment, Amur tigers have large areas of territory in order to get as much prey as they need to survive. Illegal logging in Russia has had a devastating effect on the environment. The major loss of trees has caused population decline in the tigers’ prey, ultimately decreasing the tigers’ food source and threatening their future survivability. Poaching has also become a serious problem. Amur tigers are prime real estate for exotic sellers on the black market, and poachers today are better equipped for evading the law and most times have international links to get them out of trouble. People are hurting the already dwindling population of Amur tigers just for the money, and I find that extremely saddening.

I am a cat lover through and through, and the suffering of these big cats is something I want to bring to people’s attention. Even though the government is trying, there is still more that can be done to ensure the future of this amazing species. The Amur tiger is directly under threat by humans, and it is humans who have to set this right. The damage we have done already is unacceptable, and the pattern seen with this one species is mirrored in thousands more across the world.

Despite the raging fires in Australia, other wildlife populations around the world are also struggling. One in particular concerns me: the arctic. I’m fairly certain that everyone has heard about the ice caps melting and has maybe even seen pictures of starving polar bears on melted glaciers, but the situation has far more depth than is usually mentioned. The arctic is one of the most unique ecosystems on Earth due to the extreme environmental conditions. Animals and plants that live there must be extremely adaptable to the harsh cold and desolate rocky conditions that make up a majority of the arctic circle.

Fig. 1 Oil Drill

Contrary to the harsh living conditions, many different species have been able to thrive in the arctic until recently. There have been many recent threats to life in the arctic circle, most of which are either caused or accelerated by human involvement. One of the major threats to wildlife is the oil and gas industry. The arctic circle is a goldmine for large reservoirs of petroleum and natural gases, especially Alaska in the case of the United States industry. Extracting oil and gas is an expensive and difficult process, but with recent technological developments, it has become faster and easier, leading to an increase in demand for extraction in Alaska. Oil companies have begun pressuring the US government to increase the amount of land and coastal areas they are allowed to work on which poses a large threat to the native populations and the wildlife in these areas. These specific areas they want access to are those with large polar bear populations and porcupine caribou. If these areas are destroyed by the fossil fuel industry, this could signal major problems for both of these animals along with countless others.

Fig. 2 Melting Glacier

The other major problem threatening the wildlife of the arctic is climate change. As mentioned in the beginning, the ice caps and glaciers melting is constantly mentioned in the debate on climate change, and while people know that these issues are happening, for many it just hasn’t sunk in yet that many of the wildlife populations living on this ice are becoming severely at risk for extinction. Polar bears use the ice to hunt, walruses use the ice to rest after long journeys, algae rests under the ice because it is an ideal feeding spot. These glaciers and ice sheets are more than just frozen water, they are entire ecosystems that are being lost because of climate change.

There are so many things happening in the world right now that it is impossible to focus on everything at once, but I believe that it is important to bring up the threats to the arctic circle in order to try and preserve this unique ecosystem. The amount of damage being done here just breaks my heart.

I think that by now everyone has heard about the devastating fires in Australia. The amount of wildlife decimated by these fires is truly shocking, and the human lives lost will never be forgotten. So far it has been estimated that over a billion animals have died so far in these fires, including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and insects, but until the fires are over it is difficult to tell the true effects and lasting impacts of these events. Many animal species have been possibly wiped out entirely.

Fig. 1 Map of the Fires in Australia

Kangaroo Island is home to many unique species not found anywhere else in Australia, and with the fires causing such extensive damage, some of these wonderful animals may now be extinct. The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is one of these threatened species, as it is estimated that sixty percent of their nesting sites and habitats have been completely destroyed by the fires. Conservation efforts before the fires had brought the birds back from near extinction before, but now all we can do is wait and see how they are affected. Another Kangaroo Island resident in danger is the Kangaroo Island Dunnart, a small marsupial that was already a threatened species before the fires. It is now feared that the species is completely gone, as all of the cameras set up to monitor the last known populations have actually melted due to the extreme heat from these fires.

Fig. 2 Kangaroo in the Glow of a Fire

A classic animal known around the world is the Koala, but these creatures that have captured many people’s hearts are now fighting for their lives. So far an estimated 30% of their population has been wiped out, and the population on Kangaroo Island has been especially hit hard. Even though there has been so much population loss for the Koalas, there is some good news as there are still populations living in areas unaffected by the fires, most likely guaranteeing the survival of this wonderful species.

Many more species have been affected by these fires including the Hastings River Mouse, Regent Honeyeater, Blue Mountains water skink, Brush-tailed rock wallaby, Southern corroboree frog, Quokka, western ground parrot, Northern eastern bristlebird, and the greater glider. These species have been hit hard by these fires, but some are projected to recover, but no one truly knows the lasting effects of these devastating flames. One of the potential lasting effects comes from the loss of the bees. Losing whole populations of bees throws off the entire ecosystem and could take decades to recover.

This whole fire situation is extremely worrying as entire species are being wiped off the map. We’ve just got to hope that they can be gotten under control soon and don’t do any more extensive damage to the already vulnerable populations of animals in Australia.

Fig. 1 Great Barrier Reef

I believe I can speak for most people when I say that I find the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs to be beautiful. The great expanse of colors and wide variety of marine life provides a scenery like no other, but the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs across the world are dying. Our shallow marine life has been on a downward spiral towards complete obliteration, threatening to rid us of this natural beauty completely. Sea temperatures have had sudden increases in recent times, causing a “bleaching” effect on the coral of the reefs. The coral reefs become stressed by their environment and end up expelling the algae on their surfaces, turning them a white color but having drastic effects on their health. The algae on their surfaces were their main food supply, and with most of it gone, the coral have essentially starved to death. This also affects future coral populations, because if the current coral is dead, it cannot reproduce, leaving residual effects on the population. These bleaching events have been happening more and more frequently, causing many marine biologists to worry about the future of the beloved Great Barrier Reef.

Fig. 1 Normal Coral vs. “Bleached” Coral

These bleaching epidemics are expected to increase as global warming continues to escalate. Currently, less than half of the Great Barrier Reef is left alive, which makes this situation extremely dire. The Great Barrier Reef was seen as the last reef thought possible to be harmed in such a way, due to its high protection and isolation by the Australian Government, but this sudden decrease in population proves that no ecosystem, especially one as fragile as a coral reef, can escape the truly disastrous clutches of climate change. If carbon emissions continue the way they are, the mass bleaching events are predicted to occur twice a decade from 2035 onward and after 2044 will occur annually, guaranteeing certain death for the Great Barrier Reef. These bleaching events occurring so quickly after one another leave no time for the reef to recover before another one strikes, and soon the reef will no longer be able to keep up and one of the most beautiful and unique ecosystems on the planet will be lost forever.

If the largest reef on the planet cannot survive the changing climate, what does that indicate for the other reefs across the globe? What does that indicate for other ecosystems in the sea and on land? The balance the planet created is being tipped, and this is why actions must be taken soon to ensure the survival of all creatures on this planet, large and small.

Last week I talked about big cat conservation. This week I will talk about something that is also extremely important to me: bird conservation. When I was younger, I was obsessed with birds. I wanted to become an ornithologist (bird scientist), learned basically all I could from the internet, and even today, I have a bird identification app on my phone. For months at a time in middle school, I obsessively watched a bald eagle nest camera on my computer, loving every minute I got to observe those gorgeous birds of prey.

Fig. 2 Habitat Destruction

These amazing animals are currently under threat from many factors. Hundreds of bird species are on the fast track to extinction because of factors created directly by humans. Habitat loss is one of the most threatening factors of bird extinction. Forests and other habitats are being destroyed at alarming rates for agriculture, mining, and urban development, leaving the birds with no food and no shelter. Historically, the biggest factor causing extinction was the introduction of new species. As people migrated to different regions at increasing rates, they brought with them new species that were not native to the areas. The native birds were used to the predators native to their area, but when new ones were introduced, they could not defend themselves and were driven to extinction. Diseases were also introduced by this method, further endangering many species.

Many people have heard of the extinction of the passenger pigeon. This happened because they were overhunted until there was not enough of their population left to recover. What many people don’t know is that this process has occurred many times and is even occurring now to other species. Currently, parrots are being captured and sold in the illegal pet trade, causing their populations to decrease dramatically and many species of parrot are now on the endangered species list.

Fig. 1 Short-Tailed Albatross Brought Back from Near Extinction

There are numerous other ways that humans have endangered the lives of birds, such as power lines, oil-spills, and now climate change. Things look bleak for many species if something isn’t done soon. To fix this problem, people need to support bird conservation groups and all the good they do for the bird populations around the globe. Bird conservation groups do work such as running breeding programs, reintroduce bird populations to their native areas, monitor bird populations and intervene when necessary, and fight for habitat protection by governments.

In my opinion, birds big and small are some of nature’s greatest creations, and with so many species going extinct, I feel like this is a highly important topic to spread awareness about. You see birds every day, whether it is in your backyard or in a park in the city, but bird populations are suffering because of human actions, and it is up to humans to fix this.