Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 "the term 'endangered species' means any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range other than a species of the Class Insecta determined by the Secretary to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of this Act would present an overwhelming and overriding risk to man. "A threatened species "means any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range." In other words, an endangered species is a group of plants or animals that is in danger of becoming extinct. Many scientists say a species is endangered when its numbers are so low or its habitat so threatened that it will become extinct in 10 to 15 years unless conservation measures are used to save it.
People who study wildlife think there are at least 10 million and possibly as many as 30 million species of plants and animals on Earth. They estimate that more than one-tenth of these species are endangered. That adds up to at least one million kinds of plants and animals that could become extinct by the year 2015.
In recent years the rate of extinction has increased too fast to too many species of plants and animals, in too many places . In the past 300 years, about 100 kinds of mammals have become extinct. Right now hundreds of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are endangered, as well as more than 25,000 plants. The American Museum of Natural History in New York reports: "Three species become extinct every hour of every day. More than 30 species become extinct while you sleep at night. More than 20,000 species become extinct every year."
Human activity
is largely responsible for today's wildlife crisis. The growth of the human
population has had an effect on wildlife. With more than six billion people
living on Earth, they all need resources for food, water, medicine, clothes,
shelter, and fuel. Wild habitats are constantly shrinking as humans expand
into once wild places. Habitat destruction has caused wild animals many
problems. When people use land for logging, industry, homes, or farms,
animals lose habitat.
Pollution
has also caused problems for wildlife. Many of today's activities put
harmful substances into our environment. Factory and car emissions
pollute the air, chemicals contaminate our water supplies, tons of
trash overwhelm our landfills, and sewage seeps into the world's oceans.
Overhunting and poaching
have hurt wildlife, too. Some animal species have been hunted for their meat,
fur, or body parts like horns and tusks. When people kill too many
of these animals, species become endangered, or, even worse,
they become extinct.
There are
at least 5 animals at the Brandywine Zoo that are on the Endangered Species
List. How many of those animals can you name?
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Zoos work together to help endangered species. Through the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, zoos arrange for the best captive care and breeding of endangered species. Through these programs and field research, zoos have successfully reintroduced some captive-bred species back into their native habitats.
The Brandywine Zoo takes
part in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's
(
AZA's) Species Survival
Plan (SSP) Program
. The mission of this program is to help ensure the survival of selected
wildlife species. At the Brandywine Zoo, the Andean condor, the Siberian
tiger, the golden lion tamarin, the cotton top tamarin, and the Goeldi's
monkey are part of this program.
For these animals Brandywine
Zoo has agreed to: