Yasir Khan

Wildlife Preservation Essay

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the worlds most amazing
sights. It stretches for 2600 kilometers and covers 344,400
kilometers squares. Located off the coast of Australia, this wonder is
home to more than 3000 species of animals ranging from many
different sizes. Unfortunately, this amazing wonder is slowly getting
destroyed due to human misuse. People are illegally dumping and
polluting the water, which destroys the coral and makes the crystal
clear water turn to a darker blackish color. Human impacts on the
environment interfere with nature and disrupt the ecosystem.
It is often argued that we need to think about ourselves and
not about our surrounding environment. At the same time, many
people are in need of houses, and in Brazil there is a high rate of
homelessness. Based on a 2005 census by the Homeless World Cup,
around 200 million people are homeless in Brazil. (United Nations
Commission on Human Rights) The Amazon Rainforest is a
natural beauty, and parts of it are being cut down to make room for
houses and buildings. These new places will help the economy and
lower homelessness. However, there are about four hundred billion
trees from sixteen thousand species in the amazon, (Rainforest

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Foundation US) 434 species of mammals, (Rainforest

Foundation US) 239 reptile species and 225 species of
amphibians. (Rainforest Foundation US) All the logging and
cutting down is disrupting the ecosystem. During the winter of 1952
in London, England, people used to burn coal to heat their homes.
The weather was getting worse and worse leading up to winter, so
people started to burn more coal than usual. Soon a light fog passed
by, and with all the smoke billowing out of peoples chimneys, it
mixed with the smoke and created dense smog. The city was
covered in thick yellowish smog for four days. People could not see
their hand in front of their face and had to halt the city for 3 days.
Approximately 12,000 people were killed and around four to five
thousand dead cats and dogs and 15,000 birds littered the streets.
(Woods and Woods)
There are many species that are endangered today, but mainly
because of humans. Poaching is illegal in many countries, but many
people still do it for trade, sport and black markets, especially in
Africa. Two main targets of poaching are African Bush Elephants and
Rhinos. African Bush Elephants are being hunted for their tusks,
which are made of ivory and are highly valuable. Elephants are a

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keystone species, which means that other animals depend on

elephants to survive. Hunters brutally kill elephants and cut off their
tusks to take with them or sell them. (Lewis) Rhinos are marvelous
creatures, but unfortunately they are in the same situation as
elephants. They are being poached for their ivory, which is in their
horns on their heads. Out of the five species of rhinos, three are
critically endangered. (Dell'Amore) In 2013, more than 1000 rhinos
were poached, and 346 hunters were arrested for poaching. This is
not only bad for the animals, but humans are risking their lives as
well. (Dell'Amore)
Another reason why humans have had a negative impact on
the environment is because they have caused an unbalance in
ecosystems by bringing non-native species to other areas. People
have brought invasive species over to new places and have caused
a major problem. For example, Burmese Pythons are huge snakes
that are native to Southeast Asia. During the 1980s, people brought
them back to the United States, specifically Florida as pets. (Childs)
These snakes grow very fast and within 3 years, they reach a
minimum length of 12 feet. Inexperienced keepers could not handle
them and started to leave their snakes in the Everglades. Since they

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have no natural predators over there, they started to thrive and

began eating native species, even American Alligators. (Childs)
Secondly, the plant kudzu is also an invasive species. Kudzu is a fast
growing vine like plant.(Woods and Woods) It can overpower
anything in its way and grow over it. It was introduced to the United
States in 1876 and was under control for the most part. Due to the
recent increase of the global temperature, kudzu has been moving
north towards Ontario, Canada. This is bad as they grow over plants
and block sunlight and kill many species each year. (Woods and
Woods)
Lastly, humans have negatively impacted the environment by
their own mistakes. On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker
ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska. (Woods and Woods)
The ship was supposedly carrying about 55 million gallons of oil of
which around 11 million gallons spilled out. The main cause of the
oil spill was human error, as the helmsman took too long to turn.
The spill caused about 250,000 deaths of sea birds, 2800 deaths of
sea otters, 12 river otters, 800 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles and 22
orcas. (Gerken) Another example of human error causing
environmental disruptions is the 2013 Lac-Mgantic rail disaster, in

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which a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded. The train was
carrying 30,000 gallons of crude oil in 74 cars. (Mackrael) The main
cause of the derailment was human error. There were two main
factors. First, the locomotive in front had not been checked for
repairs and was breaking down, and secondly the engineers had not
applied the brakes properly, causing it to move. (Mackrael). The
impact it had on the environment was that it contaminated the
water from the La Chaudiere River, roughly 2 kilometers away from
the accident. Many fish live in the river and birds eat the fish, so the
birds are also getting poisoned.
In conclusion, the many reasons of why animals are
endangered or are soon going to be endangered are because of
humans. Humans poach illegally, bring invasive species to new
areas and make unnecessary mistakes.

MLA Citations
Woods, Michael, and Mary Woods. Environmental Disasters.
Minneapolis: Lerner, 2010. 61. Print.
Mackrael, Kim. "Lac-Mgantic Derailment: Anatomy of a
Disaster." The Globe and Mail. 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.

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Gerken, James. "Remembering The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, 25

Years Later." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Mar.
2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
Childs, Arcynta. "Attack of the Giant Pythons." Smithsonian. 1
Apr. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
Dell'Amore, Christine. "Daily Nature and Science News and
Headlines | National Geographic News." National Geographic.
National Geographic Society, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
De Angelo, Laura. "London Smog Disaster, England." London
Smog Disaster, England. 8 Feb. 2008. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Lewis, Renee. "Ivory Poachers Killing Elephants Faster than
They Are Being Born | Al Jazeera America." <i>Ivory Poachers Killing
Elephants Faster than They Are Being Born | Al Jazeera
America</i>. Aljazeera America, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.