Endangered Species: We Need Each Other - by Shirley Sokol
If I could walk up to an elephant and tell her that her family is safe, and we all respected their kindness, loyalty, intelligence and etiquette towards the planet we share. Would she believe me?
If I could run 40 miles per hour and swim up to seven miles in a single day alongside a tiger, would I feel as powerful?
If I could run on my toes, hear sounds from six miles away and eat 20lbs of meat a day, would I be as keen as a wolf?
If I could spend my life in the ocean, have a high level of smell, sight and hearing, and use the Earth’s magnetic field as a compass, could I live life as a sea turtle?
If I could be a gorilla, I could live in the wild up to 60 years. I could communicate with others using up to seventeen specific noises and actions. I could eat half my body weight each day. Not in ice-cream, but in branches, leaves, fruits and bamboo shoots. I would never sleep in the same spot for two nights in a row. I would live in premium selected spots in Africa.
If I could swing through the branches of the forest with the orangutans, I bet my arms would stretch as long as theirs. As unique as they are, they are considered the humans of the forest. Did you know that their DNA is a 97% match to ours?
I’m afraid for all that appear on this sacred endangered list, as we are the worst at keeping our species balanced within the world we live in. Wildlife is a part of our ecosystem, the herd of grazers are like lawnmowers on land, the sea turtles do the same on the ocean floor. We have the elephants, and giraffes to keep the trees trimmed. We have the pandas and gorillas to thin them out. We have the predators like the big cats, wolves and sharks to help clean up the extra food in the refrigerator so to speak. Each species tiny to gigantic, land or sea, meadows or mountains, have a job. Their journeys are instinctive and purposeful.
There are many reasons so many species are endangered, some of it is caused by weather change (cold or warm eras), but unfortunately, most of the problem lies with us. When we decide to change nature’s balanced habitat with a foreign species, the ecosystem is sent spinning. When seafood is the food trend of the decade (for us) it often becomes a wipe out in our oceans. When deforestation occurs, we have shelter and a home, while the wildlife is left homeless. When land is turned into agricultural fields to feed us, we end up starving the wildlife. We get full while they go hungry. When we develop a new product, and it becomes global, yet it pollutes the water, once again, we didn’t think about the animals who manage our planet. What’s humbling is, despite all the harm we cause for them, they continue to follow their path and purpose, which is to keep the planet balanced to support all life.
Is it too late? For some perhaps, but it’s never too late to help the balance. We individually may not be able to solve the entire problem; however, awareness is the first step.
What can we do to help? Keep in mind and share with others that our activities are one of the biggest causes of the spread of invasive species into wildlife habitats. Whether we plant non-native plants near wildlife areas, use pest control poison that is carried through nature on land and in the water, hurt wildlife accidentally, keep or feed wildlife as we do pets, harass wildlife or keep them as our pet or prisoner - we are complicating the concerns that directly place our wildlife and their habitats in danger.
The Endangered Species Coalition suggests that as an individual, we can help the endangered species by bringing awareness to others and/or take the following actions:
Protect wildlife habitats.
Do not harm or harass wildlife.
Avoid attracting wildlife to your home for safety reasons - yours and theirs.
Education
Native plants provide food and shelter - do not bring non-native plants into or near a habitat - plants not natural to a habitat will compete with the native plants - this disrupts food in the habitat and can cause illness, death or starvation for some species.
Herbicides & Pesticides that are toxic to the habitat - they will travel much farther than you realize.
Slow down when driving
Buy recycled products to save nature’s resources.
Do not purchase products made utilizing a body part form threatened species.
Support nature centers or a wildlife refuge.
Protect the places they live and roam.
Remember, once they are gone, they are gone forever - that’s it!!!
We have created our habitat, an ecosystem for our comfort, but it doesn’t work if we lose our wildlife and the natural habitats that surround and support us.