REASONS WHY ANIMALS ARE AT THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION

Animals all over the world are now undergoing the ultimate fear of losing their next generations due to extinction. Extinction, what does that word actually mean? Why does it seem to hurt these innocent creatures so much? Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2008) states the word extinction as a situation in which a plant or an animal stops existing. Animal extinction has shown a tremendous increase for the past two centuries causing many types of animals are at the verge of extinction. Dodo birds and dinosaurs had already disappeared whereas pandas, Tasmanian tigers and whales are decreasing in number. What have caused these to happen? The paramount cause that has resulted in the acceleration of animal extinction is the habitat destruction, as stated by Ignatova I. (2008). Habitats or places where they live are destroyed by the so-called impressive developments. Trees in the rainforests where animals used to use as shelters have been cut down heartlessly by heartless human in the name of development. Not even a single consideration was taken on the effect that may be encountered by these innocent creatures. The guilt will be left behind for the animals to shoulder. Kurpin L. (2002) stated that when 90 per cent of habitat is eliminated, 50 per cent of the species will be lost. Macionis J. (2010) on the other hand stated that three-fourths of the worlds 10,000 species of birds are declining in number. Who is going to shoulder the responsibilities of losing all that? Apart from that, national and international wildlife trade, as reiterated by Cooksey G. (2000) has also become one of the most active contributors in ensuring the animal extinction, a success. Pet trade, fur trade and even body parts trade are aggressively carried out to give a total suffer to the animals. Fur trade is assumed as the most popular one as animals fur are on high demand in the world of fashion. It is a common thing to see public figures walking on the red carpet during particular function with fur-detailed attires. However, not all human are bad. There are a lot of them who are still have the sense of love towards animals and are willingly fight for animals right.

Besides, some animals are being hunted because of their fresh flesh. The exotic animals lovers are craving for sharks fins, anteaters, pythons and monitor lizards as their luxurious menus in the restaurants. For instance, Hsu J. (2010) mentioned that the demand on sharks has pushed fishermen to kill as many as 73 million sharks per year. This has resulted in the depletion in number of sharks almost 99 percent over the decades. M. Hamzah Jamaluddin (2010) stated that there are Thai restaurateurs in Tumpat , Kelantan that are willing to buy these exotic animals with expensive price as the profit that they will get from selling them is far much higher. If this continues, our next generation will eventually unable to know many types of animals. As stated by Wilson 0. E. in Macionis J. (2010), the right to impoverish the world for those who live tomorrow is not ours, the ones who live today. Other than that, the extinction of animals is also caused by global warming or the unstable condition of the Earth (Ignatova I., 2008). Although this cause is not related to the immediate human demand for animals or their habitats resources, it is still initiated by human actions. Global warming affects animals in many different ways. For instance, polar bears in the Arctic Pole have become poster children for the melting of the ice due to climate change (Endangered Species: Causes of Extinction and Endangerment, 2010) . This melting of ice has reduced the ability of them to hunt for food as the ice used as platform during hunting is melting. Eventually, they will face food inadequacy and die due to critical hunger. In short, animal extinction is not something that can be solved easily. We need animals and animals do need us to ensure the continuity of a balanced ecosystem. It is vital for animals and humans to interact well for the sake of a wellbalanced diversity. Every single time you want to act something that may harm these creatures, think about you future generations, your children and your grandchildren. Do you have the heart to see them live in the world that has no more animals to play with and to look at? Please, dont trigger the disappearance of them with you r further bad actions. The Earth is ours to together conserve it until the end. (768 words)

REFERENCES Books Cooksey G. (2000). Endangered Species: Must They Disappeared?. Washington: Gale Group. Pp56-58. Hsu J. (2010, March). Making Sustainable Shark Fin Soup. Readers Digest. Kuala Lumpur: Readers Digest Association Inc. Macionis J. (2010). Declining Biodiversity: Population, Urbanization and

Environment. Sociology. (13th Ed.). United States of America: Pearson Education. p591. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2008). Extinction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P518.

Websites Endangered Species: Causes of Extinction and Endangerment (2010). Cited from http://www.scienceclarified.com/El-Ex/Endangered-Species.html. on 13th April 2010. Ignatova I. (2008). Animal Extinction and Endangerment: Main Causes. Cited from http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/AnimalExtinction.html. Accessed on 14th April 2010. Kurpis L. (2002). The Rarest Info Around: The Causes of Endangerment. Cited from http://www.endangeredspecie.com/causes_of_endangerment.htm. Accessed on 14th April 2010. Accessed

Newspapers M. Hamzah Jamaluddin (2010, March 24). Huge Profits Drive Illegal Trade. New Straits Times. Pp12-13.