Wildlife and Endangered Animals

Commended Entry: "Wildlife and Endangered Animals" by Nouriqueen Shareen Anak Sumbang from Malaysia

This article was submitted in the Kids World Travel Guide Essay Competition 2023 in the Senior Category 12 - 15 years.

Wildlife and Endangered Animals

Back in 1947, when Defenders of Wildlife was founded to deal with the cruelty of leg holder traps, where were no environmental laws in America. Twenty-two years earlier, the last pack of wolves in the Yellowstone Park had been wiped out and few Americans had taken notice.

A lot of people think that wild animals like wolves are still out there and they don’t realize that they are endangered. Being eliminated is not the only reason wild animals are threated with extinction. There are other reasons such as habitat destruction. Economic growth not only brings goodness but also badness.

Many wild animals’ habitat has been destroyed to make way for new modern buildings. These modern buildings become the symbol of development. Not only that, indiscriminate logging is also one of the reasons why animal habitats are being destroyed. The logs then being used to make new utilities such as furniture, home decoration, and also the pillars of the buildings. They are also reasons stemming the climate change. A climate that is too hot can cause forest fires while frequent rainy weather can cause floods.

Wild animals’ habitat such as forest are often used as places to build new buildings. The trees in the forest will be cut down to clear the forest area for the development. When it is being cleared, the animals that used to live there has to run away to a safer place. Therefore, the wild animals that live in the forest before will be threatened with extinction due to loss of their shelter. Indiscriminate logging is another cause of animal habitat destruction. Newly grown trees should not be cut down and should be allowed to grow. A limited number of logging area should be enforce so that the place where the animal lives should not be destroyed.

The total number of legal logging cases that have been recorded throughout Malaysia in 2022 is ninety cases. Criminals who committed the offense have been prosecuted under the National Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313) in Peninsular Malaysia, the Forest Ordinance 2015 (Chapter 71) in Sarawak and the Forestry Enactment 1968 (Sabah No 2 Year 1968) in Sabah.

Climate change is one of the reasons for the destruction of animal habitats. It has a bad effect on our country, Malaysia. An increase in temperature tends to increase the number of heat waves that occur each year. It happens because the earth atmosphere is getting thinner. This increase in temperature resulted in a dry season and many rivers dried up. If the river becomes dry, the fish that live in the river will die. Wild animals will also lose their water source. The heat also can cause forest fire which endangering the life of the animals if that happens. The growing numbers of people who do open burning and also the release of smoke from the vehicles also contribute to the climate change.

In order to prevent animals that are threatened with extinction, many places of perseveration and conservation have been built. These preservation and conversation area works as a place where wild animals are being treated as if they are in their natural habitats. Animals such as Orang Utan, Tiger, Hornbills, Eagle, Honey Bear and many other endangered animals are placed under protected programs that help the growth of the number of the animals.

Program and campaigns about self-awareness have also been held a lot. Not only self-awareness programs have been held but programs such as replanting saplings have also been conducted. The self-awareness program that has been held is also very helpful. The program gives the community an understanding of why endangered species needs to be protected and how to protect endangered animal species. The sapling replanting program carried out has helped replenish the quantity of trees in the forest. As a result, wild animals that had previously lost their new home and wild animals that are about to lost their habitat will not lose their habitat either.

In conclusion, keep the habitat of wild animals from being extinct and the next generation will still be able to see the animal.

Congratulations on your essay "Wildlife and Endangered Animals", Nouriqueen Shareen. What a well researched and well crafted essay! Well done!

Nouriqueen Shareen Anak Sumbang attends Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Penipah in Malaysia. English as Second Language. Home Language is Iban.