Different developments endanger the lives of animals these days, a quickly changing and diminishing natural habitat being a main cause. These changes can either have natural causes, or are driven by ever expanding activities of fellow human beings. Our planet's natural changes appear quite slowly, but
when it comes to changes caused by humans, many habitats experience rapid change over a relatively short period of time.
This generally means there’s too little, and often no time at all left for
the animals to react and adept to their new environmental circumstances. Humans even
destroy entire wildlife habitats within years, leaving no space for local animals to survive at all. Pollution is another factor that threatens various animal species.
Additionally, the introduction of exotic species can become a huge risk when introduced without safeguarding measures. Exotic animal species are the opposite of native species, which are part of a
specific geographic area and have originally been part of that
particular biological landscape since a long time. Exotic species are external animal species,
introduced into that new environment by humans. These exotic species can
seriously disrupt ecological balances and may cause disease and other harmful
consequences. When humans introduced certain insects, rats, cats and
other foreign species to newly discovered lands, hundreds of native species have been endangered or totally extinguished. Often as a result of greater competition for
food, spreading deadly disease, or sheer survival of the fittest.
Overexploitation
and poaching is another danger to certain species, driving them to extinction.
There’s a lot of exploitation when it comes to trading in precious animal parts.
Examples are the illegal trade in tiger bones, elephant ivory, rhino horns or shark fins.