What Can We Do to Protect Endangered Animals?

How to Protect Animals?

We all have heard the saying – ‘It’s a Human’s world’. This line has dictated the popular opinion of past centuries. But with time we realized this is not just a Human’s world. It is equally the world of animals too. So, we need to also care about how to protect animals.

Animals deserve to live a safe and healthy life as much as humans do. Sadly, this does not have universal acceptance. Sadly, our world tries to get profit from everything it can and therefore animals become victims. Therefore, it is important to understand how to protect animals and what can we do to stop them from being endangered.

Ways to Protect Animals

“What you can do in response to the ocean of suffering may seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

It is okay to feel helpless when we see how animals are suffering today. A lot of us don’t know how to protect animals, but it is also important to channel this emotion into some work.

It is vital that we take action to protect animals. Below are some simple ways in which we can all contribute towards the protection of animals.

Discard the Use of Plastics:

Plastic is poison for our animals and marine life. They are innocent creatures who do not understand and consume plastic along with the food. If we stop using plastic, we will not just save the environment, but also, animals.

Speak Up When You See Animal Cruelty:

We often ignore and stay quiet when we see animals being hurt. Instead of taking care of our reputation at that time, we should speak up against the person doing such harm. Seeing an animal getting hurt would make a much bigger dent in your reputation compared to what fighting for them would do.

Feeding the Local Animals:

Giving food to cats, dogs, birds and other such animals in your vicinity is also one to protect animals and take care of them. Due to COVID, many such strays died in hunger. Therefore, we should make sure we are not letting this happen in our residential areas at least.

Adopting a Pet:

Taking an animal in your house as a pet is one of the sweetest ways of protecting animals. Adopting animals especially those with disabilities or illness is a very noble way of protecting animals.

When Can We Call an Animal Endangered?

When we talk of endangered animals, there is a slight change in approach towards how to protect animals. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies animals based on the level of protection needed. As per its classification, the following is the data on the number of species per category:

• 81 species are Extinct.
• 63 species are Extinct in the Wild.
• 3,947 species are Critically Endangered.
• 5,766 species come under Endangered.
• 10,104 species are Vulnerable.
• 4,467 species are Near Threatened.
• 10,497 species are Data Deficient.

While the time you are reading this numbers may have changed. According to IUCN, an animal species becomes endangered when there are less than 2500 mature individuals in it. Also, at least a 20 percent reduction in the population within five years gets a classification as endangered.

What Can We Do to Protect Endangered Animals?

Wildlife Habitat Conservation:

Governments around the world have set up national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. In these places, the animals have a completely natural habitat to live in but they are also protected from the threats in a normal jungle. Threats like hunting and poaching are rampant today and we cannot let animals fall prey to that.

The role we can play here is of respecting the boundaries. When we go to visit these places, we should not leave garbage there. We should try to make as less of an impact as we can in these areas.

Be Aware:

One of the best ways you can protect endangered animals is to know about them. Find out which are such animals in your area or country. So, if you spot one somewhere, you can help alert the authorities and protect them.

Spread Awareness:

Another way to protect endangered animals is to create awareness about them. You can create local community groups that work for this cause. Having seminars is another way of creating awareness. Also, inculcating lessons in student’s academics on how to protect animals will go a long way.

Donating to NGOs For This Cause:

NGOs working to protect animals are short on funds often. They are trying to do a noble thing by working on how to protect animals. Therefore, donating resources to them can be very helpful. Resources can be of various types here. You can donate money or even help them set up their infrastructure services.

Remove Hazards From Your Home:

Often our homes are the place where damage begins. Our trash, if not properly secured, can become a hazard for animals in the region. Proper use of water in your home will also make sure that enough is left for animals.

Keep Your Rivers and Water Sources Clean:

Animals depend on natural sources of water to quench their thirst. Nowadays, we have polluted our rivers so much that animals are getting sick drinking from there. Many even die because of it. Therefore, having river cleaning drives will help in solving this problem.

Plant More:

We all know by now how important it is to save trees. Several tree plantation drives are done now by NGOs and kind citizens. But what we also need to focus on, is planting native species. Native plants help maintain the ecosystem just the way it should be. When the ecosystem is functioning properly, endangered animals are also taken care of.

Drive Carefully in Forest Areas:

It is important to watch the road when going through roads in forest areas. Many animals die while trying to cross the road because people do not pay attention to them. We can save their lives by being more careful!

Recycle:

We have already discussed how plastic harms animals. But specifically talking of endangered animals, our actions need to be more thoughtful. Recycling your waste and using recycled products goes a long way in protecting the environment. And when we take care of the environment, endangered animals are also safe. Indirectly, we protect their habitat too when we recycle more and have a green economy.

Stop Using Products that Endanger Animals:

Illegal markets still have products made from endangered. These animals would have been probably killed or maimed to obtain such products. You should never indulge in such shopping. Staying away from giving more profit to such product makers will slowly make them stop doing it.

Conclusion:

Animals are a vital part of our ecosystem. We, humans, have the understanding and resources to know how to protect animals. With our evolved minds, we should be taking care of them as a parent takes care of their kids. Instead what we do is take advantage of our evolution and hurt animals. Let us stop doing that. Let’s become active participants in helping protect endangered animals.