Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Endangered Species of New York Endangered Species of New York What exactly does the term endangered species denote? There can be numerous definitions that correctly describe the term. It is any plant or animal whose survival is in jeopardy of becoming extinct. Extinction, of course, is when the species no longer exists, and there is no way it can be brought back to this earth. In most cases, the cause of this displeasing calamity is generally human-related. As more time goes on, more species are in peril of becoming extinct. The rate at which they are being lost is startling, even when compared with the catastrophe of the extinction of the dinosaurs approximately 70 million years ago. Nobody knows exactly what the current extinction rate is, but according to leading scientists it is around 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than normal. The rate of extinction seems to keep escalating as time passes as well. Everywhere you go there are hundreds of species at risk of becoming extinct. They are threatened in every habitat of every continent. Freshwater habitats, especially rivers and lakes, are severely affected by species extinction because of the lackadaisical dumping of hazardous wastes. Now you might ask yourself, “why are so many animals vanishing off the face of this earth?” Well, there are several different causes for the extinction of hundreds of endangered species. As I already stated, the majority of this lies on the shoulders of the disgraceful, careless measures taken by the human race. Hunting is one of the main reasons for animals in the wild becoming extinct. The animals are sought after for food, for their skin, and in some cases, even their bones. Water pollution and air pollution take part in big roles in extinction as well. Regrettably, there is little one can do about air pollution. No matter where you set out, the air is crammed with smoke and detrimental gases. As far as water pollution goes, much can be done to prevent it. People need to discontinue their carelessness and actually observe what they are doing for a change. There should be no reason for toxic wastes to be discarded into a body of water. In addition, forest fires, once again caused by carelessness, are destroying animal’s habitats. Their homes are also being destroyed as an outcome of deforestation, which is the removing of trees in a certain region. The amount of forest space is devastatingly diminishing. People apparently believe that an animal’s life does not matter, as long as they obtain the satisfaction of constructing more houses and developments. While there are hundreds of endangered species throughout the world, there are also quite a few right here in New York. Here is a short list of just some of the ill-fated animals in danger of losing their existence: E= Endangered T= Threatened P= Proposed Common Name Scientific Name Status Distribution Eagle, bald Haliaeetus leucocephalus E Entire state Falcon, American peregrine Falco peregrinus anatum E Entire state - re-establishment to former breeding range in progress Plover, piping Charadrius melodus ET Great Lakes WatershedRemainder of coastal New York Tern, roseate Sterna dougallii dougallii E Southern coastal portions of state Common Name Scientific Name Status Distribution Bat, Indiana Myotis sodalis E Entire state Cougar, eastern Felis concolor couguar E Entire state - probably extinct Whale, blue* Balaenoptera musculus E Oceanic Whale, finback* Balaenoptera physalus E Oceanic This information is from the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5-4/12/95. Unfortunately, that does not cover each and every one of the endangered animals that reside in New York. There is roughly 30-40 endangered species in New York, and the number is rising as we speak. Even though it is not exposed in the diagram above, the largest category of endangered species in New York is the mollusks. In addition to this list is a large number of endangered fish and insects as well. One of the more familiar animals known to man which despondently happens to be endangered in New York is the Bald Eagle, also known as the Haliaeetus Leucocephalus. Its status in New York, as well as its federal status, is said to be threatened. Before the 19th century, there were approximately 80 nesting sites that were used by the bald eagle. They were more often than not positioned in northern and western New York. Bald eagles prefer quiet areas where there is a plethora of water to offer them their main diet, fish. One of the many reasons for the population of bald eagles in New York are the hydroelectric plants. These plants provide the eagles with an appropriate winter habitat. However, humans are harassing these habitats. There are new developments being produced along preferred watercourses, and the amount of logging taking place in the western New York area has grown tremendously. Furthermore, the waters they acquire their source of food from are being contaminated with large quantities of pesticides caused by DDT. This results in extremely thin shells as well as infertile eggs. Fortunately, there was a ban on DDT’s in the 1970’s, which then allowed the eagles to produce young again. Sorry to say, it did not last exceptionally long seeing as humans were starting to take over their habitats. In 1976, efforts were made to bring about a breeding population, which became known as the New York State Bald Eagle Restoration Project. Within 13 years, 198 nestling bald eagles were collected from various areas across the United States, especially Alaska, and were scattered throughout New York. As of 1996, there were 29 breeding pairs and 37 fledged young throughout New York. Now it is up to the eagles to repopulate the areas from which they were eradicated. Another living creature that has been helped out here in New York is the sea otter. Ever since 1977, they have been protected as endangered species. Their lives were in terrible danger due to the constant need for their fur, since there were a great number of fur trades going on at the time. Therefore, they were victims of illegal killing. Additionally, they were victims of chronic oil spills. People have been coming together to help restore the population of the otters. Within the last six years, 211 otters have been released throughout New York at seven different sites, each site each receiving 20-30 otters. There is also another project to help the otters known as the New York River Otter Project. Thus far, the project has greatly succeeded in maintaining a restored population of otters. Young students have even donated towels for the captured otters to groom with. It is a great pleasure to know that America’s youth is getting involved in issues surrounding the environment nowadays. There is an urgent need to protect and conserve endangered wildlife throughout the world. So what can we do about it? To start, we can be more careful of the way we handle nature. Animals have homes just as humans do. We would not like it if our houses were ripped apart, or toxic chemicals were dumped on our property. Many humans unfortunately do not have any respect for the living creatures. We need to treat the animals as we would want to be treated. They are living souls just like the rest of us. Some of the wealthier parts of the world have been successful in bringing about the recovery of certain species and greater efforts have been made to curb the loss of species within the past 20 years. The decline of the black rhinos has been halted, and the species is slowly recovering. Several crocodile populations are now well managed and increasing through carefully regulated, sustainable harvesting programs. In some places, species have been reintroduced to parts of their former range, and are increasing. There is also a new method that scientists are trying to use for the conservation of endangered animals. Sperm freezing, artificial insemination and embryo transfer are routine methods in several domestic species and applications of these techniques may also be used in wild species. However, reproduction physiology is very specific and before any technique can successfully be applied, the main reproduction features must be examined in target species or at least in a nearby relative species. In conclusion, for the species crisis to be addressed effectively, far greater action is needed. These issues are being tackled slowly, but hopefully the human race will realize how important wildlife really is, and start supporting the endangered species. 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