Extinction

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was passed when the U.S. Congress acknowledged that “various species of fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States have been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development” (“Endangered Species Act of 1973”). This congressional action has made the killing and eradication of any species illegal across the United States and its territories if said species is protected by the U.S. Federal Government. The Endangered Species Act has…

Learning is the involvement of acquiring new knowledge, skills, and responses to stimuli that results in a change of state. Learning can occur in a magnitude of different ways that leads to leading a habitual way of life, and the change in behavior as a result of experience. The science behind learning comes from understanding how the brain works and the different autonomic systems of the brain. For example, habits and learning occurs through electrical signals through the synapse occurring more…

Upon walking into a zoo, to the left is a metaled, glassed cage filled with coal- black and white, fluffy, giant pandas. Everything in life seems alright for them, but what about their family members that are in the wild? What about the panda bears that are still out in the wild endangered? Ailuropoda melanoleucas, or commonly known as giant pandas, are rarely found in the wild. East of the Tibetan plateau in South China in a mixed broadleaf forest is home to the giant panda. There are only…

Have you ever watched the movie “Madagascar”? Do you want to know what those predators are in the jungle that always tortured the lemurs? The fossa which is pronounced (foo-saw) lives in the Madagascar which is an island in Africa. The fossa is a native species and is the largest carnivore and scariest carnivore in Madagascar. The Fossa of the madagascar is an endangered creature that will someday become extinct, it has many survival skills that help it survive in the wild, and other…

sperm are often found in inbred feline populations, creating a deleterious effect on their survival. In the 1980s the Florida panther, Puma concolor cory, had been reduced to a very small and inbred population that appeared to be on the brink of extinction (Benson, 2011). The release of females from another subspecies into that area helped the situation by bringing in new mates for the males, but this problem is also currently occurring with the puma population in Southern California. The pumas…

The scientific order Sirenia, which is classified as marine mammals, has only two extant families. The first family contains the manatees (Trichechidae). In this family, there are three different species which are the West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus), African manatees (Trichechus senegalensis), and Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis). The second family (Dugongidae), contains only one species which is the dugong (Dugong dugon). This paper will focus on manatees. On average, manatees…

used successfully in zoos before. The goal of captive breeding is for endangered species to establish a captive population large enough to be stable and genetically healthy. There are species of animals that captive breeding has saved animals from extinction, for instance, Przewalski’s horses, California condors and Spix’s macaws. Animals that are a part of a global breeding program have been successfully saved such as the golden loin tamarin, the black-footed ferret and Guam rail. Zoos that…

For many patrons, going to the zoo is simply a fun and a somewhat educational experience. However, many zoo goers are unaware of the ethical considerations of keeping animals in captivity solely for entertainment purposes. As the world population of many species has begun to decline, many zoos have attempted to capture animals for breeding purposes and re-release them into the wild. The success of these “breed and release” programs are being researched for their ability to help to establish a…

you ever heard of the West African Black Rhinoceros? As of 2011 this species is extinct and society could have prevented it (Gerkens). The species is thought to have died off, because of poaching, but taking precautions could have prevented their extinction. This is just one example of Earth’s deterioration with irreversible consequences that could have been averted. Societies use Earth and all of its resources and expects no repercussions. The environmental crisis is real and needs to be…

ghosts of Drovers Cave: A reintroduction feasibility study of captive-born ghost bats (Macroderma gigas saturata) into the wild. Alba Arteaga Claramunt 1. Introductory statement Almost a quarter of all bat species in the world are in danger of extinction and the ghost bat, Macroderma gigas, is on this list (Dobson, 1880; Ruffell, Guilbert & Parsons, 2009a). There are less than 10,000 ghost bats living in Australia and only 1,000 of them remain in Western Australia (Hutson, Mickleburgh & Racey,…