ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES IN ANTARCTICA

The main endangered animal species in Antarctica are essentially aquatic animals, majority of which have been protected from exploitation by legislations. Just like in every other animal colony, some Antarctica wildlife, majority of which are marine dwellers, are endangered because of over exploitation, poaching, pollution and predators. The table below shows the endangered animal species in Antarctica.

Though the Arctic region, just like the Antarctica, is essentially covered with snow, yet there are different species of animals that abound there and those that seasonally visit as migrants. It is pertinent to know that just a few species of animals such as walrus, bearded seal, ringed seal, spotted seal as well as polar bear, caribou, bowhead whale, musk oxen, wolves among others are endangered here. Kudos to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a range that has sheltered a good number of animal species from extinction and also shelters more than 180 species of birds alongside other animal such as Dall sheep, Musk oxen, moose, wolves, porcupine, etc. However, the issue of global warming brought about by climate change, pollution, petroleum exploration and exploitation still endanger the animals in the free world.

The list of the endangered animal species in the Asian world is as large as the continent itself. There are about a thousand endangered animal species in the Asian continent from Kazakhstan to Siberia and from Russia to Indonesia. Some of these animals like Siberian crane, orang-utan, dragon, white-handed gibbon, jumping spider, birdwing butterfly, as well as Indian rhinoceros, Malayan sun bear, monkey-eating eagle, giant panda, Asian elephant, caracal among others are endangered.

Agile gibbon, Altai weasel, white-toothed shrew, oryx, tahr, macaque and the golden cat are on the Red List; others in this category are the Asian wild ass, Asiatic black bear, Asiatic lion, Asiatic Short-tailed shrew, babirusa, Bactrian camel, cuscus, Brandt's hamster, langur, pangolin, as well as dhole, wallaby, dwarf bharal, Eastern long-beaked echidna, pipistrelle, jerboa, bison and the list goes on.

For the purpose of this study, few of these endangered animals will be discussed.

• Orang-utan


Though the population of orang-utan on the continent of Asia has declined greatly in recent times, yet there are two exclusively extant species native to Indonesia and Malaysia. These species roam the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. The Indonesia’s western island of Sumatra is a home to handful Bohorok Orang-utan sheltered in the Gunung Leuser National Park. An estimated 5,000 wild orang-utans live in the park. Orang-utans are arboreal animals and they are among the most intelligent of all primates.

The Sumatra orang-utans are considered more critically endangered. Threats to them include habitat destruction, poaching and illegal pet trade.

[Type the sidebar content. A sidebar is a standalone supplement to the main document. It is often aligned on the left or right of the page, or located at the top or bottom. Use the Drawing Tools tab to change the formatting of the sidebar text box.