Endangered Species
Aside from those plants and animals which we have permitted to become extinct, there are currently a multitude of life forms listed on the endangered and critically endangered species listings. The Red List updated in 2000, contains listings of plants and animals which are in danger of extinction.
The reasons for the endangerment, in almost 80% of cases are encroachment on the animals habitat by humanity, in several cases the animals face a specific human threat.
It behooves us, as thinking, feeling members of humanity, no matter what our beliefs, to acquaint ourselves with this information, and to take whatever small steps we may take to assist in the pursuit of life for those things which are not able to take a stand for themselves.
The loss of one species may not directly affect you. It may not affect your children.
It does affect the race of man, in its entirety.
A case in point is the Dodo Bird, long extinct. Recently it was discovered that one of the species of tree, which lives on the island that the Dodo inhabited was not proliferating, and was also faced with extinction.
Eventually it became clear that the dodo's digestive tract had activated the seed when it passed through, and that the loss of the bird, endangered, to the point of extinction, the tree as well.
Scientists did find a way to preserve and propagate the tree, but the lesson we learn is this.
No species is autonomous, we depend upon others for our very survival.
We cannot afford to permit wanton use of our resources, and will not survive it with impunity. All of life is a circle.
A photo gallery of those animals and plants which are Extinct Species, as well as one for those which are Endangered Species has been provided for reference.
Some of the images which appear are used with permission from Imagine Animals.Com We thank them very much for showing us" the faces of extinction," and ask that you visit the gallery, which permits free images for use on web site and personal pages, as well as education.
Photographer Craig Kasnoff, who has donated the images is also the power behind the Endangered Earth Projects which are well worth your time to view.
There are various ways to assist in global ecology, among them, direct assistance, conservation of resources, to make deforestation and habitat loss unnecessary, or donations of time and/or money.
IN 1999 alone, the United States government classed 935 species of animal or plant as being in danger of extinction. Living breathing pieces of our world such as the Florida panther, the Key deer, the San Joaquin kit fox, the northern spotted owl, the chinook salmon, the Karner blue butterfly, the snail darter, as well as florals such as the Hawaiian nehe and the clover lupine. Internationally many hundred more were added.
The list is brought to us by virtue of data from governments, private groups, and research institutions in nearly every country in the world.
Some of those plants and animals which are endangered, are presented here. Please note that this does not comprise a full listing, but rather, less than one tenth of the list in its entirety
Animals and plants are becoming extinct at a rate of about a thousand a year..
Where possible, links to read further about the animal have been included.
Those criteria which are used to class the animals are available on the Red List Criteria Site
It is also possible to learn more from the Endangered Species Bulletin, as well as the World Wildlife Federation
Please take the time to read the list, and to use whatever resources you may have to make a small difference.
Extinct Species
Below you will find a list of those plants and animals which we, as a race have harried to, or permitted to become extinct.
Glance at the photos, read the history, and decide for yourselves if we can permit what has happened to these in the past, to occur with the others, in the future.
Blessings.
- 1970- Blue Pike
Prey to commercial and personal sport fishing, billions of tons of this Lake Erie fish were harvested per year, until the last sighting which occurred in 1970. - 1952-Caribbean Monk Seal
First sighted by Columbus in 1493, the East Indian Seal had cruised the tropical waters of the West Indies for thousands of years. Easily caught, and prey to commercial hunters, the last recorded animal was killed in 1952 - 1916-Carolina Parakeet (Conuropis carolinensis)
Beautiful brightly colored parrot, the only native to the United States, was killed off with over hunting for meat, feathers, sport and pets, as well as being hunted without mercy by farmers who considered them pests. The last parakeet died in 1916 in an Ohio zoo.
- 1987-Dusky Seaside Sparrow
black and white shorebird lived on the east coast of Florida, with its loss due entirely to loss of habitat after encroachment on its territories of nesting by humanity - 1852- Great Auk
Black and white feathered, known as the original penguin, the auk has long been huntedand heavily exploited for meat, feathers, eggs and young. Records show a sea captain using a colony to provision his boat,taking about 100,000 eggs in one day. The young were used as bait. Thought to be extinct in 1844, when the last breeding birds were killed a single bird was sighted off of Newfoundland in 1852. There have been no further sightings. - Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis principalis)
Large, mostly black bird with white stripes and a brilliant red crest, it also had an ivory bill. These birds were monogamous, mating for life, ranged over much of the Southeast United States. By 1968 only six birds were found in the U.S. No further U.S sightings were been made until the spring of 2000, when a pair of birds were purportedly sighted in Louisiana - 1875-Labrador Duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius)
Small black to brownish sea ducks, the Labradors ranged along the Atlantic coast. The last Labrador duck was shot and killed in 1875 - 1932- Heath Hen
native to the North Easterly United States, similar to a prairie hen, they were hunted, appeared to be recovering, and were virtually wiped out by predators and habitat loss. - 1914- Passenger Pigeon
Their nesting colonies in northeastern forests could be 20 miles across, with their numbers in the billions, yet today, not one is left, due to uncontrolled hunting for meat. - 1936- Tasmanian tiger-wolf
Native to Australia, they were beautiful animals, which were sadly considered to be too predatory. They were poisoned, or hunted, with the remainder unable to compete for food with the introduction of the dingo.
Endangered List: Animal
I have set the animal, replitilian, insect and bird, and water life, into a single alphabetized list, in the interest of more readily available data for reading.
Please note these are not proper classifications.
- African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)
- Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
- African wild ass (Equus africanus)
- Ascension frigatebird (Fregata aquila)
- Amsterdam albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis)
- Alabama cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni)
- Apache trout (Oncorhynchus apache)
- Alaotra grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus)
- Bearded wood-partridge (Dendrortyx barbatus)
- Black-faced lion tamarin (Leontopithecus caissara)
- Black racer (Alsophis ater)
- Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
- Blue whale (Balenoptera musculus)
- Bulmer’s fruit bat (Aproteles bulmerae)
- California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
- Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
- Cyclades blunt-nosed viper (Macrovipera schweizeri)
- Delta green ground beetle (Elaphrus viridis)
- Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis
- Fin whale (Balenoptera physalus)
- Forest owlet (Athene blewitti)
- Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica)
- Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus)
- Giant ibis (Pseudibgis gigantea)
- Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
- Great Plains Wolf (Canis Lupus Nubilus)
- Giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas)
- Golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus)
- Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
- Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi)
- Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
- Hairy-eared dwarf lemur (Allocebus trichotis)
- Hunter’s antelope (Damaliscus hunteri)
- Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)
- Marine otter (Lutra felina)
- Manatee (Trichechus manatus)
- Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)
- Northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii)
- Northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
- Painted terrapin (Callagur borneoensis)
- Pennsylvania cave amphipod (Crangonyx dearolfi)
- Purple-winged ground-dove (Claravis godefrida)
- Pygmy chimpanzee/Bonobo (Pan paniscus)
- Red wolf (Canis rufus)
- Roosevelt’s giant anole (Anolis roosevelti)
- Saint Croix ground lizard (Ameiva polops)
- Sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus)
- Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis
- Silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch)
- Snow leopard (Uncia uncia)
- Sumatra water shrew (Chimarrogale sumatrana)
- Tiger (Panthera tigris)
- Walia ibex (Capra walia)
- Western swamp turtle (Pseudoemydura umbrina)
- White-eared night-heron (Gorsachius magnificus)
- Zapata wren (Ferminia cerverai)
- Whooping crane (Grus americana)
Endangered Plant LifeAgain, in the interest of ready access the plants are not grouped according to species, but in alphabetic order, inclusive of land and water plants.
- Arizona agave (Agave arizonica)
- Black lace cactus (Echinocereus reichenbachii var. albertii)
- Clay-loving wild-buckwheat (Eriogonum pelinophilum)
- Clay’s hibiscus (Hibiscus clayi)
- Dwarf bear-poppy (Arctomecon humilis)
- Egyptian papyrus (Cyperus papyrus hadidii)
- Fountain thistle (Cirsium fontinale var. fontinale)
- Four-petal pawpaw (Asimina tetramera)
- Fragrant prickly-apple (Cereus eriophorus var. fragrans)
- Gentian pinkroot (Spegelia gentianoides)
- Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
- Green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila)
- Na‘u or Hawaiian gardenia (Gardenia brighamii)
- Horseshoe fern (Marattia salicina nor)
- Island barberry (Berberis pinnata insularis)
- Madeira net-leaf orchid (Goodyera macrophylla)
- Mancos milk-vetch (Astragalus humillimus)
- Mellblom’s spider orchid (Calenia hastata)
- Northern wild monkshood (Aconitum noveboracense)
- Okeechobee gourd (Cucurbita okeechobeensis okeechobeensis)
- Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus)
- Short-leaved rosemary (Conradina brevifolia)
- Silver gum (Eucalyptus crenulata)
- Smooth coneflower (Echinacea laevigata)
- Soft-leaved paintbrush (Castilleja mollis)
- Star cactus (Astrophytum asterias)
- Stebbins’ morning-glory (Calystegia stebbinisii)
- Texas prairie dawn-flower (Hmenoxys texana)
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On Life and Living
There is noone in the world who does not know of the events of September 11th 2001. It was my birthday, which I had anticipated spending with those I care for, doing things I loved. Thank the Lady, that is what I did, when so many did not.
Images of smoke pouring from an icon, grieving families with photos of missing members, the devastation of a city, are ingrained in all of our minds.
The hatred which engendered such actions is beyond the scope of most of our minds, thankfully.
There is little that we can say, or do, to ease the ache of this country, or to compensate it for the loss of innocence.
OUr dreams have been torn, but not shattered.
Where love, and faith live, so also lives hope. Believe in your Gods, and believe in yourselves. Permit them to lend strength, and heal the bitterness that has touched us.
We've been shaken to our core, been touched by hatred such as most of us cannot imagine the depths of, dealt by someone who does not know us.
Please please, don't permit that hatred to become a contagion.
Those who are of Arab descent, of Muslim faith, were in most cases born here, or immigrated here because they love the country, love the people, and for the most part, love the life they lead here.
In the name of whatever God or Goddess holds your hearts, permit them peace and light in their own land.
Wiccans understand hatred and condemnation, we know pain.
When I embraced my Goddess, and held my first circle, I was excited, thrilled to the core to be a part of the Earth, and the universe around me.
My life partner, who is Christian, turned away, told me in a voice that dripped with ice, that he was leaving, and would return when I was finished, since this was not his idea of a faith.
I understand pain, because of faith.
Muslims, no matter their race, are entitled to their faith.
Our country gives them the right to that freedom. Freedom of religion means freedom for ALL religions.
Those we practice, and those we do not practice.
There is evil around us, but it is not in a race, or a faith.
It is in a man or woman, in an act or a deed, which is not confined to a path or country.
It is not Muslim, or Arab, or Iraqian that we should decry.
It is evil on all avenues.
Remember this please, and print it as indelibly in your minds as the images of the towers burning.
Harsh words, words of predjudice, whether from African to Caucasian, American to Arabian, Christian to Wiccan, Druid to Muslim, it is ALL bigotry..
It is always wrong, and it is ALWAYS ugly.
In service to the light.
Nemetona
Credits/Thank You's
- Craig Kasnoff and Imagine Animals
for the images and information gleaned from the pages of his incredible sites - World Wildlife Federation
for the links and assistance via email on locating images of extinct species - Wolf Country.Net
For valuable information on one of our most interesting world resources - North American Wolf Association
For the amazing work, and stories of courage. They offer hope and inspiration to anyone who is, or wants to be involved with wildlife rescue.
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Notes
95% of the graphics here are of my own design, though about seven are used with permission from other places.
There are images here also that are my personal photography efforts, while most are gleaned from other pages and used with public license or permission.
If anything which is here is your domain, Please please make it known to me. I do not wish to misrepresent these pages in any way, and will gladly remove it, or negotiate for its use.
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