ANKITH MENON

ANKIT BHANGE SHIRISH BANDSODE

SIDDHESH PATIL
SHUBHAM NIMKAR SRI SAI KALYAN

An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. An endangered species is usually a taxonomic species, but may be another evolutionary significant unit. The World Conservation Union (IPCN) has calculated the percentage of endangered species as 40 percent of all organisms based on the sample of species that have been evaluated through 2006. Many nations have laws offering protection to these species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves. Only a few of the many species at risk of extinction actually make it to the lists and obtain legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or potentially will become extinct, without gaining public notice.

EXTINCTINCTION
In Biology and ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a species or group of taxa. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species (although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point). Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "re-appears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence.

Species become extinct or endangered for a number of reasons, but the primary cause is the destruction of habitat by human activities (see Environment). As species evolve, most adapt to a specific habitat or environment that best meets their survival needs. Without this habitat the species may not survive. Pollution, drainage of wetlands, conversion of shrub lands to grazing lands, cutting and clearing of forests, urbanization, oral-reef destruction, and road and dam construction have destroyed or seriously damaged and fragmented available habitats. Habitat fragmentation, the isolation and division of habitats into smaller areas, has caused plant and animal species in the remaining islands of habitat to lose contact with other populations of their own kind. This reduces their genetic diversity and makes them less adaptable to environmental or climatic change. These small populations are highly vulnerable to extinction. For some species, the fragmented habitats become too small to support a sustainable population. .

Pollution is another important cause of extinction. Toxic chemicalsespecially chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)have become concentrated in food webs, the interconnected food chains that circulate energy through an ecosystem. These toxic chemicals strongly affect species near the top of the food chain. Both DDT and PCBs interfere with the calcium metabolism of birds, causing soft-shelled eggs and malformed young. PCBs also impair reproduction in some carnivorous animals. Water pollution and increased water temperatures have wiped out endemic species of fish in many habitats. Oil spills destroy birds, fish, and mammals, and may contaminate the ocean floor for many years after the event. Acid rain, the toxic result of extreme air pollution

In an effort to protect global biodiversity and encourage the study, restoration, and sound management of endangered species, the IUCN and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) maintain a global list of endangered and vulnerable animal species called the Red List. A framework for international conservation efforts, the Red List database assesses the status of, and threats to, animal species worldwide. To add to this and other biodiversity databases, nongovernmental organizations such as Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund conduct periodic rapid assessments (focused, intensive evaluations) of biodiversity in various hotspotsregions like Madagascar that are both rich in endemic species and environmentally threatened. . . . . . .

. . . . . Efforts to save endangered species also include captive breeding of severely endangered species later released in the wild to restore or add to a breeding population (a population of individuals capable of reproducing). Due to breeding in captivity (such as in zoos and specialized animal clinics), the number of known California condors grew from 27 in 1987 to 157 by 2000, including 52 living in the wild in southern California; the number of whooping cranes rose from 21 worldwide in 1941 to at least 180 in the wild and 130 in captivity in 1999; and the American peregrine falcon has been reintroduced into the wild in eastern North America where it had become extinct as a breeding population. In 1999 scientists successfully transplanted an embryo from an African wildcat into the womb of a domestic cat.

CONCLUSION FOR US IS THAT WE SHOULD TRY AS MUCH AS WE CAN TRY TO PREVENT THESE ENDANGERED ANIMALS FROM BECOMING EXTINCT THAT PLAY A MAJOR ROLE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OUR LIFE. WE THE HUMANS ARE WHO THAT MADE THESEANIMALS ENDANGERED AND WE HUMANS ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN PREVENT THESE ENDANGERED ANIMALS FROM FURTHER EXTINCTION.