Essay On Protecting Endangered Species

Protecting Endangered Species
Not all endangered species are protected by laws. In fact, in the United States, for every species protected by the Endangered Species Act there are ten other endangered species that are not protected (“Endangered Animals,” n.d.). Endangered species all over the world are becoming extinct, because they are not protected. Endangered species should be protected, because they play an important role in their ecosystems, humans learn from them, they influence humans in many beneficial ways, and for future generations.
Causes
There are many reasons why species are endangered. Some extinction is natural, but the level of extinction that is happening today is not normal or natural. Most causes of endangerment are related

Inbreeding lowers the immune system of the species and makes the species less resistant to disease and pollution. Therefore, more individuals in the species will die from diseases and pollution, which can lead to the endangerment or extinction of the species. The loss of genetic diversity also affects the species’ ability to adapt to changes in their environments, such as climate change.
Overexploitation. Overexploitation is when a species is being killed faster than it can naturally recover. Some examples of this are overhunting and overfishing. When overexploitation occurs, the species is being killed at a rate higher than its reproduction rate, so its population slowly declines until the species goes extinct.
When humans expand their housing and other developments into a species’ territory, such as wolves, the species tends to attack domestic animals and humans more frequently. This causes humans to react by killing the species to protect their animals and themselves (“Endangered Animals,” n.d.). If humans live closer to a species, they are more likely to see them and worry about their safety, therefore making them more likely to hunt the