Endangered Wildlife

	廖若庭, 楊淑閔, 蒲詩薏, 陳俊憲
	Endangered Wildlife
	Over many thousand of years, humans have become the most powerful living beings on the earth. We must remember that we share the earth with other living creatures.
	Because of humans’ activities, there are about four threats to wildlife. First of all, the pollution. Though our industries have developed prosperously, chemical poisons spread across the land and through the ocean by wind and rain. Some poison take years to do their damage. The peregrine falcon almost disappeared because of DDT, which remains a long time. It enters the food chain and becomes more and more concentrated as larger animals eat smaller ones.
	Second, more and more wildlife loses their original habitat because many companies use their land for building, thus have destroyed much of their habitat. For example, in rain forests, many plants disappear. When a plant disappears, animals that depend on it directly for food or shelter also suffer. Third, many people in Asia believed that powdered rhino horn is powerful medicine. A single rhino horn brings a poacher as much as $1125. The profits are so high that rhino hunting continues in spite of laws against it. Many other animals also provide medicines. Finally, when Europeans first saw the animals of Australia, they were astounded. The animals didn’t look like those at home. Australian animals soon got some surprises. The settlers brought in new species that competed for food and space. The newcomers quickly multiplied, upsetting the balance among native species.
	All lives are interrelated and many of our actions have a negative effect on the environment. We must know that one way to solve the problem is to protect and preserve at the same time reduce pollution. Everyone should try to conserve our natural resources, and try to protect, not destroy our wildlife. It is a mistake to think that our earth is indestructible.

	Word Count: 311