When you live on the edge, you are always in danger of falling. And when an organism lives on the edge, it is in the danger of falling. Falling where? Falling into the world of extinction. This is the fate that awaits many of our animal and plant life today.
Extinction is the state of complete disappearance of species from the face of the earth. Before a species reaches this state, it undergoes the state of being an endangered species. A species may be classified as endangered if its number becomes very small. And before a species is classified as endangered, it may be classified first as a threatened species. A threatened species is still abundant in number; however, the decrease in their population is so fast that they may decrease in their population is so fast that they may soon be considered as endangered.
Whether a species is threatened or endangered, it is still in the danger of becoming extinct if activities of humans that disrupt the lives of these organisms will continue. One such activity is the continued hunting of the organism. There are various reasons why organisms are being hunted. Take the dugongs as an example. There are fishermen who really fish for this because the meat is quite in demand in other countries. If they get to sell this animal to interested buyers, they earn a lot of money. Our Philippine tarsier is also being hunted because it is cute and cuddly that people want to keep it as their pets. Some endangered birds are also in the same boat as the tarsiers. Seahorses are also being fished out of our seas. They are wanted because they are being used in Chinese medicine and sometimes used also as aquarium pets and paraphernalia.
Other species that are being hunted are the sea turtle, tamaraw, Philippine eagle, talking myna, and bleeding heart pigeons. Some flora has also been included in the long list of our endangered species. The list includes pitcher plant, aloe or sabila, all species of tree ferns, and all species of cactus and camia. These are only some of the popular flora and fauna that are included in the list of the Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). There are many others that are included in the list.
Most of our endangered species live in the forests and seas. With the increasing population and the industrialization of the country, these places are slowly being plundered by greedy people. Forests are being depleted of trees and plants because of the need for more land. Seas are being poisoned by pollution. Coral reefs are being destroyed. With all these happening to the habitats of these species, death will surely become the fate of the organisms living in them. With the loss of their known abode, a place where they are suited to survive, they will eventually die and their kinds become extinct.
With our long list of endangered and threatened species, we realize that the Philippines was once rich in natural resources. The country was home to diverse varieties of plants and animals. The richness even extended to our seas. The coral reefs served as habitats for innumerate marine organisms. If we continue destroying our remaining lands, seas and coral reefs, there might come a time when Homo sapiens will join the list of endangered species.
By Alma Renee Pavia
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