Amazon Garden and RainforestSave the world, and learn about endangered animals!

The plight of turtles is highlighted by the study on sea turtles. These are endangered reptiles at the highest level, which means Near Extinction. It began with poaching for eggs many years back. This has been resolved with stricter laws and enforcement of the law. However, the problem has managed to escalate to an alarming level nevertheless.

These endangered reptiles are vulnerable to external forces on several counts. One, is from shrimp vessels which catch them accidentally. Making the shrimp vessels move further away helps, but not completely.  These sea turtles, also known as loggerheads, can swim across oceans and seas. They feed on crabs and snails, and can live for up to half a century.

As late as 2009, nine loggerhead populations have been placed under the banner of soon-to-be-extinct in spite of a 1978 ban on the capture, sale or distribution of sea turtles.

Other turtles that are under grave threat are the Pinta Island Tortoise,  Red River Giant Softshell, marine turtles like Hawksbill, Leatherback, Flatback, Green, Kemp’s Ridley, and Olive Ridley. One common cause for their potential extinction is over-hunting and the black market. Pollution and loss of natural habitat comprise the other two reasons for the demise of the endangered turtles.

The turtles are also at risk from natural predators like the ghost crabs, feral hogs, and raccoons who prey on the turtle hatchlings before they can safely return to the water. The mother turtle lays her eggs on the beach. She can produce as many as 100 eggs a one time, and bury them in the sand. Unfortunately, less than half are able to survive.

Should a hatchling manage to survive this initial attack, there will be multiple others in store.  Swimming in the deep water could cause them to get caught in fishing nets or die from hooks, dredges, traps, fishing gear, and ropes. These are just one threat from commercial fishing vessels. Thousands of turtles every year die just from commercial fishing boats.

These turtles are also at risk from polluted water and will die because of exposure to oil, pesticides, chemicals, heavy metals, gasoline, plastic, from emissions from coastal power plants, and from PCBs.

Finally, they can die because of the swiftly changing climate and water temperature, eroded beaches, artificial lights, loss of quiet beaches to lay eggs, and worst of all, hunting for turtles to sell or eat.

Reference: Illustrated Encyclopedia of endangered animals.

In spite of the fact that reptiles are considered to be the “tougher species,” there are some reptiles that have been included among the endangered species of animals. Just recently, because of the haphazard climate changes and weather conditions, lizards have begun to decrease in number. Many predict that they will soon be one of the endangered species of animals, especially if temperatures continue to rise.

Initially, the lizard started getting attention from the marked decrease in France and Mexico. As high as 12% of the lizard species disappeared, and were no longer seen basking in the sun. The extreme heat appeared to much for the, and their inability to stay in the shadows did not help either.

Africa is expected to follow soon with Madagascar predicted to be heavily hit with quite a number of lizards becoming an endangered species of animals.

What does this mean to us and the food chain?

Lizards are food for many animals like the snakes and birds. They, themselves, are predators and known to eat mosquitoes and other insects. With the drop in lizard population, the food chain will be disrupted, and snakes will look for food elsewhere.

However, lizards are not the only reptiles in danger of extinction. The Komodo Dragon, which is a reptile, is also in danger of being extinct because of human encroachment. The Komodo Dragon has a more common name, which is the land crocodile. They are found in Indonesia and are meat-eating reptiles. These animals are very quick on their feet, and can move on land, water, and even climb trees.

With the growing demand for the Komodo Dragon skin, a sharp rise in illegal trade reduced to population to less than 5,000. Unfortunately, they are hard to keep in captivity, and have specific habitat requirements. For instance, they need water, land, and slopes to survive. They can travel over a mile every day in search of food.  The main problem conservationists are most concerned with is that even with the current population, they estimate that only 350 out of the 5,000 are females capable of breeding.

Other endangered reptiles are the Chinese alligator, American crocodile, sea turtle, Monito Gecko, the San Francisco garter snake, Puerto Rican boa, and the Alabama red belly turtle, among others.