Posted by admin | Posted in Endangered Animals | Posted on
Tags: endangered animals, komodo dragons, lizards
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.