Catastrophic Reduction of Biodiversity

Extermination and destruction of giraffes

Over 24,000 species are on the brink of extinction out of the total of 85600 species that have been included in the Red List of Threatened Species over the past decades. The International Union for Conservation of Nature call the following reasons for this catastrophic situation: poaching, local armed conflicts and wars, expansive agriculture and the destruction of entire ecosystems. Giraffes, these good-natured spotted giants that are not afraid of people, are endangered in the north of Kenya, in Somalia, Ethiopia and Southern Sudan. They are both served as food, which is illegal, and get shot just for fun.

There is statistic data that shows that the giraffe population has gone done by almost 40% in the last 30 years. While in 1985, the number of these gracious and amazing cloven-hoofed animals, the tallest land animals in the world, was estimated to be between 152,000 and 163,000, it does not exceed 98,000.

Earlier, the Red List of Threatened Species of animals, plants and mushrooms referred to giraffes as the least threatened species. Now, they are referred to as vulnerable animals.

The African Gray Parror is part of the same category. These birds, whose Latin name is Psittacus erithacus, are the most famous parrots for their ability to imitate human speech. The main reason why this species is endangered is people’s desire to have an exotic pet. What is more, African Gray Parrots tend to be sold on the black market. Since 1975, the total export of these birds was 1,3 million in 18 countries. This makes the African Gray the most sold bird in the world.

African Grays have become quite rare or totally non-existent in Benin, Burundi, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Tanzania, and Togo. It is important to remember that parrots are the fastest disappearing bird species in the world.

Extermination and destruction of Grey parrots

Sources: IUCN, BBC, NewsCom, vkdoc.ru, and other sources.


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