Sharks
More than 70million sharks are killed each year according to the World Wildlife Fund. For many, it’s a slow death by drowning once their fins have been savagely hacked off for the shark fin soup so popular in parts of Asia. Join campaigns such as FINished with FINS to protest against the trade.
Javan Rhinos
There are just 60 surviving in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia. Until the early 20th century they existed from India and throughout Southeast Asia but poaching, disease and invasive species have pushed it to the edge of extinction. Read about the translocate program at worldwildlife.org.
Elephants
Not seen The Ivory Game yet? Watch it. A highly emotional film that tackles head-on the problem faced: 150,000 African elephants killed in the last five years for the multi-billion dollar ivory industry. Traders in this “white gold” actually WANT the extinction of elephants. Do your bit and head to the ivorygame.com to see how you can help to stop it.
Orangutan
These men of the forest (as it means in Malay) share 96.4{d2c05350095ed942d62ca1635aad234a702e9575e5f9632e6c89e76dec25dfbf} of our DNA yet how are they treated? The pet trade is a huge problem – each orangutan reaching Taiwan, as many as 3-5 additional animals die – as is the loss of their habitat to make way for palm oil plantations.
Great Barrier Reef
Earlier this year, some scientists warned that the Reef, the world’s largest living structure was now in a “terminal stage.” Two thirds of shallow coral have been severely affected by bleaching (caused by global-warming induced rises to sea surface temps) in the last 18months with little chance of recovery.
