For million of years,extinction of species is part of the natural process of evolution. Obvious examples are the immense dinosaurs,the pterodactyls and the primitive mammals which extinction was believed due to the "attack" of asteroids from outer space that cause a dramatic environmental changes on earth. However,the extinctions of these magnificent ancient creatures were more or less natural,obeying the laws of evolution. When mankinds numbers started to grow rapidly in the past few decades,things had changed. Animals became extinct at a much faster rate or their numbers are reduced dramatically. At present,there are hundreds and thousands of mammals,birds,reptiles,amphibians,fish and invertebrate on the verge of extinction and some may not even reach the year 2000 unless some protecting measures are being carried out.

Extinction can be classified into two headings :- direct and indirect. By direct,it means persecution by humans including hunting,collecting birds and turtles's eggs,indiscriminate fishing. The indirect factors include loss of habitat due to deforestation,pollution,transformation of watercourses,draining of swamps and the use of pesticides in agriculture.

1. Pollution
- rapid pouring of waste products from industrial and household in the form of gases,liquids and solids into the natural environment cause the natural processes not able to break down these harmful substances on their own. In particular,sewage and the by-products of industry kill the life in watercourses,while the various gases such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide form clouds of smog over towns and cities with serious consequences for the health of people within that region
2. Oil Rug
- accidents occur when extracting oil both on land and sea by drilling wells cause severe threat to life form especially in the sea. Seabirds are usually drowned as the oil stucked on their feather restrict them to fly. Besides,they are often also poison when attempt to clear their feathers with their beaks
3. Hunting Trophies
- killing animals to win trophies
4. Animals with valuable fur
- killing fur-coated species for clothing. Examples :- predator such as leopard,tiger,snow leopard,cloudy leopard,ocelot,jaguar and cheetah. Other species include mink,fox,chinchilla etc
5. Whaling
- killing whales for meat and other purposes
6. Native with crocodile skins
- crocodile skin is highly prized by fashion industry in the production of wallets,bags and shoes
7. Slaughter of fur seal
- hunted for their valuable fur esp by the eskimo
8. Buffalo hunting
- useful sources for the Red Indian either to feed or clothing. The White colonies kill the buffalo for sporting
9. Eagle hunting
- victims of firearms and traps with poisoned meat cos' eagle was accused of destroying domestic animals
10. Bird catching
- caught in the net and kill for food or used as live game for hunting
11. Motorway through the Amazon
- seriously damage the natural environment without providing human any significent benefits
12. Expansion of the deserts
- misuse of land due to fire,deforestation and excess grazing,encourages deserts to spread
13. Forest Fires
- the majority of thousands of square metre of woodlands destroyed by fires annually were caused by human negligence,which in term threaten the life of animals in that region
14. Intensive agriculture
- large quantities of pesticides and fertilisers are poured onto crops in order to improve their yield. These chemicals are poisoned to human
15. Herbicides
- powerful poisons are used in order to kill unwanted weeds and crop-spraying is often done with the help of helicopter and light aircraft. In this way,the natural balance of vast agricultural areas is changed and many life forms are destroyed forever
16. Nuclear explosions
- take place underground,others in uninhabited parts of the planet,deserts and small islands in the pacific ocean. The explosion destroy the animal and plant life and also creating dangerous clouds of radioactive fallout
17. Killing animals for medicine use
- rhino are killed because their horns are highly valued for chinese medical use. For other species such as the elephants,they are not kill for food neither for medical purpose. Rather,their ivory are carved into beautiful noveties and use for decoration

Click on the links below to visit some of the organizations around the world dealing with conservation. Perhaps,you can contribute some of your effort either by adopting an animals,doing volunteer job or make some donation

• IUCN - The World Conservation Union
• World Parrot Trust
• World Fisheries Trust
• World Wildlife Fund in US
• World Wildlife Fund in Canada
• World Wildlife Fund Global Network
• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
• Wildlife Conservation Society
• Biodiversity Forum
• Australian Koala Foundation
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• Australian Conservation Foundation
• International Rhino Foundation
• International Crane Foundation - Adopt a Crane
• Marine Mammal Center - Adopt a seal

• List of Extinct Species
• List of Endangered Species
• List of Species out of danger