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Did you know that 1789 species of animals are protected by the ESA (Endangered Species Act) because they are either endangered or threatened to be endangered? This is a serious problem. Many animals have become extinct already because we let it happen. We can't do this anymore. The main problem for these animals is us, humans. That's right, humans hunt animals so they can sell their fur, tusks, skin or whatever and the problem is humans don't know where to stop. We hunted these animals into endangerment. Some animals have already been hunted into extinction. Animals we never had a chance to learn a lot about. We need to think about this from the perspective of the animals. How would you feel getting hunted because you were valuable to some species higher than you? First, it's someone you don't know too much, then it's your parents, then, before you know it, all your friends and family are dead, and they're coming for you next. That is why we need to get these animals out of endangerment. Here, we focus in on four endangered species so you can know a little more about them and what they have to go through on a regular basis just to survive. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ **__Penguins__** Penguins are but one of many species of endangered animals who are presented every day with the risk of death. Out of the seventeen known species of penguins, ten are endangered. Did you know that tens of thousands of penguins die every year? What is the main source of their deaths, you ask? One simple answer: oceanic pollution. Oceanic pollution is a huge threat for many species of penguins, being that they spend much of their lives in the ocean. Fishing nets that fishermen just drop into the ocean often trap penguins causing them to be trapped underwater and, even though they can stay under for a long time, still causes them to suffocate. Oil spills are also risking penguins' way of life. Very often, penguins will go out to the ocean, ready for a normal day of searching for food, and then they get stuck in our disgusting oil. Now, although pollution is a big problem for penguins, it is not the only one. One of the main predators of penguins are seals. Over-fishing from fishermen causes food shortages for these black-and-white creatures. The rising sea level due to the polar ice caps melting is also a big problem for these tuxedoed birds. Rockhopper penguin populations plummeted from 1.6 million mating pairs to only 100,000 mating pairs in only 40 years, and scientists believe the sea level rising to be the cause of it. These majestic sea-birds are wonderful animals and we can't let them go extinct! media type="youtube" key="11xs9mFKObs" height="315" width="420" align="center"

**__The Red Panda__** One of the cutest animals (and most endangered) on our list is the amazing Red Panda. These animals have a life span of eight years and are not even four feet long from head to tail! The pandas,that strongly resemble a fox like shape, live in the country of India. They are nocturnal creatures like bats and raccoons. Also they have large wrists to serve as thumbs. The innocent and cute Red Panada below, like most of family, is living in captivity to save it from the dangers in India. On the endangerment scale these animals are placed as vulnerable. Which means they are endangered but less endangered than most other endangered species on the scale. However just beacuse these animals aren't as endangered as Polar Bears we should still treat them with equal respect and help to ensure that this beautiful creation does not become a myth and legend. **__Humpback Whales__** Humpback whales are one of the most amazing species of animals in the ocean. Many people know of these whales because of their magical whale songs they sing. Scientists do not know why they do this, but they believe it is a way to locate a mate. Did you know that the Humpback whale species faced near extinction in the early 20th century with only 700 individuals left? Many people wanted to hunt humpback whales because they were so valuable at the time. It was easy for everyone to hunt them too, for they swim in 80% of the world's oceans (everywhere except lakes and the Arctic Ocean). Because the population got so low, the Whaling Commission placed a ban on hunting these majestic creatures in 1966. Since then, the population has increased to 20,000 individuals. We are very lucky to not have lost this species of whales, for they are quite fascinating. They can grow to be as big as 50-60 feet long! That's about the size of an average school bus! They may be big creatures, but they only feed on small ocean animals, such as shrimp, plankton, and even small fish. There is still much we don't know about these amazing whales, so it is very fortunate that they didn't go extinct. **__Polar Bears__** The great beast known as the Polar Bear, their Latin name is //Ursus maritimus.// The Polar bear has a hard time hunting do to the low population of animals in the regions of Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway makes hunting for the polar bear hard work. Polar Bears are always scavenging for food so they can actually swim up to 60 miles in a day. The theory of global warming is the number one reason that polar bears are extinct. This theory is causing their habitats disappear right before our eyes.The Polar Bear is also a very large creature with a male weighing from 750 to nearly 1200 pounds, much like americans! Cited from polarbearsinternationals.com written by a collection of scientists. **__What can you do to help?__** With so many endangered animals, some people may seem over whelmed as to how or which animals to help. Well helping an endangered animal is as easy as donating money to the charity of your choosing so they can properly spend the donations to help these animals. Also if your confused which animals to help, just help them all! Even 10 cents may be able to help save an animals life. If you are a "Take Charge" kind of person, you may even travel to these locations to study the animal of your choosing. Then you can understand how to help these animals and maybe even start a charity yourself. Remember every single action counts to help preserve this great nations wildlife and habitats! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There are many reasons why we chose to do our site on endangered animals. For one, we all really like animals a lot. The ones that are endangered are usually the ones that we know the least about because there aren't enough of those animals to get a ton of research on them. We strongly believe that people should know about this problem, because this isn't just a problem in one area. This is happening in countries worldwide. Endangered animals could be living in your neighborhood, but you don't know it because there aren't a lot of them and you never see them. The problem is that most of these animals are endangered because we, humans, hunted these animals until there were nearly none left to hunt. Think about it, how would you like it if some giant panda came into your house and killed your family so it could sell their flesh and bones to another panda? You wouldn't. That is why we chose to do our site on endangered animals.

media type="custom" key="12153680" **__Sources:__** [] [] [] [] Les Line, //__The Shrinking World of Penguins__//, National Wildlife Jim Morrison, __//The Incredible Shrinking Worl of Polar Bear//__, National Wildlife National Geographic, __//Red Panda//__, National Geographic National Geographic, __//Humpback Whale//__, National Geographic