It's time we give something back to Gaia

I've always considered Nature as God's greatest gift to us. A lot of our needs come from nature, it provides for us endlessly, but we became too greedy. It's sad to think that not many people realise how generous Mother Earth has always been to us. But wee took too much, and forgot to give something back. The Earth is beautiful, precious even. It's our only home. Having said this, it reminds me of one of my favourite adverts, "Take only what you need, it's not like we can go shopping somewhere else".

I check the Wild Aid website as regularly as I can, and each time it would break my heart because I want to do so many things to help the organization but at the moment there is not much I can do but pray and admire people who can and do help the organizations that promotes Nature Conservation and public awareness that the beauty of the earth is not gonna be here forever without help from men. I know the world has many problems: starvation, wars, malnutrition, high rate of death especially in Africa. To me these are all heart-breaking, and in the future I will see it for myself, how bad it is and hopefully be able to help the children in Africa in any way I can. But the truth is, there are more people who are aware of these things than those who are aware or even cared to know about wildlife in danger, and I was born with the softest spot for nature especially animals. People often tell me, to follow my heart and I would be happy. Well, my heart is in taking care of the animals, especially those ones that are helpless, and cannot protect themselves and their species from the cruelty and greed of men. I know in my heart that I will do this one day, in the near future and I will never stop dreaming about it.

I dream of opening people's minds and contributing to the welfare of wildlife. But that is in the future, as for now, all I can do is post this blog and maybe a number of people will be awakened to this realisation. And who knows, if I am lucky, that this person can actually do something to contribute: it could be the person that was just about to go pick up a nice 100% fur coat, but didn't after reading this. Come on, with our technology today, faux can look just as fabulous as the real thing, and it won't hurt 1,000 animals just to create one lousy fur coat! I'm sure we all would like our children to see and admire the beauty of Earth nothing less than we know it now.

Amazon River Dolphin Twenty years ago, the Amazon River Dolphin was thought to be one of the least threatened species of dolphins. Now, because of accelerated destruction of its habitat, it is considered to be the most endangered. Their population is estimated in the tens of thousands.

Bears Bear populations have been decimated in more than half of the areas that they once populated. Bears are poached for their skins, gall bladders and other body parts to supply the traditional Chinese medicine trade and exotic meat market.

Black Rhino Since 1970 when their population was about 65,000, the number of Black Rhinos has declined by 96% to well under 3,000. They are killed primarily for their horns. Though trade of Rhinos has been banned for more than twenty years, there continues to be a great demand for Rhino parts. They remain one of the most critically endangered species on the planet.

Blue Whale The blue whale is the largest mammal to ever have lived on earth. Before the commercial whaling industry began targeting the species in the first half of the 20th century, there were over 206,000 blue whales in the world. In 1980, there were about 6500, and in 1990, a recorded 2500-3000.

Chimpanzee It is difficult to make an accurate assessment of the remaining chimpanzee population. By applying population density values at known sites, the total population in the 1980s was estimated to be between 145,000 and 230,000. More recent estimates show a decline to about 105,000.

Common Hippopotamus According to information collected from 34 African countries, there are about 157,000 common hippos. Numbers are decreasing in 18 of these African countries. Hippo populations carry the highest risk for extinction in West Africa where groups contain less than 50 animals. In order to be free from the risk of extinction, each group should include around 500 members.

Elephants Between 1970 and 1989 African elephant numbers were halved as over a million elephants were slaughtered for their ivory tusks. Today, numbers of many African elephant populations have recovered following the 10-year ban on the international trade in ivory. Only the enforcement of strict trade laws and well-managed conservation programmes can secure the future of the elephant.

Ethiopian Wolf The Ethiopian Wolf, also known as the Simien Jackal and the Abyssinian Wolf, is the most endangered of all wolves. Less than four hundred remain.

Florida Panther The Florida Panther has been on the United States Endangered Species List for more than three decades. Currently, only seventy Florida Panthers remain in the United States, making it one of the most endangered mammals on earth.

Giant Panda In 1976, there were 1100 pandas recorded. In 2000 that number dropped to about a 1000.

Gray Kangaroo The Gray Kangaroo has recently recovered and there are approximately one million in the current population. However, they remain under a close watch.

Gorilla The gorilla is the world's largest primate, with a weight of as much as 275 kg (600 lb) and a height between 1.25 m and 1.75 m (4.1-5.75 ft) when standing upright. A shy and inoffensive vegetarian, the gorilla is far from man's depiction of it. Only when it is attacked, provoked, or threatened does it rise to its full erect position and beat its fists against its chest to intimidate its attacker. There are approximately 120,000-129,000 left in the wild.

Great White Shark There is no known population count for the great white.

Grevy's Zebra In the 1960's there were 15,000 Grevy's Zebra and by 1993 this was reduced to perhaps 5,000.

Harpy Eagle The Harpy Eagle is one of the most endangered birds in Latin America. No one knows exactly how many are left in the wild, but scientists have located fewer than fifty nests in Latin America.

Malayan Sun Bear The smallest of the world's eight living bear species, the sun bear weights only about 30 to 65 kilograms (66 to 145 pounds), but few data from the wild are available. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has recently (April 2004) reclassified the sun bear from "Data Deficient" to "Vulnerable". This designation means that sun bears are currently at vulnerable to extinction, primarily based on the fact that their habitat has been, and still is, shrinking.

Mediterranean Monk Seal The 1950's witnessed a population of about 5000 in the world, which fluctuated in the next 50 years, reaching a low of only a few hundred in 1992. Most recently, it was recorded that 600 monk seals inhabit the Mediterranean. In Tunisia and Morocco the monk seal population has been depleted to a mere few animals by scuba-divers killing for pleasure.

Mexican Prairie Dog In the 1960's and 1970's the Mexican prairie dog was listed as Vulnerable, a status that was elevated to Endangered in 1994 where it has remained.

Sea Turtles All species of marine turtle are endangered. Turtles face a daunting variety of man-made threats. In the seas, they are caught up in fishing nets, often intentionally to supply the trade in its meat and body parts. Their ancient nest sites are destroyed by beachside developments such as hotels. Turtle shell jewellery, combs, sunglasses and even whole shells are often on sale overseas.

Rhinos A combination of poaching and habitat loss has reduced the total world rhino population from 500,000 some thirty years ago, to less than 13,500 individuals today. The fundamental problem for the rhino is its horn. Made of nothing more than densely packed hair, rhino horn is used extensively in traditional medicine in Asia and to make ornamental dagger handles in the Yemen.

Chiru Shahtoosh is the very fine under-fleece of the critically endangered Tibetan antelope called chiru. These animals have been slaughtered in their tens of thousands to satisfy the demand for shahtoosh shawls, seen by many as an exclusive fashion statement. In October 01, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police's Wildlife Crime Unit, Minnie Driver recorded a public service announcement to help highlight the plight of the chiru.

Sharks Fishing of sharks all over the world remains virtually unregulated and unmonitored. Sharks are hunted for their fins to supply the demand for shark-fin soup, a delicacy in parts of Asia and on menus in restaurants across the world. Often, sharks' fins are removed while the animal is still alive and the rest of the shark is thrown back into the sea. This wasteful trade in leading to the disappearance of many shark species worldwide. World trade in shark's fin for soup increased 3-4 times over the past 20 years.

Sturgeon Dubbed "dinosaurs of the sea," the Sturgeon is a prehistoric fish that has evolved over 250 million years. Weighing anywhere between 200 to 3,000 pounds, they live in salt water seas and spawn in estuaries or fresh water rivers. There are 27 different species of sturgeon. The biological characteristics of the sturgeon fish make it more vulnerable to existing threats. For example, they take much longer to mature, ranging from 6 to 25 years, depending on the species.

Swift Fox In 1999, there were an estimated 279 Swift Foxes in the wild, a staggeringly low number that has put it at its "endangered" status. Captive breeding was initiated in 1973 through a privately-run program, and it has been relatively successful at reintroducing and expanding the Swift Fox population in the wild.

Tigers At the turn of the last century there were 100,000 tigers. Today it is estimated that fewer than 7,000 remain in the wild. Nearly every part of the tiger is traded, from its bones to its magnificent skin.

SOURCE: http://wildaid.org