How to Protect Endangered Animals

Saving endangered animals from extinction is not too big a mission to accomplish, right? But you think you can’t contribute to this grand endeavor? Think again. Below are some ways for you to get involved in saving rare animals.

Keep Them Wild in Nature

Don’t buy and keep wild animals as pets. Stay away from buying wild animals, some of them endangered species, at animal markets notorious for selling endangered animals like the one in Jatinegara or Pasar Burung on Jalan Kartini, Semarang, Indonesia.

Don’t Eat and Use Products Made from Rare Animals

Okay, you dont’t buy rare animals or keep them as pets, but do you eat them? Without realizing it, we may eat delicacies or consume traditional medicine made from rare animals.There are many products that are made from parts of these animals. Say no to delicacies like sharp’s fin, green turtle and it eggs, trenggiling (Manis javanica) and maleo eggs. For centuries traditional medicine practitioners have used tiger bone for treating joint problems, rhino horn for treating fever, bear bile for treating headaches and liver problems, and seahorse for treating kidney ailments and impotence. Besides food and medical industries, beauty and fashion industries also put great pressure on the existence of some rare species. Reptile skins and furs are still high in demand for fashion accessories like bags, jackets and coats. Musk-fraganced perfume originates from a musk deer’s gland. To obtain the gland, the musk deer must be killed, wich has led to the animal’s dire existence.

Adopt Them

Wait! Adopting here doesn’t mean that you can keep the animals at home. It just means that you provide financial support for the rehabilitation of an endangered animal so that the animal will be fit enough again to be freed in the wild. Call BNIgogreeen program at 500046/68888 or go to www.orangutan.or.id (click “Adopt Now”) to adopt an orangutan. You can also adopt another endangered animal at www.worlwildlife.org (go to “Species adoption”) and choose any endangered animal you’d like to adopt such as the Sumatran rhino, proboscis monkey, etc.

Be Well-informed of Your Local Environmental Issues

Expand your twitter and facebook usage to show that you care. In the case of saving endangered species, you can begin by knowing the real threats that the animals are facing. By following or befriending the accounts of WALHI, Yayasan Hakiki, Yayasan Palung Kalimantan, AMAN PW (Riau), for example, you’ll be informed that the homes of most rare animals in our country are reduced by land encroaching, illegal logging, as well as legal logging (HPH). Knowledge leads to action. By knowing what’s going on around you (begin by looking into a local problem in your region), hopefully you’ll think of some contributions to make.