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Endangered Australia Animal

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AUSTRALIAN ENDANGERED ANIMALS – CAUSED BY HUMAN IMPACT The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2009) asserts that Australia has 143 endangered animals, several of them are rare and only found in this part of the world. There is a serious concern about this endangerment because a number of these animals could be at a high risk to become extinct. It could cause loss of biodiversity, misbalance in food chains, and irreversible changes to environment. As long as some suggest that this issue could be a natural process, there are many who maintain that human impact is more responsible for increasing the number of endangered animals. There are many convincing arguments that the human impact has intensified the endangerment of animals. First of all, the introduction of invasive and feral animals produces harmful consequences in native species due to predation, rivalry for food and shelter, and transmission of diseases (The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2011). The endemic Numbat have been hunted and killed by red foxes brought from Europe, as a result Numbat population is reduced significantly. Nowadays, they are found only in South Western Australia. Furthermore, the habitat destruction has increased the rate of endangerment. It can occur because of reduction in the space availability for native species. Changes in the original habitat especially by agricultural practices and logging are held responsible for this destruction (Sydenham &Thomas 2002). For example, the living space of Lead Beaters has been reduced by logging, so the last population is only found in Victoria. In addition, a number of animals may face extinction due to overexploitation for human consumption. The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2011) reveals that population of the Grey Nurse Sharks could be as low as 292 in New South Whales because of overfishing. In summary, Australian endangered animals is a critical issue due to the threat of their extinction, causing an irreversible damage to environment. This view maintains that the human impact is blamed for increasing the number of endangered animals throughout their actions, such as introduction of invasive species, habitats destruction and overexploitation. Word count: 353 REFERENCE LIST Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2011, Australian threatened species: grey nurse shark (carcharias taurus), Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Camberra, viewed 23 September 2011, < http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/grey-nurse.html> Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2009, Biodiversity species profile and threats database, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Camberra, viewed 23 September 2011, <http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl?wanted=fauna > Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2011, Feral animals in Australia, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Camberra, viewed 23 September 2011, <http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/index.html> Sydenham, S & Thomas, R 2002, Australian endangered animals, viewed 23 September 2011, <http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/austendangered.htm>

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