WILDLIFE

The term "wildlife" refers to the wild undomesticated animals living in their natural habitats, such as forests, deserts and grasslands. Wild animals and plants make up an essential part of nature. Wildlife is important to people for four main reasons: (i) beauty, (ii) economic value, (iii) scientific value, and (iv) survival value.

Through the ages, human activities have contributed to the extinction of many wild animals. The Dodo (Mauritius) became extinct in 1680, the Yellow-headed Macaw (Jamaica) in 1765; Stellar's sea cow (Bering Sea) in 1767, and the Great Auk (North Atlantic) in 1844. Many Australian animals became extinct in the 1800s. They include big-eared hopping mice, broad-faced Rat Kangaroos, brown hare Wallabies, Darling Downs hopping mice, Tasmanian emus and White-tipped stick-nest rats. Species that prob­ably became extinct in the early 1900s include Paradise parrots, Pig-footed Bandicoots and Toolache wallabies. The Tasmanian tiger has not been sighted since 1933. Today, human activities threaten the survival of many other animals, such as the African elephant, the Australian numbat, the South-East Asian orangutan, and the North American whooping crane.

Wildlife biologists use three main classifications for animals and plants that face possible extinction: (i) endan­gered, (ii) threatened, and (iii) rare.
Endangered Species are those that face the most serious threat of extinction, e.g., the California condor. Threatened species are generally abundant in some area, but they face serious dangers due to excessive hunting, fishing or trapping, e.g., the grey wolf. Rare species have small populations. They live in protected environments, and their numbers are not decreasing. The Torrey pine tree of California is an example of rare species.