Extinct and Endangered Species

Question 1 What is meant by extinct species. Name few extinct animals?

Question 2 What is meant by endangered species. Name few endangered animals?

Question 3 By taking example of snake, explain how by killing small animals, we are actually harming ourselves?

The species which no longer exist anywhere on the earth are called extinct species.

The extinct species may be of animals or plants.A type of animal which no longer exist on earth is called an extinct animals.It means that this animal has no living member on the earth.

The animals called Dinosaurs which lived on this earth in ancient times have become extinct a long time ago.Some of the examples of animals are Dinosaur, Dodo, Cave lion, Caspian tiger, Irish deer.

The species which are facing the risk of extinction are called endangered species.

They are the animals and plants that exist in small number on the earth, and if we do not take quick action to save them, they may be lost for ever.

An animal species become endangered either because it is few in number or it is being killed by predators or it is being hunted by human beings or its natural habitat is destroyed by deforestation.

For Example: Tiger, snow leopard, Great Indian rhinoceros, Asiatic lion, desert cat  etc.

The small animals are much more in danger of becoming extinct than the bigger animals.They form parts of food chains and food webs which are essential for maintaining a balance in nature.

Snake is a small wild animal.The skin of snake is in great demand for making fancy leather goods, so the snake skin sells at a high price in the market.To make some money, some greedy people kill the snakes in large number to obtain their skin.Large scale killing of snakes disrupts the food chain in which snakes occur and creates an imbalance in nature.Snake eats vermins like rats and mice which are pests and damage the crop.When the snakes are killed in large number, the population of snakes is reduced greatly.Due to lesser number of predator snakes, the population of pests like rats and mice in crop-field increases.The increased number damage the standing crops leading to loss in the production of food grains.