Will There Be
Any Rainforests Left?
The rainforest is
the world=s last frontier. Everyday, thousands of acres are being destroyed to suit the
world=s living needs. Without taking into consideration what may happen to the world
and our future. People are stripping
away a place where special plants and animals live. Animals and plants of the rainforest can only live in their
environment the way it is now. We must
strive as a whole to stop deforestation for the survival of plants, animals,
and us.
I am a wildlife
biologist that has studied all over the world.
I have studied with many other wildlife biologists and botanists. We have come to the same conclusion that if
nothing is done to stop deforestation, we will lose many precious plants and
animals. Rainforests cover about two
percent of the earth=s
surface and seven percent of the earth=s landmass. Not only is it the
largest resource, but it is also the fastest shrinking one. Rainforests shrink now at the rate of fifty
million acres a year. With this rapid
shrinking rate, animals are forced to change their patterns of living, as well
as their patterns of hunting enabling them to survive. Many animals are not able to adapt to these
rapid changes and they are dying off at an incredible rate. Approximately one hundred species per day
are going extinct due to deforestation.
These animals need trees and vegetation to survive. They are not capable of surviving on an
empty pasture or plantation left behind by loggers.
Logging trees out of
the rainforest has become a major issue today.
Loggers as well as the companies that need these enormous trees are
making a lot of money. After the trees are
logged out, the land is then turned over to the farmers for cattle grazing. The land cannot sustain this torture. An exhausted land can no longer produce
enough grass for cattle to graze.
Without these tremendous trees, we face the consequences of the green
house effect. Even when trees are cut and being burned, they release carbon
into the atmosphere. This is the second
largest factor contributing to the green house effect. With the rising of carbon levels,
temperatures around the world are rising along with the breakdown of the ozone
layer. Deforestation will lead us to the
end of all civilizations. Their
survival is our survival.
There are a great
number of smaller animals that live in the rainforest than larger ones. It is vital for these small animals to have
trees in order to survive. Many animals
survive by hiding from their prey in trees or by camouflaging itself to look
like a tree. When humans tear down
these trees, animals have no where to hide in a barren field. Not only is it a place for prey to hide, but
also a place for predators to hide.
Many predators kill by sneaking up on its prey. Vegetation on the ground helps them to do
this. For these animals, deforestation
is a major issue in their survival.
Because of deforestation, these animals are having to adapt to a new way
of hunting. For those who are unable to
adapt, their lives are becoming extinct.
Even though many
animals are becoming extinct, a good number of species are findings ways to
adapt to their surroundings. For
example, the Howler Monkey of Costa Rica is adapting fairly well. It has adjusted by changing what it
eats. Because of people settling at the
basin of the rainforest, they have changed many of the tropical plants. People take these tropical plants and
replace them with human made landscape plants.
Now these monkeys are having to eat plantation fruit. They have recently been seen traveling by
way of fence posts since a majority of their trees have been cut down. Now that the trees are gone, farmers have
brought in cattle to graze. These
Howler Monkeys have also been seen foraging in the fields along with the
cattle. The monkey=s natural diet consists of tropical leaves,
fruit, and other vegetable matter. With
deforestation, their food supply along with their surrounding is becoming
limited everyday.
The second animal
that I did research on is the Harpy Eagle that comes from the Amazon
Rainforest. The Harpy Eagle is one of
the most powerful birds of prey in the world.
The Harpy Eagle builds its nest high in the trees of the Amazon
forest. Their food consists mainly of
arboreal animals. Some reasons why the
Harpy Eagle is having problems are because they are so large and make a
satisfying quarry for hunters. They are
also a symbol of great power. Another
reason why they are becoming extinct is because they are being relentlessly
sought out by people. In addition,
deforestation everywhere is shrinking in the Harpy Eagle=s habitat at an alarming rate. Mating has also become a major factor in
their extinction. The eagles will
usually mate every two to three years.
Harpy Eagles have one of the largest nesting periods of any bird. It takes around two months for a Harpy egg
to hatch, and another six months before the baby will learn how to fly. During these periods, the baby eagles are
most vulnerable. A lot of them have
been killed due to the cutting down of the trees. It is very possible that these animals will not survive much
longer.
An animal that lives
in the trees of the jungle as far north as Panama and as far south as Brazil is
the marmoset. They are very small and
arboreal. Their home range is usually
around five thousand to sixty-five thousand square meters. Their food consists mainly of tree sap and
gum. They also eat small insects along
with the sap. They like their habitat
to provide sufficient hiding places to cover them from their predators. Their environment is being limited greatly
due to the cutting down of trees.
The last animal that
I studied is the two and three-toed sloth.
This animal is a native of Costa Rica=s lush rainforest. The sloth is
unique by the way it hangs upside down by the tree limbs. They are extremely slow moving creatures,
which make them easy prey. The sloth
lives high in the forest canopy, which camouflages it from its predators. It camouflages itself by a means of getting
blue-green algae into its hair grooves. This algae turns the sloth=s hair a shade of green which goes well with
the leaves on the cecropia tree. Not
only is that the sloth=s
home, but the tree is also its food source.
The sloth=s habitat is being destroyed mainly by
farmers who clear the land in order to farm more land. With this destruction going on, the sloth is
being forced to move to land where he is even slower and clumsy. He is easier to kill. Many sloths have been put into rescue
programs but the programs are failing.
The sloth does not eat right while in captivity and they are dying. The only way they can survive is to be in
their natural environment. That is why
we must stop the farmer from destroying even more of the sloth=s precious habitat.
Many animals that
live in the rainforest depend on trees in order to survive. Everyday, we cut down their way of
life. We biologists have warned many
people that the destruction of the rainforests will lead to the devastation of
many wonderful plants and animals.
Neither the animals nor we can live without the trees. Every single day, we lose thousands of acres
of forest due to deforestation. On a
positive note, we are beginning to have people listen to us. Everyday more and more people are striving
to help us in a race to save the rainforest.
Many animals have been put in rescue programs but without success. These animals need their own habitat to
survive. Another major issue is the
growth of the world=s
population. With the growing, there is
not enough room and the governments are cutting down precious rainforest. Something must be done fast if we want any
generations after us to have a rainforest.
We need to act now to save the rainforest or we wont have anything left
to save.
Works Cited Page
http://zoo.pgn.pa.us/wildlife/black_howler_monkey.html
http://www.earthwatch.org/g/Gbecker.html
http://www.nwf.org/nwf/intlwild/1998/harpy.html
http://www.personal.umich.edu/~cyanca/lemur.html
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~rlchroba/rainforest/rainforest.html
http://www.umanitoba.ca/afs/agric_economics/info/rainfrst.html