HOW THE ANIMAL WORLD GOES ROUND.
Here are some simple food chains to show you how the animal kingdom's menu is situated. From the sea to land to air, every animal ecosystem has a food chain in which there are predators and there are prey. Although this is a brutal existence, it is necessary to keep the animals alive and moving through generations. The herbivore's eat the plants, and the carnivores eat the herbivores. Food chains are even present on a microscopic level where fish are eating tiny organisms called plankton. Even these minuscule creatures are essential in maintaining a healthy food chain. Food chains work in a predator and prey system. The smaller creatures, usually herbivores are prey for the carnivores of the system. However, there will always be a predator higher up in the system that will make prey out of the former predator. However certain animals will be placed at the top of the food chain and these animals have no natural predators, and we call these animals dominant predators. For instance, in the African grasslands, the lion is at the top of the food chain, with its main prey being gazelle, zebra, wildebeest and many other animals. It has no natural predators and is considered the "king of the jungle". However, when humans like us are introduced into the environment, especially poachers who hunt illegally and target protected animals, we become the dominant predator.
Although lions are much more capable of killing humans than we are them, we still try to hunt them to extinction, with cruel treatment and dangerous weapons.
Poachers ruin the natural chain of things by destroying animal ecosystems. Some of the most popular items to trade are Rhino horns, Tiger skins, and elephant tusks. These are very valuable in the illegal animal trade but with great value comes horrible consequences. There are only 29 thousand Rhino's left in the wild today, all under protection. There were 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century and this number has fallen rapidly. We have lost 97 percent of all tigers in the world. As few as 3,200 are living in the world today. We need to work together to help save the environment and its ecosystems.
Although lions are much more capable of killing humans than we are them, we still try to hunt them to extinction, with cruel treatment and dangerous weapons.
Poachers ruin the natural chain of things by destroying animal ecosystems. Some of the most popular items to trade are Rhino horns, Tiger skins, and elephant tusks. These are very valuable in the illegal animal trade but with great value comes horrible consequences. There are only 29 thousand Rhino's left in the wild today, all under protection. There were 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century and this number has fallen rapidly. We have lost 97 percent of all tigers in the world. As few as 3,200 are living in the world today. We need to work together to help save the environment and its ecosystems.