Worland, Justin. “Endangered Species: Gorillas Gorillas Face Greater Threat.” Time, Time, 6 Sept. 2016, time.com/4480968/endangered-species-panda-gorilla-iucn/.

This article focuses on the critical endangerment of the eastern mountain gorillas. It describes how 4 out of 5 of the great Ape species are critically endangered. It explores how it is very troubling that all of humankind’s closest cousins are near to falling into oblivion. The article highlights the differences between the gorilla and the panda, as the Panda has had years of hard effort being dedicated to preserving and the gorilla is still in need of much help.

This article has an interesting take on environmental science; because the giant panda and the Eastern mountain gorilla do inhabit similar habitats but have not experienced the same societal attention they are in rather different situations. It is interesting to why people have focused so much less on an animal which is much more closely related to us than the Giant Panda. I believe that saving the critically endangered apes should be far more important to us than it has been. They are our closest cousins and aside from their importance to the ecosystem, there should be inherent value on their existence.

 Reality Check. “What Are the Most Endangered Animals in the World? – BBC News.” BBC, BBC, 21 Mar. 2018, www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43475872.

This article explains which of the world’s animals are the most endangered.  It describes animals in different situations all across the globe. From the Vakita, a pygmy porpoise to the Javan rhinoceros. A large part of the article focuses on the definition of an endangered animal and the different levels of endangerment that an animal can be classified under. It is an important article that brings together a large body of information to one place and examines the nature of the endangered animals system.

This article is related to environmental science because it describes the situations of several populations of organisms that are critically threatened by human activity. The Vakita is a peculiar situation because it was only discovered 60 years ago and now is on the verge of extinction. It shows how dangerous an indifferent attitude towards the survival of a species can be. If we do not actively exert effort to protect them from ourselves they may die out.

Greenfieldboyce, N. (2018, July 04). Scientists Hope Lab-Grown Embryos Can Save Rhino Species From Extinction. Retrieved July 22, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/2018/07/04/625797741/scientists-hope-lab-grown-embryos-can-save-rhino-species-from-extinction

This article describes the situation facing the remaining northern white rhinoceros and those who are trying to revive them. Given that only two female white rhinos remain the effort to bring them back is dependent on frozen embryos and a lot of invasive scientific procedures. The article discusses that it is unlikely that there will ever be another pure white rhino born but it remains to be seen what will happen over the next decade. In addition three of the five living rhino species are classified as critically endangered. The article is realistic in attitude and acknowledges the very real possibility that we will may lose multiple rhino species

Personally this article makes me very sad. The fact is that it is very unlikely that we will be able to bring this species back. It feels like we are helpless to save the animal that we put in danger. Though some scientific options are conceivably possible, it is unlikely that anything will really pan out from these attempts. I think that we should understand that this is a fate that awaits many of the creatures on the planet today.

“Saving Rwanda’s Endangered Species, One at a Time.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 15 Sept. 2016, news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/09/olivier-nsengimana-explorer-moments-gorilla-crane/.

This article focuses specifically on one conservationists efforts to fight of extinction for multiple species at once. Olivier Nsengimana is a Rwandan conservationist who has focused both on Gorillas and more recently the striking bird the Gray Crowned Crane. The article describes a few of the threats that the bird faces, one of which being poaching due to beliefs that the birds are good luck charms and have medicinal purposes. The article also describes some of the methods he uses to prevent this poaching such as educational comics.

This article looks at the plight of endangered species on a more international scale while still still remaining on a personal level with those trying to protect them. An interesting part of this article is the reality that an individual can really only do so much but even just devoting all your time to one species can do so much to protect them and prevent another species from vanishing.

“Does the Endangered Species Act Protect Too Many Species?” National Geographic, 30 May 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/05/does-the-endangered-species-act-protect-too-many-species-/.

This article discusses the idea that the endangered species list contains too many species. It describes how this excess can be seen as both a positive and negative factor. It then goes on to describe how human activity is causing the rate of extinction to drastically increase, stating that we could be living during the sixth mass extinction event in Earth’s history. It then describes the process of recovery for creatures that are put on the list such as grizzly bears and californian condors