“One saw a bird dying, shot by a man. It was flying with rhythmic beat and beautifully, with such freedom and lack of fear. And the gun shattered it; it fell to the earth and all the life had gone out of it.” ― Jiddu Krishnamurti, Krishnamurti to Himself: His Last Journal. This quote means that some people don’t care about those animals that are in danger. I’m not one of them. I want to help. So how? Well let me tell you…
What we are doing isn’t fair to the animals. We are preventing them from living a life that we live in. What if you are a shark who is really hungry and you see beams of light coming from the surface. There is a shadow covering the light that is shaped like the meal that you wished you had 5 minutes ago. You are so glad to see the surface again as you push up with all of your might that you have in your fins and you sink your teeth into… plastic? When you sink down into the water, your “lunch” is stuck in your throat as it prevents you from breathing. You slowly close your eyes and drift through the never-ending puddle of blue that swallows you whole. This is hard for animals because if they eat plastic they will die. To be exact, over these 23 years, 60 sharks have died because of ingested plastic. We found that spills likely harmed or killed about 82,000 birds of 102 species, and about 6,165 sea turtles, and as many as 25,900 marine mammals, and a vast number of fish — from the great bluefin tuna to our nation’s smallest seahorse — plus oysters, crabs, corals, and other creatures. If you want to learn more read the rest of the article about the biological diversity of animals.
I love orangutans. They are cute and care for their loved ones. So are the animals in the rainforest! If we keep cutting down trees then… no more cute animals. Orangutans live only in a few parts of Southeast Asia. One of these places is called Borneo. So if we keep cutting down trees then no more orangutans or cute animals. What if you are an orangutan swinging through the trees with the wind against your body. You are as free as can be. Until you hear the faint sound of a tiger roaring. Except it isn’t a tiger, it’s a machine that has oil pouring out of its backside and smoke puffing out into the smoky air. It has claws sticking out of its sides gripping the ground. The monster comes closer but then stops. After a few months pass by you think you are safe. You check it out. You can’t go any further because there are no trees. First it had green sprouting everywhere, then the next day bugs are laying on the ground twitching until they die. Frogs aren’t leaping. Toads aren’t croaking, and this will go on until the rainforest is not a rainforest anymore. Why this is hard for animals is because we are cutting down trees and damaging their environment so that means the animals won’t be able to sleep anywhere or hide or get fresh air.
Companies need jaguar fur because it’s expensive. Only one costs $39,900.00 to $75,700.00 but two would cost $151,400.00 to $798,000.00. If you are a stealthy cat stalking its prey. You are swimming in silence until the ground crunches and the prey tries to run but your jagged teeth have already sunk into the thigh of the gazelle struggling and then gone. You are satisfied as you walk back to your tree you climb onto its warm branches where you were a few minutes ago. Jaguars are good at swimming and running. Jaguars are good at climbing trees because they live in trees. Jaguars eat turtles, monkeys, deer, and small alligators. Yum! They are very solitary creatures, which means they live alone. They are quick to defend their land. Blood on your claws. Something strikes you. You are hungry again. Your last meal has satisfied your hunger no longer. As you look around you see a jeep with cloth ripped and torn and words on the door, arriving at your territory saying weird things like,
“Shoot her!”
“Take pictures!”
“She would look good as a jacket”
Your stomach clenches and you let out a growl. As soon as somebody screams “Kill her Phillip!” a tough man that has a scar across his eye yells “kill her” and you get shot in the leg. Pain surges through your body as you run as fast as you can but your leg weakens you and you can’t make it. Suddenly you are lifted onto a truck and you are driving away. You close your eyes. As the light fades it will probably be the last time you remember your habitat. This is hard for the animals because they are being hunted for clothes but some people save animals and release them. I think that Jaguars can still stay alive if we can help them by not using their skin for jackets.
I’ve been thinking if we start helping animals now, maybe we can have beautiful new species. But if they go extinct then what will we do? We won’t be able to see the beautiful birds or cats or whales, there will be nothing to explore or study! I think this essay got me thinking if I am the only one who is helping I won’t be able to do it. I have a feeling that we can save animals that are in danger. Will you help too?