10 Track 10

Review unit 1

fluency practice

Review Reading 2: Endangered Animal Success Stories

Page 62

Animal Success Stories

In 1973, the United States government passed into law the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It’s three major goals were: 1. to protect plants and animals from extinction by listing them as endangered: 2. to preserve the habitat of these species; 3. to help populations of listed species recover.

Because of these conservation efforts, many animals had been brought back from near extinction. Here are three such success stories.

Bald eagle

It is fitting that we begin with the story of the bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States. There was an abundance of bald eagles in North America before the arrival of Europeans, numbering an estimated half a million birds.

By 1963, however, the population had dropped to fewer than 1,000. Hunting was certainly a major factor in this decline, as was the destruction of habitat.

But the biggest factor was DDT − a chemical widely used in insect sprays. It had a damaging effect on the eagles’ eggs, making their shells so thin that they broke easily and exposed the frail baby birds inside which die soon after.

The 1972 ban on DDT was the single most important factor in the revival of the bald eagle. Being listed as an endangered species gave the birds additional protection. Bald eagle populations are now carefully monitored, and baby eagles are raised under human protection later to be released into the wild.

Thanks to these efforts, the number of eagles in the United States has grown markedly and the birds can be seen in many national parks. In August 2007, bald eagles were removed from the ESA list.

Grizzly bear

Another classic symbol of North American wildlife is the grizzly bear. Before the Europeans arrived, more than 50,000 grizzlies wandered the American West. Today, due to hunting and habitat destruction, that number is closer to 1,000.

Furthermore, because grizzly bears have babies at a very slow rate, it takes many years for the population to grow. Most of the grizzly bears in the United States, excluding Alaska live in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.

As grizzlies are still protected by the ESA, hunting them is illegal. As bear populations grow, it becomes very important to prevent encounters between humans and bears: 20 to 40 bears are killed each year to protect the safety of humans.

People living in grizzly bear habitats are encouraged not to leave garbage lying around in case bears are attracted to the smell, and parks put up signs warning people not to stray off the path. Visitors are also warned not to alarm any bears they encounter.

Gray wolf

Finally, the gray or timber wolf’s story is one of the most compelling tales of American wildlife. Traditionally shunned because people fear them and consider them pasts for killing livestock, gray wolves have been shot, trapped and poisoned, even in nature reserves.

By the time the gray wolf was declared a protected species in 1973, only a few hundred remained in small pockets of the country. Today, the gray wolf population has been revived in some of its former habitats, like Yellowstone National Park, due to strong conservation efforts.

They have also started returning to places like Washington and Idaho. The gray wolf is now listed as a species of Least Concern by IUCN.

In 2006, the United States government declared May 11 to be Endangered Species Day − a day devoted to raising awareness of endangered species. With such positive steps towards educating people on the importance of conservation, there’s reason to be optimistic about the future of endangered animals in the U.S.