As you may know from following our blog posts, here at Sea Watch we love getting involved in many different ‘days’ both around the UK and Globally. Partly this is because as a National charity dedicated to research and conservation of UK cetaceans, we appreciate how hard it can be to raise awareness and get support of a good cause, and partly it is because we love to get stuck in with raising awareness of not just our beloved cetaceans but all species! This week is no different as we celebrate Endangered Species Day, a day to celebrate conservation success around the globe.
May 17th 2019 sees the 13th Annual International Endangered Species Day and we invite you to take part and help raise awareness about the important work that goes into conserving and saving many of our endangered and threatened species worldwide.
What is an endangered species?
Really simply put, and endangered species is classed a group of plants or animals that are under threat of going extinct and no longer existing as part of planet earth! A scary thought, right?! That’s why endangered species day is so important, to help raise support to prevent this from happening.
A worrying amount of species around the world are endangered, and it is only with our help that we can work together to give them the habitat and resources they need to survive. Remember the dodo? Let’s not have any more species end up like them! Here are just a few of the top endangered marine species in no particular order:
TOP 5 ENDANGERED SPECIES
1. Vaquita
Vaquitas/ Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/vaquita
2. Hawksbill turtle
Hawksbill turtle heading to the ocean. Photo Credit: IUCN/© Giancarlo Lalsingh
3. Blue Whale
Blue Whale. Credit P. Evans
4. Stellar Sea Lion
Photo of Stellar sea lion Photo Credit: IUCN/ © Andrew Reding, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en_GB
5. Hectors Dolphin
Hectors dolphin (dolphin species are always close to our hearts!) Photo credit: IUCN/ © Steve Attwood
What can you do to get involved?
Check out your local zoos, aquariums, parks or wildlife exhibits as it is likely they will be hosting events, clean-up, or restoration projects and more to help spread the word. If you don’t have any events near you, why not host your own?
Events don’t have to be held on the day, endangered species need support all year round! You can check out the event toolkit on the endangered species day website here to get planning: http://www.endangered.org/campaigns/endangered-species-day/toolkit/
Other than events, here are some other ways you can help species in every day life, as suggested on the Endangered Species Day website:
Endangered Species coalition http://www.endangered.org/campaigns/endangered-species-day/toolkit/
Article written by Research Intern Chantelle Green. Why not follow her personal blog Chantellsblog?
