Congressional national symbol of extinction

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Okapi giraffes live in dense forests and white flufftail birds are likely to become extinct. These two animals are the latest addition to the red list of threatened species, which amount to 21,286 species.

However, according to the Daily Mail, there is also good news that two species of albatross, some leather turtles and foxes are being restored at the Channel Islands in California (USA).

Okapi Giraffe

Updates have highlighted the serious decline of the Okapi giraffe , which lives only in tropical forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Daily Mail newspaper quoted Dr. Noëlle Kümpel and IUCN Co-Chair as saying Okapi giraffes are not only revered but a national symbol. Okapi images are also printed on Congolese coins.

The number of Okapi declined not only because of over-hunting but also lost their habitat due to deforestation. Conflicts and poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past two decades have devastated the extensive habitat of the Okapi, not to mention that they have been hunted for meat and skin. Therefore the government must strive to resolve civil conflicts and fight poverty to maintain the existence of Okapi species.

In addition to Okapi, there are as many as 200 species of birds in extreme danger, including the flufftai white-tailed bird with the scientific name Sarothrura ayresi living in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are very easily extinct. The Daily Mail quoted scientists from IUCN as saying that the destruction and degradation of habitats for animals includes excessive water exploitation, agricultural production conversion, overgrazing of livestock . Therefore, effective measures should be taken to minimize this.

For leather turtles, the scientific name is Dermochelys coriacea, only a part of the habitat is improved while the rest are in a state of threat. This turtle has 7 distinct subpopulations and geographic location. In the northwest of the Atlantic, populations of leather turtles are abundant thanks to conservation initiatives. In contrast to the Eastern and Western Pacific along the coast in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, the number of leather turtles is declining due to the exploitation of turtle eggs and large catches.

The fox lives on the islands of scientific name Urocyon littoralis, which are partially recovered but they are still classified as threatened.