Throughout settlement and colonization, many animal's habitats have been threatened. Just recently, the Eastern Cougar was declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since it has been an endangered species since the 1970’s, the species has been struggling to survive its habitat.
According to the article, researchers have been trying to find out whether or not the cougar had been making its home in the Eastern U.S. It can be easy to say that many official declaration of the species extinction was long overdue. Many have found that it has been hard to find sighting of the creature since 1973.
In the article, there is a picture of the last known researched cougar from 1938 along with a biologist. The article does not give an exact reason why it has gone extinct. Theories can be speculated. When I took a Biological Anthropology class at my former junior college, I learned from my professor that over 95% of animals that have ever lived have gone extinct. This is natural in many cases. Some animals have a harder time adapting to changing environments that occur. Some have an easier time doing so.
On the other hand, it is up to us as followers of Christ to take care of the Earth. Adam was given the task to name every animal. Like Adam, we must learn to take care of the animals. God gave us the earth to live on as well as take care of. We were never meant to neglect and forget about God’s creation.
The problem today leads to ignorance of the matter. Many Christians tend to overlook the idea of taking care of our planet as well as shaking heads at theories that the earth is hurting. Sometimes they may grow even apathetic and believe there is no reason to take care, due to ideas of Jesus Coming back. Yes, Jesus may come back, but he will come like a thief in the night, just as the second letter of Peter said. This is something we as Christians should not worry about.
I truthfully think that the extinction of the Eastern Cougar is halfway caused by industrialization as well failure of adaptation to a changing environment. Lately I have been seeing post of many other species that are becoming extinct. The extinctions affect a chain of events as well. When species goes, its predators and prey are affected as well.
Though it has been declared extinct, the other animals of the same subspecies have been a subject of research. Some researchers claim to say that are about 120-160 Florida Panthers in the region of south Florida are on the verge of extinction. There is a trend to see that many of these creatures are facing pressure in their own habitat as they only live in 5% of what used to be their normal habitat.
Let’s be honest, we live in a fallen world. Many things that live are going to face harsh trials. We need to take action though. Donate to wildlife cause. There are many options out there to help.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41871301/ns/us_news-environment/
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