When an animal is extinct, it means that all the animals in that species die. The reason is the shortage of beneficial resources. If the species doesn't have enough food, they will die of starvation. If the species runs out of water, they will die of dehydration. And if they don't have a shelter, they will either get sick and die eventually or get killed by a predator.
A perfect example of an endangered species is the koala which is an iconic Australian animal. Often called the koala “bear,” this tree-climbing animal is a marsupial—a mammal with a pouch for the development of offspring. Koalas have few natural predators. Dingoes may prey upon some on the ground and owls or eagles are threats to young. They evolved to feed almost exclusively on the leaves of Eucalyptus trees, and they are highly selective when it comes to which species and even which individual trees they visit.
Koalas are such picky eaters because of the fact that their stomachs simply can't handle it. Eucalyptus leaves are very fibrous and low in nutrition, and to most animals are extremely poisonous. The Koalas’ digestive system is especially adapted to detoxify the poisonous chemicals in the leaves. The toxins are thought to be produced by the gum trees as a protection against leaf-eating animals like insects. Trees which grow on less fertile soils seem to have more toxins than those growing on good soils. This could be one reason why Koalas will eat only certain types of eucalypts, and why they will sometimes even avoid them when they are growing on certain soils.
Koalas are dying out right now because the eucalyptus trees are being cut down. Every day enormous tree harvesters are cutting down around a thousand eucalyptus trees in Australia. Each tree is cut down within seconds, trimmed and then piled up. The logs are chipped and exported to China and Japan, where they are processed in pulp and paper mills. Koalas will not only lose their food, but also their shelters. The natural habitats of the koalas are vanishing which forces many koalas to live on eucalyptus plantations. The endangered animals are slow and cannot escape the approaching harvesters. They hold on to the trees until their painful death.
In conclusion, we must take actions now to protect the koalas. We should stop cutting down eucalyptus trees and build special habitats for them. We should make laws and regulations about killing koalas for their skin and fur. At the same time, we must protect our global environment so there are no heat waves that cause bushfires to damage the koala’s living area. Koalas are so cute that we don’t want to lose another species in this world.
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