In today’s modern world, there are various animals that are critically endangered and are at risk of extinction. The number of species that are at risk of extinction are continuing to grow, and we as humans, are completely failing these species. The destruction of habitats and the excessive killing of species while hunting has both played colossal roles in accumulating this worrying number. An endangered animal that is considered extremely rare and is at risk of extinction is the Sumatran elephant. Hence, this essay will primarily be outlining and focusing on the critically endangered animal – the Sumatran elephant.
A habitat is a place where plants and animals live. As well as that, habitats provide animals and plants with a place to find food, shelter, and reproduce. Ultimately, the Sumatran elephants travel more within broad home ranges. Therefore, this means that they would need to travel more often to other places, rather than only having one type of habitat. Forest types that are able to meet the Sumatran elephant’s needs are: swamp forests, peat swamp forest, lowland forest, and lower mountain rain forest. Sumatran elephants are considered as herbivorous animals meaning that they only consume plants in order to gain all of the nutrients they need to survive. Their diet consists of a wide selection of vegetation including grass, leaves, fruits, nuts, and seeds. A Sumatran elephant’s height is typically five to nine feet with a weight of approximately five tons. Today, the Sumatran elephant is said to be an animal that is in proximate danger of becoming extinct. This is due to the declining number of the Sumatran elephants at a critical rate. Every species plays a main role in the ecosystem, and the Sumatran elephants are no different. Sumatran Elephants play several vital biological roles in forests. Sumatran elephants feed on a range of plants and deposit seeds wherever they go. This contributes to a healthy and nutritious forest ecosystem to a great extent. Therefore, it is extremely important to strive for the protection of the Sumatran elephants.
Despite the fact that they play numerous biological roles in forests, they are currently considered as one of the most critically endangered animals that are at risk of extinction. Their steady decline rate is mainly a result of deforestation. Deforestation is the destruction of forests in order to make the land present for different uses. Farming, grazing, and drilling combined account for more than half of all deforestation present in today’s modern day and age. As a result of that, the elephants are placed in isolated areas next to humans which makes it inhabitable. These areas are often not great enough to provide for the number of elephants. This brings them into a much closer contact with human settlements and developments. When running out of forest space, the dangers of the elephants coming in contact with humans, are more than ever. They raid crops, crush homes, and may even kill or hurt humans. Although Sumatran elephants are important for a healthy forest ecosystem to succeed, the human species often do not see it this way. Humans ordinarily meet their needs by mining and farming. Conversely, this is a limitation that stops us from being determined to protect the Sumatran elephants. Today, only a few inhabitants of the Sumatran Elephant remain, surviving in isolation from one another. This is a conflict known as the elephant-human war. Elephant-human conflict is a result of the destruction and crumbling of habitats. Elephants across Asia live in a wide variety of different habitats. Nonetheless, most of these areas consist of mosaic patches and plantations of forests. Thus, deforestation is recognized and identified as one of the primary reasons for the declining rate of Sumatran elephants.
A solution to how the dilemma of deforestation could be solved is known as a farming technique called hydroponics. Hydroponics is a method that grows plants in a water-based solution, without any soil, comprising of nutrients that are dissolved Using hydroponics comes with a variety of advantages. For example, as soil is not needed, you can grow crops in places where the land is limited. This is very advantageous as it prevents the need of humans wanting to cut down trees. As well as that, another benefit of the hydroponics process is that a better growth rate is shown. With the proper setup of hydroponics, plants will grow bigger and faster as they would not have to work as hard to attain nutrients. On the other hand, the hydroponics system has several disadvantages. The core disadvantage of hydroponics is that a high-quality hydroponics system would cost a lot more than soil. Therefore, most people would prefer to buy dirt as it isn’t very expensive. Another inconveniency is that the hydroponics system requires a pump. This can mean taking the great risk of a pump failure. A pump failure can easily kill all of the plants within hours. Although hydroponics has quite a few disadvantages, there are a variety of advantages to them that would help solve the problem of deforestation.
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