The Most Threatening Factor of Animals is:

Humans

There are a lot of different factors that cause to the endangerment of animals, but it seems as though humans are at the very root of it all.  Read on to see how humans have impacted the living environment of animals!!

Habitat Destruction

Habitat destruction is defined as the changing, altering, or modifying of an animals habitat.  This could be detrimental for the animals of a habitat that is being altered because if there is a subtle change the animals can most likely adapt to it, but when there is a drastic change over a short period of time the animals could become extinct.  They can not adapt to new conditions quickly.  This is one of the reasons animals are endangered. 

 Humans have a big part to do with animal extinction.  Cutting down trees from a location is bad because a lot of the nutrients are taken out of the soil which results in a very slow growth of new life in that area.  It could take as long as a century (100 years) to have a forest grow back that was cut down by humans, or burned from a fire.  

Other factors include:

Introduction of Exotic Species

Animals that are located in a specific area become very well adapted to their environment.  These animals are used to the environment and the animals within their living space too.  When a different type of species is entered into an environment, either by accident or on purpose, it can cause some problems.  The animals that live there currently must adapt to the new species, and the new species might actually be a predator of an existing animal.  This can cause a chain reaction among the animals resulting in a decline of a certain population.  Another factor adding more animals to an area results in more competition for food.  This makes a necessity (food) a scarce resource. 

Overexploitation

Overexploitation is when an animal is hunted by humans to use in various different ways.  The animals are usually hunted to use their fur, tusks, or other various parts of their bodies to make jewelry, oils, and for trade.  This is a major factor because in order to acquire the bones of an animal to use in some artistic way, the animal must be killed.  This is bad because humans can create the population of animals to decline and become endangered because they are greedy for money.

Disease

If a species does not have genetic protection against new pathogens introduced to them, the disease can have severe effect on that particular species. Domestic animals often transmit the diseases that affect the wild populations. This shows again, how humans are at the root of endangerment.

Pollution

 Pollution has seriously affected multiple land and water species.  When there is pollution it affects the soil the animals’ food grows in, and it can destroy their habitat.  If an animal is not used to a specific type of material it can be a factor for their decline.