National Wildlife Conservation Day lands on December 4, and each year it is used to create awareness for protecting the natural world and its inhabitants. The day strives to put an end to wildlife crime and supports the Endangered Species Act. It also serves to recognize the continuous efforts to help protect the declining populations of plant and animal species.
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act is a U.S. federal law that was developed in 1973. This act initiates protections for fish, wildlife, and plants that are listed on the endangered or threatened species lists. It has become one of the most powerful environmental conservation laws in the world. Species are listed based on scientific data and threats to their survival. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are responsible for maintaining the endangered lists and data.
Wildlife Crime
Wildlife crime can include illegal poaching, smuggling, breeding, trapping and other crimes. These different aspects of wildlife crime can violate several laws and treaties. Another example would be criminal groups smuggling specific animal products to make a profit. Wildlife crime violates national and international laws and has become a significant global issue that can destabilize ecosystems. Due to poaching, animals including elephants, rhinoceros, tigers and sea turtles are at risk of becoming extinct.
Endangered species often face similar causes for decreasing populations; poaching and habitat loss are the primary reasons these animals are continuously in danger of survival.
Oakdale High School (OHS) junior Ellasyn McLane expressed how important Wildlife Conservation Day is. She believes that it raises awareness about the threats towards wildlife and ecosystems everywhere on our planet.
“I believe that Wildlife Conservation Day is important because if you don’t recognize the issues that are happening around us, they will not be solved in the future,” McLane said. “This will cause more species to go extinct and deforestation will become more of a problem.”
Elephants
The main reasons elephants are endangered is because of poaching, habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. The illegal demand for ivory continues to be the main reason for poaching elephants. Elephant tusks are dense and desirable. Despite the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned the international ivory trade in 1989, the demand for ivory products in Asia continues to increase.
According to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, antique enthusiasts, hunters, firearm collectors and musicians are the primary collectors or possessors of ivory goods. Habitat loss is another issue that is affecting the elephant population. Within illegal wildlife markets, elephants are also targeted for their skin and other body parts. Expanding human populations and other agricultural activities can lead to deforestation and the destruction of their natural habitat. This can cause elephants to lose access to food and water, while also forcing them into smaller and fragmented habitats.
As humans continue to invade elephant habitats, conflicts between humans and elephants will increase. Forcing these creatures out of their domain could cause them to raid crops; in turn, this could lead farmers to fight back with violence to protect their livelihoods.
Another large issue for elephants is climate change. While some of their traits may help contribute to their resilience to a changing climate, a number of traits can make them more vulnerable. In an article about Asian Elephants and climate change, World Wildlife states that some of the traits that make them vulnerable to a changing climate include “a declining population size, sensitivity to high temperatures, invasive plant species outcompeting their regular food sources, and susceptibility to disease.”
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros face similar challenges to elephants as their populations decline. These include economic development, changes in grassland composition, logging, poaching and agricultural degradation. The rhinos that still remain live in isolated, fragmented areas and are prone to inbreeding. With smaller groups, healthy genetic mixing becomes more difficult, and most rhino species are dangerously close to extinction.
Poaching poses the biggest threat to the survival of rhinos. Although international trade of rhino horn has also been banned under CITES, the demand has remained high and continues to fuel rhino poaching in both Asia and Africa. Rhino horns are highly valued in black markets, where they are used in traditional Chinese medicine, ranging from reducing fevers to preventing strokes. Rhino horn is processed into pills, treatments, tablets and tonics, which are then sold worldwide.
Agriculture and urban settlements continue to take over more of the habitats that rhinos rely on to survive. As human populations steadily grow in Asia and Africa, rhinos keep losing their land and food sources. Disconnected habitats also create fragmentation between rhino populations, which greatly affects the reproductive opportunities available to them.
Tigers
Tigers are often faced with pressure from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss. They are often forced to compete with dense and growing human populations. Like rhinoceros, some cultures believe their parts possess medicinal properties, and thus tigers are often hunted for their pelts, bones, teeth and claws.
Expanding human populations have led to a rapid decline in the available habitat for tigers. For example, forests are being cleared for agricultural land, palm oil plantations, infrastructure development and timber extraction. There has been an estimated 95% loss of their historical range. Just like other endangered species, fragmentation of the remaining habitats also makes tigers more vulnerable to inbreeding, poaching and conflicts with humans.
With the increasing loss of their habitats, tigers are more likely to come into contact with human settlements. This can lead to serious conflict between tigers and humans. In such instances, tigers can prey on livestock or go as far as attacking humans. In retaliation, humans may hunt or kill tigers, which will lead to further decreases in their populations.

Sea Turtles
Over the last 200 years, human activity has slaughtered sea turtles for their eggs, meat, skin and shells. Sea turtles suffer from poaching and over-exploitation, as well as habitat destruction.
Fishermen occasionally catch and discard animals they do not want, cannot sell or are not allowed to keep. This is known as bycatch. Sea turtles often become hooked or entangled in fishing gear, which can physically harm them through entanglement in nets, injuries from hooks, or even drowning if the turtle is unable to reach the surface to breathe.
Arizona State University student Cleo Cochran loves traveling to different places and seeing unique animals. She hopes that everyone can experience what she has and see healthy animal habitats.
“Without traction and without this type of public attention, no one cares about saving the wildlife, and … they are not given a reason to care,” said Cochran. “If we show them what the impacts [to these species] are, then I think that would be really important.”
Another significant threat to sea turtle populations around the world is plastic pollution. These animals often mistake plastic bags, wrappers, or other debris for food. Ingesting plastic can cause internal injuries or blockages, which can lead to worse problems including starvation or death.
Even on land, turtles face threats. Since temperature determines the sex of the offspring, rising global temperatures can affect the sex ratio of sea turtle hatchlings, leading to an imbalance, which will further affect populations. There also tends to be artificial lights near nesting beaches,which may disorient hatchlings as they attempt to find their way to the ocean after hatching.
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Hatchlings that crawl toward artificial light sources are following the same instinctive response that leads them seaward on naturally lighted beaches. The apparent brightness and glare of artificial lighting is what often leads hatchlings astray” and can consequently lead to their deaths.
Cochran has always loved sea turtles and the beauty of the ocean. She wishes that in the future sea turtles will no longer be endangered and have healthier habitats than ever before.
“When I was doing my scuba diving training, I saw this massive sea turtle, and it was so beautiful,” Cochran said. “I was just overcome with how beautiful nature is. I don’t want my kids to grow up in a world where sea turtles don’t exist.”
Why is this day important?
Wildlife Conservation Day serves as a vital reminder of the importance of protecting the world’s wildlife and the ecosystems they inhabit. The day underscores the growing threats to animals all over the world, many of which are endangered due to human activities such as habitat destruction, poaching, pollution and climate change. By promoting this national day, we raise awareness about the crucial role that wildlife plays in maintaining the balance of nature and ecosystems on our planet.
How to help
Simple actions like avoiding products that harm wildlife, supporting organizations that protect endangered species and advocating for stronger environmental laws can make a bigger difference than most people think. Also, educating others of the importance of this day and donating to places like the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) can help “to save some of the most spectacular and imperiled wildlife on the planet.”
We can always do things to help including donating to WCS, they need your help to continue their work and help our ecosystems.