Impact

The impact of rainforest destruction is devastating.   Loss of trees causes less oxygen in the atmosphere.   285 of the world's oxygen comes from the rainforest.  Rainforests are like the lungs of the Earth.   Since we are destroying the rainforest, animal homes are being destroyed as well.   When animal homes are destroyed, the animals die because they have no way to survive.  Also, rainforest destruction causes global warming.  

FACTS about the Rainforest

*28% of the world's oxygen comes from the rainforest

*At the rate we are going, the world's rainforests will be gone in 100 years

*After the trees are cut down, the area is burned

*Indigenous people lose their freedom and their lives trying to stop rainforest destruction

*Many species go extinct each year

For more facts, check out the Nature Conservatory webpage at: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/rainforests/rainforests-facts.xml

Forest Destruction

People have been cutting down trees for over 60 years.   The result of this is cutting down the amount of air by 20%.   The other effect of this is having many animals lose their habitats, or in worse situations, dying.   The ones being harmed the most are the endangered animals:   leopards, bengal tigers, howling monkeys, and the ring-tailed lemur to name a few.  

People are also being harmed.   Some of them are being run out of their homes, and the amount of air that they have is not good.   The fumes and gas of the machinery that is cutting down the rainforest, along with the burning of the stumps, might destroy us as well.  We need oxygen to survive, and the rainforest helps give us that.  

Endangered Animals of the Rainforest

There are many animals that are endangered in the Amazon Rainforest.   Over 70 species of plants and animals become extinct each year from deforestation.   Some of the endangered animals are:

Jaguars:

Pink River Dolphins:

Poison Dart Frog:

Macaws:  

and more!

How Animals Become Endangered

Some ways animals become endangered are human destructive activities such as D.D.T., forest destruction, pollution, human footprint, global warming, and climate change.

Another way animals become endangered is natural cause like fires, floods, and bad weather.

Finally, animals become endangered because there are predators that hunt other prey.

To learn more about the rainforest, and how you can help, go to:  http://rainforest-alliance.org/