Endangered Earth

The Proboscis Monkey The proboscis monkey, or long-nosed monkey, has a large nose, a reddish-brown skin color and a long tail.  Species habitat and range These monkeys live only on the island of Borneo and can be found on all three nations that divide the island: Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. They are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are around  7,000 proboscis monkeys left. Species role (niche) in ecosystem These monkeys are omnivores and affect plant populations in the ecosystem. They mostly eat leaves, seeds, and fruits, but will sometimes eat insects.  Cause of decline The population of proboscis monkeys has decreased by more than 50% in the past 36–40 years due to habitat loss from logging and oil palm plantations, and hunting in some areas. Some people treat these monkeys as a delicacy so they have been hunted by humans for this, and for use in traditional Chinese medicine. Importance and why we should care This species...

Chinchilla Species description While you may be familiar with the chinchilla as a pet and think there's no way they could be endangered as you can find them at your neighborhood Petsmart, both species of chinchilla are currently listed as Endangered in the wild by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to a severe population loss. There are two species of chinchilla, Chinchilla chinchilla and Chinchilla lanigera. It is the first of these that is considered the wild species and the one is close to extinction, while the Chinchilla lanigera is the species most often kept as pets. Species habitat and range Chinchillas originate from the Andes mountains in Chile.  They were once found in Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia but it's believed that they are now extinct in these areas. The IUCN Red List's latest estimates put the wild population of adult chinchillas at 5,350 as of 2021. Species role (niche) in ecosystem Chinchilla's roles in an ecosystem is to spread seeds.  Chinc...