Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/world-wildlife-day/
Thursday, March 3, is more than just a prelude to spring. It’s also World Wildlife Day, and the perfect time to celebrate all the incredible animals who call this planet home.
But unless we do something to help, many wild species won’t be around to celebrate for much longer. Polar bears, pandas, rhinos, tigers, and koalas are just a few of the thousands of species pushed to the brink of extinction by poaching, pollution, habitat loss, and climate change.
This urgent dilemma has also inspired this year’s theme, “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration.” It’s a heartbreaking reminder not only that animals need our help, but that extinction is felt around the globe, placing our planet in even greater danger. We need your help saving wildlife before it’s too late!
7 Ways to Celebrate World Wildlife Day
1. Join an event
There are many events (both virtual and live) taking place all over the world to celebrate World Wildlife Day on March 3. Find an event in your area.
2. Sign a petition
Animals can’t speak, so it’s up to us to advocate on their behalf. Please join us in demanding greater oversight of the sensless human behaviors that put wildlife at risk, including poaching, pollution, and overhunting. Browse our full list of petitions and help us make a difference.
3. Save animals from extinction
Project Peril, a signature Greater Good Charities’ program, is racing to save endangered animals from extinction by curbing the poaching, pollution, habitat loss, wildlife trafficking, and other man-made ills that place them in danger. Make a donation to help support this critical work or help us save your favorite animals. Tigers, rhinos, and pandas are just a few endangered species who could use your support on World Wildlife Day.
4. Help us stop poaching
Poaching already presented a huge threat to animals, but it’s only grown worse during the pandemic, which brought tourism (which had helped to protect wildlife) to a halt. This growing dilemma led Project Peril to partner with NGOs across Asia and Africa to help stop poaching by providing rangers (who now lack the means to actively track poachers) with extra incentives to keep poachers at bay. Your donation can make a big difference for animals on World Wildlife Day.
5. Protect critical habitat
Poaching gets the most attention, but habitat loss–driven by agriculture, ranching, palm oil plantations, urban development, and mining–is actually the main driver behind extinction.
“The rate at which species are facing extinction is 10 to hundreds of times higher than the average over the last 10 million years—and this rate is accelerating,” The Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) wrote in 2019. Help us reverse this deadly trend by preserving critical habitat for the animals who live there.
6. Keep our planet clean
Reducing pollution is another great way to celebrate on World Wildlife Day. Spend an afternoon picking up litter–which birds and wildlife often mistake for food–at your local park, neighborhood, or beach, or make a donation to help Project Peril conduct a larger beach cleanup.
You can also make simple lifestyle changes to reduce your carbon footprint, thus easing climate change – another driver behind extinction. Turn off the lights, plant a tree, recycle, and pick up trash whenever you see it. These simple changes help make the world a more hospitable place for the animals who call it home.
7. Spread the word
World Wildlife Day is also an excellent reason to post about the plight facing polar bears, tigers, elephants, and other endangered animals on social media. Share this story and help us spread the word!
How are you celebrating World Wildlife Day?
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
