Everyone has a favorite type of animal and almost everyone owns a dog or a cat as a pet; and if you don’t, you surely know someone who does. Well we’ve compiled a list of a few animals that are especially important to the world and to help save.
1. Elephants
They help the environment with land.
They help communities by bringing in tourism.
In tropical forests, elephants create gaps in canopies of trees and bushes while in the savannas they help remove bush cover, which creates an environment helpful to other animals. Elephants are also a popular sight for tourists bringing in money to areas that they live in like Africa. By saving elephants we help to keep their habitat safe, support communities that thrive off of them, and make sure natural resources are available for years to come.
Fun fact: Elephants are the largest mammals on earth, some weighing up to eight tons!
2. Tortoises
They help the environment by creating places to live for other animals.
They help people by being a rarity to see.
Desert tortoises live in burrows that they create during most of the year. These little holes are helpful to other animals like birds and reptiles that use them as shelter. Tortoises are also a rare occasion to see and some actually have helped people cope with injuries and disabilities.
Fun fact: Adult desert tortoises can spend a year or even more without access to water!
3. Dogs
They help the environment by protecting other animals.
They help people in many ways besides being a “man’s best friend.”
By digging up soil to burry items dogs are actually helping to renew the environment and some dogs actually help protect other animals in different locations around the world. There are also dogs that help people out with jobs from Seeing Eye dogs to firefighter rescue dogs.
Fun fact: Dogs only sweat through the palms of their feet!
4. Cats
They help the environment by preying on animals that help keep the ecosystem stable.
They help people with health.
Cats prey on animals like rats and rabbits that actually help to keep their population consistent and in turn keep the ecosystem on track. For people, owning a cat can reduce the chance of having a heart attack or stroke by one third. So saving cats not only helps the world but also selfishly us!
Fun fact: Cats have more than 20 muscles that control their ears!
Contributed by Samantha Watkins
