What would happen if humans stopped protecting endangered animals?

Endangered species, if not protected, could eventually become extinct—and extinction has a myriad of implications for our food, water, environment and even health.

How can we help save animals?

Here are ways you can make a difference:

Adopt. From wild animals to wild places, there’s an option for everyone.
Volunteer. If you don’t have money to give, donate your time.
Visit. Zoos, aquariums, national parks and wildlife refuges are all home to wild animals.
Donate.
Speak Up.
Buy Responsibly.
Pitch In.
Recycle.

What species can we live without?

Plant plankton or phytoplankton produces half of the oxygen we breathe, while absorbing much of the carbon dioxide present on the surface and reducing the greenhouse effect.

Mushrooms. The fungi, although they do not belong to the animal kingdom, are determinants in the maintenance of the ecosystems.
Primates.
Bats.

Can we live without ants?

What good are ants? Entomologists and ecologists argue that we literally can’t live without them. They outnumber humans by 1.5 million to one, and the biomass of all the ants on Earth is roughly equal to the biomass of all the people on the planet. If all these ants were up to no good, we’d be in big trouble.

What would happen if all animals went extinct?

Wild forests and grasslands would die because they are adapted to rely on animal decomposers as well as pollinators and seed dispersers. This would cause abrupt loss of rainfall, atmospheric change and climate change. Widespread starvation combined with lack of decomposition would cause rampant disease.

How extinct animals affect humans?

Scientists have also discovered links between the incidence of West Nile virus and hantavirus and local reductions in biodiversity. Animal extinctions may also rob humans of valuable medical advancements. Many different species have unique bodily processes that can offer insight into curing human disease.