Which 10 Mexican Wildlife Species Should be Conserved With Immediate Effect?
Mexico is known as one of the world’s most biologically rich nations thanks to the diverse landscapes housing a treasure trove of wildlife like plant and animal species which are not found anywhere else. But alas! Mexican species are becoming endangered and are under threat of extinction due to human activities at tremendous rates. There is a list of species that reflect Mexico’s wildlife diversity and ecosystems. Sadly, they are now under a wide range of threats that would in turn affect the country’s biodiversity. New awareness and wildlife conservation of these unique animals and plants are critical to uphold the importance of inspiring a nationwide demand to ensure the protection of these critical components of Mexico’s natural heritage.
These Ten Iconic Endangered Species Need Adequate Protection Under the Wildlife Conservation Programs.
Every wildlife conservation volunteer working in Mexico often pulls a few strings to decide on the best strategy to put in place to conserve these endangered species.
1. Vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus)
The marine mammal endemic to the Gulf of California is the vaquita or Gulf of California harbor porpoise. In fact, we might say the wildlife conservation volunteers are extra careful since this is the world’s most endangered cetacean species. Of any marine mammal’s geographical range, the vaquita is the smallest. They are existing only in Mexico’s upper Gulf of California near San Felipe town. The entire population nearly is living within 4,000 square kilometers areas, which is about one-quarter of metropolitan Los Angeles’ size.
2. Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
The leatherback sea turtles are as ancient as the dinosaurs and are under extreme extinction threats. Human activities are threatening them in many ways. They support themselves on a jellyfish diet. But their prey is of transparent nature, and often the leatherback sea turtles suffocate themselves by consuming the drifting pieces of transparent plastics. Plastic bags and hard plastic parts are found in the dead turtle. Even their stomachs had fishing lines.
3. Mexican Gray Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
The Mexican Gray Wolf is the smallest gray wolf subspecies in North America. This species is the rarest and most endangered mammal living on the continent. A few dozen are surviving in the wild. A reintroduction program is keeping them going, which the wildlife conservation volunteers keep track of.
4. Mexican ajolote salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum)
A long, dark, cylindrical salamander up to 30 cm long is a distinctive-looking and highly endangered creature. The Mexican ajolote salamander has large, appendage-like gills that extend from the back of its wide head. When they are captive, they can survive upto 30 years, but in the wild, they survive between 3 to 6 years.
5. Scarlet macaw (Ara macao macao)
The birds distinguished by their colorful plumage, scarlet red bodies, light blue tail feathers, and yellow wing feathers are the Scarlet macaws. These birds in Mexico, have been completely exterminated in the states of Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, and Oaxaca. There are currently, only two known populations inhabiting less than 5% of the Mexican territory. Wildlife conservation volunteers work towards their protection in the Lacandona jungle situated on the eastern side of Chiapas and in Los Chimalapas, Oaxaca.
6. Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
Even if the monarch is the best-known butterfly in the world, but still does not succeed in warding off the profound threats to its survival. The species have long migrated from the United States and Southern Canada to Mexico and California. This is the most spectacular and extraordinary natural spectacle on the planet.
7. Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata)
Recognizing Elkhorn coral is very easy because of its flat, thick, large branches forming fronds that reach more than 50cm wide. When they form very large colonies, they measure up to 2 meters high and 4 meters wide. The entire reef ecosystem might disappear and affect the food chain for numerous marine species if the Elkhorn coral and other horn corals start disappearing.
8. Brown sea cucumber (Isostichopus fuscus)
An echinoderm with a softy, elongated body, and mount surrounded by a crown of oral tentacles taking up food is the brown sea cucumber. It is found in rocky, shallow, and sandy water reefs throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific, from the Northern Gulf of California to Ecuador, along with the Galapagos Islands. This long-lived, slow-growing species is capable of reaching 28cm in length and weighs 960 grams. At night, the brown sea cucumbers are more active when they have no natural predators.
9. White nun orchid (Lycaste skinneri)
Found in Southern Mexico, in the state of Chiapas, and even in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, at about 1400 to 2200 meters, the elegant white nun orchid, the elegant white nun orchid deserves wildlife conservation approaches. Sadly, their habitat has been intensely logged for coffee plantations, urban development, and rice and beans farming. Now the species can be found on forested hillsides with inaccessible slopes. Regardless of being the national flower of Guatemalan, the white nun orchid is being harvested to depletion. Currently, its status and distribution is unknown. The current genetic diversity of the species is held in greenhouses or private collections.
10. Jaguar (Panthera onca)
In Mayan, the jaguar is called “balam” and in Nahuatl, it is “Ocelotl”. The jaguar has a long association in the diverse Mexican cultures with power, courage, the night, the earth’s fertility, the underworld, and death. Males weigh 150 kilograms, but the females are smaller. Jaguar grunts in contrast to the other big cats, and rarely do they roar. Being the top predators, they can control their prey’s population densities. The disappearance of jaguars is likely to alter the ecosystems entirely.
Biodiversity is bound to be at risk if the numbers of these mentioned Mexican species are seriously protected. The wildlife conservation volunteers are doing as much as they can along with the concerned organizing bodies, but more projects need to be running to save the ones existing and prevent them from becoming endangered or extinct.
