Page 53 - One Million Things: Animal Life - The Incredible Visual Guide

SAIGA ANTELOPE
Numbers of saiga antelope have
decreased by 90 percent since the
1980s. Their horns are used in
traditional Chinese medicine. There
are now just four isolated populations
in the steppes (grasslands) of Russia
and central Asia.

OAHU TREE SNAIL
The Hawaiian island of Oahu
was once home to 41 species
of tree snails. Predation by the
rosy wolf snail and loss
of their natural habitat made
most of them extinct. Today,
just two species survive
in the wild.

WESTERN
LOWLAND GORILLA
One of our closest relatives, this gorilla
lives in the tropical forests of western
Africa. Numbers have dropped as
human populations have increased.
Their forest home has been cut down
FLOREANA CORAL to provide farmland, and people have
This rare species is found around the hunted gorillas for meat. Deadly
Galápagos Islands. Since 1982 the Ebola fever has killed gorillas and
extent of the coral has decreased by humans alike.
80 percent. The causes are believed
to be heating of the Pacific Ocean,
caused by global warming, and
the El Niño effect, a change in
ocean currents.

LEATHERBACK TURTLE
The leatherback was once
widespread in oceans around the
world. Today, it faces a variety of
threats. Its eggs, laid in burrows
on sandy beaches, are targeted
by egg thieves, while adult
turtles can be trapped by fishing
nets or mistakenly eat discarded
plastic bags—which block their
digestive system—instead of
jellyfish, their natural food.
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