Living in Iowa, one might not stop to think about wildlife that are on the verge of becoming extinct.

In 2019 alone, nearly two dozen species were declared extinct or nearly so. Among the list are different types of birds, fish and many other types of animals. Adding onto the list, many of these animals have been declared ‘possibly extinct’ due to being unseen for decades.

Of course, when it comes to living in Iowa, many people don’t think there is much we can do, so they simply brush it off and continue on with their lives. Most of the critically endangered animals live in other parts of the world, but that does not mean we should be ignorant about it happening.

In 2018, the French brand of Lacoste temporarily changed their signature crocodile logo to 10 threatened species. The company produced a specific number of shirts that represented the population of the remaining animals in the wild that corresponded with the logo. Wildlife experts said that they hoped this project would inspire other brands to start projects of their own that will help bring awareness to endangered species.

Since then, not many brands have taken after Lacoste’s example, but there are multiple brands that provide funds in forms of donations for endangered animals without directly altering their brand for the cause. Nonetheless, some help is better than no help at all.

On a positive note, according to the world’s leading travel brand of Trafalgar, there are six animals that are no longer considered endangered.

The first one is the Southern white rhinoceros. As of right now, their conservation status is considered to be near-threatened with population increasing. Giant pandas and Arabian oryxes (originally thought extinct) are now only considered vulnerable. Next, the Northern brown kiwi is no longer critically endangered, and its population seems to be growing at a steady pace. The Louisiana black bear was endangered due to loss of habitat, but with the restoration of its home, it seems to have made a comeback and is no longer considered endangered. 

The last, but certainly not the least, animal on that list is the gray wolf. At the beginning, it became endangered due to lack of prey and conflicts with farmers. Since receiving protection from the Endangered Species Act, its population size has increased, but there are rising concerns that the gray wolf’s numbers will once again decrease soon due to hunting.

Multiple people have been guilty of when they find out a species has been declared extinct, they share it on social media with a caption expressing how heartbreaking it is and that people need to do something about it. Although it is indeed heartbreaking, let that person be you who does something about it. You would be surprised of how loud your voice can be when you are passionate about something you want to see change in.