What do the following animals have in common(共有) ?  Pandas, tigers, whales, lions and camels?  They are all in danger.

 Animals are in danger for many reasons. Sadly, humans are behind them! Here are three reasons:

 Excessive hunting (过度猎杀) : For centuries, humans have hunted elephants for their tusks, killed tigers for their fur, and caught many other animals for their meat.

 Foreign animals: In 1505, European discovered a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean named Mauritius. They brought dogs, pigs, monkeys, and rats with them. It was bad news for dodo birds. They did not have any natural enemies before. They picked up fruits falling down from trees and built their houses on the ground. Shortly after humans came, however, dodo birds were in big trouble—men killed them for their meat, and those animals broke their homes and ate their eggs. The dodo birds first became rare and then extinct. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681.

 Loss of homes: We cut down forest for farming. We cut down trees to build houses. We build dams to make sure that we have enough water to use. When we are trying to make our lives comfortable, the land for animals to live on becomes less and less.