Endangered Species

The World Wildlife Fund

In 1960, biologist Sir Julian Huxley returned from a research trip to Africa. He was very much shocked by what he had seen there: the hunting of rare animals and the destruction of their habitat. Other scientists shared his opinion that something had to be done about this. The following year, Huxley, some fellow scientists and a few politicians founded the World Wildlife Fund. It became the largest conservation group in the world.

Today, the WWF has 5 million supporters around the world. It has national organisations in more than 50 countries and raises more than 100 million dollars a year.

The most important task of the WWF is to protect endangered species around the world. Among them are the tiger, whale, elephant and many others. The giant panda, one of the most endangered animals, has become the WWF logo.

The WWF also tries to protect habitats like the tropical rainforest. In the past decade alone, it has been able to conserve over 1 billion acres of forest in Asia, South America and Africa.

The organisation fights against the pollution of natural resources, and it is worried about the destruction of fish in the world’s oceans.

Over the past years, the WWF has been working on projects in over one hundred countries. It also gives money to research work and spends a lot to teach children and parents about our world in danger.

The giant panda has become the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund
Image: J. Patrick Fischer