Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with

the human species originating from the continent. Her dazzling natural beauty has lured millions of 

 people across the globe to its shores and captured the hearts of everyone that has visited. however 

ignorance has led to the systematic destruction of its wild beauty; poaching and the thriving fur 

trade in fashion might be blamed but what about us are we really that ignorant.

Scientists believe that the figures regarding endangered animals in Africa will increase dramatically

in the next twenty years. This means that the next generation and those to follow, will not be

fortunate enough to see critically endangered animals like the tiger and the black rhino in the flesh,

 because our animal species are all dying out at a rapid speed.

another way of looking at might be to blame urbanisation without oversight to were the animals can

 be relocated without affecting their healthy and balanced ecosystem. If the balance between

 predator and prey is not in proportion, then populations may either diminish or expand. This factor 

will sometimes lead to premature extinction of a certain animal species, it has been suggested by

many researchers that the destruction the natural environmental habitat can be attributed to

extinction of many animal species.

Thousands of wildlife in Africa vanishing off the face of the earth each year, the list below suggest

some of the animal species that might get extinct if we do not implement proper oversight.

The Black Rhino

The black rhino is the most endangered animal in Africa and is ranked "critically endangered" due

to extreme hunting and poaching due to the extreme demand for rhino horn in the world. At the

moment there are quite a few Game Reserves that are still dedicated to saving the black rhino and

although the numbers are falling fast, they are still there. Game Reserves in the KwaZulu Natal and

Swaziland region, the Masai Mara Reserves and Kenya's Amboseli are the only places that you will

have a good chance of spotting a black rhino. If some methods aren't taken into action to save the

 black rhino then Africa would be forced to remove this animal from The Big Five, as it will no

longer exist anywhere in the world.

The African Elephant

The African elephant is another member of The Big Five that is slowly dying out. But even though

endangered, there are some African parks where there is an influx of elephants and their numbers

sometimes need to be controlled. Elephants can weigh over six tonnes and eat about 250kg a day,

which results in extreme pressure on their environment. They are smart animals and are able to

communicate with each other using sounds that humans cannot hear. You can see the African

elephant in most game parks in South Africa.

The Mountain Zebra

Today the zebra is only found in a few Game Reserves; the Kruger National Park is where most

 people go to see the zebra. Other kinds of zebra like the Burchell's zebra and the Greyy zebra are

more common and are found all

over Southern Africa; you can distinguish the Mountain zebra from the res by their lack of "shadow

stripes,"

which are faint stripes that run in between the black stripes, and their grid-like striped pattern just

above their tails. The Mountain zebra gets along well with the wildebeest, elephant and impala and

often mix with these species in Game Reserves.

The Cheetah

The Cheetah is renowned in the rest of the world as the fastest animal on earth, exceeding speeds of 

over 100 km/h. These endangered big cats can only be seen at the Kruger National Park in South

Africa and at Etosha in Namibia to name but two. They are not very big animals and their sleek,

slender build makes them easy to tell apart from a leopard. Because of the cheetah being a relatively

 

small cat in comparison to other wild cats, their young are often preyed on by other big felines, and

they are usually shot by farmers who fear for their livestock. Their petite body mass also counts

against them as they have to compete with other predators for sustenance and these factors all play a

role in the battling survival of the cheetah.

Chimpanzees

These cute primates live in groups of 120 and are not as critically endangered but their numbers are

dwindling as a result of poaching and their natural habitat being threatened by deforestation.

Chimpanzees live off mostly fruit and plants, and they find comfort in the shady areas of forests.

With the increase of wildfires each year and the cutting down of trees for artificial purposes, the

chimpanzees legacy is at stake. There are still a few chimps in Western Tanzania in Game Parks like

Mahale Mountains National Park where you are able to see them in their natural habitat.

One other critically endangered animal is the Tiger. There are only 200 of them left in South Africa

and that's only in captivity. They have completely died out in the wild and Game Reserves are

 battling to keep them alive and thriving but 200 is too small a number to be able to save the tiger 

from dying out. The harsh reality is that the next generation and generations after that will not be

able to see a real tiger in its natural habitat. There are a few Game Reserves in Southern Africa that

you can visit to see the big cats, so don't surpass this opportunity. Spend time with the endangered

species of Africa, it might just be your last chance to see these beautiful creatures in alive and

 breathing and it will definitely be a memory you'd want to cherish forever.

I sincerely hope we as a people can begin to understand their relevance to us or the next generation.