The assertion that humans need to preserve land for preservation and sustenance, and that endangered animals need homes.

The speaker’s argument, though well intentioned, is flawed. All of us need food, shelter, and clothing to survive. With this in mind, any animal that lives in the wild does not differ from us in this regard. Even species that are on the verge of extinction still must find shelter and sustenance, though these needs may be more pressing for endangered species.

Unless a species is on the brink of extinction, there is little reason for humans to bother saving it. Sometimes, a species is on the brink of extinction simply because humans do not care enough about it. Many times, animals face extinction because humans are encroaching on their habitats. For example, habitat destruction has led to the near extinction of the orangutan. The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), one of the rarest species of orangutan, lives only in Sumatra. While conservation efforts have helped the species survive, animals such as the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), which lives in Borneo, are critically endangered due to the continued deforestation of that island. The loss of habitat has made the Bornean orangutan even more endangered than the Sumatran orangutan.

Humans are not the only species destroying habitats. Humans are not the only species that need food, shelter, and clothing. Every year, humans kill many billions of fish through overfishing. The overharvesting of aquatic animals is such a serious issue that the United Nations declared 2009 the International Year of the Reef. Moreover, the extinction of several species of turtles prompted the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to enact a moratorium on the trade of turtle products, both live and dead. Endangered species in the wild are not the only ones that need us to protect them; humans have also driven many species to extinction through overharvesting. For example, the ivory trade has caused the extinction of many species of elephants in Africa and Southeast Asia.

The assertion is correct to say that humans need food, shelter, and clothing to survive. However, the need to protect endangered species, many of which are on the brink of extinction, overrides any human need for food or shelter. If humans do not step in to save endangered species from extinction, then other species will suffer the same fate as the animals that are close to extinction.