上月全球最后一頭雄性北方白犀牛離世，給動物保護活動和世界各地的動物愛好者敲響了警鐘。 這是大型野生動物群生存環境堪憂的最新警報：全球約有1700種哺乳動物、鳥類、爬行動物、兩棲動物和魚類嚴重瀕危。

為了讓人們進一步意識到，污染和過度開發等人類行為威脅生態多元化，每年的4月22日被定為世界地球日。人類得以借機反思，曾同住地球生活的大型野生動物緣何一步步走向滅絕，有哪些方法可以避免地球喪失更多的物種。

2018年的地球日關注消滅塑料污染、尤其是經常流入海洋和航道的一次性塑料。最近網上有一段瘋傳的視頻就反映出塑料對野生動物的威脅。視頻的點擊量已經超過2100萬次，內容是一位美國生物學家幫海龜拔掉鼻孔里的塑料吸管。（視頻不但有圖像畫面，還配有文字說明。）只要你看過這段視頻，下一次用塑料管喝奶昔時，你就會不由自主地自我檢討。

但是，除了在餐廳或者酒吧點餐時拒絕用塑料吸管，參與地球日還可以采取一些更主動的方式，比如支持本地的動物園和水族館，對瀕危動物來說這些地方更像現代諾亞方舟。

有些動物幾乎已經失去天然棲息地，卻仍奇跡般綿延數代，動物園和水族館能幫助延續種族。一些動物園的標志性動物都屬于需要保護的生物，比如大型貓科動物、靈長類動物和熊貓。包括華南虎在內，地球上已經有幾十種野生動物在滅絕后完全依賴人工飼養才存活至今。

通過拯救瀕危物種，動物園和水族館也保存了人類和動物之間難以描述的情感聯系，它曾經鼓舞著一代代年輕人和懷有赤子之心的人。如果人與動物之間的紐帶遭到破壞，瀕危物種處境將更加危險。要支持保護動物事業，人們必須首先愛動物，熱愛動物就要先了解。城鎮化加速發展意味著，動物園和水族館是大多數人唯一有機會了解瀕危動物的地方。在美國，超過1.83億人每年都去動物園和水族館，約占全美人口的一半。

動物園可以讓最瀕危的物種安全生活，在經驗豐富的動物學家和飼養員幫助下種群恢復增長。通過動物園的飼養計劃，多個物種已脫離瀕危的險境，重歸大自然的懷抱。阿拉伯大羚羊、美洲鶴、黑足鼬和加州神鷲也在動物園的努力下數量開始回升。在美國華盛頓特區的國家動物園幫助下，野生的金獅面狨數量已經從200只增加到3200只。

動物園和水族館還能給動物保護行動提供資金支持，每年投入上億美元進行飼養、生物棲息地和獸醫方面的科學研究。世界動物園和水族館聯合會敦促各地動物園，至少將3%的預算用于動物保護工作。大多數動物園都會策劃地球日的活動，增進人們對瀕危動物的了解。

為了盡可能發揮更大作用，動物園和水族館應將愛護動物作為最高標準。美國人道協會的人道保護項目會前往動物園和水族館驗收，從而進一步實現目標，確保動物在健康、積極社交、活躍、安全的生活環境，光照、噪聲、空氣和溫度方面也要達到一定水平。具體標準由動物學專家制定。公眾顯然越來越希望動物享受人道的待遇和積極福利，人道保護項目可提供第三方驗證。

地球日提醒人們的有些問題比較大，比如目前太平洋上漂浮著上百萬平方英里的廢棄塑料。然而也可以從身邊做起，支持本地動物園和水族館，真正為保護瀕危物種出一份力，避免其他瀕危物種像白犀牛一樣從地球上消失。（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

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The death last month of the world’s last remaining male northern white rhinoceros was a red flag for the conservation movement and animal lovers everywhere. It was just the latest reminder of the precarious state of major fauna around the world: There are roughly 1,700 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, or fish that are critically endangered.

Today is Earth Day, which raises awareness about how human actions such as pollution and overdevelopment threaten biodiversity. It presents an opportunity to reflect on the extinction of majestic creatures with whom we once shared the Earth and consider ideas to prevent further species loss.

Earth Day 2018 is focused on ending plastic pollution, particularly the single-use plastics that often end up in our oceans and waterways. The plastic threat to wildlife has been driven home by a recent viral video, viewed over 21 million times, of a straw being removed from the nose of a sea turtle. (This video is graphic and contains explicit language.) It’s difficult to watch and not reflect upon the next time you’re slurping a milkshake.

But there’s something more proactive that Americans can do to celebrate Earth Day besides refusing a plastic straw the next time they’re ordering at a restaurant or bar. They can support their local zoos and aquariums, which act as modern-day arks of hope for endangered animals across the world.

Zoos and aquariums offer a lifeline to animals who have inspired wonder for generations but have little-to-no natural habitat left. These include the most iconic zoo animals—such as big cats, primates, and pandas. Dozens of animals, including the South China tiger, no longer exist in the wild and are only kept in existence because of human care.

By saving species, zoos and aquariums also preserve the indescribable connection between people and animals, which has inspired generations of the young and young-at-heart. If this bond is frayed, it will doom endangered species. To generate support for conserving animals, people must first love animals. And to love animals, people must know them. Increasing urbanization means zoos and aquariums are the only opportunity most people get to knowing threatened animals. More than 183 million people—roughly half of the U.S. population—visit a zoo or aquarium annually.

Safe in zoos, critically endangered species can work to rebuild their populations, with the help of trained zoologists and breeders. Several species have been saved and reintroduced to the wild through zoo breeding programs. The Arabian oryx, whooping crane, black-footed ferret, and California condor have all seen their populations begin to recover as a result of zoos’ efforts. Washington DC’s National Zoo helped increase the population of the golden lion tamarins from about 200 to 3,200 in the wild today.

Zoos and aquariums also help finance conservation efforts, spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually on research efforts in breeding, habitat, and veterinary science. The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums has urged zoos to devote at least 3% of their budgets to conservation work. Most zoos have Earth Day programming today to help raise awareness of their inhabitants’ plight.

To do the most good, zoos and aquariums must be held to the highest standards of animal welfare. American Humane’s Humane Conservation program furthers this goal by certifying that animals in participating zoos and aquariums are healthy, positively social, active, safe, and living with proper light, sound, air, and heat levels. These standards are set by animal science experts, providing the third-party validation of humane treatment and positive welfare that an increasingly discerning public is demanding.

Some of the issues raised by Earth Day seem as vast as the million-square-mile mass of discarded plastics currently floating in the Pacific Ocean. But supporting local zoos and aquariums is a tangible step that has real benefits in protecting endangered species and helping prevent the next white rhino from disappearing from the planet.