Mankind has long been thinking about the need to preserve nature. The first step towards caring for her was the signing of an international instrument for the protection of birds in the early 20th century in Paris. After this event, the Union for the Conservation of Nature began to function. In the middle of the century, the first International Red Book was published.
The Red Book of Russia
In the Russian Federation, the Red Book is not just a list of endangered species. It is a document with data on plants and animals in need of protection. Taxa - groups in the classification - have their own category of rarity. Animals and plants of the Red Book of Russia receive one of six extinction codes: restored and restored (code 5 in the Red Book), undetermined by status (code 4), rare (code 3), declining in number (code 2), and endangered (code 1), probably disappeared (code 0).
Probably extinct animals and plants
Every day on the planet, hundreds of representatives of fauna and flora die, many of them due to human faults. Animals and plants of the Red Book of Russia - a list of not only rare taxa, but also those that have completely disappeared from the face of the country.
The Caucasian bison, first mentioned in the 17th century, began to sharply reduce its population at the beginning of the 20th century, during the years of war.
It was not possible to save the species from extinction - by the time of the creation of the Caucasus Nature Reserve there were about ten of them. A similar disappearance story occurred with Tarpan, the ancestor of Przewalski’s horse. This species lived in the Russian forest-steppes, where with the development of animal husbandry in the early 20th century, it was prejudiced by livestock.
In Russia, 69 animal species and 76 plant species are considered likely to have disappeared. These are the animals and plants of the Red Book of Russia, whose photos and pictures remain the only reminder of their existence.
The extraordinary beauty and possession of healing properties contributed to the destruction of curly lilies by people.
Cinquefoil Volga, which grew only in the Volga region, disappeared from the face of the planet due to construction work.
Endangered plants and animals
Factors leading to the extinction of various species of plants and animals are associated mainly with human activities. This is fishing and poaching, violation or destruction of places of distribution of plants and animals, pollution of territories, competition with livestock, human intervention in natural food chains.
The animals and plants of the Red Book of Russia, whose names are familiar to many, are endangered. The Amur tiger, walrus and polar bear are the well-known "Red Books". A limiting factor in their numbers is poaching. A flower that grows only in Russia is a dolomite bell. Due to growth in the tourism industry development zones - in the Caucasus - the flower has become an endangered species.
Some animals and plants of the Red Book of Russia are found in reserve lists of other countries. The white-backed albatross, Russia's largest seabird, is protected by two countries - Russia and Japan.
The species began to disappear due to poaching (albatross fluff is highly valued), due to volcanic activity in nesting sites (Kuril Islands).
The snow leopard is guarded by a number of states, mainly Russia and China. The number of snow leopards is rapidly declining due to poaching.
Managed to save them
Red books allow you to work actively towards the conservation of rare taxa. To restore populations, nurseries, reserves, gene banks are created. Such animals and plants of the Red Book of Russia as beavers, walruses, Far Eastern walruses, northern sea otters, gray whales, and nut-bearing lotuses have been preserved. Fruitful is the work to restore the numbers of polar bears and reindeer.