“The message is simple: love and conserve our wildlife.”
~Steve Irwin.
Wildlife helps keep the local ecosystem working. Birds play numerous roles in the environment, from carcass removal by the Turkey vulture, to oak planting by Scrub jays, to pollination by hummingbirds. Mammals contribute to population control, pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control. While amphibians also contribute to pest control and soil cycling, they also contribute to medical and pharmaceutical research. Reptiles are the middle of the food web, helping with pest control and feeding larger predators. Invertebrates pollinate and cycle and heal soil.
Approximately 10% of all species are threatened or endangered. Endangered species found in the Sacramento River watershed include Chinook salmon, Valley elderberry longhorn beetle, yellow-billed cuckoos, Swainson’s hawks, and bank swallows.
Read more about animal extinction here: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/