Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

Description

Brazil is currently considered the country with the greatest biodiversity on the planet. And one of the expressions of this great biodiversity is its fauna. Rich and exuberant, it consists of more than 100 thousand species including mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, reptiles, insects and other invertebrates, which are found in forests, mangroves, savannas, fields, rivers, ponds, etc. But if the present times reveal wealth and exuberance, the future of Brazilian fauna is uncertain. It is estimated that, in a few decades, several species may disappear completely, especially endemic species, that is, those that only exist in certain environments to which they are well adapted. In Brazil, the causes of extinction are innumerable, but the highlights are deforestation of forests, exploitation of wood, opening of roads, air and water pollution, sport and predatory hunting, illegal animal trade. Such actions contribute directly or indirectly to the destruction of the species' natural habitats, putting their survival at risk.