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An open letter to humans from 20 animals who may not be around much longer.

We, the undersigned, are tired of your excuses.

1. Sea lion. Photo by Jean-Christophe Magnenet/AFP/Getty Images.


We are animals from around the globe. Strong, majestic, and beautiful.

2. Giant panda. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

But some of us are just starting to feel vulnerable.

3. Marine iguana. Photo by Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images.

And others are rapidly approaching extinction.

4. Hawksbill sea turtle. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.

We're not here to point fingers. Mostly because we don't have any.

5. Black rhino. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

But if we're being honest, a lot of this is your fault.

6. Rockhopper penguin. Photo by Marc Müller/AFP/Getty Images.

Well, not you specifically, but your kind. You know, humans.

French customs recovers some narwhal tusks. Photo by Francis Roche/AFP/Getty Images.

Thanks to some of your favorite pastimes like logging, overfishing, poaching, hunting, and being lax on climate change, we're in the weeds.

7. Great white shark. Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images.

In fact, it's worse than the weeds. Some of us would kill for some weeds.

8. Red panda. Photo by Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/Getty Images.

Seriously, it's bad. We're in trouble.

9. Bonobo. Photo by Thomas Lohnes/AFP/Getty Images.

But all is not lost.

10. Indochinese tigers. Photo by Ken Bohn/Zoological Society of San Diego via Getty Images.

We're holding on as long as we can, but we need your help.

11. Amur leopard. Photo by Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images.

And there are a few things you can do right now that would really help us out.

12. Dugong. Photo by Off/AFP/Getty Images.

Things like buying sustainable products and recycling, especially when it comes to your electronics.

13. Gorilla. Photo by Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images.

Columbite-tantalite, known as coltan, is a metallic ore used to make cell phone and computer batteries. It's found in large quantities in central Africa which is also home to endangered gorillas. Recycling the batteries reduces the demand for coltan and could help preserve this vital land.

You can visit us in your local park or wildlife refuge.

14. Bison. Come and explore. Check out our homes and habitats. See what we're all about. Photo by Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images.

Because once you see what's at risk, we'll be a little bit harder to ignore.

15. Humphead Wrasse. Photo by Greg Wood /AFP/Getty Images.

Oh, and have we mentioned you can take action on climate change?

16. Snow leopard. Photo by Volker Hartmann/AFP/Getty Images.

We know it's hard to think about solving climate change as an individual, but we have this thing we do called "teamwork." Maybe it will work for you too.

17. African elephants. Photo by Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images.

And lastly: Speak up. Your words are a gift. Use them for good.

18. Monarch butterfly. Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images.

Write your elected officials. Talk to your friends. Engage with the organizations fighting the good fight.

19. Chimpanzee. Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty Images.

Because we need your voice now more than ever. Especially since we don't have voices of our own.

20. Polar bear. Photo by Peter Steffen/AFP/Getty Images.

Signed,

Earth's Threatened, Vulnerable, and Endangered Species


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York" was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture. It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






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Melissa Pateras is known on Tiktok for her laundry knowledge. Seriously, her ability to fold laundry is hypnotizing. This time, she created a video explaining what actually takes place at the dry cleaner and the internet is aghast.

Before Pateras explained what happens in the mysterious world behind the counter of a dry cleaner, she asked a few of her friends what they thought dry cleaning was. Their answers were...interesting to say the least.

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Representative Image from Canva

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