It's a known truth, Massachusetts friends and neighbors. Mother Nature can often be cruel. However, many times, mankind can be even crueler. You may not even realize it, but every year across the planet Earth, several forms of wildlife are either on the brink of extinction or die out altogether.

Whether it's by the encroachment of mankind or just the natural way of things in nature, one thing is for certain, different animals are constantly being added to the endangered species list.

Massachusetts has several animal species that are in danger of eventually becoming extinct. One of those animals is actually quite dangerous and that's a rarity. Potentially dangerous animals are rarely added to endangered species lists.

The online animal resource AZ Animals recently published an article that spotlighted several animals that live in the Commonwealth that are in danger of being wiped out if we can't turn things around. I'm just going to highlight a few of them.

5 Animals In Massachusetts In Danger Of Eventual Extinction

1. Atlantic Sturgeon:

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Photo by rigel on Unsplash
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Atlantic Shortnose Sturgeon are in danger of becoming extinct due to degradation of rivers because of dams and pollution. Also, man kills them for their eggs.

2. Species of Sea Turtles:


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Several species of sea turtles such as green, Atlantic Hawksbill, and Loggerhead are being threatened by poaching, degridation of their habitat, and other factors.

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3. Timber Rattlesnake:


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The Timber Rattlesnake is the animal I was referring to above when I mentioned how rare it is that a potentially dangerous animal gets added to the endangered species list. WWLP/22 News Springfield reports that:

Despite their widespread distribution across most of the eastern United States, these predators are starting to decline in many parts of their native range, especially in the northeast.

4. Moths and Butterflys

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Getty Images
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Certain species such as twilight moths, Persius duskywings, phyllira tiger moths, underwing, etc., are facing extinction mainly due to pesticide use.

5. Whales

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Again, different species of whales including humpbacks, sperm, and blue whales are facing extinction due to many reasons such as killer whale predation, climate change, pollution, etc.

So there you go, my friends. That's just 5 animals that are endangered in Massachusetts. There are several more and I may have to spotlight them in a future article. For more info, visit AZ Animals or WWLP/22 News.

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