Deforestation Almost everyone knows who Toucan Sam is, the Froot Loop loving bird from tv (figure 1). But did you know that his family members are losing their homes? I know this is sad, but it is true. His family lives in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil way up high in the tree tops. But something is happening to all the trees, they are starting to disappear. The reason why this is happening is because of deforestation.
Figure 1
What is deforestation?
Deforestation is when people cut down large amounts of trees to use the land or trees for something else. Most of the time it is some big company that comes along and chops down all the trees so they could use the land to build a factory or other type of building. Although, land is not the only reason the people do this. Another reason they do it will use the trees to make paper or anything that is made from wood. Just take a look around your house, there are so many items that are made from wood. If you look in the books in your local library you will see all the paper from the forest fills them up. Even your house itself is most likely made from wood that came from trees. They will also do this is so they can use the land for its natural resources. Once the trees are gone they will mine into the earth and retrieve minerals such as coal or iron. I know that hearing all of this makes you think that deforestation is not a problem, but an important part of our way of life. That's because it is important, the problem is people doing it too much.
Why It is Bad
Deforestation may be helpful to us humans, but not so much for the animals. For many animals, trees are their homes. It would be like you coming home from school one day and seeing that someone has knock down your house and everyone else's house in the whole neighborhood. That is what it is like for the animals when people cut down trees. For some animals, this can be very dangerous. Tress provide protection from predators. So without trees, they are like sitting ducks, literally. Its not just animals that are affected by this, humans are too. Trees give off the oxygen that we breath and absorb the carbon dioxide that we exhale. So if all the tress are gone, it would not just be taking away the animals homes, but the air we breath as well.
Figure 2
The Amazon Rainforest
One of the main places that deforestation occurs is in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon rainforest has one of the largest amounts of plant and animal life living in it. One of those animals are Toucans. For those of you who do not know what Toucans are, they are tropical birds with larges beaks that usually have colorful stripes or designs on them (figure 2). Toucans like to make their homes in holes in the trees. Making their home in a tall strong tree might seem like the safest spot for a bird to live, but not always. Even the biggest strongest trees are no match for humans with their axes and saws. When this happens the Toucans are forced out of their home and must fend for themselves in the wild. Without a home, the birds are much more likely to be eaten up by predators or die.
What Can Be Done?
Now that you are a little more informed about deforestation, you see that their are both positives and negatives to cutting down trees. It might help with our daily lives, but it have an even greater negative impact in the long run. If people don't realize this and slow down the chopping, there might not be any trees left. There is not much to do, but hope that the next generation is smart enough to use the forest for its resources, but still understand its importance. If that happens, Toucan Sam and his family might have a chance after all.
References
https://www.redbubble.com/about
http://savenaturesavehuman.blogspot.com/2012/04/keel-billed-toucan.html
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