Question: if you could save an extinct/endangered species what would it be?

Becky Thomas answered on 11 Jun 2018:

This is such a tricky question to answer…. at a push I would say the orangutan. I saw them in Borneo a few years ago, and they are such gentle apes. I’ve seen the way that people are clearing the forests over there for palm oil production, and orangutans are losing habitat every day. They are also targeted because people want the young as pets, which is so cruel. They are a very long lived species and very slow to breed, so are under real threat. Being cheeky, I have another species too… closer to home we are losing so many bird species and one of the most threatened is the turtle dove. They have an amazing purring call, and they migrate here every year from Africa. I go to a reserve near me every year to see them, and every time I worry that they won’t have made the journey back. It makes me really sad that my son might not get to see them when he’s older.