Prince Harry and Meghan share powerful photos of endangered animals for Earth Day

To celebrate the Earth Day, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released a few photos highlighting the precarious state of our planet. The royal couple shared nine images on their Instagram account on Monday.

As they said, the Earth Day is a chance to “learn about, celebrate and continue to safeguard out planet.” As well as they called on “everyone of us” to make a difference every single day.

The photos they’ve chosen reveal wildlife and environments from different areas of the planet. In the caption they also explained the significance of each one.

“We all now know the damage plastics are causing to our oceans,” the post says. “Micro plastics are also ending up in our food source, creating not just environmental problems for our planet but medical problems for ourselves too.”

 

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Today is #earthday – an opportunity to learn about, celebrate and continue to safeguard our planet, our home. The above, Their Royal Highnesses in Rotorua, New Zealand. Of the 170 different species originally planted in the early 1900’s, only a handful of species, including these majestic Redwoods, remain today. Next, we invite you to scroll through a series of 8 photos taken by The Duke of Sussex©️DOS sharing his environmental POV including: Africa’s Unicorn, the rhino. These magnificent animals have survived ice ages and giant crocodiles, amongst other things! They have adapted to earth’s changing climate continually for over 30 million years. Yet here we are in 2019 where their biggest threat is us. A critical ecosystem, Botswana’s Okavango Delta sustains millions of people and an abundance of wildlife. Huge bush fires, predominantly started by humans, are altering the entire river system; the ash kills the fish as the flood comes in and the trees that don’t burn become next year’s kindling. Desert lions are critically endangered due partly to human wildlife conflict, habitat encroachment and climate change. 96% of mammals on our 🌍 are either livestock or humans, meaning only 4% remaining are wild animals. Orca and Humpback whale populations are recovering in Norway thanks to the protection of their fisheries. Proof that fishing sustainably can benefit us all. Roughly 3/4 of Guyana is forested, its forests are highly diverse with 1,263 known species of wildlife and 6,409 species of plants. Many countries continue to try and deforest there for the global demand for timber. We all now know the damage plastics are causing to our oceans. Micro plastics are also ending up in our food source, creating not just environmental problems for our planet but medical problems for ourselves too. When a fenced area passes its carrying capacity for elephants, they start to encroach into farmland causing havoc for communities. Here @AfricanParksNetwork relocated 500 Elephants to another park within Malawi to reduce the pressure on human wildlife conflict and create more dispersed tourism. Every one of us can make a difference, not just today but everyday #earthday

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Apr 22, 2019 at 6:54am PDT

The pictorial refers to countries as Botswana, New Zealand and Guyana. The couple also shared some endangered animals as lions, rhinos, elephants, orca and humpback whales.

A photo that showcases a rhino, carries the most powerful message as well as a warning of how our precious planet is falling apart.

“These magnificent animals have survived ice ages and giant crocodiles, amongst other things! They have adapted to Earth’s changing climate continually for over 30 million years. Yet here we are in 2019 where their biggest threat is us,” the royal couple said.