World Wildlife Day is observed annually to raise awareness about the planet's plants and animals. The United Nations General Assembly designated March 3 as World Wildlife Day in 2013.

According to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, over 8,400 species of wild fauna and flora are critically endangered. Nearly 30,000 more are understood to be endangered or vulnerable. The estimates suggest that over a million species are threatened with extinction.

The theme for this year is "Safeguarding key species for ecosystem restoration." Last year's theme was "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet."

Here are some quotes, courtesy Good Reads, to share on this day:

1. "If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love." ― Steve Irwin

2. "Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." ― Frank Lloyd Wright

3. "The hope of the future lies not in curbing the influence of human occupancy – it is already too late for that – but in creating a better understanding of the extent of that influence and a new ethic for its governance." ― Aldo Leopold

4. "The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction." ― Rachel Carson

5. "We need to understand ourselves as biological creatures at one with the diversity of all life. When we can truly see this unity and interdependence, we will find nature to be forgiving, generous and resilient." ― Kenny Ausubel

6. "The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird symbolize the strength and freedom of America. But as latter-day citizens we shall fail our trust if we permit the eagle to disappear." ― John F. Kennedy

7. "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." ― Albert Einstein

8. "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." ― Elwyn Brooks White

9. "It is only on the condition of humility and reverence before the world that our species will be able to remain in it." ― Wendell Berry

10. "If you can reach out and touch and love and be with wildlife, you will forever be changed, and you will want to make the world a better place." ― Terri Irwin

A female black rhino known as Sonia is pictured with her calf in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya
A female black rhino known as Sonia is pictured with her calf in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya AFP / Tony KARUMBA
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