The seahorse is a small fish with a curly tail. Its size is from as small as a peanut (花生) to as large as a tennis shoe. Seahorses come in many colors, and some even have the ability to change colors to match the environment where they make their homes.
________ They are the slowest swimmers among fish. Their only way to push themselves forward is by using a tiny fin on their back. Often, seahorses hold onto plants with their tails for a faster trip!
The seahorses' biggest danger comes from humans. Seahorses feed on tiny fish and plankton (浮游生物), but chemical (化学品) pollution from human activities harms the food. And human-caused climate change has led to warmer ocean temperatures, which put stress on seahorses' bodies by influencing their breathing and appetite (食欲). What's more, because seahorses are poor swimmers, they have trouble running away to a safe area when their usual living place is polluted.
However, these bad things are far less terrible than the seahorse trade. Over 20 million seahorses are caught and killed each year for use in traditional Chinese medicine. On top of this, hundreds of thousands of wild seahorses are sold to private aquarium (水族馆) owners every year.
As it continues, seahorses could disappear by around 2050, but there is still time to save them. Protecting seahorses means never buying them for home aquariums or taking medicine made with them. The whole world needs to protect oceans by cutting down on sea pollution.
