Genetic erosion

Genetic erosion is like a game of Jenga: if you take away too many pieces, the tower will fall apart. It's the same way for plants and animals. Genetic erosion means that the genes that make up the genetic information of a species are starting to disappear. It's a bit like a puzzle: every piece is really important for the puzzle to be complete and for it to look like the picture on the box. When pieces are missing, the picture won't look quite right.

The same thing can happen to plants and animals. If the genes that make up each species disappear, it's like pieces missing from the puzzle. Their population will decrease and fewer and fewer of them will be around. This can be caused by many things, like diseases, loss of habitat, and poaching. We have to be very careful to make sure that all species can survive and that their genetic information is still around.