Written by Robert E. Slavin and Richard Gifford Matter
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Ideas That Written by Robert E. Slavin and Richard Gifford Matter Written by Robert E. Slavin and Richard Gifford 1 Save the Animals © 2014 Success for All Foundation. All rights reserved. ISBN: 9781941010099 Developers: Robert E. Slavin, Kate Conway, Richard Gifford, Alli Hoge, Wendy Fitchett Editors: Janet Wisner, Jodie Littleton Designers: Barbara Colquitt, Devon Bouldin Image Credits: Creative Commons Attribution–Generic 2.0: Dan Shapiro/NOAA Photo Library (blue whales, pg. 6-7), Joseph Brandt/ USFWS (Condor and chick, pg. 23) Creative Commons Attribution–Share Alike: Keith Schengili-Roberts (Passenger pigeon, pg. 8) The Jane Goodall Institute: © Michael Neugebauer (Jane and Freud, pg. 15) Shutterstock.com: Andamanec, Andy Dean Photography, Col, Cranach, Dan Thornberg, Dean Pennala, dedek, Dennis Donohue, Elena Schweitzer, Eric Isselee, George Lamson, Holbox, Hung Chung Chih, Iakov Filimonov, Ivan Kuzmin, Jag_cz, jeff gynane, Kane513, kojihirano, Kristof Degreef, Lisovskaya Natalia, Norm Diver, ntnt, Pal Teravagimov, Reinhold Leitner, Saddako, Sergey Novikov, TeeraPhoto, TFoxFoto, Trekandshoot, Vladimir Melnik U.S. Geological Survey The mission of the Success for All Foundation is to develop and disseminate research-proven educational programs to ensure that all students, from all backgrounds, achieve at the highest academic levels. These programs were originally developed at Johns Hopkins University. 300 E. Joppa Road, Suite 500, Baltimore, MD 21286 PHONE: (800) 548-4998, ext. 2372 FAX: (410) 324-4444 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.successforall.org Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................4 Why are species endangered? ..........................8 What are people doing to save endangered animals? .............................19 What Conservation Means for Humans .........26 What can you do to save animals? .................29 Glossary ............................................................31 Index ................................................................32 3 Introduction Do you want to live No blue whales? These and thousands few of them today, in a world where there No chimpanzees? of other species are and they could be are no lions or tigers? No rhinos? endangered. That gone tomorrow. Once No California condors? No polar bears? means that there are they are extinct, they cannot be brought back. 4 Most people understand how endangered species and how important it is to keep species people around the world are living in the wild. Studying trying to conserve, or save, endangered animals helps us them. But it is also about how understand our environment helping endangered animals and how humans affect the to survive may help our own world. This book is about species survive. Polar Bear Chimpanzee Condor 5 Species Spotlight: BlueBlue WhaleWhale Blue whales are They swim alone, in the biggest animals pairs, and sometimes on Earth. In fact, in small groups. They scientists think they may live to be more are bigger than the than 100 years old. biggest dinosaurs. Blue whales grow Blue whales are noisy to be more than 100 animals. They make feet long and weigh vocalizations or more than 200 tons. sounds that scientists Their hearts alone believe can be heard can weigh more by other whales than a car. hundreds of miles away. These sounds These huge mammals may be used for are found in all the communication. oceans of the globe. 6 Like bats, blue tangled in fishing whales may also gear, and pollution. use sound to navigate in deep, In 1966, hunting blue dark ocean waters. whales was banned by international Blue whales were law. Since then, almost hunted to researchers think extinction in the that the blue whale 1900s. More than population has made 300,000 whales were a small comeback. killed for their oil. Today it is estimated They are also hurt that between 10,000 or killed by collisions and 25,000 blue with ships, getting whales still survive. 7 Why Are Species Endangered? All endangered species When Europeans have been on Earth first came to America, for millions of years, there were billions so why are they of passenger pigeons. endangered today? They were cheap food because there were Hunting and so many, and they Fishing were so easy to catch Some species are or shoot. In the 1800s, endangered, or have you could buy become extinct, a passenger pigeon due to overhunting to eat for two cents. or fishing. One Hunters killed every example is the passenger pigeon passenger pigeon. in America. The last one on Earth died in a zoo in 1914. 8 Hunting is also a problem in However, poachers kill Africa. In most countries, many animals. For example, Elephant it is against the law to hunt elephants are killed for endangered animals. their ivory tusks, and rhinos are hunted for their horns. Rhino 9 Many kinds of fish that extinct as a result of were once common have overfishing and pollution. been fished to near Atlantic bluefin tuna extinction. For example, are also in trouble. caviar (salted sturgeon It is estimated that the eggs) is a very expensive bluefin tuna population food. In the Caspian Sea, has declined by nearly Sturgeon these fish are almost 90 percent since the 1970s. Bluefin Tuna 10 Species Spotlight: SiberianSiberian TigerTiger The Siberian Tiger is the Poaching and the loss largest tiger in the world. of habitat have reduced It lives in the mountains the number of Siberian of Russia. These tigers used tigers to around 350. to live in China and Korea The fur from these tigers as well, but they are now is so valuable that poaching extinct there. continues, even though it is illegal. 11 Loss of Habitat Many animals lose their An animal’s home habitat when people move is called its habitat. into the area looking A habitat includes all the for land. In the Florida things that an animal needs Everglades, farmers to live. For example, polar drained a lot of swamps bears need to live in the to use the land for growing Arctic. They thrive in crops. This left many the cold temperatures of alligators, fish, birds, and this region. The animals other animals without that they eat, such as homes. Luckily, the state seals, also live there. of Florida decided to save Most monkeys need to the rest of the Everglades. live in a rainforest. They There is still a lot of swamp need tall trees and lots of for the animals that need fruit to eat. Alligators and this habitat. However, there crocodiles need swamps are far fewer animals than full of fish. there were before. 12 Humans are also moving Trees are also logged into animal habitats in other to make lumber for parts of the world. Some of building. In Oregon and the animals that live in these Wisconsin, forests were habitats are endangered. cut down to make lumber. This hurt species such Logging is another as the northern spotted major cause of habitat owl. In the 1990s, the U.S. loss. In some places, government limited logging forests are cut down to in this region to help make way for farms and protect the spotted owl. ranches. In Brazil, more than 200,000 square miles Loss of habitat is also a have been cleared to raise problem in China. It affects crops and cattle. This pandas and many other has done serious damage animals. Pandas live in a to the rainforest. Many particular kind of mountain animals, such as jaguars habitat. They only eat a and spider monkeys, specific kind of bamboo. depend on the rainforest. Much of their habitat has In Africa, people are also been destroyed for farming cutting down trees to start and human settlement. farms. This has endangered This has led to the starvation elephants, lions, hippos, of many pandas. 13 and other species. Jane Goodall: Champion of the Chimpanzees Jane Goodall is a wildlife She started working to save Goodall’s love of chimpanzees biologist famous for her their habitat. Goodall began began when her father gave study of chimpanzees. a program to find homes for her a toy chimpanzee when However, Goodall doesn’t chimpanzees whose parents she was a little girl. She loved just study chimpanzees. had been killed by poachers. the little monkey so much She also works to help them She also founded Roots and that it still sits on her dresser and other animals. Goodall Shoots. This program works many years later. saw that the destruction of with kids around the world African forests was hurting on projects that help animals the chimpanzees. and the environment. 14 As a young woman, Before Goodall, most Goodall was hired to scientists thought that study chimpanzees in only humans made Africa. She went on to or used tools. She make very important also discovered that discoveries about these chimpanzees have many primates. behaviors in common with humans. They hug. Goodall learned that They kiss. They even chimpanzees make pat each other on the tools. They would pick back. Goodall believes stalks of grass and that these behaviors stick them into termite show that chimpanzees mounds. Then they care for each other like would pull out the stalks humans do. and eat the termites. The chimpanzees were “fishing” for termites. 15 Pollution It made their eggshells thinner. In 1972, DDT was banned in the Pollution is a serious problem This made the eggs easier to United States. Since then, these for many species. For example, break. Even the parents sitting bird populations have started DDT is a chemical pollutant. For on the eggs could break them. to recover. many years, it was used to kill Fewer baby birds hatched. DDT insects such as gnats. However, almost caused the extinction of DDT had harmful effects on bald eagles, ospreys, and other some bird species as well. bird species. 16 Pollution is also very The mercury gets into the harmful for fish and other ocean and is absorbed sea animals.