Definitions

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Endangered Animals in Our Midst By Laurie Kane
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Definitions

• Extinct
• A species of plant or animal that is no longer
  living.

Endangered A species that is in immediate danger
of becoming extinct and needs protection to
survive.
Threatened A species that is likely to become
endangered if it is not protected.
In the United States, there are over 400 animal
species identified as endangered, and over 150
animals that are threatened.
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Extinct

• When the last of a type of plant or animal in the
  world dies, such as dinosaurs or wooly mammoths,
  then they are extinct or lost forever, and can
  never be brought back.
• Since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in
  1620, more than 500 species in the United States
  have become extinct.
• More species are going extinct today because
  people are altering the air, water, and land
  faster than species can adapt.

Passenger pigeons became extinct in the early
1900s due to destruction of their forest habitat
and extreme overhunting.
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Endangered

• An endangered species is one that is getting
  close to extinction.

Gray wolves are endangered in most of the United
States. They once roamed widely across North
America. As predators, they keep their prey in
balance with nature by ensuring the prey animals
do not become over-populated. Before people
understood how important predators are to keeping
a healthy balance in nature, many wolves were
killed.
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Threatened
A threatened species is likely to become
endangered if the factors putting it at risk are
not reversed.

• The Stellar Sea Lion, which lives in Alaska, is a
  threatened species. Its population declined over
  75 between 1976 and 1990. The factors that have
  contributed to its decline include being caught
  in fishing nets, being hunted, diseases,
  contaminants, and increased fishing, which has
  reduced its food supply.
• New regulations have helped the Stellar Sea Lion
  start to rebound in recent years

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Why Do Species Become Endangered?

1. Habitat loss - When people remove or change
   forests, rivers, wetlands, prairies, beaches, and
   other ecosystems, there is often no place left
   for plants, fish, and wildlife.
2. Illegal killing or over-collection
3. Pesticides and pollution
4. Competition with other species
5. Disease

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Whooping Cranes

• Whooping cranes are endangered mainly because of
  habitat loss. These large wading birds feed and
  nest in open marshes and rivers, called wetlands,
  as they migrate between Canada and the Gulf of
  Mexico with the changing seasons. Migrating
  animals need appropriate habitats as they travel
  along their migration route. Many wetlands have
  been lost to agriculture and development.

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Eagles

• DDT, a pesticide, was being used on farms to
  control bugs that harmed crops. When it rained,
  DDT washed off the soil and into the waterways.
  Bald eagles became poisoned with DDT when they
  ate fish living in the waterways contaminated
  with DDT.
• Because of the DDT in their bodies, bald eagles
  began laying eggs with shells so thin they often
  broke, greatly reducing eagle populations.
• In 1972, the U.S. government banned the use of
  DDT because of its harmfulness to the health of
  animals and humans.
• With efforts to protect eagle habitats and
  reintroduce eagles into former habitats, the
  number of adult nesting pairs in the lower 48
  states has increased from 450 before the DDT ban
  to over 4,000 now.

Man preparing to release bald eagle into the wild.
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Manatees

• Human activities are also the main problem facing
  the endangered manatee, or sea cow.
• Manatees live in rivers, canals, and along the
  coast of Florida, where people often use boats
  for recreation.
• Sometimes, speed boats run over the manatees,
  killing or injuring them.

By enforcing laws to protect species, such as
slow speed zones in waters inhabited by
endangered animals, we can help rare species
survive.
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Copperbelly Water Snake

• In 1997, the copperbelly water snake was listed
  as a threatened species in Indiana, Illinois, and
  Michigan, due to habitat loss and pollution from
  mining. It lives in a wetland ecosystem and is
  an important predator as well as prey for many
  types of wildlife.

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Ecosystems

• All living things, from mammals (including
  humans) to fish to insects to plants, are
  connected and depend on each other for survival.
• This system of living things depending on one
  another and their environment is called an
  ecosystem.
• The removal of one species or aspect of the
  environment in an ecosystem can set off a chain
  reaction affecting other species, like the
  wetlands and the whooping crane.

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• Endangered species show us that our world may not
  be as healthy as we think. We need to take
  better care of it...there's no place else to go!

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What Is Being Done to Help Endangered and
Threatened Species?

• In 1973, the U.S. enacted the Endangered Species
  Act to protect disappearing plants and animals,
  and help make our world a cleaner, safer place
  where they can live.
• More than 900 species of plants and animals in
  the U.S. are protected by the Endangered Species
  Act.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for
  protecting endangered and threatened species and
  the habitats they depend on.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife representatives work with
a Florida panther.
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Ways You Can Help

• Learn as much as you can about endangered species
  in your area
• Visit nearby wildlife refuges or nature centers
• Dont buy species illegally taken from the wild
  (e.g., turtles)
• Dont buy products made from threatened or
  endangered species (e.g., ivory)
• Work with groups that help to clean up or restore
  local ecosystems for species
• Contribute to organizations working to protect
  endangered species and their habitats

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Its up to everyone to be a good steward of our
ecosystems and the species that live in them.
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The choices you make every day affect our
environment. By conserving energy, water, and
other resources, you are helping the environment
and the species that live in it.
We can do it!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!