READING 3 Lucy Cooke, Zoologist

Lucy Cooke wants to help animals that aren’t so cute, such as this frog.

LUCY COOKE, ZOOLOGIST

Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 1.6

Which animal do you prefer to see? A baby panda, a toad, or a snake? Most people choose the baby panda. Why do people choose this animal? Most people like cute, furry animals with big eyes, like the panda. These animals get a lot of attention. Why don’t people like snakes and toads? They’re just not cute like pandas.

Lucy Cooke wants people to respect all animals. Who is Lucy Cooke? Why does she want to show people the importance of other animals? Cooke is a zoologist, a scientist who studies animals. She worries about the future of all animals. Scientists need money to study and protect these animals, but they get less money for toads and snakes than for pandas.

“There are so many television shows about koala bears and kittens,” Cooke says. To get people interested in less popular animals, Cooke writes stories about them in a blog. She also makes videos about them and puts them online. People love her videos. They are fun to watch.

Cooke is especially interested in frogs and other amphibians1. Some of these are in danger of disappearing. She wants to save these animals. Why does she want to save these animals? Other animals depend on them for food. If we save frogs, we save other animals, too.

Do you know about the flying frog in Borneo? It has wings. It lives in the treetops and goes from tree to tree without going down to the ground. Do you know about the poison2 dart frog? It is only one centimeter long. But it has enough poison to kill ten people.

Scientists need research money to protect all animals. Cooke’s videos and blog make people aware of all kinds of animals.

1 amphibian: an animal that can live on land or in water 2 poison: a substance that harms or kills people or animals