It’s Not Too Late To Save These Animals! A Collaborative Project Library Skills Class Odd A April 2017
Gray Wolf Gray Wolves were killed for meat before, but when Europeans came, they brought fear and hatred for the wolves. They trapped, poisoned, and killed them. Wolves have also been killed for conservation purposes. At Yellowstone park they were worried about the population of their elks, the primary food source for the wolves. They then killed all of their wolves. By 1945 there were only 350 to 700 wolves in Minnesota and Isle Royale in Lake Superior. The average size of a wolf's body is 3-5 feet long. Their tails are usually 1-2 feet long. Females typically weigh 60-100 pounds, and males weigh 70-145 pounds. Wolves are carnivores, meaning they prefer to eat large hoofed mammals such as deer, elk, bison and moose. Wolves can thrive in many different habitats. From the tundra to woodlands, forests, grasslands and deserts. Today, gray wolves have populations in Alaska, northern Michigan, northern Wisconsin, western Montana, northern Idaho, northeast Oregon
Today, gray wolves are on the endangered list, and we are definitely trying to bring them back. In 1957, Wisconsin started protecting wolves by law. The same law was put in Minnesota in 1965. The Federal Endangered Species Act in Minnesota in 1973 continued to protect them until the area’s wolves were delisted in 2007. Protecting gray wolves in Minnesota was enough to save them. Populations grew, once killing was stopped. Most adult male wolves weigh about 75-120 pounds. Wolves look a lot like german shepherds, but have longer legs, bigger feet, a wider head, and a long, bushy tail. Female wolves are smaller than male wolves. Most wolves have gray fur, but they vary in region and climate. Wolves have excellent sources of vision, smell, and hearing. These senses help the wolf locate their prey. Wolves have 42 teeth, including four fangs in the front that are used to kill prey.
The amount of wolves has risen from 1989, 2008.
A baby gray wolf.
Green Sea Turtle Green Sea Turtles are the largest turtle species, and the largest of the hardshell sea turtles. These large animals are cold-blooded, and can live from 80-100 years! Usually when they hatch from an egg, they don’t get a lot of parental care. Green Sea turtles are only five centimeters when they are born! They can even grow up to 1.5 meters, ( That’s 5 feet! ) and can weigh over 700 pounds! Most of their growth happens within the first 5-10 years. Turtles are known to live longer than any other vertebres. These large animals are omnivores, who eat a mixture of both plants and animals, but mostly focus their diet entirely on plants. These turtles have a very unique, smooth and wide shell. Though their shell is smooth, it is very boney and covered in scutes! The shell of a Green Sea Turtle can vary in colors : plain black, brown, dark green, bright green, orange, red, or yellow markings. The underside of a Green Sea Turtle’s shell is usually a yellow greenish, and consists of living tissue. The greenish color under the shell is where Green Sea Turtle’s get their name!
Green Sea turtles have a great senses of sight and touch. The also have a good sense of smell. These great senses are very important, because it helps them search for their food. Green Sea turtles are a very endangered species. People use their meat and eggs as food. They also use their shells for decorations such as ornaments. Another reason they are endangered is because of fishing lines in the ocean, as well as polluted waters. Though they are endangered, there are many things we can do to save them. We can resist buying any products made from the endangered Green Sea Turtles - or any species really. We must protect our beaches by not polluting our waters. We can also turn out lights that are visible to the beach. This may sound strange, but baby sea turtles use light to find their way to the water at night. Artificial lightings may confuse them, and may even lead to death. We can also reduce the use of chemical we use. Many lawn chemicals can wash into the ocean killing a majority of our sea turtles. In conclusion, Green Sea turtles are very unique species that should be saved!
kimberleywild.com/au
gladstoneobserver.com.au
These pictures show the growth of Green Sea Turtles. The picture on the left shows a baby sea turtle, and on the right, the picture shows a big green sea turtle. These images show the growth of a Green Sea Turtle, which can grow from five centimeters, to five feet!
American Burying Beetle The American Burying Beetle, also known as the Sexton Beetle, is a type of carrion beetle that is from the Silphidae family. They are endangered and they are only found in six states. Nebraska, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Kansas, and Arkansas. On their thick, 1 ½ inch long body a person would find red markings all over the beetle. The beetle eats the flesh of small dead animals and they live in places that are undisturbed by humans. As for their job, the burying beetle has a very important one. The keen sense of smell that the beetle has leads it to the small dead animals. It then buries under and around the dead body, lays eggs in the body, and the babies that came from the eggs then eat the dead body as its food.
The American Burying Beetle is endangered due to four reasons. These reasons are pesticides, bug zappers, nighttime lights, and humans. Humans, are hunting and it is destroying wildlife habitat. What this causes is a rapid decrease in top tier predators. From there, scavengers multiply and then challenge the burying beetle for its food supply. But luckily, a zoo in Providence RI is doing something to help protect this animal. Roger Williams Park Zoo is running a conservation program. What they do, is get mating pairs and then put them into containment. They then run a breeding program so that the population of the Burying Beetle can go up. The results of their program have been encouraging, as their program has stabilized the population. The American Burying Beetle may only live for 12 months but, what they can do in those 12 months is incredible.
The American Burying Beetle, also known as the Sexton Beetle, is a type of carrion beetle that is found in the Silphidae family. They are nocturnal and they are currently endangered.
http://www.rwpzoo.org/sites/default/files/content-four-images/A BB%20Main%20Page%20Image-514X260px.png?1453735003
Barn Owl The Barn Owl or Tyto Alba is a very interesting and fascinating species. They are a brownish-yellow color with white, and they have large heart shaped heads. Like all owls, they are nocturnal and have binocular vision. Barn Owls are birds of prey, and they like to eat mice, rats, and voles. On occasions, they eat birds, insects, small reptiles, and amphibians. When laying eggs, it can take 28 to 30 days to hatch. At 7 to 8 weeks old they learn how to hunt, and at 10 to 13 weeks old they become independent. An owl’s average age of living in the wild is 20 years. Barn owls don’t hoot, they make a loud screeching noise.
Today we are growing more trees so we can help their habitat. One of the main reasons why they are an extinct is because trees have been cut down which is their habitat.
https://pixabay.com/en/photos/barn%20owl/
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/12/25/06/3 2/barn-owl-1107397_960_720.jpg
A Barn owl is flying through the air
Northern Long-Eared Bat The northern long eared bat is endangered because of a fungi called “White nose Syndrome� The fungi lives in damp and cold places like caves and that's where bats go to hibernate so these bats are prone to this fungi. Scientists are treating this by putting a bacteria in caves where the white nose syndrome is common and the bacterium killed most of the fungi. The bat is usually 3.7 inches long and a wingspan of 10 inches. They primarily fly through the understory of forested areas feeding on moths, flies, leafhoppers, caddisflies, and beetles, which they catch while in flight using echolocation.
http://www.wildlife.state. nh.us/nongame/white-no se-syndrome.html https://www.whitenosesy ndrome.org/about/fungu s
This is an image of the northern long eared bat with white nose syndrome. And the fungi under a microscope
Canada Lynx The Canada Lynx is an endangered species.There are only around 70 of them left in the world with only 34 living in America. They are fairly large for a cat they are around 24 pounds.The Canada Lynx carries it’s young for 70 days.It’s diet is mainly meat.It hunts at night and it hunts rabbits,birds and deer.Though you may think nothing is being done to help,there is.According to the FWS they are trying to help stop habitat destruction but that is not because of their death.Trappers are also fatal to Canada Lynxes.They stay in the thick forests in northern USA and Canada.
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/lynx.
https://nsspeciesatrisk.wordpress.com/canada-lynx/ http://www.arkive.org/canada-lynx/lynx-canadensis/image-G58227.ht ml
Piping Plover Piping plovers are small sand colored shorebirds with short thick necks and small bills. They can grow from 17 to 18 centimeters in length. Adults weigh 43 to 63 grams. They usually live to about 5 years or less, not many live longer than that. Piping plovers build their nests on the ground along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Piping plovers have a diet that consists of crabs, insects, worms, and berries. They also store their food underground. Piping plover’s young leave the nest hours after hatching. Youngs also feed themselves. The parents both brood the young in cold temperatures, but the female abandons them after a few days. The young usually starts flying around the age of 21 to 35 days. Rather than flying, the piping plovers tend to run because their sandy color makes them hard to see, but when they fly their white undercoat is visible making them more noticeable.
Piping plovers are endangered because of habitat loss, degradation, nest disturbance, and predation. The beaches that Piping Plovers use for nesting are lost to buildings. When humans raise the water in the spring, it floods the nests. Too little water over a long time can cause grass and vegetation to grow, making the beaches unsuitable for a nest. If a piping plover is disturbed by a human, it might leave the nest and it’s young. People sometimes drive over or step on the piping plover nests, crushing the young or breaking the eggs. Predation is another factor in this, dogs and cats as well as other animals tend to harass the birds and even kill them. To protect the piping plovers we are listing them on the endangered and threatened lists. As well as listing, there are recovery plans that say things we should do that will help the bird survive. These plans state what actions we should take to help the bird survive and recover. People are doing research also, to determine where plovers breed and figure out changes in population. People are starting to protect the bird’s habitat too, they started blocking off certain areas, and correctly managing the water flow. Lastly, people are conducting public education and running campaigns.
http://www.arkive.org/piping-plover/charadrius-melodus/imageG16678.html
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This is a picture of a piping plover incubating it’s eggs in it’s nest.
Atlantic Salmontlantic Salmon Atlantic Salmon are 71 to 76 cm (28 to 30 in) in length and 3.6 to 5.4 kg (7.9 to 11.9 lb) in weight. They are located in the North Atlantic waters. They eat insects and plankton. The majority of Atlantic Salmon follow an anadromous fish migration pattern. Atlantic Salmon do not require saltwater. There are less than 300 Atlantic Salmon left in the world. They are becoming endangered because of the spawning of striped bass which are killing the Atlantic Salmon. Lake Superior State University is helping by planting new salmon to help them get out of endangerment. Atlantic Salmon are very aggressive and will attack other fish.Atlantic salmon breed in the rivers of Western Europe from northern Portugal north to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. A cool fact when Atlantic’s return to their native rivers after living in the ocean they lose there teeth and grow new ones,
http://espacepourlavie.ca/en/file/4256
Atlantic Salmon
Indiana Bat The Myotis Sodalis (Indiana Bat) meaning “Mouse like bat in a group” is 1¾ In. long and has a wingspan of nine to eleven inches long. A common misunderstanding is that most bats aren’t blind but color blind so during the night they can’t tell the difference between a man and a wolf. As well bats do not sleep during the day but instead roost. They can roost in any direction(up, down, sideways). They live in moist caves where they can sustain body temperature during the winter. These bat will eat bugs that are flying or are in the open during the night.
This species is on the endangered list because of a Fungal infection called “White Nosed-Syndrome” that had caused hundreds of bats to die . strangely only bats in america can die from white nosed syndrome while bats from england don’t. People are trying to save the bats and only two things are making a difference. People are trying to build paths to have people learn about these bats but are only making the bats leave. What actually is working are little bat boxes and educating people to make bat boxes. The bat has been endangered for a long time and has been disturbed causing death.
https://phys.org/news/2015-11-plentiful-northeastern-threatened -mysterious-white-nose.html
White nosed syndrome
Atlantic Sturgeon Mostly people like to eat it so the population was almost destroyed in 1890 800,000 pounds of atlantic sturgeon. The Atlantic sturgeon is a benthic feeders and they eat mostly anything that is at the bottom of the water body is covered in tough skin and bony plates. First they could not adapt to the temperature second fishermen would catch them for their flesh and they smoke the flesh.
https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected/atlsturgeon/ima ges/asn_cropped.jpg
http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/2C/2C23 6135-2664-408E-92E9-5B72966ADC7 F/Presentation.Large/atlantic-sturge on-eggs-extracted-for-caviar.jpg
This is why most of the people hunt for on the atlantic sturgeon
Short Eared Owl The Short Eared owl is is an endangered animal in New England. It is brown, white and black and can be up to 17 inches in length and have a 40 inch wingspan. Short Eared owls live in large open fields, freshwater and saltwater marshes, forest clearings, and agricultural areas. However, it’s greatest threat is habitat loss, which is why people are making nesting sites to protect Short Eared owls from going extinct. This owl also hunts at night, in the morning and late afternoon. In the wild a Short Eared owl can live to reach 13 years of age. Overall, Short Eared owls are an interesting species of owl.
https://www.npca.org/articles/388-1 1-of-the-best-bird-watching-spots-f or-fall#sm.0000lrjxahubvdfls5k1oct 1nbr0h
Interesting Facts The Short Eared owl has some interesting facts behind it. One is how it has transparent inner eyelids that close over when it attacks its prey. It’s eyelids also keep it’s eyes moist, clean, and protects its eye from being scratched. Another interesting fact is how it hunts day and night. This is unlike other owls that hunt only at night. It also has a diet of 90 percent meadow voles and 10 percent other small mammals and sometimes other birds. Another fact is how female Short Eared owls have darker colorization and are larger than male Short Eared owls. These facts make the Short Eared owl unique among the rest of the owl species.