Category Wildlife

Some animals and plants are rare because people take them from the wild and sell them.

People who steal rare animals and plants are called poachers. Most poached animals become pets. Others end up in zoos.

In the past, zoos treated animals badly. But many zoos today are helping to save rare species.

Some poachers steal young apes.

Poaching for the pet trade threatens apes such as orang-utans, as well as small creatures like reptiles, fish and even spiders.

The poachers usually kill the adult apes and steal their babies because they are small and easier to manage. Many baby apes also die because their new owners don’t look after them properly.

People capture parrots for sale as pets.

Most animals taken from the wild do not thrive away from home. Captured animals are frightened and confused. Many are sold abroad. On the journey they are often kept in cramped cages. Many die on the way.

Ninety types of parrot are endangered because so many birds have been captured as pets.

Many zoos today are trying to save rare species like condors.

In the past, animals in zoos were not always well treated. Some were kept in small cages. A few species almost died out because too many were captured for zoos.

Nowadays, zoos often help to save rare species, by breeding the animals in captivity. If breeding is successful, the young animals may be released into the wild.

Animals born in the wild do not usually make good pets.

If your family buys a pet, make sure that is has been bred from captive animals, not taken from the wild. The pet shop should tell you where the animal came from.

Parrots, reptiles, fish and other animals bred in captivity make better pets than wild ones, because they are more used to humans and easier to look after. Make sure you find out about the food and conditions your pet needs.

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For thousands of years, people have hunted animals for meat and for their skins.

People once hunted with simple weapons. But modern weapons make killing easy. Hunters may soon wipe out some animals.

Some people hunt animals for sport. We also kill sharks and tigers because they frighten us.

People kill cheetahs for their beautiful fur.

            Around the world, many kinds of animals are still hunted for their skins and other body parts. Big cats such as cheetahs are killed for their fur, which is used to make expensive clothes.

            Elephants and rhinos are hunted for their tusks and horns, which are used to make ornaments. A lot of this killing is now against the law, but it still goes on.

Chimpanzees are now rare because of hunting.

Hundreds of years ago, people lived by hunting wild animals and gathering plant food. Now farms and ranches provide the food we need, but in some countries, hunting still goes on.

In Africa, rainforest animals are hunted and sold as “bush meat”. Threatened species include gorillas and leopards.

Farmers set traps for foxes that steal chickens and lambs.

Dangerous creatures such as tigers, sharks and poisonous snakes are hunted because people are frightened of them.

Farmers set traps for foxes and wolves because they sometimes kill farm livestock. All kinds of other animals die in the traps.

Passenger pigeons died out because of sport hunting.

Hunting also goes on in the name of sport. In the space of just a few centuries, European hunters wiped out a bird called the passenger pigeon in North America.

Passenger pigeons were once found in huge numbers, but their large flocks made easy targets for European hunters. The very last passenger pigeon died in a zoo in 1914.

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Factories, power stations and cars give off waste gases. These pollute the atmosphere.

This pollution is trapping the Sun’s heat near the Earth. This is helping to make the weather warmer.

This is called “global warming”. It is already causing problems for wildlife in many parts of the world.

Global warming threatens coral reefs rich in sea life.

Coral reefs are living communities of sea creatures called polyps. These reefs provide a home for fish and many other creatures. However, coral polyps can only thrive in clear, shallow water of a certain temperature.

Warmer water, rising sea levels and pollution are all harming the coral, causing a threat to other reef life.

Global warming is melting the polar ice. This threatens penguins.

As temperatures rise, the ice in the Polar Regions is beginning to melt. This threatens the survival of polar animals such as seals, penguins and polar bears.

The melting ice is making sea levels rise. Whole islands may one day disappear beneath the waves, wiping out local wildlife.

Climate change may have wiped out the Golden Toad.

Global warming is causing swamps and pools to dry out in many areas. This threatens amphibians such as the European natter jack toad.

In Central America, scientists report that the Golden Toad has already died out, probably due to warming in its forest habitat.

We can all help to reduce the damage caused by global warming.

We all add to the problem of global warming as we travel in cars and planes that give off waste gases, and use energy produced by power stations. So everyone can help to reduce the effects of global warming.

Switching off machines when you’re not using them helps to save energy. Walking, cycling or using public transport causes less pollution than going by car.

Picture Credit : Google