Project on Endangered animals
Fourth Class join the Project on Endangered Animals
Whales
by Catriona Donohoe
My name is Catriona Donohoe. I am in 4th class. I have chosen whales. I chose this animal
because whales are endanagered and I like whales so I chose the whale.
I read a book about whales and also found infomation in The World Book, volume 21. Here is some of the information that I found out about this animal:
A blue whale is seven times the size of an elephant. Fish have gills and whales have to come up to
blow out of thier blowholes. Whales look like big fish but they are mammals like horses and cats.
When whales come up to breathe they make a spout of water.
A baby whale is called a calf. The
mother whale gives birth under water. She pushes her calf to the surface so that it can breathe.
A calf stays with it's mother for a few years. A baby whale sucks milk from its mothers body.
There
is a bit on the upper part of the mouth called baleen. Some whales eat krill. The whales
that have teeth hunt bigger animals. Killer whales are fierce hunters. A group of whales is called a pod. Whales in a pod hunt together. The male narwwhal has only two teeth. A female narwhal has no
teeth. Whales have smooth, rubbery skin that slips easily through the water. Whales have no fur
to keep them warm. The only hair they have is a few bits on the whale's head.
Toothed whales use their teeth only to capture prey, not to chew it. All toothed whales swallow
their food whole.
Humpback Whales
by Aaron McKenna
My name is Aaron McKenna. I am in 4th class. I have chosen the humpback whale because
I like whales and I would like to see at least one type of whale grow in its population.
I looked up some information in Encarta 97. Here is the information I found out:
Humpback whales are perhaps the best known of the baleen whales occuring in all oceans. Humpback
whales migrate to the pack ice in summer and to shallow tropical breeding areas in winter. Mating
results in a single young born 11 or 12 months later. The calf is nursed for less than one year.
Koala
by Neil Darling
My name is Neil Darling. I am in 4th Class. I have chosen a koala. I chose this animal because
it is very endangered and it would be a pity if it went extinct. I found this information on Encarta 96:
Koala, common name for arobreal maarsupial animal that in appearance somewhat resembles the
toy teddy bear, and in habits somewhat resembles a sloth. The koala reaches a length of 60 to
85 cm (24 to 33 in) and has a maximum life span of about 20 years. It has a large, round head
with large, round, furry ears and a stout body covered with thick ashy-gray fur. The animal has a
vestigial tail. Its legs are short; its feet are large, and each has five toes, two of which are opposable
to the other three. Each toe bears a strong claw. The female bears one young at a time. The
young koala is then kept in the marsupial pouch for about six months, after which time the female
carries it upon her back until it is half grown.
Koalas are found only in eurclyptus forests of eastern Australia. The animals frequent high eucalyptus
trees, feeding on the leaves and flowers of certain species of eucalyptus, as well as on misteltoe
and box leaves. The animal is lethargic and often remains in the same tree for days. The males are
more active than the females and feed during the day; the females sleep all day and feed at night.
Koalas sleep curled up on the limbs of trees, firmly grasping the limbs with their feet. The animal does
not relax its hold even when it is mortally wounded by gunfire. Koalas were formerly killed for their
soft, thick fur. They are now protected by law in Australia. They ar so sedentary that they will not
run off, even when kept in unfenced eucalyptus regions, as they are in several Asutralian parks.
Gorillas
by Emma Cantwell and Katie Murphy
Our names are Emma Cantwell and Katie Murphy. We are in 4th class. We have chosen
gorillas because they are cute and we want to find out more about them. My favourite teddy bear
(monkey) looks a bit like a gorilla. Here is what we found out:
The gorilla is the largest of the anthropoid (humanlike) apes. Facts about the gorilla:
Number of newborn: One
Length of life: Up to fifty years in captivity; in the wild - unknown.
They are found in equatorial Africa.
Scientific classification: gorillas belong to the anthropoid ape family - Pongidae. They are genus
Gorilla species G.gorilla.
The gorilla's foot has a 'thumb' and resembles the animal's hand. Such feet help the gorilla to
climb trees.
The gorilla's head has a sagittal crest, that is a ridge of bone on top of the skull and a thick brow ridge above the eyes.
A large male gorilla living in the wild may weigh 450 pounds (204 kilograms).
The female usually weighs about 200 pounds (91 kilograms). Gorillas are quiet animals, even
though they can make about 20 different sounds. The most startling gorilla call is the roar given by
an angry male. Babies whimper when distressed and scream when frightened. Adults grumble softly
when contented.
Actually, a gorilla is not as fierce as it looks. It will not hurt a human unless it is molested or attacked.
Gorillas are shy, friendly animals that seem to need companionship and attention. The first gorillas
to live in zoos didn't live very long and some persons believe that they died from loneliness. Gorillas
lack the outgoing personality of their relatives, the chimpanzees, and they are less eager to perform
stunts and tricks. The gorilla's day usually begins about an hour after sunrise. During the early
morning, the apes feed on a wide variety of leaves, buds, barks and fruits. Only gorillas living in
captivity eat meat.
From the middle of the morning to the middle of the afternoon is nap time. The adults rest while the
younger apes wrestle with each other, play games similar to follow the leader or king of the
mountain and swing back and forth on vines. After the rest period, all the gorillas eat
again.
Gorillas travel in groups looking for bamboo, bark, buds, fruit and leaves to eat. Every evening just
before dark, the gorillas build a simple nest where they sleep during the night. Adult gorillas build their
own nests but baby gorillas snuggle in with their mothers. The gorilla is the largest kind of ape. Gorillas
can walk a few steps using their legs. But they generally use their knouckles to support the upper part
of thier body. The gorilla usually walks on all fours. It often stands up on its legs but only walks a few
steps in this posiiton. A gorilla usually travels ont he ground, but sometimes, it climbs into a tree to sit,
eat or sleep.
Big Cats
by Una McCoille, Aisling Carton and Niamh Moriarty
Not all cats are the kind you want to put your arms around and cuddle! A new baby lion is so small
that you could hold it in your arms but lions grow very fast. A baby lion would soon be so big it could
hold you in its arms! There have been cats here on earth for a very very long time - much
longer than dogs and wolves or bears. As far back as the caveman years there were wild cats prowling
around (such as the sabre toothed tiger). Cavemen probably tamed some of the smaller cats and let them
live in the caves, where they could chase the rats, mice or snakes that tried to get in. One cat called
the sabre toothed tiger was not a pet. It was as big as some cars today. Cavemen scared them away with
fires they kept burning at night.
Lions are very strong cats. The male lion may weigh 400 pounds or more. The female lion
wieghs much less - usually no more than 300 pounds. A lions coat is sandy brown in colour.
Male lions are the only members of the cat family that have manes. The mane is usually the same colour
as the coat but can be black. Both male and female lions have a tuft of dark hair at the end of thier tails.
Inside this hair is the sacalled claw - a tough naked clutch of skin at the tip of the tail. No-one
knows what function this serves, if any, but no other cat has it.
Lions are meat eaters and they are well suited to a life of hunting. They can run fast for short distances.
They have powerful muscles for leaping and springing. Their sharp hooked claws are dangerous weapons.
Their favourite prey are zebras and antelopes. Males and females often work together. The fmeales may
lie hidden, waiting quietly, while the males round up the prey. The males drive the antelopes or other
animals towards the females. When the antelopes are nearby the females spring out and attack. When a
kill is made the lions usually feed from it for several days. When they ahve used up their food they make
a new kill. Lions kill only for food or when they are defending themselves or their young.
Pandas
by Kevin Lynch
I chose the panda because it is the symbol of the worldwide fund for nature.
The panda is native to north-west China and Tibet. The giant panda, Ailuropoda Melanopoda,
has black and white fur with black eyepatches and feeds mainly on bamboo shoots. It can grow
up to 4.5 ft/1.5m long and weigh up to 300lb/140kg. There is also a lesser panda that looks like
a racoon. Panda is the name of two kinds of asian animals.
The Giant Panda
by Michelle O'Connor
I have chosen the giant panda because it is a very beautiful animal which is in the wild. I found
out about the panda from the internet and on television. If you say panda you mean red panda. There are small pandas in China and they call them foxes.
See this page for more information.
The Giant Panda
by Emma Regan
I have chosen the giant panda because I know that they are endanaged and I want to find out more
about them. I found this information in a book.
The giant panda is classed among the carnivores because it possesses carnassial teeth, once used by
its predecessors for shearing through meat. Now almost entirely vegetarian, its carnassials have
reverted to mere grinding surfaces for feeding upon bamboo.
The endearing, playful giant panda has a low survival rate in captivity and in the wild. The problem
is that there is a shortage of bamboo and also humans are encroaching on the panda's habitat and this
has resulted in the fragmentation of groups of pands to such an extent that finding mates and sources
of food proves very difficult. A few giant pands are held in European and American zoos. They have
bred successfully in Mexico and through aritificial insemination in Madrid, but even in China, only
a few cubs have been born and reared in captivity.
The Male Siberian Tiger
by Joanna O'Byrne, Jane McMahon and Alanna Keogh
Tigers hunt and live alone. A night of search for prey may cover 10 to 20 km of terrain. A victim
in sight, the tiger usees the landscape and its own striped coloration, which breaks up the outline
of its body against the tall grass, to camouflage its cautious approach. Within about 20m of its quarry,
it crouches and suddenly bounds forward, delivering a bite to the neck as it grasps the shoulders, back
or neck with its sharp claws. Only 5% to 10% of the tigers' rushes are successful. It averages 40 to 50 kills
a year or 1 kill in every eight days. A tigress with young must kill more often.
The tiger is one of the cat family. Here is some information about the family:
There are 35 species of the famly Felidae. Their success at hunting, mainly at night, is due to their
large well-developed eyes which have binocular and colour vision. All cats have excellent night vision
that is approximately six times more acute than that of humans under similar conditions of darkness. One
of the reasons for this is a special reflecting layer within the eye. In addition to vision, the senses
of taste, smell and hearing are also especially acute.
The Rhino
by Ellen Cook and Orla Gilligan Quinn
This is a huge, ungainly mamal that has - depending on the kind - one or two thick horns growing
upwards from is snout. The black rhino and the white rhino of Africa and the very rare Sumatran rhino
of Asia have two horns, one longer one. The Javan rhino and the Indian rhio of Asia have single horns.
White rhinos can appear white in colour when coated in dried mud but black rhinos sometimes also
look white after the mud has dried on them. As early as 1858 naturalists reported huge numbers of
deaths of white rhinos in Southern Africa. in 1885 the species was declared extinct but this was,
fortunately, not true. However, the southern race of white rhino have been severely depleted by hunting.
A national park was established in South Africa to protect the remaining animals. Another group
of animals hav survived in a park in Zimbabwe.
The Elephant
by Nora Bowles
I have chosen this animal because I know it is endanged and it is quite an interesting topic to research.
I found this informaiton in an encyclopedia.
The elephant is fro Africa. There are two types of elephant - the African elephant and the Asiatic
Elephant. Both elephants are endangered. Elephants are endangered because people shoot them for
their tusks. 25 years ago there were 3,000,000 elephants but today there are 600,000 elephants. Piano
keys are made out of elephant tusks. The elephant is quite a common mamal. The elephant can live
up to 60-70 years. The african elephant is the biggest standing land mammal and it weighs 5 - 7.5 tons and
stands at 3.4m high. Elephants live in a herd. There can be 10-20 elephants living in a herd but in some
herds there are up to 50 elephants. The leader of the herd is usually a female elephant. The female
elephant is called a cow. In the herd most of the elephants are related. Young male elephants travel
with the herd but male adult elephants (bulls) travel alone but visit the herd frequently. When two
or more bulls join the same herd at the same time, they are likely to fight each other. They push and
strain each other with their foreheads and they also wrap their trunks around earhc other like sumo
wrestlers. When one of them gains the upper hand, he may gore the other, drive him away or even
kill him.
If I asked a small child what was an elephant she would probably use the word big and animal
but you see there is a lot more to an elephant than that.
There is a worldwide ban on selling ivory. Ivory is also from rhinos.
Read more about Endangered Animals
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