Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Baby Animals

Was just doing some reading, and found out that several animals are on the endangered species list that I had no idea about:  

Pygmy Hippo calfs are a great sign for the species.  They are dangerously at risk and are only known to live in just four West African countries that offer their rainforest habitat.  A pygmy hippo is considered a shy creature that can grow to be 39 inches tall and can weigh up to 600 pounds.

Meerkats, are very widely known through the Disney movie "The Lion King" and the character Timon.  Meerkat pups are only inches tall and can grow to be about 1 foot long.  The generosity between members of a meerkat mob intrigues scientists seeking insight into cooperative societies.

Polar Bears are being watched by conservationists because global warming affects their habitat, which ranges across Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia.  Though they are great swimmers,the ice melting in the Arctic prevent bears from traveling long distances in search of food. 

Panda Bears The Chinese have a protected area for Panda Bears to live and breed, with the hopes that this will prolong their lifeline, but part of that area was damaged badly with the earthquakes that the country suffered last spring/summer, and the Giant Panda Breeding Center in Wolong, 1 panda died and others had to be relocated.


Bornean Orangutans have been left endangered because of major land clearing for farming and poaching.  Their range has been reduced in northern Sumatra and parts of Borneo.  Orangutans and highly intelligent, living high in the trees, leading solitary lives, swinging high about ground via branches.  They are escape artists and great problem solvers, and have been known to pinch villagers' boats to take a ride across a river.

Siberian Tigers live in the snowy forests in easter Russia, China and North Korea.  These cats are the world's largest, some males weighing more than 400 pounds!  

Emperor Penguins are beautiful, intelligent animals.  They must cooperate to survive on the Antarctic ice and the surrounding area.  They huddle to escape the wind and conserve warmth while spending time on open ice.

Mountain Gorillas have no natural enemies, but human violence, destruction of its habitat and poaching have made it an endangered species.  Only about 700 of these peaceful creatures remain. 

Giraffes live on the African savannah south of the Sahara.  These mild-mannered animals are an amazing sight because of the beauty of their size and grace.

Gray Kangaroos roam the forests and grasslands of Australia, making them an icon of the nation.  They can grow up to 7 feet tall, and hop at speeds of more than 35 mph, covering 25 feet in a single bound.

These animals are amazing and need our help as humans to stay on our planet.  It would be suffering a horrible loss if any of these creatures were actually to become extinct.  No more baby giraffes or joeys, and the beautiful bears.  Tragic.  

We need to help to protect our endangered fellow-animals on this planet, and take care of our rain forests and our deserts.  

Here are some links to start researching what you might be able to do to help:

Al Gore has many projects on the go that you can follow and educate yourself on these world issues, ideas that can help you make changes in your daily life that can help:

PETA, while being a pretty bold activist group, also has ideas about how by cutting down the abount of meat humans consume, even just switching to one or two meatless meals a week, would significantly assist in global warming that has been caused by the mass expansion of factory farming (not even going to get started on alleged unethical treatment of factory farmed animals for the purpose of human consumption, if you want to get into that, check out their website 

Mark Bittman's book "Food Matters" talks about the cause and effect of factory farmed animals, and by extension, the state it's left the world in, by increasing global warming, etc.  He breaks things down and makes it really easy to understand the strain we're putting on our planet, for example, tearing down rainforest land to grow corn and soy for cows to eat so they can slaughtered for our consumption.

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