Endangered Species

The earth's ecosystem is in a crisis. Over 500 species of plants and animals in the United States are no longer around. Scientists believe species throughout the world are becoming extinct at the rate of 1 every 15 minutes. This means nearly 100 species each day and 4,000-6,000 species each year will never be seen by human eyes again. But more importantly, the loss of any species will upset the delicate balance of the ecosystem and will cause even more problems. Something must be done to change this trend.

Thanks to worldwide fund raising efforts, the Save The Earth Foundation launched a campaign to save one endangered species. Although every plant and animal species is special, the foundation can only save one animal at this time.

TASK:
You are a naturalist and have been asked to select an endangered species and research its unique qualites and value to the world. You and a partner will prepare a 5 minute presentation with two visuals about your endangered species. In the end, you and your partner must persuade the committee to donate funds to help save your endangered animal. (Naturalists who work individually will be expected to prepare a 3 minute persuasive presentation with one visual.) Following presentations by all the naturalists, the Save The Earth Foundation members will vote on which species will be targeted. Funds will be used to make drastic changes to ensure survival of the species.

First, you will need to select one endangered animal from this list below. It will be important to understand some new vocabulary too.

	*Endangered Animals*
	African elephant American bison American crocodile Bat Bighorn sheep California condor Cheetah Florida panther Giant panda Grizzly bear Hummingbird Jaguar Koala		Manatee Mountain gorilla Peregrine falcon Polar bear Rhinoceros Sea otter Sea turtle Snow leopard Spotted owl Tiger Whales Zebra
		*Vocabulary*
				adaptation diversity community food web competition renewable resource cycle resource food chain ecosystem
mortality biome poaching habitat extinction conserve gestation or gestation period niche endangered or endangered species succession

Next, you and your partner need to brainstorm about what kind of information you will need to find about your endangered animal. A simple description of the animal and its habitat WILL NOT be useful. You must focus your research on reasons for endangerment, ways to reverse the trend, unique qualities of your animal and other information that will convince the Save The Earth Foundation to select your animal.

Click here to write good research questions.

Created by L. Slacum, Cherry Hill Middle School, January 2004

Last updated on Wednesday, April 5, 2006