A+study+of+various+animals

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 * This page is full of basic facts on random endangered animals. Enjoy!**

Leopards are powerful big cats related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. Many populations, especially outside Africa, are endangered. The leopard is comfortable and strong in trees, so it often hauls prey into the trees. The prey will be safe from most scavengers this way. Because of their spotted coats, leopards can also hunt from trees. They are also good swimmers.
 * Leopards and Snow Leopards**

Once a popular sport, leopard hunting for fur caused a significant decline in the 1960's and 1970's. Other threats include habitat loss, illegal hunting, poison, and declining prey populations. About 500,000 leopards are left in the wild worldwide. Snow Leopards are well adapted to the cold habitats where they live with heavy, furry tails and paws covered in fur. Its coat is white, yellowish or soft gray with ringed spots of black on brown. A rare cat, only 3,500 to 7,000 are thought to be left in the wild, but it is hard to estimate their numbers because of their shy nature. About 600 to 700 are in zoos around the globe.

Snow leopards are prized for their thick, beautiful fur. They are hunted illegally because of their fur. Their bones are demanded for traditional Asian medicine. Some snow leopards are also forced to attack livestock when natural prey is scarce. You can help snow leopards by adopting a snow leopard at a Wildlife Adoption Center

In the Arctic marine ecosystem, polar bears are the top predators. They evolved from brown bears during the time period that spanned from 1.8 million years ago to 11,000 years ago. To keep warm, polar bears have black skin under their fur and an 11 cm thick layer of fat. They are so well adapted to cold weather that they have to move slowly to avoid overheating. Their paws distribute weight to keep them from breaking the ice and snow. Polar bears swallow their food in large chunks.
 * Polar Bears**

Polar bears can be indicators of arctic health. Arctic ice melting, toxic chemicals, over hunting, and oil exploration threaten the bears. If you donate to WWF, it will help to save bears, including polar bears.

Elephant groups are led by the older females. African elephants live in mostly savanna habitat, while some Asian elephants are domestic and can learn to lift heavy logs, perform in circuses, and carry people. An elephant's trunk is very useful. The trunk can suck up water, smell food or water from miles away, and pull up food and bring it to the elephant's mouth.
 * Elephants**

Lands where elephants live are threatened. People are trying to save these lands.

The largest cat on earth is the tiger. The roar of a tiger can be heard from at least 2 miles away. The tiger is one of the few animals that hunts humans. However, most of them avoid humans. Their diet includes deer, wild pigs, monkeys, and buffalo. Tigers kill by gripping the neck, breaking the spine, or cutting off its air supply. Tigers normally fail several times before succeeding in a kill. Siberians are the largest tigers. They measure 13 feet long when full grown. Tigers enjoy swimming and playing in water.
 * Tigers**

Only a few thousand tigers remain alive. Two hundred Siberian tigers are left in the wild. Tigers suffer from habitat loss and illegal.


 * Those are all my endangered animals! Hope you enjoyed reading this wiki space!**

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 * Also, tuna are another endangered animal, so don't buy tuna and try to save this endangered animal.


 * Thank you!**

Sources http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/what_we_do/arctic/polar_bear/index.cfm http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/leopard.html http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/snow_leopard.php Pringle, Laurence, __Scolastic Encyclopedia of Animals, Library of Congress, Pringle, Laurence, 2001__