WhitePlanet





All animals play a vital role in the food chains and in the biosphere. If any endangered species die out, they affect the world greatly. All of the species around will be affected by its disappearance. That is why we need to learn about these species, and help protect these species. We have chosen three arctic/antarctic species we would like to learn about. The information we found is shown below.

Why are we interested?
These are the questions we have decided to answer.



Latin name: //Spheniscus mendiculus// Description: Black back, white belly, thin white band under chin, and black upside-down horseshoe shape around belly. Height: 16-18 in. (smallest warm weather penguin, third smallest penguin species) Weight: 4-5 lbs Habitat: Open sea, rocky shorelines/coastlines of the Galapagos islands. Diet: Fish, crustaceans Status: Only penguin species listed as endangered. Galapagos penguins are the most northern living penguins. They live on the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador. Because they live so close to the equator, they have trouble keeping cool. During the day they swim in the Cromwell Current, hunting for food. When they are on land they hold their flippers over their feet to keep them from getting sunburned. During the cool night, they nest and sleep on land. Galapagos penguins depend on the ocean currents to bring fish to their feeding grounds. Weather from El Niño caused a shortage of food. The penguins also suffer from habitat loss, and illegal fishing, which cuts into their food supply. Oil spills and waste being dumped into the seas are hurting the penguins populating as well. There are about 800 breeding pairs left in the world.
 * __About The Penguin__**
 * __Why they’re endangered__**

__**Breeding habits**__ Galapagos penguins use burrows. Two eggs are laid, but often only one chick is raised. They only mate and breed when there is enough food. Both parents take care of the eggs for about 40 days. Females and males both care for the chick. The chick is guarded for about thirty days after hatching. The chicks molt, get their adult feathers, and are on their own in about 60 days.



by Deborah

=Video:= Here is a really good vid on the Snow Leopard: It is from "Planet Earth" and is very good. media type="youtube" key="kc6ftNEOfyY&rel=1" height="355" width="425"

About The Snow Leopard:
The Snow Leopard is very rare and very few humans have ever seen one, even the herders who live in their habitat. The snow leopard is not at all aggressive towards humans, there has never been a verified snow leopard attack on a human. Even when they are disturbed on a kill, they will most likely run away, rather than defend its kill. The only time it will turn aggressive is if it feel it is being threatened, or if its cubs are being threatened, which is perfectly normal.

It is listed on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) [|Red List of Threatened Species] as "Endangered," same classification as the panda and tiger. It was placed on the Red List by the IUCN in 1972. It has already disappeared on some parts where it used to live, such as parts in Mongolia.
 * Status** -



Snow leopards have a grayish white coat, with dark ringed spots. This unique coat helps it camouflage in its mountain environment of bare rocks and snow. This way it can sneak up on prey. The coat turns more whitish in the winter. The darker fur blends into the bare rock in its mountainous home, and the lighter fur blends into the snow in winter.
 * What does it look like?**
 * [[image:http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/images/snow_leopard.jpg width="123" height="182" caption="Darker"]] [[image:snow_leopard.JPG width="219" height="182" caption="Lighter"]] [[image:http://www.snowleopard.org/images/slcoatcloseup width="150" height="150" caption="Fur"]]

What do they eat?** Snow leopards are capable of attacking prey 3 times their size. They are supreme hunters and are very well adapted to getting around their montainous home. They can survive with 1 kill every 10 -15 days. Their prey is mainly wild sheep and goats, and pikas (same family as rabbits and hares).

Snow leopards are usually solitary; with the exception of a mom and cub, or male and female leopards during mating season (January to March)
 * Habits:**

Snow leopards are born beneath rocks and in crevices. They are born blind, deaf, with completely black spots, and unable to walk. After 2 years they will separate from their mother. A snow leopard litter usually has 2-3 cubs.
 * Young:**


 * [[image:http://www.vistaguru.org/images/snow_leopards.jpg width="162" height="130" caption="Snow Leopard Cubs"]] [[image:http://www.careforthewild.org/graphics/snowleopardweb.jpg width="107" height="130"]] [[image:Snow_Leopard_Image_4.jpg width="103" height="129"]] [[image:http://cobalt15.elender.hu/classwork/Y2002_2003/g7/endangered/images/snow%20Leopard%2012.jpg width="108" height="134"]]

Description:** Weight- 77- 121 lbs. Others Names- Uncia Uncia, Ounce Habitat- Mountain ranges of central and southern Asia Life Span- 15-18 yrs, 20 in captivity Total estimated population in the wild- 3000-7000

The snow leopard cannot roar, though it has parts that were thought were essential to roar. It also has a really long, bushy tail (up to 1 meter, almost as long as the length of the rest of its body), which is there to help them balance. They can also wrap it around them to help them keep warm.
 * Interesting Facts-**

Why Am I interested?
I love animals, and the thought of them being endangered and being hurt by people makes me sad. I think the snow leopard is a cute and pretty animal and right now it’s endangered. I am interested in finding out about them.

Why Are They Endangered?
The Snow Leopard is very adapted to its mountain home, and is the top predator in its ecosystem. It also has few natural enemies. __The main reason they are endangered is because of human activites.__

__**Some Examples:**__
This is one of the greatest threats to the survival of the snow leopard. Snow leopards are hunted illegally for pelts-especially in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia- to make coats and other garments. Bones and other body parts are in demand for use in traditional Asian medicine. They are also sometimes captured for private collections in Central Asia. Many poachers are just local people who live in snow leopard areas who are very poor. They can earn a lot of extra money by poaching.
 * Poaching-**

At one time here in the US, a coat from a snow leopard sold for up to $50,000.00!! Can you believe that?

Snow leopards sometimes prey on domestic livestock. Herders in snow leopard areas depend a lot on their herds, and the loss of even one animal brings a hardship. They often retaliate by trapping, shooting and poisoning snow leopards.
 * Conflict with herders:**

Humans are taking over the snow leopards’ habitats with their livestock. Also, they are overgrazing and it’s destroying the grasses, in the fragile grasslands, that the wild sheep and goats eat- the snow leopard’s main prey. The prey population is also getting diminished by legal and illegal hunting for meat and trophies. This is a problem because if the snow leopard’s natural prey is getting scarce, they are more likely to kill domestic livestock and it creates a conflict with herders.
 * Habitat and Prey Loss :**

Many herders are struggling to provide for their families and don’t have time and energy to help protect other species. The governments in snow leopard ranges devote their time to helping their citizens and dealing with political instability, so it’s hard for them to make environmental protection laws a main concern. They also don’t have the money to enforce laws and protected area boundaries. Difficulty in catching poachers in the snow leopard’s remote and rugged habitat makes protecting them even harder.
 * Lack of Awareness, Policy, and Plan:**

They Help:
You might not realize it, but every animal helps to keep a balance in the environment, and if one animal disappears, a whole lot of //other// animals get affected. Snow leopards are predators; therefore, they limit the population of other animals and stop them from overpopulating.

Helping in their Struggle to Survive:
There are 47 parks all over the world dedicated to protecting them.

You could help too- Adopt a snow leopard at: [|www.snowleopard.org.] --OR-- https://secure.defenders.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=wildadopt_snowleopard You won't actually get a snow leopard, you'll just pay money to provide for a snow leopard. It's a great idea and it'll be great if you do it!

By Devin



http://www.shol.com/agita/wolfside.htm

Is the Gray Wolf endangered?
Yes, it is. The gray wolf can go for weeks without food. Packs are structured to survive and protect their young. They interact flawlessly with each other, which means everything because alone, they would not survive. They seem perfectly adapted to surviving in the harsh environment where they live. So why are they endangered? That is what I intend to find out, along with what is being done to save these amazing animals.

media type="custom" key="345419"

Where is it?
The gray wolf inhabits the majority of the northern hemisphere. They occupy an amazing amount of habitats, from prairies to tundras and forests. the color of the gray wolves fur also varies from habitat to habitat, ranging from pure white in the arctic, to mixtures of white with gray, brown, cinammon, or nearly uniform black. Each habitat has it's own subspecies of the gray wolf. For example, the[| arctic wolf]. The [|arctic wolf] is not endangered because the gray wolves worst predator does not dare venture to the arctic. Yes that's right. Man.

Not all gray wolves are //gray//! There are 32 subspecies -- or types — of gray wolves found in the world. In appearance they look similar to German shepherds, but their legs are longer, their chests skinnier, and their feet are bigger. Gray wolves come in different sizes. The combined head and body length ranges from 40 inches to over 60 inches. An adult gray wolf can weigh between 50 and 140 pounds.
 * Description**

[[image:canis_lupis.jpg caption="Stalking small game"]]
It seems unlikely, i know. Everyone says wolves kill humans. But the truth is, we are killing them. Everyone is afraid of them, so they are shot on sight. Also, we poison them, trap them, host hunts for them, shoot them from helicopters, and destroy their habitats. All because of THREE reported wolf attacks and stereotyping. You are more likely to get killed by a vending machine than bitten by a wolf. And yet, you don't run screaming for help when you see a vending machine. You don't grab a gun and try to kill it. I for one have never seen that.

Interactions
A wolf pack, made up from an alpha male and alpha female, their new pups, and their pups from past years, is so intricate we know, in comparison to what there is to know, next to nothing. Packs can vary from 2-36 members. The alpha male is the head, and the alpha female is only outranked by the alpha male. If the alpha male is no longer dominate, the beta male while take his place, and he will generally leave the pack, but this is not always the case. A wolf does not wish to interact with humans. If a wolf scents a human anywhere on their territory, it will most likely leave. Most wolves are too nervous about humans to kill our livestock, and their savageness is very exaggeratedly. they rarely attack, and when they do, it is only when they cannot flee and they or their pups are threatened.

So... What do they contribute to the world?
Without trying to, wolves support a a lot of other animals. Ravens, foxes, wolverines, vultures and even bears eat what the wolves leave behind, remains of oxes and small game. In some areas, bald eagles only eat leftovers from wolves. If the wolves are hunted to extinction, we will lose a large amount of other animals if they don't adapt. Wolves keep the balance between these hoofed animals and their food, allowing for smaller plant-eaters such as beaver and small rodents to live. Antelope are fast, elk are never careless, and mountain goats can climb steep cliffs because they adapted to avoid wolves. So we don't really know how much wolves will help us, but we do know how much they did. Are we just going to say, well thanks and resume massacring animals who did nothing to us? I don't think that's very fair... do you?

Territory
Wolves use scents to mark the boundaries of their hundred's of miles of territory used for hunting and living. The wolf below is marking a boundary, or just getting that itch.

Hunting
Wolves hunt in a pack. If a pack member sees a small game animal, it will probably try to catch it. But to get enough food to feed an entire pack, they need something bigger. An ox will sustain a wolf pack for a week or so, depending on the size. Hunts are very intricate, almost like a sport. Everyone has a job, and a place to attack. A single mistake could mean losing the meal.

So... Do we have wolves here? Are we trying to save them?
Yes, we do in fact have wolves here. Endangered, and in need of help. Please continue reading. Although they were once almost eliminated from the lower 48 United States, wolves have made an incredible comeback since others successfully fought for their re-introduction into Yellowstone National Park in 1995. But these and other wolves have a highly uncertain future, as plans are to remove that much needed protection and allow a massacre of hundreds of Yellowstone wolves. In Alaska, where it is perfectly legal, wolves are shot from the sky, or chased to exhaustion where the humans land and shoot the exhausted wolves at point-blank range. In the Southwest, fewer than 60 wolves hold up the struggle to survive as we determinedly try to destroy their existence. If you think these animals need to be saved, click below [|How You Can Help]

Extinct Gray Wolves

 * [|Hokkaido Wolf]
 * [|Honshu Wolf]
 * [|Newfoundland Wolf]

[[image:radio.jpg caption="Wolf with tracking Collar"]]
If Wildlife Services catches a wolf, they will put a tracking device on it. The wolf above has one one. In Utah, one state where they are endangered, only two wild wolves have been confirmed, the second being in 2006, found dead in a coyote leg trap.



Boy who cried Wolf? Here?
Coyotes are often mistaken for wolves. Many reported wolf sightings were later proven to be coyotes, and a newspaper wrote an article about how a wolf killed a dog. But they later found out it was a coyote because the "wolf" was brown and much too small. Wolves are larger, have rounded ears, and a broad snout. These animals are not evil and cunning as they have often been portrayed, just trying to avoid extinction.