Animals in Danger

Today, nearly 400 animals are listed as threatened or

endangered in the United States. Many are at risk of
becoming extinct, or disappearing permanently. Unless efforts
to save these vulnerable animals succeed, many of the country's
greatest creatures will be lost forever. From the facts listed under
each question mark, guess which animals are endangered. Click
on the picture to find out more about each of these animals in
trouble.
American crocodiles
American Crocodile lay eggs. They hide
their eggs under
twigs and leaves, or
 American crocodiles are about 12 feet long. They live on bury them in the
land and in shallow water, swamps, and marshes. sand. Some
 American crocodiles like to float in the water with only crocodiles help their
their eyes and nose above the surface. young hatch, then
 American crocodiles eat mostly small animals, which they carry them to the
grab with their strong jaws and razor-sharp teeth. water in their mouth.
 Some crocodiles help their young hatch, then carry them
to the water in their mouth.

Why It's Endangered : Overhunted for its hideHabitat destruction

California Condor

 Condors pair for life and breed once every two years,
producing only one egg.
 Condors roost, or sleep, in large groups. They "talk" to
each other with hisses, growls, grunts, and body
language.
 From tip to tip, their wings can stretch up to 9 feet. In 1982, there were
 Instead of flapping their wings, condors soar on wind fewer than 25
currents. California condors
 Condors are scavengers, which means they eat animals left in the wild.
that are already dead. But they don't rely on their sense of Today, there are
smell. They watch for other scavengers eating dead about 200.
animals.

Why It's Endangered : Loss of habitat ,Hunting ,Collisions with power lines .
 Florida Panther

 Florida panthers are fast and lean. They can weigh up to

150 pounds and are about 3 feet long.
 Panthers only eat meat. They may eat only once a week.
They sleep as much as 18 hours a day.
 They usually hunt alone at sunrise and sunset. Florida panthers only
 They will cover what they don't eat with twigs and leaves eat meat. They may
to hide food from other animals. eat only once a
 Since 1972, cars have hit and killed 44 Florida panthers. week.

Why It's Endangered : Loss of habitat , lack of food , disease.

Humpback Whale

 Every year, humpback whales swim from cold polar

waters to warm tropical waters to mate. Humpback whales
 They usually travel in groups. eat by opening their
 Humpback whales talk to each other with moans and mouth wide and
screams. swimming through
 When trying to attract female whales, males repeat some schools of small fish.
sounds for a long time. These "songs" can sound There are only about
beautiful. 25,000 humpback
 Humpback whales eat by opening their mouth wide and whales living today.
swimming through schools of small fish.

Why It's Endangered :Hunting , pollution ,coastal development

 Gray Bat

 Gray bats only weigh up to half an ounce. Their wings

measure about 1.5 inches across.
 Gray bats live in colonies, or groups, in caves. The
caves are usually found near a river or lake.
 During the day, gray bats sleep. At night, they eat up to
1,000 mosquitoes or other pests in one hour.
 Gray bats hang upsidedown to help digest their food.
 Gray bats hibernate, or sleep, in the cold winter Gray bats hang
months. upside-down to help
 There are about 2 million bats, but their numbers are digest their food.
shrinking. Almost all gray bats hibernate in one of nine
caves.

Why endangered? Loss of habitat.Use of pesticides to kill the insects they eat .

Peninsular Bighorn Sheep

 Bighorn sheep can weigh as much as 280 pounds and

stand about 3 feet tall.
 They live in dry, desert mountain ranges, near rocky cliffs.
 Bighorn sheep eat grasses, twigs, and leaves.
 Male sheep are called rams and can be recognized by
their huge, brown horns. The horns curl back over the Bighorn sheep live in
ears, down, and up past the cheeks. herds, or groups.
 They live in herds, or groups. The male sheep with the The male sheep with
biggest horns is usually in charge. Male horns can weigh the biggest horns is
as much as 30 pounds. usually in charge.
 Males will use their massive horns to fight. The fights can Male horns can
last as long as 24 hours. weigh as much as 30
 Females are called ewes. They are smaller than rams and pounds.
have shorter, smaller horns.

Why It's Endangered :Loss of habitat ,poaching ,drought and disease .