disappearing

Global warming has effected many animals on earth. One species of animal that has been deeply effected by global warming is the polar bear. The ice that the polar bears live and hunt on has been disappearing at a rapid rate. As a result many polar bears have drowned or died of starvation. But global warming is not the only threat to polar bears. For many years the Inuits have killed polar bears but now trophy hunters have made it a sport. Each year a hunter will spend 25,000 dollars to go shoot a polar bear. About 700 to 900 polar bears are killed by these huntsmen each year. Just recently polar bears have become endangered species and now are protected by federal law. Still that does not stop hunters from going to Canada and continue this barbaric sport. Luckily the Marine Mammal Protection Act has stopped the hunters from bringing back their trophies to the United States. This is great because than no hunter will want to kill a polar bear and not have the head or fur for bragging rights.

Polar bears have thick white fur on their body and feet. This helps keep them warm and gives them traction on the ice. Underneath their fur they have a thick layer of blubber that provides buoyancy and insulation. A polar bear's diet consists mostly of ringed seal and bearded seal. They can travel many miles to search for food. Unfortunately due to Global warming the ice which the polar bears hunt on is melting away. A polar bear can swim up to 40 miles. Other threats that kill polar bears are pollution, tourism, and oil exploration.

It is still not enough to put polar bears on the endangered species list. It cannot not stop polar bears from drowning, starving, and being poisoned.

Harp seal pups in danger

During the cold months in Canada many Harp seals are born. Soon after they are born their mothers leave them to gather with the males and head north. The Harp seal pups are left to take care of themselves. Two weeks after they are born they grow white fluffy fur to hide them from predators and to keep them warm from the ice. Once they have grown fur they are able to be killed by hunters. These humans use clubs to beat them to death, they are also gunned down, and the worst is they are sometimes skinned alive. Nearly one million harp seal pups have been murdered in the past three years.

Hunting is not the only thing that endangers harp seals. Harp seals like to give birth to their pups on ice floes. But due to Global warming many ice floes have turned into, well, water and harp seals will not give birth on land. Absolutely not. Because of global warming many of these pups have not survived."It would be reckless for the government to allow the hunt to proceed this year, given the high pup mortality that has apparently occurred. We may not be able to save these seals from the effects of global warming, but the Canadian government can save the survivors from being hunted. I can only hope that they will do the right thing and cancel the hunt." said human Sheryl Fink, a senior researcher with IFAW.

The whole topic of killing poor, defenseless harp seal pups is devastating. Even though Harp seals are not endangered species they should still be protected. This should go for all animals in the world. Just because animals do not build buildings or drive cars does not mean they cannot think or feel too.

The Comeback Cat

A mysterious shadow walks by a motion detected camera. This figure starts clawing and raking a tree. this is caught all on tape. This figure is actually a jaguar marking it's territory in the United States. To many humans this may be useless information. But really this is an amazing discovery for the animal kingdom and the human world. There has only been two sightings of Jaguars in Arizona since 1996. Before that many scientists thought these species of jaguar had become extinct. This jaguar was called Macho B until a scientist compared his markings to another Jaguar. He discovered that Macho B was actually Macho A from thirteen years ago.


I am really happy to know that the Jaguars are coming back. Even though their population size is unknown they are considered endangered species and protected by federal law. though they are sometimes killed for their fur coats.



Many humans often make the mistake of calling jaguars leopards. I can understand why humans and sometimes animals make the mistake of recognizing these animals as each other because they look so similar. Leopards are larger than jaguars, have black spots and are more adapted to climbing up trees. Jaguars on the other hand have a rosette pattern down their backs and sides. they also can climb trees but it is very difficult. Plus these big cats live on the opposite sides of the world, so it is unlikely that you will see them together.

crazy raspberry ants

Crazy Raspberry ants are causing a havoc all through Houston, Texas. They where found in a cargo box at the Houston port. No one knows where they came from except they are closely related to ants in the Caribbean. What is good about these ants is that they seem to eat fire ants, those nasty bugs that sting humans. Unfortunately these Raspberry ants do bite humans and are everywhere. "They're itty-bitty things about the size of fleas, and they're just running everywhere. There's just thousands and thousands of them. If you've seen a car racing, that's how they are; they're going fast, fast, fast. They're crazy." says the human Patsy Morphew. These ants have also ruined computers, ruined sewage pumps and have had many fire alarms malfunction. Not only do these ants dig electronics but also eat hatchlings of an endangered species, the Attwater Prairie chicken.

Well why do the people of Houston just not kill these insects? Local exterminators have come to realize that these ants are resistant to all ant killers. So now the exterminators are trying to push for more lethal products. I have heard that these ants are also pretty smart. If you put poison around the room the ants that are still alive will make a bridge of the dead ants to get across to the other side.

This is the perfect example of invasive species. Many species who are not native to any habitat can cause great damage. The invasive species sometimes destroy whole habitats.

Endangered

On Feburary 21st, 2008, the Fish and Wildlife service announced its decision to delist the Northern Rocky Gray Wolf from the endangered species list. This decision should be people happy and celebrated but unfortunaly a dozen wildlife organizations sued the federal government. So far 35 wolves have been killed in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The Idaho governor said he plans to kill 80% of all the wolves in the state. Wyoming plans to kill 16 out of the 23 existing wolf packs. That is a lot of wolves. This may seem odd for a sea otter to talk about wolves and their problems but someone has to do it.



People think of wolves as predators and killers, who kill humans and livestock. The wolf's diet consists of deer, moose, caribou, rabbit and elk. So yes, the wolf is a carnivore. They do sometimes eat livestock but that is only when there is no other food. Humans have continued to take over the land where wolves have lived and also hunted the same food source. Due to the humans moving into the wolves territory, it is difficult for a wolf to know the boundry lines between a domestic animal and a wild animal. They just know they are hungry. I understand that when a wolf kills a cow it affects a farmer's income. But I have watched on the seaTV that a farm could have alarms that go off everytime a wolf comes within a certain distance of a farm which would scare them away. I would also like to point out that when it comes to hunting, humans tend to do it for pleasure and fun while wolves hunt to survive. An average wolf eats about 9 pounds of meat each day. They hunt for food not for points or a decoration on a wall.


Here is an interesting thought about wolves and people. There is no record of any healthy wolf attacking a person, but how many healthy humans have killed wolves? In my opinon killing for pleasure is wrong and could lead to wiping out a whole species. Believe me I know, sea otters in the the 1900's almost became extinct.

my story

My story, is not much different from your story. Except that my story has no happy ending. I am a southern California sea otter. I am 4 feet long, weigh forty five pounds and I am the second smallest marine mammal. I am also really cute and have luxurious fur. Which is the reason why my ancestors were hunted. Today sea otters are no longer hunted because we are considered endangered species. Unfortunaly the endangered species act does not protect us from all dangers. Some of these dangers are oil spills, diseases, habitat loss, food limition and shellfish fisheries. For example, a couple months ago I heard that a chemical in cat litter can kill sea otters. But I am not writing this blog to tell you all about amazing facts on sea otters, though sea otters are pretty amazing. I am writing about various events that are happening to the earth and animals and how cruel humans can be at times. Everyday, for fifteen days I will write about something that is happening to the animal kingdom and the enviroment.