EA #4: Giant Panda

The giant panda is recognized as a symbol of endangered animals. For example, the World Wildlife Federation uses the panda as its symbol.

The giant panda lives in China. Most of its diet is bamboo, and it eats mostly in the morning and evening. The giant panda weighs about 155-280 pounds, about as much as a large adult human.

The giant panda has a kind of sixth finger in its wrist which is sort of like a false thumb. It uses this to grip the bamboo stems and leaves for the other hand to tear off.

Only about a third of giant panda cubs survive longer than 6 months.

In the wild, the panda cub stays in the den for over a month, then it rides on its mom's back, and then when the cub is about 6 months old, it walks with its mom. When the cub is about 18 months old, it is able to live away from its mom.

Male giant pandas chase and fight each other for the females during mating season.

The World Wildlife Federation says that only about 1,600 pandas are left on Earth.

EA#3: Sable

The sable is a mustelid, like a weasel. It can be 12 1/2 to 18 inches long and eats fruit and small animals, like mice. Compared to other mustelid species, the sable has longer legs, a bushier tail and its claws can retract part of the way.

The sable is endangered because people hunt it for its beautiful pelt. This species (Martes americana) only has about 300 sables remaining in Newfoundland, Canada. (Read more about this here.)

Read more about the sable and other endangered close relatives here, here, here, and here.

EA #2: Blue Whale

The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. It can be 66-98' long, and it can weigh 100-160 tons. A baby blue whale is called a calf, and can be 23' long and weigh 2 2/3 tons. A calf stays with its mother for 7 to 8 months to nurse. Blue whales can live to be 80 years old.

The blue whale can be found in every ocean. It eats plankton called Euphausiidae.

There are only between 1,300 and 2,000 blue whales left on Earth. This might sound like a lot, but it's not. Blue whales can be killed by fishing nets, pollution, and whaling (which is illegal in most places). Here is an organization dedicated to saving whales.

You can see cool pictures of blue whales on the internet.

Here is one of a mommy and baby blue whale.

Here is a closeup of a blue whale's head.

Endangered Animal # 1: Southern Dibbler

Endangered Animal #1 is the Souther Dibbler. Have you ever heard of this animal? No? Here is some information about him.

The Southern Dibbler is a mammal, and also a marsupial. A marsupial is an animal that has a pouch to carry its babies. The Southern Dibbler lives in Southwest Australia, where it lives in a sort of savannah habitat. It eats mice, birds, lizards, insects and other invertebrates. The Southern Dibbler is about 4-6" long, and its tail is about 4" long. It weighs only a few ounces.

People thought that this animal was extinct until 1967, when it was found in extreme Southwest Australia. They only found very few of them. In captivity, they can be found in only one zoo: the Perth Zoo in Australia, which has a colony of about 80-100 dibblers.

What is an Endangered Species?

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was made law in 1973. It was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. This law protects animals (including invertebrates) and plants from becoming extinct.

There are two government groups responsible for enforcing the law: the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the NOAA Fisheries. The FWS is responsible for freshwater fish and other animals. The NOAA Fisheries is responsible for ocean species.

There are two levels within the ESA. Animals can be listed as "threatened" or "endangered." Threatened means that the species is vulnerable to becoming extinct soon. Endangered means that the species is at immediate risk to become extinct. When a species is endangered, there are usually very few of that animal left on Earth. For example, the Florida manatee is endangered. There are only about 2,019 of them left on Earth. We hope that their population will grow because they are protected.

In other countries, there are similar laws to protect animals in danger of being extinct. For example, there are only about 4000 Bengal Tigers alive right now. About 30 years ago, there were only about 1800 Bengal Tigers alive right now, so hopefully, their population will continue to grow because they are protected as endangered species.

About EAPS.

EAPS is a society for helping and learning about endangered animals. To be a member you must promise to learn about endangered animals and to come to as many meetings as possible.

How did I come up with the idea? Well, I was looking at this Neat Stuff club handbook and it gave me the idea of having my own club and I thought about the living creatures that are dying out, and I came up with EAPS.

How this will work, is that each week(or more often) I will write information here about an endangered animal. You can read the information to learn more about the animal.

If you want to join EAPS, please send an email to my mom, with your name and address if you want a club membership card. Please join, because endangered animals need your help!