Chapter 7 ENDANGERED SPECIES
ENDANGERED
chapter
7
SPECIES: SAVING OUR FUTURE
What is the man
without the
beasts?
If all the beasts were
gone, man would die from
a great loneliness of the
spirit.
For whatever happens
to the beasts, soon
happens to man.
Attributed to Chief Seattle,
1784–1866 Chief of the Duwamishand
Suquamish tribes, USA
learn ABOUT
• the habitats of
endangered species
• the threats to their
survival
• what you can do to
help.
learn TO
What do you know about ENDANGERED SPECIES?
In pairs, decide whether these statements are TRUE or
FALSE. Briefly explain your answers, and compare them
with others in the class.
1 Grey Nurse sharks spew out their stomachs.
2 Snow leopards prey on blue sheep.
3 Grey Nurse sharks are near the bottom of the food chain.
4 African elephants can eat the weight of three grown men
each day.
PL
• interpret maps and
statistics
• use information
technology to present
your ideas and fi ndings
• communicate using
role play, class debate,
a campaign.
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Heinemann HUMANITIES 1
Endangered species – an overview
Figure 1
More than 12 000 of the world’s animal species
face extinction. This means they have so few
numbers they cannot reproduce enough to
survive as a species. In this unit, you will enter their
habitats, you will discover why they are endangered
and fi nd out what people and organisations around
the world are doing to save them.
Snow leopard.
African elephants.
Map 1
Grey Nurse shark.
A r c t i c
O c e a n
A r c t i c C i r c l e
2
2
7
8
9
17
P a c i f i c
A t l a n t i c
T r o p i c o f C a n c e r
8
6
10
O c e a n
O c e a n
E q u a t o r
3
12
1
T r o p i c o f C a p r i c o r n
13
4
I n d i a n
4
14
5
10
18
11
0
1000
2000
17
3000 4000 5000 km
O c e a n
17
N
15 16
17 17
There are endangered species all over the world. 1 Cheetah; 2 Grey Wolf; 3 Gorilla; 4 Orangutan; 5 Bird of
Paradise; 6 Giant Panda; 7 Przewalski’s Horse; 8 Tiger; 9 North American Bison; 10 Jaguar; 11 Macaw;
12 African Elephant; 13 Aye Aye; 14 Greater Bilby; 15 Helmeted Honeyeater; 16 Pygmy Possum; 17 Whales;
18 Giant Brazilian Otter. (Source: Heinemann Atlas Third Edition.)
Chapter 7 ENDANGERED SPECIES
155
HOW ENDANGERED? Each year, animals and plants are classifi ed on the ‘Red List’,
published by the World Conservation Union, according to the degree of endangerment
of extinction they face. This list defi nes the various levels:
extinct
extinct in the wild
critically endangered
endangered
vulnerable
near threatened
data deficient (DD)
The last individual of the species has died.
All surviving members of the species exist in a cultured or captive environment.
The species has an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
The species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
The species is likely to qualify for a higher category in the near future.
There is inadequate data to classify the species.
Extract 1
Dirty old bags
[Plastic bags] are lethal to marine life [as they]
kill livestock and trap birds. According to
Planet Ark, an international environmental
group that has taken a leading role in the push
to reduce plastic bag use, at least 100 000 birds,
whales, seals and turtles are killed by plastic
bags each year worldwide.
Plastic bags cannot be digested or passed by an animal
— they stay in the gut, causing pain and certain death.
When dead animals decay, the bags are freed and often
eaten again by other animals for many years to come …
Many countries around the world have implemented
measures to curb the use of plastic bags. Ireland …
has placed a levy equivalent to 27 cents [on each bag,
reducing] single-use plastic bag consumption by 90–95
per cent over one year …
Sushi Das, the Age (29 June 2004).
activities
G Investigating environmental issues
1 Create a thermometer chart showing the
degrees of endangerment from high to
low. Use the Internet and library to find
one endangered animal at each point of
endangerment, and add them to your chart.
2 Use Map 1 and the information on page
180 to identify which continent seems
to have the most endangered species.
Compare the results and suggest why this
might be the case.
G Evaluating and presenting information
3 There are many reasons why animals
become endangered. In small groups,
consider the following reasons and order
them from the most likely to the least
likely reason. Add some reasons of your
own and share your views with the class.
• hunting and killing
• zoo collections
• loss of habitat
• pollution
• domestication of wild animals
• feral cats
• overfishing
• wild animals on restaurant menus
4 Read Extract 1 then do the following
activities:
a List the information in this article which
you think is factual.
G Communication: writing a formal letter
b As a class, write a letter to your local
council urging them to pass a bylaw
to ban free plastic bags in all
stores. You could add a petition with
signatures from people in your area.
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Heinemann HUMANITIES 1
The Grey Nurse: 300 and counting
AUSTRALIA
NEW
SOUTH
WALES
Sydney
0 5km
Map 1
Sydney
South Maroubra
Magic Point
Map of Australia, including Magic Point at South
Maroubra.
It is 8 a.m. The chilly wind sprays icy
sea-water into my face as we bounce
across a slight swell towards Magic
Point at South Maroubra. I had wanted
to do a night dive because that’s when the
Grey Nurse feeds, and it’s a lot more exciting,
especially with an underwater scooter and a
spotlight. But Jane, the dive instructor, was
horrifi ed: ‘No! We’re not allowed to dive there
at night, we can’t use scooters, we can’t block
the entrance to their caves, we can’t touch
them or feed them, we can’t even interrupt
their swimming patterns. We can only go
down there to watch!’
Oh well, it’s probably too scary at night
anyway.
It’s hard to believe we are less than twenty
kilometres from central Sydney and yet so
close to a colony of Grey Nurse sharks. Now
by Meg Davis
down
that we are in the boat with open ocean in
front of us, I’m glad she set the rules — rules
to protect the sharks, not me!
‘Three hundred and counting down,’ Jane
shouts in my ear as we speed across the waves.
I must have looked puzzled because she adds,
‘There are only about three hundred Grey
Nurses left, and we’re going to see nine of
them.’
I have been scuba diving before but this
is going to be special. I’m itching to get into
the water. We gear up and roll backwards
into the cool blue sea. Visibility is great.
Swimming down the anchor line, we reach
the ocean fl oor about fi fteen metres below the
surface. It’s only a short swim to a wide cave
about two metres high: the home to a colony
of Grey Nurse sharks. Grey Nurses love caves
and deep trenches; they’ve been known
to go down as deep as two hundred metres
looking for food. They’re at the top of the food
chain, so who knows what will happen if they
become extinct.
Several dark, silent fi gures — the largest
almost four metres long, the smallest one
metre — swim slowly round and round,
patrolling the entrance to their cave.
These sharks are beautifully streamlined,
grey to bronze on top with white underbellies.
The young ones have reddish spots on the
lower part of their back but these fade as
they get older. Row after row of backwardpointing,
needle-like teeth fi ll their jaws.
They look ferocious, but I’ve been promised
they’re not.
‘They’ll leave you alone as long as you don’t
provoke them or get in the way when they’re
feeding,’ Jane had said.
The Grey Nurse shark
Chapter 7 ENDANGERED SPECIES
157
Figure 1 Figure 2
A food chain
Fishers
Large fish (e.g. sharks)
Small fish (e.g. whiting)
Small invertebrates (e.g. prawns)
carbon dioxide + water
sugars + oxygen + energy
Producers (e.g. algae, mangroves)
Energy from the Sun
The Grey Nurse shark food chain.
A Grey Nurse shark.
activities
Survival of the fittest
The female Grey Nurse has a uterus on each
side of her body. Each uterus contains several
babies but usually only one from each uterus
emerges alive. The pups are about one metre
long at birth.
Hooked!
If a Grey Nurse is hooked and then brought to
the surface too quickly, the air in its stomach
will expand because of the lower pressure. This
causes the gut wall to rupture, which, if left
untreated, will cause the shark to die a painful
death within a week or so, due to peritonitis
(infl ammation of the peritoneum).
1 From the story and photos in this unit,
draw and colour a Grey Nurse shark,
labelling key features.
G Presenting geographical information
using a diagram
2 Look at Figure 2. In pairs, produce a food
chain with sketches and labels. Illustrate
and explain what might happen to the food
chain if the Grey Nurse became extinct.
3 Read Survival of the fittest and suggest
how this reproductive method aids in the
survival of the species.
4 The scientific name of the shark
commonly known as the Grey Nurse is
Carcharias taurus; the family name is
Odontospidae.
a Using a dictionary or the Internet, find
out what these Latin words mean.
b How do these relate to the description
of the Grey Nurse?
5 Read Hooked! Find out the meaning of
‘peritonitis’ and research its effects.
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1 Write down statements a to g. Write ‘true’
next to any statements you feel are correct
and ‘false’ next to those you feel are incorrect.
Justify your choices. Two examples have been
provided for you.
Humans are one of the many threats
to endangered species. True. Pollution,
poaching, farming, overfishing and habitat
destruction all contribute to the decline of
species’ numbers.
Because sharks are the perfect killing
machine the Grey Nurse Shark will never
die out. False. The Grey Nurse does not
reproduce quickly, is hunted by humans, its
natural habitat is being destroyed and its
numbers are declining already.
a Snow leopards are only endangered in
Nepal.
b Vulnerable species are not as threatened as
critically endangered species.
c Female African elephants are pregnant for
about two years.
d Grey Nurse sharks are at the top of their
food chain.
e Mount Kilimanjaro is in South Africa.
f Snow leopards sold on the black market
bring in very little money.
g Farmers pose very little threat to the African
elephant.
2 Construct food chains that include the three
endangered species, their predators and prey.
3 Imagine you are a worker for the WWF. List the
five things that would be your priorities once
you started work.
4 What value do conservation groups have in
today’s society? Do you think that they and
their aims and objectives are worthwhile or a
waste of public resources and money?
5 Imagine you are living 100 years in the future.
Create a written, oral or visual presentation to
answer the following questions.
a Which endangered species might still and
might not exist and why?
b You open up a time capsule from 2006,
which gives details about what was being
done to protect endangered species. List
what you would find.
c Predict how you think future society might
protect endangered species.
6 Design a poster showing why we should
protect not just endangered species but all
species.
7 A number of Australian species are on the Red
List. Create a written, oral or visual presentation
to outline the impact that the extinction of such
animals as the koala, the northern hairy-nosed
wombat, the wedge-tailed eagle or the Grey
Nurse shark would have on Australia.
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Chapter 7 ENDANGERED SPECIES
WB • G, H, J, I, C, D, E
TRK • FW, ET, CT, AT
CD • MG, MC, RW, AQ, FG
183
PL
time to refl ect
1 a Which part of this unit made you feel you
would like to learn something about an
endangered species?
b We all learn in different ways. Which activity
in this unit suited your learning style best?
Which activity did you most enjoy?
2 List the things you would add or drop from this
unit. Give reasons for your suggestions.
4 Suggest an additional activity (draw something,
investigate, hear a speaker, etc.) you would
like to be included in a study of endangered
species.
5 a Explain the value of doing fieldwork on
endangered species.
b What sort of fieldwork would you suggest?
Explain.
6 What aspects of learning about endangered
species are valuable to society in general?
3 Suggest two other species not included in this
unit that you would like to study. Give reasons.
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Heinemann HUMANITIES 1
glossary
alpine the mountain environment
bull a male elephant
carcass the body of a dead animal
cow a female elephant
critical habitat a habitat that is essential for the
survival of a species
critically endangered facing an extremely high risk
of extinction in the wild
data deficient (DD) inadequate data is available
domestication the adaptation of an animal for use
by humans; taming
dry season the time of the year when there is little
rain
electroreception the sense that allows sharks to
detect very weak electrical currents
endangered facing a very high risk of extinction in
the wild
exterminate to get rid of something by completely
destroying it
extinct no longer existing
extinct in the wild only surviving in a cultured or
captive environment
feral wild or untamed
food chain a chain of organisms indicating which
living things are eaten by others
gestation the period of time needed to produce a
living offspring
habitat the area and its surroundings in which a
species lives
herd a large group of four-legged animals of a
single species
Himalayas the mountain chain in south-central
Asia (including Mount Everest and nine of the
world’s ten-highest peaks) that extends for about
2414 km
ibex a mountain sheep that lives in the Himalayas
ivory hard whitish dentine (tooth material) of which
animals’ tusks are made
national park an area of land set aside by a
government for the conservation of natural features
near threatened likely to qualify for a category of
endangerment in the near future
offspring a descendant of an animal or plant
peritonitis inflammation of the peritoneum, the
membrane that lines the stomach walls
poaching illegal hunting or fishing
ranger a person who is employed to protect areas
such as national parks
sanctuary a place which provides protection of
wildlife
savannah an area characterised by grasslands and
scattered trees, and having a wet season and a dry
season
scavenger an animal that feeds on dead or
decaying matter
species a class of organisms that are grouped
because they have common attributes
steel tracer steel used for the first 2 metres of
a fishing line, near the hook, to avoid having the
rough skin of a shark break the line
strychnine a poison that affects the nervous
system, and usually leads to a slow and painful
death
trench a long, steep-sided valley on the ocean
floor.
uterus the cavity in the bodies of some female
animals in which offspring develop before birth
vulnerable facing high risk of extinction in the wild
whistleblower a person who informs authorities of
an illegal activity
Place chapter opening photo here and increase photo
height to start 5mm from last line of glossary text. Photo
must remain this width, it is ok for the photo to be
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