Hey there! I want to share a cool adventure I had at a special library. But this wasn’t your usual library with books. Instead, it was filled with insects! This amazing place is called the INHS insect collection at the University of Illinois. Tommy, the manager, showed me around, and I saw jars full of ticks, shiny beetles, and beautiful butterflies. Some of these insects are endangered, which means they’re in danger of disappearing forever.
Have you ever heard the word “endangered”? It has the word “danger” in it, and that’s a big clue. When we say an animal is endangered, it means its whole group, or species, is in danger of disappearing. Imagine if there were no more red pandas or sea otters left in the world. That’s what being endangered is all about.
Let’s talk about a cute animal called the Himalayan red panda. Right now, there are about 10,000 of them in the world. That might sound like a lot, but there used to be many more. If more red pandas die than are born, their numbers will keep going down until there are none left. When there are zero animals of a species left, we say they are extinct, like dinosaurs or the dodo bird.
Finding out if an animal is endangered can be tricky. Scientists have to count how many of them are left in the wild. But counting animals isn’t easy! Imagine trying to count all the birds flying around or spotting a hidden snowshoe hare in the woods. Scientists use special tools like GPS trackers, cameras, and drones to help them. They also work with lots of people to get a better idea of how many animals are left.
People all over the world are helping scientists keep track of endangered animals. For example, students in India set up cameras to take pictures of wildlife, like tigers, and share them with scientists. Volunteers in Wisconsin tag monarch butterflies to help track their numbers. By working together, we can find ways to protect these animals from going extinct.
So, what is an endangered species? It’s a group of animals that might disappear forever if we don’t help them. By counting and keeping an eye on these animals, we can learn which ones need our help the most. Remember, there are mysteries all around us, so stay curious and keep exploring!
Thanks for joining me on this adventure. If you have more questions about endangered animals, let me know. Until next time, keep wondering and learning!
Endangered Animal Detective: Become an animal detective! Choose an animal you think might be endangered. With the help of a parent or teacher, look up information about this animal. How many are left in the wild? Where do they live? What do they eat? Draw a picture of your animal and write a few sentences about why it is endangered and how people can help protect it.
Wildlife Watch: Go on a nature walk in your backyard, a park, or a nearby nature reserve. Take a notebook and pencil with you. Try to spot different animals or insects. Write down or draw what you see. Are there any animals that you think might be endangered? Discuss with your family or friends why it’s important to protect the animals you saw.
Endangered Animal Art Project: Create a piece of art that shows an endangered animal and its habitat. You can use materials like paper, crayons, paint, or even recycled materials. Think about what makes the animal special and what it needs to survive. Share your artwork with your class or family and explain why it’s important to protect this animal.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(phone rings) – Hey, it’s Esther. So a while back, I visited a really fascinating library. At this library, instead of looking at books, you look at insects. This is the INHS insect collection at the University of Illinois. The manager of the library, Tommy, showed me around the millions of insects they’ve collected: a jar full of ticks, shiny metallic beetles, and many different kinds of butterflies. While he was showing me the different insects, Tommy mentioned that some of these species are endangered.
Someone named John has a question about endangered animals. Let’s call John now. (phone rings) – Hi, Esther. – Hey, John. – I have a question for you. How do we know if animals are endangered species? – That’s a great question. I’m really curious about this topic, and it seems like many of you are curious too. We’ve received numerous questions in our question jar about endangered animals. Here are just a few of the questions you all have asked: Why are red pandas endangered? Why are sea otters endangered? How do animals become endangered? Why does it matter if an animal is endangered? What can we do to protect endangered animals? These are all excellent questions. So we’re going to spend three episodes exploring and asking questions all about endangered animals.
So what is an endangered animal? You probably noticed the word “danger” right in the middle of the phrase, but what kind of danger are we talking about here? I wonder what you think. Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss. Okay, ready? When I hear “endangered animal,” I initially think of animals in stories, like Peter Rabbit escaping from farmer McGregor. But in real life, it’s not always that simple.
For example, see this animal here? Right now, she’s doing fine; she’s taking a nap in the sun, but she’s still considered an endangered animal. Why is that? This is a Himalayan red panda. There are thousands of Himalayan red pandas in the world. The term we use to describe the whole group of Himalayan red pandas is “species.” Every living thing is part of a species. All these pandas belong to the same species, the Himalayan red panda, and every human on earth, including you and me, is part of the same species: humans.
But back to the napping panda. Even though this panda is doing fine, she’s considered an endangered animal because her species is in danger. Currently, there are around 10,000 Himalayan red pandas. That might sound like a lot, but there used to be many more. Wildlife experts are concerned that one day there might be zero red pandas left. The number of living things in a species changes constantly. Every time a new baby of the species is born, the number goes up by one. Every time a member of the species dies, the number goes down by one. If there are more deaths than new babies, the number will keep decreasing, and eventually, there won’t be any animals of that species left at all. When there are zero of a species left, we call that extinction.
So when a species is at risk of extinction, it’s called an endangered species because the species is in danger of going extinct. Extinction is a significant issue. So far, when species go extinct, they don’t come back. For example, in Indiana, where I live, there used to be many sabertooth cats, but they went extinct many years ago. I’ve lived here for a long time, and I’ve never seen one. Maybe you can think of other extinct animals too, like dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex or the dodo bird. These species don’t exist today either. When a species goes extinct, there are no animals left to reproduce, so there are no new babies.
But you might be wondering how we know if an animal is endangered. To determine that, it helps to know how many of a species are left. To get an idea of how many individuals are left, scientists need to go out into the wild and count all the animals in that species that they can find. And that sounds really challenging, doesn’t it? Go ahead and try this: Count all the birds you see here. That was hard, right? There are many of them, and they keep moving. Now, try this: count how many snowshoe hares show up in these woods. Do you even see any? I don’t. But if you look really closely, there might be one hidden in the trees. As I mentioned, it’s not easy.
To count endangered animals, scientists need help. Technology can assist. Scientists use tools like GPS trackers, heat-sensing cameras, and drones to monitor animals in the wild. Teamwork is also essential. The more people who help count endangered animals, the better idea we will have of their numbers. For instance, these students in India set up a camera outside their school to capture pictures of nearby wildlife, like a tiger. Then, they sent the pictures they collected to scientists who study endangered tigers. Or check this out: These volunteers in Wisconsin are tagging endangered monarch butterflies. This helps scientists track them and find out if their numbers fall dangerously low.
So in summary, what is an endangered species? When the number of animals in a species goes down to zero, that’s called extinction. A species at risk of extinction is an endangered species. Counting endangered animals in the wild is tricky, but with tools and teamwork, we can keep an eye on endangered animals around the world. When we know which species need help, we can find ways to protect them from going extinct.
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks for asking, John. This month, we’re focusing on questions all about endangered animals. We’ve selected three questions sent in to us that we’re considering answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from: Why are manatees endangered? What is the most endangered species? Or, why do animals become endangered? So submit your vote when the video’s over. We want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week.
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