SomeFacts | Endangered Animals

Endangered Animals

Which endangered bird has the largest wingspan?
The wedge-tailed eagle, which can be found in Australasia, has a ...

Are any birds extinct?
Yes. Some - such as the Archaeopteryx - died out with the dinosaurs. ...

Which are the biggest and smallest birds of prey?
The Andean condor is the largest bird of prey, with a wingspan of ...

Do crop pesticides harm birds?
Yes. Birds that eat sprayed crops, such as budgerigars and lapwings, ...

Where do budgies come from?
Budgies, or budgerigars, are native to Australia, where flocks of ...

How can we count the birds?
We can't! There are birds in every continent of the world, and it is ...

Why are people the birds’ worst enemies?
People destroy birds' habitat by cutting down forests and draining ...

Are any small mammals already extinct?
Yes. Scientists have found fossilized remains of several small ...

Are rabbits or hares endangered?
Most species of rabbits and hares breed, well, like rabbits, and are ...

Which small mammals are endangered?
Many small mammals, such as beavers in the USA and the red squirrel ...

How sleepy are dormice?
Dormice are said to be very sleepy creatures, but in fact they don't ...

Are badgers related to weasels?
Yes! Badgers are a member of the weasel family, and so are stoats. ...

How do beavers build dams?
Beavers can cut down trees by biting through the trunk. Then they ...

Are rats related to squirrels?
Yes, they are both mammals, called rodents. The rodent family ...

How can people help bats?
Many people are frightened of bats. They feature in horror stories, ...

Do vampires really exist?
Vampire bats are the only real vampires. There are three species of ...

How do bats find their way in the dark?
By using echolocation. This means that they make high-pitched sounds ...

Is a bat really a bird?
No, unlike birds, bats are mammals, which means they have hair, or ...

Where do bats live?
Bats can be found all over the world, in Asia, Australasia, the ...

How many species of bat are there?
There are 951 species of bat, divided into 19 scientific families, ...

Are bats really blind?
No, they aren't. However, their hearing is more highly developed than ...

How small is the smallest bat?
The smallest bat is the pipistrelle. They weigh between just 0.15 and ...

When did the first cats live?
The first known cats lived 35 million years ago. They were the ...

Where do big cats live?
Mostly in Africa, but also in Asia and the Americas. Both African and ...

Which speedy animal is endangered?
The cheetah. It can run up to 62 mph (100 kph). It can't keep up its ...

Are white tigers and Siberian tigers extinct?
Nearly. The Siberian tiger is paler than most other tigers, but still ...

Do big cats mate for life?
No. A male cat may have more than one mate at a time, and females may ...

Do lions climb trees to escape danger?
No. They often climb trees to look out over the surrounding land, to ...

What is big and lazy?
The male lion is the biggest of the cat family, weighing about 528 lb ...

Are big cats related to domestic cats?
Yes, they are. All cats are of the order Carnivora (meat-eaters) and ...

What is the elephant’s worst enemy?
People. Healthy elephants have no natural predators, apart from ...

What can be done to save the elephants?
The ban on selling ivory needs to be enforced, so that poachers and ...

Why do people kill elephants?
Some people kill them because they threaten their homes and crops; ...

Can elephants cry?
Many people, who know elephants well, are sure that they do cry. ...

How heavy is a baby elephant?
At birth, baby Asian elephants weigh about 440 lb (200 kg); baby ...

What happens to elephants in captivity?
Male elephants can become very aggressive, which is how they react in ...

How do elephants communicate?
To warn of danger - perhaps hunters after ivory - elephants make a ...

Which elephant ancestor became extinct 11,000 years ago?
In the past there were many species of elephant and their relatives. ...

What is happening to the rhinos’ habitat?
Many Asian rhinos are endangered because their habitat the rainforest ...

What is being done to help rhinos?
Where rhinos are found there are also specially trained guards. ...

Why are rhinos killed?
Unfortunately, rhinos are hunted for their horns, which many peoples ...

Where does the rhinoceros get its name?
Rhino means nose, and ceros means horn - the dinosaur Triceratops was ...

What is the rhino’s biggest enemy?
Big cats prey on rhinos, but they kill only a few. Humans are the ...

How many rhinos are there left in the world?
There are less than 8,500 white rhinos still living. Almost all of ...

Where do rhinos live?
White and black rhinos live all over Africa. The Javan, Sumatran, and ...

Can a plastic bag kill a sea creature?
Yes, quite easily. Humans pollute the seas with oil and fuel spills, ...

Why is the monk seal dying out?
The monk seal, a gray seal that lives around the Mediterranean, was ...

Are sea snakes poisonous?
Yes, a bite from a sea snake can kill a healthy adult in five ...

Did mermaids become extinct?
No! They never existed. Unlikely as it may sound, the myth of ...

Are sharks related to whales?
No, a shark is a fish, and a whale is a mammal fish are cold-blooded, ...

What sea cow is about to die out?
Sea cow is the name for both manatees and dugongs, the two remaining ...

Which whale has a horn like a unicorn?
The narwhal, which lives in waters around the Arctic, is almost ...

What happens to cetaceans when people catch too many fish?
If there are not enough fish, cetaceans will starve. The more fish ...

How big is the biggest whale?
The biggest whale is the blue whale which is now officially protected ...

What is the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise?
They are quite hard to tell apart without examining their teeth! ...

What is a cetacean?
Cetacean is the word for all species of whale, dolphin, and porpoise. ...

Why must we save the whales?
The ecosystem of the seas is very delicate. Breaking one link in the ...

How do drift nets kill dolphins and sharks?
Drift nets are enormous nets used for commercial fishing. They cover ...

Which bears are most endangered?
The most endangered bear in the world is the giant panda, although ...

Do bears like fish?
Yes, fish makes up a large part of their diet in parts of the world ...

Why is a grizzly bear grizzly?
A grizzly is actually one of the many different types of brown bear. ...

Why do bears hibernate?
They sleep all winter because food is scarce. In summer a bear will ...

Why are bears hunted?
For their bones, bile, and gall bladders, which are made into ...

Why should a bear follow its nose?
Bears often have bad eyesight, which is made up for by an excellent ...

Are polar bears endangered?
Polar bears live in the Arctic, the area around the North Pole. The ...

Do bears really like honey?
Yes they do. Many bears are expert climbers, and with their excellent ...

How much do giant pandas weigh?
Around 19 stone (120 kg). They have heavy bones and thick fur. It is ...

How often do giant pandas have babies?
Their cubs are born only every two years, at the most. This is ...

How long does a panda take to eat lunch?
Almost all its waking hours! Giant pandas spend around 14 hours every ...

How many giant pandas are left in the world?
There are believed to be fewer than 1,000 giant pandas left in the ...

Are pandas vegetarian?
Like all bears, pandas are omnivorous, which means they eat meat or ...

Which animal is all thumbs?
Giant pandas have an extra "finger" on their front paws. It is where ...

Which snail was eaten to extinction?
All seven species of land snail were once found in Moorea, in French ...

Which beach-dwelling arthropods are at risk?
Many arthropods live in beach or ocean habitats. They are under ...

What creature could survive a nuclear war?
There are many endangered arthropods, such as the painted rocksnail ...

Why are people scared of spiders?
Many people are frightened of spiders because of the unusual way they ...

How can you tell an arachnid from an insect?
The most obvious difference is in the number of legs. An insect (for ...

Are arthropods poisonous to each other?
Yes they are. For instance, when a spider traps a fly, it gives it a ...

Which mate-eating creature is under threat?
The female praying mantis. After mating, she kills and eats the male! ...

When did wolves become extinct in Britain?
Once Britain was almost covered in dense forest. When people began ...

Which is the smallest wild dog?
The smallest alive today is the fennec fox, which lives in parts of ...

Are werewolves extinct?
No! They never existed. A werewolf is an imaginary beast - supposedly ...

Does a fox cub make a good pet?
No wild animal should be kept as a pet. It takes many generations of ...

Are pet dogs endangered?
No! The ancestors of all domestic dogs were once wild animals. They ...

Are there wolves in Australia?
Yes, but maybe not for long. The Tasmanian wolf used to live happily ...

Which red wolf may not be around much longer?
The red wolf in the USA has been cross-bred with so many other ...

What do monkeys eat?
Monkeys eat fruit, leaves, nuts, plants, insects and small animals. ...

How big is a monkey?
Monkeys range vastly in size. The smallest is the tiny pygmy ...

Can monkeys talk?
Monkeys don't talk like humans do, but they do have their own highly ...

Which religion has a monkey god?
Hinduism. The monkey god's name is Hanuman and his mischievous sense ...

How do baby monkeys climb trees?
Baby monkeys cling on to their mother's fur and swing through the ...

How many types of monkey are there?
There are around 133 different species of monkey in the world. ...

Where do monkeys come from?
Monkeys can be found in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. ...

Can people see gorillas in the wild?
Yes, small groups of people are taken to the gorillas' habitat. There ...

What is life like in the gorilla group?
Gorilla society is run by male gorillas it is called a patriarchal ...

Why are gorillas hunted?
Tragically, one of the most common reasons they are hunted is as ...

Who tried to save the gorillas?
Dr Dian Fossey was the gorillas' most famous helper. She spent much ...

Are we related to gorillas?
Yes. Gorillas and humans have a common ancestor. This creature lived ...

What happens to gorillas in wartime?
Gorillas are often innocent victims of fierce fighting. Occasionally, ...

How do gorillas communicate?
They use body signals and noises perhaps the most famous of these is ...

What do gorillas need from their habitat?
Shelter and a good supply of food. If the climate is favorable, both ...