The Florida Panther

The Florida Panther is a subspecies of the mountain lion. It is the state animal of the state of Florida and is one of the most endangered animals on earth. Other names for the panther include mountain lion, cougar, puma, painter and catamount.



This slender wild cat is powerfully built and very agile, as most felines are. They are tawny brown in color, have long bodies and unusually long back legs. These back legs give the panther the ability to have bursts of high-speed running and jumping, used to kill its prey. The Florida has a long neck, a small broad head and a long cylindrical tail with a black tip.

The Florida Panther is a habitat generalist - which means that it lives in a variety of habitats like forests, prairies and swamps. They like to be alone and will travel hundreds of miles within their home range. This characteristic requires a minimum space of 200 square miles (75 square miles for females) for the Florida Panther. That's a lot of space!

A long time ago, the panther could easily be found all over the eastern United States. Now, there are only 30 to 50 panthers left, all found in Florida or a state park or a zoo. With these numbers, the Florida Panther is on the CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES list of animals due to the following:

1. Habitat loss - This is mainly due to the developing that people do. The Florida Panther's environment is lost because trees are cut down, land is taken away for home and buildings or for farming.

2. Collision with vehicles - As the Florida Panther roams the land in search for food or mates, it has to cross roads and highways, which are always deadly for the animal. Conservationist groups have been working to put up more Wildlife Crossing areas to make it safer for the panthers and other wildlife to cross safely under roads and highways.

3. Territorial disputes between panthers - Although this is normal behavior between male panthers, this has increased because habitat loss makes territorial areas for each male Florida Panther smaller and smaller.

4. Poisoning - Environmental toxins find themselves in the Florida Panther, which are fatal. From the pollution that people produce which goes in the air, it goes into the swamps and rivers of the environment and is absorbed. The animals that eat and drink from these places also absorb the poison. And the Florida Panther, at the top of the food chain, eats these same animals that have absorbed the toxins.

Florida Panther Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Puma Concolor Coryi
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 3.25 to 5.25 feet
Weight: 132 pounds
Range: Florida, USA
Diet: white deer, rabbit, racoon, armadillo, birds

To answer a crossword puzzle about the Florida Panther, click on the image or here.

Short-Eared Owl

When we think of owls, we think of them as nocturnal, coming out at night. The Short-Eared Owl, however, also flies during the day ("diurnal") and is the most diurnal of all the owls. They are mostly seen in the late afternoon and at dawn. When it flies, the Short-Eared Owl flies like a moth or like a bat, flying low over grasslands or marshes, flying back and forth with slow, irregular wingbeats.

Short-Eared Owls are medium-sized owls with small ear tufts that look like two short ears sticking out of its head. The Long-Eared Owl has ear tufts almost three times as long. The Short-Eared Owl usually lets these ear tufts lie flat on its head, giving it the appearance of being bald. When it is surprised or scared or on the defensive, the ear tufts stand straight up.

The Short-Eared Owl has large eyes, a big head, a short neck and wide wings. Feathers are brown and the upper breast is streaked. Females of the species are slightly bigger than the males. The yellow orange eyes are emphasized by black circles around each eye and its white face.

This Owl hunts frequently throughout the day, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. It flies between one to ten feet above the ground, will hover above its prey for a few seconds before pouncing on its meal. The Short-Eared Owl uses its excellent hearing to locate prey. It feeds on small rodents, insects, and small birds.

Despite the fact that the Short-Eared Owl is present in most continents, its rate of decline has alarmed researchers. These birds have decreased in numbers from 3.5% to as much as 11.5% each year. This is a main reason why the Short-Eared Owl had been listed as VULNERABLE worldwide, but is a STATE-ENDANGERED SPECIES in the northeastern United States. Some reasons for the fast decline in numbers include:

1. Loss of habitat - The large, open and undisturbed areas where the Short-Eared Owls breed are being replaced by homes and buildings.

2. Pesticides - The presence of pesticides in the Short-Eared Owl's prey may cause harm to the bird.

Short-Eared Owl Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Asio Flammeus
Type: Bird
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 13 to 17 inches
Weight: 7.27 to 16.77 ounces
Range: Most continents
Diet: Small rodents, insects, and small birds

To make Rock Owl Paperweights, click on the image or here.

Tiger Salamander

The word "salamander" is a name for amphibians that have tails when they are adults. Most animals in the salamander order look like a mixture of frog and lizard. They have the wet, smooth skin of frogs, and a long tail like lizards. Other names for a salamander include olm, axoloti, spring lizard, water dog, mud puppy, hellbender, triton, and congo eel.

The Tiger Salamander has the stripe pattern of their mammalian namesake. The Tiger Salamander is usually brown or greenish or gray in color and has yellow stripes or yellow dots or dark brown splotches throughout its body. Some have no markings at all.

The Tiger Salamander is the largest land-dwelling salamander on earth. They have thick bodies with short snouts, sturdy legs and long tails. They live in burrows (deep holes) up to two feet below the surface. They go out of their burrows at night to hunt for worms, insects, frogs and even other salamanders.

This amphibian is listed as Least Concern in the endangered species list because researchers have a hard time recording numbers for the Tiger Salamander since they spend a lot of time in their burrows underground. However, Least Concern is a a step before Near Threatened, so if people started early enough, the Tiger Salamander MAY be kept off the endangered list altogether! Some threats to the life of the Tiger Salamander include:

1. Predatory fish - The Tiger Salamander cannot live with predatory fish in its environment. Bass, catfish and other such species pose to threat to the Tiger Salamander, who is small enough to be eaten by these fish.

2. Bait - Tiger Salamanders, when caught, are used as bait to catch other fish.

3. Loss of habitat - Deforestation and loss of wetland areas, places where the Tiger Salamander lives. The decrease in the area of these places means that the Tiger Salamander also has less places to live and survive in.

4. Vehicles - As the Tiger Salamander scurries from place to place in search of food, it crosses roads and highways, proof of how people are getting closer to the living places of all animals and their environment. The chances of the amphibians being run over by vehicles increase as more and more people take over the land.

5. Pollution - People not only take the lands from animals, the presence of people alone means more pollution in the ponds and other habitats of the animals. Polluting the area poses a threat to the Tiger Salamander (and other animals in the area) because it can eat or be killed by pollutants in the air and water.

Tiger Salamander Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Ambystoma Tigrinum
Type: Amphibian
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 7 to 14 inches
Weight: 4.4 ounces
Range: North America
Diet: worms, insects, frogs, other salamanders

To make a 3-D paper model of a Salamander, click on the image or here.

The Giant Ibis

The Giant Ibis, a wading bird, is found in northern Cambodia and southern Laos in Asia. This huge bird has a large, curved bill and makes a loud ringing call which sounds like "a-leurk-a-leurk".


The adult Giant Ibis is dark with a bald head and neck. There are dark bands across the back of the head and shoulders and the pale wings have black bars across them. Younger Giant Ibises have short black feathers on the back of the head down to the neck. Bills are shorter and their eyes are brown.

The Giant Ibis has official protection from conservationists in both Laos and Cambodia. Both countries are campaigning to reduce the hunting of these large water birds; the Giant Ibis is being displayed on banners and other materials to make the public more aware about this almost-extinct bird.

With only 250 birds in the world, the Giant Ibis is a CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES. With so few birds, there are no current research projects that focus on the Giant Ibis. Some reasons that are known to have caused them to be on the endangered list:

1. Habitat loss - Continued trade in logging from Cambodia and Laos cause the deforestation of the natural environments of the Giant Ibis.

2. Hunting - The public, who are not aware of the importance and rarity of the Giant Ibis, continue to hunt the bird for sport and for trophy. There are steps being taken to control gun and rifle ownership.

Giant Ibis Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Thaumatibis Gigantea
Type: Bird
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 40 to 42 inches
Weight: 9 pounds
Range: Cambodia, Laos
Diet: locusts, seeds, crustaceans, small reptiles

To make an origami of the Ibis, click on the image or here.

Philippine Tarsier

Known locally as the Maumag in Cebuano, the Philippine Tarsier is found in the southern part of the Philippines, in the islands of Bohol, Samar, Letye and Mindanao. The name of the tarsier is taken from the animals "tarsus", or ankle bone.


When you look at the Philippine Tarsier, all you'll see mostly is its eyes. It has the biggest eyes relative to their body weight of any mammal! Its eyes are fixed in its skull; they cannot turn in their sockets. To look around, the Philippine Tarsier must turn its head, up to 180 degrees! The Tarsier's huge eyes does provide it with excellent night vision, which allows it to hunt at night.

The Philippine Tarsier has wavy brownish gray fur with a silky texture. The powerful and long legs, whcih are twice as long as its body), are useful for leaping from tree to tree. It has fingers, with flattened nails and claws used for grooming. There are pads on the Philippine Tarsier's fingers and toes to help them cling to branches. The Tarsier spends its day hiding in trees and brances and only come out at night to hunt for food.

Numbering less than 1,000 animals, the Philippine Tarsier is an ENDANGERED SPECIES. Concentrated in a small area of the world, we want to be able to keep this animal, with links to a 45 million year history in the rainforests of the world, healthy and living in large numbers. As with all endangered animals, there are several reasons for their enviornmental status:

1. Habitat loss - The destruction of the natural resources in the Philippines, most especially deorestation and logging will affect these small primates. As more and more people demand space for homes and buildings, the Philippine Tarsier's environment will continue to shrink.

2. Petting - Because of their size, the Philippine Tarsier has been reported to be kept as pets. This is dangerous, since keeping a Tarsier as a pet, they may spread worms and other parasites to their human owners.

Philippine Tarsier Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Tarsius Syrichta
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 3.8 to 5.2 inches
Weight: 2 to 5.4 ounces
Range: Philippine islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao
Diet: insects, worms, lizards

To answer an online quiz on the Philippine Tarsier, click on the image or here.

The Sea Otter

The Sea Otter is the heaviest member of the weasel family. It is also among the smallest marine mammal. It is the only marine mammal that does not have blubber (layer of fat) to keep it warm. Instead, its very thick, dense fur traps warm air close to the body to keep the Sea Otter from feeling cold! How dense is this Sea Otter fur? Try fitting 100,000 strands of hair on the size of a postage stamp!


Another unusual thing about the Sea Otter is that it has flexible fingers and can grab prey with their paws! The are often seen with a clam and a rock in their paws; with the rock against their chest, they smash the shellfish into it until it breaks open. Other food that the Sea Otter loves are seq urchins crabs, squid, octopus and fish.

After a meal, the Sea Otter cleans itself by washing themselves in the ocean, cleaning their coat with its teeth and paws. Cleaning its coat ensures that the coat remains waterproof and will provide the insulation against the cold air and water.

The Sea Otter is one animal that truly adapts to its environment. Its nostrils and small ear can close when it dives in the water. Its hind feet are long, broad and fully webbed, allowing the Sea Otter to swim strongly in the water. The tail is short, thick, flat and muscular. This helps the Sea Otter in its swimming as well. The front paws are short with claws that appear when the Sea Otter grabs its prey. Its highly sensitive whiskers and front paws help find prey by touch when the water is dark or murky.

The Sea Otter is an ENDANGERED SPECIES, with only 5,000 Sea Otters left in the world. They used to number anywhere from 100,000 to 137,000 in the 1980s. But several things have happened to cause their numbers to dwindle:

1. Oil spills - This is the most significant threat to the Sea Otter. When oil spills in the ocean and soaks the Sea Otter's dense fur, the fur loses its ability to retain air, and the Sea Otter quickly dies from hypothermia.

2. Diseases - Toxoplasma gondii infection and acanthocephalan parasite infection are major causes of Sea Otter deaths. These parasites come from cat poop dropped and flushed into the ocean from the sewage systems. These parasites are fatal to the Sea Otter.

3. Reduction of food - As the world population grows, the need for food grows as well. People take more and more food from the ocean, and this includes the food of the Sea Otter.

Sea Otter Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Enhydra Lutris
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 4 feet
Weight: 65 pounds
Range: Pacific Ocean
Diet: fish, clams, snails, crabs, sea urchins

To solve a jigsaw puzzle of an otter, click on the image or here.

The Komodo Dragon

The Komodo Dragon is the King of the Lizard species. It is the biggest and heaviest living lizard in the world. They have long flat heads with rounded snouts, scaly skin, bowed legs and huge muscular tails. The yellow color of the Komodo Dragon's forked tongue reminds people of dragons from fairy tales!

Although most lizards are omnivores, the Komodo Dragon is a dedicated meat eater. They want meat and will use their long tongues to smell the air if a meal is nearby. The Komodo is not a picky eater, it will kill and eat wild pigs, deer, buffalo, even snake and fish that wash up on shore. Smaller dragons and humans have also been eaten by the Komodo Dragon.

The Komodo Dragon will follow a prey who has been bitten by his sharp teeth. Dragon saliva has over 50 different kinds of bacteria that will eat and kill the prey, and the Komodo Dragon will slowly follow his meal for miles. It can eat an amazing 80 percent of its body weight (that's 264 pounds!!!) in a single meal!!!

The Komodo Dragon is an ENDANGERED SPECIES. There are only 3,000 to 5,000 Komodo Dragons in the islands of Komodo, Gila Motang, Rinca and Flores. Here are some reasons why this gigantic lizard is endangered:

1. Few female dragons - There are only 350 female dragons who can lay eggs. Studies are being done to find out why the majority of new dragons being born are male.

2. Natural disasters - Volcanic activity, earthquakes and fire have all been causes of several deaths of the Komodo Dragon.

3. Poaching - Many years ago, the Komodo Dragon was killed "for fun" and for displaying on the walls of the hunters. Scientists were also responsible for having Komodo Dragons taken from their environment so that they could be studied.

4. Human disturbance - People disturb the natural habitat of the Komodo Dragons and hunt the smae food that dragons need to survive.

Komodo Dragon Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Varanus Komodoensis
Type: Reptile
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 10 feet
Weight: 330 pounds
Range: islands of Indonesia
Diet: meat, meat and more meat!

To solve a jigsaw puzzle of the Komodo Dragon, click on the image or here.

The Mountain Gorilla

The gorilla is the largest of all primates. It is a peaceful, family-oriented, plant-eating animal. Older, adult male gorillas are also called Silverbacks, because of the almost-silver colored fur that grows down their backs when they reach "maturity" at 13 years old. Gorillas are intelligent animals and have even learned simple human sign language in captivity!


The Mountain Gorilla has longer and darker hair than any other gorilla species. It is also the largest of all gorillas. Although it can climb trees, the Mountain Gorilla likes to be on the ground and lives with a troop of 30 other gorillas. If humans have fingerprints, then gorillas have nose prints; it is said that no two gorilla noses are alike! In fact, researches have photographed gorillas' noses while in the wild to help them identify individual gorillas!

Gorillas LOVE to eat. It's their favorite activity. A male gorilla can eat as much as 75 pounds of vegetation a day, while a female can eat as much as 40 pounds a day. Gorillas need this amount of food to help them move their huge size.

For unknown reasons, the Mountain Gorilla is naturally afraid of certain reptiles. They are also afraid of water and will cross streams only if they can do so without getting wet.

A CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES, there are only 700 Mountain Gorillas left in the world. Some reasons for their few numbers:

1. Hunting/Poaching - Mountain Gorillas have been killed for their heads, hands and feet, which are sold to collectors. Infant gorillas are captured and sold to zoos, researchers and people who want them as pets!

2. Habitat loss - People's need for more land and food means lesser trees and lesser land for the Mountain Gorilla to live in.

3. Disease - Humans and gorillas are similar enough that gorillas can also get the same diseases as humans, especially in places where tourists visit the gorillas in their natural habitat.

4. War and civil unrest - In central Africa, many wars and civil unrest put the Mountain Gorilla directly in the middle of both sides.

Mountain Gorilla Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Gorilla Bteringei Beringei
Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Height: 4 to 6 feet
Weight: 300 to 485 pounds
Range: Uganda, Congo, Rwanda
Diet: roots, shoots, fruits, pulp, tree bark

To make an origami model of the Mountain Gorilla, click here or here.

The Snow Leopard

Snow Leopards are rarely seen in the wild because they live in very high mountains. Their shyness and amazing ability to disappear among the snow and rocks (i.e., their coloring provides perfect camouflage for their surroundings) gives them a legendary reputation. Local stories in many countries describe the Snow Leopards as shape-changing sprites/fairies or "ghost cats".


The Snow Leopard has thick very thick fur. Its wide feet, covered in fur as well, act as natural snowshoes. It has powerful legs and can leap as far as 50 feet! These legs are used to travel between cliffs and across ravines. The Snow Leopard uses its tail for balance and as a blanket against the cold mountain air.

This white feline feeds on whatever is available in its surroundings. It prefers blue sheep and ibex, but will eat smaller animals like game birds, marmots and rodents. It will even turn to livestock if it is very hungry. The Snow Leopard prefers to kill its meal from above, using its powerful legs to leap down (and across) when needed. It can bring down an animal up to three times its weight!

The Snow Leopard is on the ENDANGERED SPECIES list. There are only 6,000 Snow Leopards left in the world. Some reasons why this beautiful cat is endangered:

1. Hunting - The Snow Leopard is hunted for its rare and beautiful coat of fur. Its body parts are also valued for traditional Chinese medicine.

2. Taste for domestic animals - This occurs mostly during the winter, when most mammal prey hibernate. The Snow Leopard will venture into areas where herders have their livestock to eat. To protect their livestock, herders need to kill the Snow Leopard.

3. Vanishing habitat - As populations grow, the natural habitats of animals are reduced. With less and less places to live and hunt, the Snow Leopard may be in danger of becoming extinct.

Snow Leopard Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Panthera Uncia
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 4 to 5 feet
Weight: 60 to 120 pounds
Range: Central Asia
Diet: blue sheep, boar, marmot, ibex, rodents

Here's a video from the Snow Leopard Trust, taken from YouTube:

Black Tern

Humans approaching the nest of a Black Tern may come with a serious headache because these birds have been known to attack humans that come too close. Technically, a "tern" is a seagull, but the Black Tern lives in marshy areas instead of by the ocean; it is a marsh tern.

The Black Tern is a small dark bird. It has short legs and a short bill, which is almost as long as its head. The Black Tern has a dark gray back, with a white forehead. Black head, black neck and belly....it's the only color of this bird, along with a few shades of white and gray. No wonder it's the "Black" Tern!

The Black Tern flies around North America. While flying, it will swoop down when it spies a tasty meal of insects and fish, frogs and tadpoles, earthworms and small crustaceans. It will also catch insects while flying.

Although the Black Tern is not on the world endangered list, it IS on the ENDANGERED SPECIES list of the states of Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and Maine, United States. From a population of hundreds of thousands in North America, the Black Tern's numbers have decreased significantly in the last 40 years, some say to only a mere third of what it once was. Some reasons for this decrease:

1. Raiding of nests - Tern eggs and chicks are being killed by herons, raccoons and other animals in all stages of the marsh ecosystem.

2. Flooding - Rising water levels carry away Black Tern nests in the marshes.

3. Pesticides - Insects, a main food of the Black Tern, absorb pesticides from the air. When the Black Tern eats the insects and fish from the water, it is putting pesticides in its body as well, which will harm the bird.

Black Tern Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Chlidonias Niger
Type: Bird
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 9 to 10 inches
Weight: 50 to 60 grams
Range: North America
Diet: insects, frogs, fish, tadpoles, earthworms, crustaceans

To make an origami of a flapping bird, click on the image or here.

The Koala

Often called a "Koala Bear", Koalas aren't bears at all. They are marsupials, a group of animals with pouches like a kangaroo. In fact, a baby Koala is called a Joey, just like a baby kangaroo. The scientific name of the Koala's genus is Phascolarctos, from the Greek phaskolos meaning pouch, and arktos meaning bear. People referred to the Koala as a bear so that others who didn't know what a Koala looked like would have some vision of the animal.


Koalas do look like Teddy bears, all cute and cuddly. They have sharp claws on their hands and feet. Koalas' hands have five fingers each, including two thumbs, which let the Koala grip tree trunks as it clumbs up. They have ridged skin on the bottom of its feet to give them traction for climbing. Strong muscles help the Koala climb 150 feet to the tope of a tree, and allows it to jump from treetop to treetop.

The Koala eats only the leaves of the eucalyptus tree. The leaves are poisonous to most animals, but Koalas have special bacteria in their stomachs that allow them to digest the leaves. They sleep as much as 18-20 hours during the day and wake up at night to go up the trees to eat.

In the early 20th century, the Koala was hunted for its fur almost to extinction. With the public made more aware of the importance of the Koala as one of the symbols of Australia, the number of Koala have slowly increased. Today, they are put on the THREATENED SPECIES list. This does not mean that the Koala is safe from harm. There are always threats to the survival of the Koala:

1. Habitat loss - Koalas need a lot of space, about 100 trees per animal, and a healthy connected forest for food. A Koala will tavel long distances to look for food and for a mate. As the land gets smaller and smaller, the Koala's environment is threatened.

2. Presence of people and civilization - The most common reason for Koala deaths are from cars and dogs. As people take over the Koala's habitat, there will be more cars and more pets that may harm the Koala, even if by accident.

Koala Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Phascolarctos Cinereus
Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Height: 2 to 2.8 feet
Weight: 20 pounds
Range: Eastern Australia
Diet: Eucalytpus leaves

To make an origami of the Asian Tapir, click on the image or here.