Happy Earth Day! Save the Endangered Animals!
Happy Earth Day, friends.
Since 1970, April 22nd has been a day to celebrate the creatures of our earth, and remember how important it is to protect them. We've brought together some of the earth's most endangered creatures to teach you a little bit about conservation. If we get to look at a babe while we do it, what's the harm?
In all seriousness, please stop throwing plastic in the ocean. We're destroying the planet, and I am going to be really grumpy if I have to pack up and move to Mars when I'm old, because we ruined Earth. Don't use styrofoam!
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Giant Panda
The adorable and peaceful Panda has been on the endangered species list for quite some time, and has been the official logo of the World Wildlife Federation since their founding in 1961. Considered a national treasure in China, the panda is the rarest member of the bear family, and live primarily in the bamboo-forested mountains of western China. To survive, pandas eat 26-84 pounds of bamboo per day.
Adult pandas can grown to be over 330 pounds, and still manage to be better tree-climbers than us.
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Leatherback Sea Turtle
The world's largest turtle, Demochelys coriacea has the largest range of any species on earth; thriving in both tropical and sub-polar climates.
Despite it's adaptability, between1982 and today the population has dropped from around 115,000 adult females to an estimated 20,000 to 30,000.
Why? Egg theft, illegal hunting, habitat loss due to erosion and beach development and of course, swallowing plastic things that we throw in the ocean. Basically, humans are the worst.
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Siberian Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica is the largest big cat in the world, and can weigh up to 660 pounds. While most tigers make their home in the jungle, this sub-species prefers the frigid birch forests of eastern Russia. Siberian tigers actually prefer climates where temperatures regularly drop to -50 degrees.
Our frosty friend has been hunted so aggressively that at one point there were only 40 of them left. Since they became a protected species, they have rebounded to around 500, but illegal hunting and the effects of logging on their habitat keep them from thriving.
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Amur Leopard
Panthera pardus orientalis is not like other leopards. Like the Siberian tiger, it lives in the coldest, snowiest parts of the Russian forest, in the Primorye region.
The Amur once roamed the forests of Korea and northern China, but has disappeared completely from those areas. In 2007 there were approximately14-20 adult Amurs remaining in Russias, as well as 5-6 cubs.
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Javan Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros sondaicus is the most endangered rhino on the planet. There are approximately 40-60 of these creatures still living, and all of them reside on the western tip of Java, an island in Indonesia. The animals have found sanctuary at Ujung Kulon National Park.
Until 2011, there was a small herd living in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park, but all were killed by poachers.
The Javan loves swampy waters, and once roamed most of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. What are the poachers after? Their horns, which are believed to have healing powers in the world of asian medicine.