66 important questions with answers on Vanishing Life from Earth

66 important questions with answers on Vanishing Life from Earth

1. Where Do Giant Pandas Live?

In bamboo forests in China. Once they were seen all over this vast country, but sadly today they can be found in only three small provinces in western China. Red pandas are more adaptable to habitat and can be found in China and other parts of Asia, including the Himalayas.

2. How Long Does A Panda Take To Eat Lunch?

Almost all its waking hours! Giant pandas spend around 14 hours every day eating. An adult panda will eat up to 66 lb of bamboo in a day-this is one third of its body weight! The reason they need to eat so much is because bamboo has very little nutritional value.

3. Which Animal Is All Thumbs?

Giant pandas have an extra “finger” in their front paws. It is where a human’s little finger would be and works similarly to the thumb. This gives the panda the power of two thumbs, so it can grip its food while eating.

4. What Is Threatening The Giant Panda?

The shortage of bamboo, which is the panda’s food. Bamboo forests are very delicate. Bamboo does not keep growing like other forest plants. When it flowers, it dies. If the bamboo in one forest is all of the same age, the whole forest will die at the same time. All the pandas living in that forest will then starve. Humans are the pandas’ biggest enemies, because they have taken their land and hunted them. It is now illegal in China to harm a panda in any way, and traders risk the death penalty.

5. How Many Giant Pandas Are Left In The World?

There are believed to be fewer than 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild. Since 1974 their bamboo forests have died out at an alarming rate: in just 14 years half the forests died. Since then conservationists have been working tirelessly to preserve the pandas’ habitat.

6. How Often Do Giant Pandas Have Babies?

Their cubs are born only every two years, at the most. This is another reason why giant ik pandas are endangered, especially as many cubs die shortly after birth. Cubs are born blind and without teeth, making them entirely dependent on their mothers.

7. How Many Types Of Panda Are There?

The giant panda has one other panda relation-the red panda. Red pandas are much smaller and used to be thought of as not a panda at all, but a type of raccoon. They live in trees, have long, striped tails, and thin, cat­like faces with pointed ears. Their red fur has paler markings. Red pandas are often hunted, and some are captured alive to be sold as pets.

8. Do Bears Really Like Honey?

Yes they do. Many bears are expert climbers, and with their excellent sense of smell, finding a bee’s nest is easy for them. Bears are omnivorous, which means they eat both meat and vegetation. They like eating other mammals, insects (even wasps, bees, and termites, whose stings seem not to bother them), plants, nuts, fish, eggs, fruit, and people’s picnic-if they can find them. They will also eat carrion (rotting meat) if necessary,

9. Are Polar Bears Endangered?

Polar bears live in the Arctic, the area around the North Pole. They live in the mountains and lowland, in areas where food is plentiful, but they are endangered by hunters who are after polar bear skin and meat. The other species of bear are found all over North and South America, parts of Europe, and Asia.

10. Why Are Bears Hunted?

For their bones, bile, and gall bladders, which are made into traditional medicine, and for their fur. Bear meat is also eaten, in particular their paws. And there are still people who hunt bears as “trophies” for sport. Most cruelly, bears are trapped to be used as dancing bears or for bear baiting.

11. Which Bears Are Most Endangered?

The most endangered bear in the world is the giant panda, although all species of brown bear, polar bear, and black bear are killed for their fur and are under threat from fur hunters.

12. Which Is The Biggest Bear?

The biggest bear in the world is the endangered Kodiak bear, a member of the brown bear species. It lives in Alaska and stands up to 10 feet tall. It can weigh up to 704 lb.

13. When Is A Brown Bear Blue?

Not counting pandas, there are seven species of bear: the American black bear, Asian black bear, brown bear, polar bear, sloth bear, spectacled bear, and sun bear. These names are very misleading. For instance, a brown bear’s coat can range in color from cream to very dark brown, and it can also look gray-blue! Black bears can also be brown and, to most people who aren’t experts, two bears of the same species can look very different from one another.

14. Why Is A Grizzly Bear Grizzly?

A grizzly is actually one of the many different types of brown bear. The word grizzly comes from the french word Gris, meaning gray. When the sun catches a grizzly bear’s fur, the tips of the hairs look as if they are tinged with gray.

15. Why Do Bears Hibernate?

They sleep all winter because food is scarce. In summer a bear will eat continually, storing up fat to use for energy during the winter. Females need to store up especially large fat reserves as their cubs are born during hibernation and need to be fed with rich milk.

16. Do Bears Like Fish?

Yes, fish makes up a large part of their diet in parts of the world where rivers are plentiful. In North America, Alaska, and Canada bears can often be seen skilfully catching enormous salmon.

17. Why Are Gorillas Endangered?

Gorillas live in Africa-in Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda- in mountainous areas and in the lowland rainforests. In 1925, their mountain home was made the first national park in Africa. Sadly, Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda have suffered severely over the last few decades, experiencing terrifying wars, droughts, and famines. This has caused terrible devastation to the gorilla population as well as to the human world. All gorillas are endangered.

18. Are We Related To Gorillas?

Yes. Gorillas and humans have a common ancestor. This creature lived on earth many millions of years ago. The descendants of our common ancestor started two separate families, or evolutionary lines. One became human, the other became the ancestor of gorillas. Like humans, gorillas are a member of the Primate order. Within this order, both humans and gorillas are members of a scientific family called Hominoidea.

19. What Do Gorillas Need From Their Habitat?

Shelter and a good supply of food. If the climate is favorable, both mountain and lowland habitats can provide a gorilla family with all the food and nutrients they need. Mountain gorillas are severely endangered. Gorillas are mainly vegetarian and their habitats are rich in lush vegetation, as well as plentiful insects.

20. What Is Life Like In A Gori Lla Group?

Gorilla society is run by male gorillas -it is called a patriarchal society, from the Latin word for father. The leader of the group is always a silverback (a mature male). Males often fight to show who is boss, and the loser must leave the group or be killed. Those that leave will often set up a new group of females and young.

21. How Do Gorillas Communicate?

They use body signals and noises-perhaps the most famous of these is the male’s habit of standing on his hind legs and beating his chest when angry. They play together, which teaches their young vital skills for survival.

22. Why Are Gorillas Hunted?

Tragically, one of the most common reasons they are hunted is as “trophies.” Gorillas’ skulls, hands, and feet are sold as souvenirs, just as elephant feet were in the 19th century. Gorillas have also been hunted for their meat, particularly during the famine that gripped Rwanda in the 1980s and 1990s.

23. How Tall Is A Gorilla?

A female gorilla stands at about 4 feet on her hind legs. A silverback male can reach up to 7 feet, although the average height of a male is 5 feet 6 inches. Males are called “silverbacks” when hair on their backs turns silver in mature adulthood.

24. Who Tried To Save The Gorillas?

Dr Dian Fossey was the gorillas’ most famous helper. She spent much of her life trying to stop gorillas being captured or killed for trade. Sadly she was murdered in 1985. Since Dian Fossey’s death, many action groups have continued her work. The story of her life was made into a film, Gorillas in the Mist.

25. What Happens To Gorillas In Wartime?

Gorillas are often innocent victims of fierce fighting. Occasionally, they get caught in the crossfire. Hungry troops may also track down a gorilla and kill it for food. As there are very few gorillas left in the world, killing even one could contribute to the extinction of the species.

26. In What Countries Do Wolves, Foxes, And Wild Dogs Live?

In every continent. There are wolves in Eastern Europe and Asia, jackals in Africa, coyotes in America, and dingoes in Australia. From tlse black-backed jackal in Africa to the gray wolf in Europe, many wolves are under threat. The wolves hunt in packs and kill their own prey as well as scavenging on dead animals. All wolves are disliked by farmers!

27. Are Werewolves Extinct?

No! They never existed. A werewolf is an imaginary beast-supposedly a human who can change into a wolf and attack other humans and animals. In folklore, this change takes place at the full moon-when people believe there is more crime and madness. Werewolves remain an important part of traditional storytelling, particularly in Eastern Europe, where there are many people who still believe werewolves exist.

28. Does A Fox Cub Make A Good Pet?

No wild animal should be kept as a pet. It takes many generations of breeding to completely tame any species. A fox cub may seem very playful and friendly, but its wild instincts would soon take over. No other pets, such as cats or rabbits, would be safe from it, and it could also attack humans, even those it knew well, through fear.

29. What Bones Are Used In Folk Medicine?

Conservationists-are trying to stop canines being killed for their fur, and for parts of their bodies used in traditional medicines. In Africa, the simien jackal is hunted for its beautiful coat, and in South America the maned wolf is hunted for its bones. When powdered, the bones are believed to cure a variety of ills.

30. Are There Wolves In Australia?

Yes, but maybe not for long. The Tasmanian wolf used to live happily in Australia, but conservationists haven’t spotted one for well over ten years, so they are beginning to become concerned that it has been hunted to extinction.

31. When Did Wolves Become Extinct In Britain?

Once Britain was almost covered in dense forest. When people began cutting it down, they destroyed the wolves’ habitat and source of food -making wolves hungry and dangerous. The last wolf killed in Britain was in Scotland, in 1743. Ireland’s last wolf perished about 50 years before, and in England, wolves were extinct by 1500.

32. How Many Rhinos Are There Left In The World?

There are less than 8,500 white rhinos still living. Almost all of these are southern whites, so the northern white rhinos are extremely endangered. There are around 2,600 black rhinos; 2,050 Indian rhinos; about 400 Sumatran rhinos; and-most endangered of all-only around 70 Javan rhinos left.

33. What Is Being Done To Help Rhinos?

Where rhinos are found there are also specially trained guards. Obviously they can’t be with the animals all the time, but they track them and make sure they know where the groups are. In many parts of the world, conservationists tranquilize rhinos and saw off their horns. This is not painful -it is like us cutting our hair or nails. Conservationists hope that if a rhino has no horn, the poachers will not kill it.

34. Does The Rhino Have Any Extinct Relations?

There are five species of rhino: white, black, Sumatran, Javan, and Indian and they are all endangered. Thousands and thousands of years ago the rhino had a great many more relations-there was even a woolly rhino, with a similar coat to the woolly mammoth -but these are all now extinct.

35. Where Do Rhinos Live?

White and black rhinos live all over Africa. The Javan, Sumatran, and Indian rhinos, as their names suggest, live in Java, Sumatra, and India, all countries in Asia. Rhinos are also kept in zoos and

36. What Is Happening To The Rhinos’ Habitat?

Many Asian rhinos are endangered because their habitat-the rainforest -has been cut down for timber. This is a worldwide problem, as most rainforest countries are also poor countries that need to sell their resources. In Africa, the savanna (grassland) where the rhinos live is often under threat of drought.

37. What Is The Rhinos Biggest Enemy?

Big cats prey on rhinos, but 0 they kill only a few. Humans are the reason rhinos are endangered. As well as poachers wanting their horn, farmers often shoot rhinos to stop them eating or trampling the crops. Previously, rhinos were also shot as “trophies” by big-game hunters.

38. Why Are Rhinos In Danger Of Extinction?

Because there are so few rhinos left in the world, that just a few more years of hunting could wipe them out. An added danger is the sinister fact that when something is in short supply it always becomes more valuable-some poachers want to kill all rhinos just to make the rhino horn they own even more valuable.

39. Which Cats Are The Big Cats?

Lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards (including panthers), cougars (also called pumas), and jaguars are all big cats and animals from each group are endangered. There are also medium-sized cats, such as ocelots and lynxes that are endangered. These are too big to be counted as wild cats, but too small to be called big cats. Both the Texas ocelot and the Spanish lynx are endangered.

40. Are Big Cats Related To Domestic Cats?

Yes, they are. All cats are of the order Carnivora (meat-eaters) and the family Felidae (felines). The domestic tabby has much in common with the tiger and its large relations. They hunt in similar ways and they all eat meat, but unlike their larger relations, they are not endangered

41. When Did The First Cats Live?

The first known cats lived 35 million years ago. They were the ancestors of two feline families. One produced all today’s cats (big and small), the other was the saber-toothed family. The last saber-toothed tiger died out several millennia ago.

42. Where Do Big Cats Live?

Mostly in Africa, but also in Asia and the Americas. Both African and Asian lions are at risk. There are even some medium-sized cats in Europe.

43. Which Speedy Animal Is Endangered?

The cheetah. It can run up to 62 mph. It can’t keep up its speed over a long distance, but runs this fast in short bursts. Both the African and Indian cheetah are endangered.

44. Are White Tigers And Siberian Tigers Extinct?

Nearly. The Siberian tiger is paler than most other tigers, but still orange-brown in color. Truly white tigers are extremely rare. They are not a distinct species of tiger, as any species can produce a white tiger cub.

45. What Is Big And Lazy?

The male lion is the biggest of the cat family, weighing about 528 lb. Despite his size, he does little work, leaving the hunting and killing of his food and the raising of cubs to the lioness. Lions can sleep for up to 20 hours a day. All lions are on the list of endangered animals.

46. Which Big Cats Are Endangered?

Many big cats are endangered by hunters because of the beauty of their skin. Hunters can get rich selling the pelts (skins) of slaughtered big cats (such as the ocelot) to people who make fur coats. Some hunters still kill big cats for sport. Many big cats, such as the mountain lion, are also threatened with the loss of their habitat, wl^ch is destroyed by developers or by wars. The most endangered big cats are: mountain lion, tiger, snow leopard (also called an ounce), jaguar ocelot, clouded leopard, iriomote, and cheetah.

47. Did Gray Squirrels Kill Off Red Squirrels?

No. The red squirrel was the only squirrel living in the UK until the gray squirrel was brought in from the USA. When red squirrels started to disappear in the UK, many people thought gray squirrels were killing them. But now scientists believe that the red squirrel was endangered by other predators, such as stoats, foxes, and eagles. A highly contagious disease also killed vast numbers of red squirrels in the first half of the 20th century. Gray squirrels are larger and more hardy than red squirrels, so have survived better.

48. Which Small Mammals Are Endangered?

Many small mammals, such as beavers in the USA and the red squirrel in Europe, are endangered because their habitat is being destroyed by humans developing land for building and farming. Others, such as weasels, are poisoned by dangerous chemicals used in industry and farming.

49. How Sleepy Are Dormice?

Dormice are said to be very sleepy creatures, but in fact they don’t sleep for long periods every day. Like many mammals (including squirrels and bears) they hibernate in winter. They go to sleep in October and wake up in April. They wake up from time to time in winter to eat food that they have stored up during the summer months. Dormice are endangered by pollution and pesticides.

50. How Do Beavers Build Dams?

Beavers can cut down trees by biting through the trunk. Then they gnaw them into pieces and drag the logs to the water to build a dam. They lay the logs across each other and stop up any gaps with stones and mud. Beavers are severely endangered due to logging in Canada and North America.

51. Are Rats Related To Squirrels?

Yes, they are both mammals called rodents. The rodent family (scientific name Rodentia) includes rats, mice, dormice, beavers, porcupines, and squirrels. Many of them, such as the lesser-toothed small rat and the common field mouse, are endangered. They all have strong front teeth (incisors), which they use to slice through vegetation, such as strong grasses and tree bark-and beavers even saw through tree trunks. Like other mammals, rodents are warm-blooded and give birth to live young, which they feed with mother’s milk.

52. Where Do Otters Live?

In Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Otters need unpolluted water and they live wherever the water is pure-in streams, canals, and lakes, in mountainous regions as well as in valleys. Many otters are endangered because habitat destruction has led them to starve or because they cannot find unpolluted water.

53. What Is A Bird Of Prey?

This group of birds includes eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls. Whereas most birds exist on a diet of small insects, nuts, and seeds, a bird of prey eats other birds and animals. Birds of prey have sharp, flexible talons (claws), used for grabbing their prey and for killing it. They also have hooked beaks for tearing and ripping at flesh. Because they are such beautiful creatures they are often hunted to be kept and trained as pets. The Californian condor is one huge bird of prey that is endangered.

54. Which Are The Biggest And Smallest Birds Of Prey?

The Andean condor is the largest bird of prey, with a wingspan of more than 10 feet. The smallest birds of prey are pygmy falcons. Some are only 6 inches long. Both of these birds are endangered by loss of habitat.

55. Where Do Budgies Come From?

Budgies, or budgerigars, are native to Australia, where flocks of them can be seen flying wild. Their name comes from an aboriginal word meaning colored bird. They are a member of the parakeet family-which also includes parrots, cockatiels, cockatoos, and lorikeets. Most wild budgerigars are green and yellow and they are at risk from hunters who shoot them as pests or capture them to sell to the pet trade.

56. What Is The World’s Rarest Bird?

Brazil’s spix macaw. There is only one male left in the wild. Almost as rare is New Zealand’s kakapo, of which there are only a few pairs left. Endangered birds include several birds of prey, shot as pests by farmers, and exotic birds, such as the flightless notornis, hunted by traders.

57. Why Are People The Birds’ Worst Enemies?

People destroy birds’ habitat by cutting down forests and draining marshland. A bird can die if it swallows a fishing hook or fishing line or garbage that would injure or choke it. People sometimes steal birds’ eggs, but if they disturb or look in nests, parent birds and fledglings will leave their chicks to die. Exotic birds, such as parrots, pheasants, hummingbirds, eagles, and birds of paradise, are trapped to be sold as pets and often die while being transported. They are also killed for their beautiful feathers or to be stuffed.

58. Are Any Birds Extinct?

Yes. Some-such as the Archaeopteryx-died out with the dinosaurs. Others have been hunted to extinction more recently. The most famous extinct bird is the dodo, which lived on the island of Mauritius and was finally killed off by hungry sailors.

59. Do Crop Pesticides Harm Birds?

Yes. Birds that eat sprayed crops, such as budgerigars and lapwings, can die from poisoning. Farm chemicals also pollute rivers and marshes and destroy water birds, such as the Jamaica petrel and the crested ibis from Africa, and their habitat.

60. How Big Is The Biggest Whale?

The biggest whale is the blue whale which is now officially protected to prevent its extinction. It is the largest-known mammal ever to have lived. The average length of a female is 87 feet; males are shorter at about 80 feet. The biggest recorded blue whale measured 110 feet and weighed 176 tons.

61. Are Killer Whales Killers?

No. A killer whale, or orca, is unlikely to eat a person. They prefer to eat fish, other cetaceans, and seals. In fact they are in more danger from humans than vice versa. In New Zealand an orca once tried to eat a man diving near a colony of seals. The man was wearing a shiny black wetsuit and must have looked like a sleek, tasty sea lion. When the orca realized its mistake it spat the man out and he survived!

62. Which Whale Has A Horn Like A Unicorn?

The narwhal, which lives in waters around the Arctic and is almost extinct. The male narwhal has a horn or tusk, which is actually a very long tooth, made of ivory. Very occasionally a narwhal has two tusks. The myth of unicorns probably began when an explorer returned to Europe with a narwhal’s tusk.

63. Why Must We Save The Whales?

The ecosystem of the seas is very delicate. Breaking one link in the food chain that goes all the way froms the smallest microscopic creature to the biggest whale would have devastating effects. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) announced a worldwide ban on whaling. Today it allows a small number of whales to be taken every year “for scientific reasons.” Peoples like the Inuit, who have always depended on whaling, are allowed to continue whaling using traditional methods.

64. What Is The Difference Between A Dolphin And A Porpoise?

They are quite hard to tell apart without examining their teeth! Dolphins have teeth shaped like cones, but porpoise’s teeth are sp; shaped. Porpoises are usually smaller than dolphins and have more rounded bellies. The groups often swim together and are extremely playful. There are endangered species within groups, such as the vaquita porpoise and the Yangtze River dolphin.

65. How Do Whales Eat?

All dolphins and porpoises and some whales have teeth. Other whales, such as the almost extinct blue whales, have baleen-this is a huge sieve, made up of hundreds of stiff blades of keratin, a type of protein like fingernails. Baleen whales sieve the microscopic shrimp­like creatures called krill with these tools. Toothed cetaceans, such as the endangered sperm whale, eat fish and sea mammals, such as seals, squid, and smaller cetaceans.

66. How Do Drift Nets Kill Dolphins And Sharks?

Drift nets are enormous nets used for commercial fishing. They cover huge areas, often reaching right down to the seabed. The nets trap and kill many other sea creatures as well as fish- especially dolphins, porpoises, sharks, and turtles. Drift nets have been banned in most countries, but are still used illegally.