A Level Threatened Species Trail Answers
Introduction The threatened species trail will take you around the zoo and allow you to discover more about some of the threats affecting animals and the conservation work that is being done to protect them. The status of how threatened an animal or plant species is comes from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This list places species into categories based on the number of individuals left and the threats that they are facing. The most threatened category where there are still some animals left is Extinct in the Wild. This means that you can only find these animals in places like Marwell and protected reserves as there are none left in the wild. There are 10 trail signs around the zoo. You can use the map at the back of this pack to help you find them. They look like this: The mystery word Collect a letter from each Threatened Species sign around the zoo to spell out our mystery word... E C O S Y S T E M S
1. HUMBOLDT PENGUIN a) i) What is being harvested in some places to make fertiliser? Guano (penguin poo!) a) ii) Why is this causing problems for Humboldt penguins? Humboldt penguins build their burrows in guano. If there isn t enough guano they cannot construct their burrows, meaning their eggs and chicks will be more exposed to predators and the weather. b) What can you do or advise others to do in order to help Humboldt penguins? Buy sustainable seafood! 2. GREVY S ZEBRA a) What has Marwell recently been involved in which allows us to track wild Grevy s zebra? Putting radio collars on wild Grevy s zebra. b) Why is tracking the zebra important for Grevy s zebra conservation? Knowing where zebra go and where they graze and find water means conservation efforts can be focused in these key areas.
3. AMUR LEOPARD a) Why do Amur leopards sometimes visit deer farms looking for food? Amur leopards natural prey is being reduced due to over-hunting by humans. b) What is being done to reduce the number of leopards being hunted by local livestock owners? Funding has been provided to compensate livestock owners for any loss of livestock to an Amur leopard. 4. SCIMITAR-HORNED ORYX a) What is a studbook used for? To give recommendations about which animals should breed together to maintain a healthy captive population for a species. To maintain a healthy captive population it is important to maximise the genetic variation within the population. Below is some of the information that can be found for each captive animal in the scimitar-horned oryx studbook: - Date of birth - Dam (Mother) - Sex of animal - Sire (Father) - Location of animal - Date of death b) Choose two of the above pieces of information and suggest how each would help studbook keepers when recommending which animals should breed together. 1. Date of birth Check animal is the correct age for breeding (not too old/young). 2. Sex of animal Check you have one male and one female for breeding. 3. Location of animal Useful for informing studbook keeper as to whether any zoo transfers are required for two animals to breed. 4. Dam (mother) Can be used to check how closely related two animals are before breeding them do they have the same mother/grandmother/great-grandmother, etc. (Want the animals you breed to be as genetically different and therefore as unrelated as possible). 5. Sire (father) Can be used to check how closely related two animals are before breeding them do they have the same father/grandfather/great-grandfather, etc. (Want the animals you breed to be as genetically different and therefore as unrelated as possible). 6. Date of death Check the animal is still alive.
5. COTTON-TOP TAMARIN a) What is threatening the last major stronghold for cotton-top tamarins? Flooding from the construction of a hydroelectric dam. b) How does the conservation programme Proyecto Tití aim to reduce agricultural pressures on the forest? By providing local communities with training in alternative agricultural practices. 6. PARTULA SNAILS a) How many species of partula snail are:- - Extinct? 50 - Extinct in the Wild? 11 - Critically Endangered? 14 b) Why were carnivorous snails introduced to the Polynesian islands? As a biological control to remove a pest species of snail. c) How did the introduction of these snails affect the native partula snails? The carnivorous snails chose to prey upon the smaller partula snails rather than the pest species of snail. This has caused the extinction of some and drastically reduced the population of many other partula species.
7. SULAWESI CRESTED MACAQUE a) What has lead to the deforestation of the macaques habitat? Logging, the expansion of human settlements and the clearing of land for agriculture. 8. SOUTHERN WHITE RHINO a) Why are rhinos being poached for their horn? Rhino horn is used in traditional Asian medicine and for ornaments. More recently, rhino horn has been proposed as a cancer and hangover cure and is becoming a status symbol in some countries. b) What is rhino horn made out of? Keratin - the same material as our hair and nails! c) What message is it important to share through education to reduce the demand for rhino horn? No scientific evidence that rhino horn has any medicinal properties.
9. PYGMY HIPPO a) Pygmy hippos are protected under CITES. What does this mean? That international trade in pygmy hippos and their products is controlled. b) Why is the conservation of pygmy hippos difficult to enforce? Due to civil unrest and a lack of resources. 10. GIANT ANTEATER a) What does EEP stand for? European Endangered species breeding Programme. b) What did Marwell celebrate in November 2013? The birth of our first giant anteater pup.
THREATENED SPECIES TRAIL CROSSWORD Record in the crossword below some of the threats that animals in the wild might have. Use the icons on the signs to help you. 1 = 4 = 7 = 2 = 5 = 8 = 3 = 6 = 9 = 1 2 C O M P E T I T I O N O L 3 I 4 5 H U N T I N G I A I N B C 6 V I A O A T L V S A I E I T N R V 7 8 L O S S O F P R E Y S O T I S M S A S P A S B H E L I I C L L N I R I G 9 P E T T R A D E T S N Y G E
6 7 5 4 8 3 2 9 1 10 Threatened species trail 1 Humboldt penguin 6 Partula snails 2 Grevy s zebra 7 Sulawesi crested macaque 3 Amur leopard 8 Southern white rhino 4 Scimitar-horned oryx 9 Pygmy hippo 5 Cotton-top tamarin 10 Giant anteater