endangered animals

Giant panda

This article is about the mammal in the bear family. For the red panda, see Red panda. For the hip hop group, see Giant Panda (group). For other uses, seePanda (disambiguation) The giant panda, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning \"black and white cat-foot\")[2] is a bear[3] native to central-western and south western China.[4] It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo.[5] Pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared feed.[6][7]The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.[8] Due to farming, deforestation and other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species.[4] A 2007 report shows 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country.[9]Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild,[9] while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000.[10] Some reports also show that the number of pandas in the wild is on the rise.[11][12] However, the IUCN does not believe there is enough certainty yet to reclassify the species from Endangered to Vulnerable.[1]While the dragon has historically served as China's national emblem,

in recent decades the panda has also served as an emblem for the country. Its image appears on a large number of modern Chinese commemorative silver, gold, and platinum coins. Though the panda is often assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than

predation.DietDespite its taxonomic classification as a carnivoran, the giant panda's diet is primarily herbivorous, consisting almost exclusively of bamboo.[22] However, the giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes,[30] and thus derives little energy and little protein from consumption of bamboo. Its ability to digest cellulose is ascribed to the microbes in its gut.[31] The giant panda is a \"highly specialized\" animal with \"unique

adaptations\[25] The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 30 pounds) of bamboo shoots a day. Because the giant panda consumes a diet low in nutrition, it is important for it to keep its digestive tract full.[22] The limited energy input imposed on it by its diet has affected the panda's behavior. The giant panda tends to limit its social interactions and avoids steeply sloping terrain in order to limit its energy expenditures.[32]Two of the panda's most distinctive features, its large size and its round face, are adaptations to its bamboo diet. Panda researcher Russell Ciochon observed that: “[much] like the vegetarian gorilla, the low body surface area to body volume [of the giant panda] is indicative of a lower metabolic rate. This lower metabolic rate and a more sedentary lifestyle allow the giant panda to subsist on nutrient poor resources such as bamboo.”[32] Similarly, the giant panda's round face is the result of powerful jaw muscles, which attach from the top of the head to the jaw.[32] Large molars crush and grind fibrous plant material.Pandas eat any of twenty-five bamboo species in the wild, such as Fargesia dracocephala[33] and

Fargesia rufa.[34] Only a few bamboo species are widespread at the high altitudes

pandas now inhabit. Bamboo leaves contain the highest protein levels; stems have less.[35] Given this large diet, the giant panda can defecate up to 40 times a day.[36]Because of the synchronous flowering, death, and regeneration of all bamboo within a species, the giant panda must have at least two different species available in its range to avoid starvation. While primarily herbivorous, the giant panda still retains decidedly ursine teeth, and will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available. In captivity, zoos typically maintain the giant panda's bamboo diet, though some will provide specially-formulated biscuits or other dietary supplements

Golden snub-nosed monkey

The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Old World monkey in the Colobinae subfamily.[1] It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China.[3] The Chinese name is sichuan golden hair monkey (川金丝猴). It is also widely referred to as the sichuan snub-nosed monkey.[4][5][6] Snow occurs frequently within its range and it can withstand colder average temperatures than any other non-human primates.[7] Its diet varies markedly with the seasons, but it is primarily an herbivore with lichens being its main food source. It is diurnal and largely arboreal, spending some 97% of their time in the canopy. There are three subspecies. Population estimates range from 8,000 to 15,000 and it is threatened by habitat loss.[2]The adult and subadult golden snub-nosed monkey is sexually dimorphic. Adult males (estimated at over 7 years of age) have large bodies covered with very long, golden guard hairs on

their backs and cape area. The crest is medium brown while the back, crown to nape, arms and outer thighs are deep brown.

Subadult males (estimated at 5–7 years of age) are more slender than adult males. The golden guard hairs are short and sparse, and their crests show microbanding.Adult females (estimated at over 5 years of age) are about half the size of adult males. The golden guard hairs are also present on the back and cape area, but they are shorter in length than in the males. The brown crest shows microbanding. Their breasts and nipples are large.Subadult females are about two-thirds the size of adult females. The body hair is brown, gradually turning golden but without the golden guard hairs. The crest shows microbanding. The breasts and nipples are not as large as in adult females.Juveniles (at least 1 year of age) are quite small, being less than two-thirds the size of adult females. The body hair is light brown, turning reddish gold with time. The rest of their body hair is brown. Sexual discrimination is difficult because their external genital organs are underdeveloped. Infants (age 3 months to a year) are light brownish gray or light brown, appearing white in sunlight. Their sex cannot be identified at this age. Newborn babies ( under 3 months of age) are dark to light gray. They turn light brownish grey after about 2 months.

Diet The golden snub-nosed monkey eats (from greatest to least in amount) lichens, young leaves, fruits or seeds, buds, mature leaves, herbs, bark, and flowers. This diet varies from season to season, showing a correlation once again between food availability and home range. The amount of lichens consumed appears to decrease in the summer with the greater availability of fruit or seeds. The monkeys'

preferred lichen species seem to be Connus controversa, Cerasus discadenia, Salix willichiana, and Malus halliana. Lichens are found in great profusion on dead trees

[4]

：Yangtze river dolphinThe Baiji (Chinese: 白鱀豚; pinyin: báijìtún (help·info)) (Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning \"left behind\vexillifer \"flag bearer\") was a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River in China. Nicknamed \"Goddess of the Yangtze\" (simplified Chinese: 长江女神; traditional Chinese: 長江女神; pinyin:

Cháng Jiāng nǚshén) in China, the dolphin was also called Chinese River Dolphin,

Yangtze River Dolphin, Whitefin Dolphin and Yangtze Dolphin. It is not to be confused with the Chinese White Dolphin.The Baiji population declined drastically in recent decades as China industrialized and made heavy use of the river for fishing, transportation, and hydroelectricity. Efforts were made to conserve the species, but a late 2006 expedition failed to find any Baiji in the river. Organizers declared the Baiji \"functionally extinct\[4] which would make it the first aquatic mammal species to become extinct since the demise of the Japanese Sea Lion and the Caribbean Monk Seal in the 1950s. It would also be the first recorded extinction of a well-studied cetacean species (it is unclear if some previously extinct varieties were species or subspecies) to be directly attributable to human influence.

In August 2007, Zeng Yujiang reportedly videotaped a large white animal swimming in the Yangtze.[5] Although Wang Kexiong of the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has tentatively confirmed [6] that the animal on the video is probably a baiji, the presence of only one or a few

animals, particularly of advanced age, is not enough to save a functionally extinct species from true extinction. The last known living baiji was Qi Qi (淇淇), which died in 2002.

HABITAT LOSSA habitat is the ecosystem a species needs to live in - a swamp, rainforest, woodland, limestone bog, desert etc.

HABITAT LOSS IS THE GREATEST CAUSE OF SPECIES BEING ENDANGERED. Construction of homes, buildings, roads, timber harvesting, loss of farmlands and the creation of farmlands (more likely outside of the U.S., as in the rainforest of South America) threatens many ecosystems large and small.POLLUTION:Pollution can take many forms. Water, air and ground pollution are all related. Toxic substances dumped in a wooded area will destroy the soil and the species that live in it (from bacteria, to insects and the birds & animals that eat them) but it will also get into the groundwater below it. that water may lead to the same

COMPETITION FROM OTHER SPECIESSometimes there are just too many animals living in an area that compete for the space, water and food that is found there. For example, in NJ, a large population of raccoons (which turned out to have a parasitic disease) threatened the last remaining population of woodrats in NJ.source of water that comes out of your faucet!!DISEASEBy our definition, diseases occur naturally. We are not talking about diseases that animals get because of pesticides or pollution. It is a part of nature that animals get diseases. But sometimes humans introduce diseases and problems into a species. The most publicized example is DDT. An insecticide that was used all over the U.S., it was found in water & soil and eventually worked its way up the food chain from small water feeders to the fish who ate the plant life in the water and the animals and

humans who ate the fish! When DDT was left into the water it eventually broke down and became DDE. These toxic substances (along with others like PCB's) caused eagles and peregrine falcons to produce eggs that had shells so thin that they broke just from the mother sitting on them.PREDATIONPredators are species that hunt other species as their way of getting food. For example, a peregrine falcon will kill small rodents (like mice & voles) and even kill other birds to get food. This is natural and expected. There are no predators that cause extinctions in NJ and none that we could find in our research - unless humans had changed the predators or introduced other

predatorspecies.UNREGULATED OR ILLEGAL KILLINGPeople were once predators that hunted and killed to get their food. In some parts of the world people still need to do that. But, in most parts of the United States that is no longer true. For us in New Jersey, our food comes from a store. But many people still enjoy hunting or fishing, and when they are successful they will use it to supplement their food.

Hunting and fishing is strictly regulated in the United States. In New Jersey, the agency in charge of it is the Department of Environmental Protection. Their Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife makes the regulations that protect species from being over hunted. When people disobey those laws, the state's law enforcement officers' job is to arrest them and make sure they are prosecuted by the courts and forced to pay fines or go to jail. Sometimes this killing is due to ignorance about species - as in the case of bats and snakes. The bobolink's story is a good example of unregulated killing, as is the better publicized story of whale hunting.INTRODUCED SPECIES

Plants and animals are sometimes introduced by people to areas where they never existed before. Sometimes it happens accidentally. Seeds may catch on people's clothing or on their car and then be carried to another area where they begin to grow. Birds may carry seeds in foods they eat. This process is very natural. But what happens if people introduce new animal species into an area? What is some fisherman decide it would be great to have largemouth bass in a lake in their area - so, they get a bunch of them and dump them in the lake, hoping they will grow for next season. That action upsets the balance of nature and changes that pond! The bass might eat the same food as another fish that already lives their - now they will compete for food. The bass might even eat another fish that lives in the pond. If the bass reproduce they could end up threatening other species. Sometimes people might but a pet, such as a snake or reptile, perhaps a bird that does not live in their area. After a while they get tired of caring for it, or it gets too big - for some reason, they decide to \"release it into the wild.\" Again, they will upset the ecosystem that they put it into. That snake could easily threaten the existence of a native snake.

When the state of New Jersey RE-introduces a species, such as the wild turkey, bald eagle, or bobcat, they do so after careful scientific studies. They also will monitor that species to make sure it does not endanger other animals. The wild turkey is a good example of a species that NJ has successfully re-introduced into the state as a game species and the bald eagle is a good nongame species example.