Endangered Animal Anagrams - Part One Quiz

Answer: giant panda

The giant panda is one of the rarest animals on the Earth, with a population of around one thousand in the wild. They live in the forests of the mountainous central region of China.

Solitary and shy animals, the panda has proven difficult to breed in captivity.
In order to stay healthy pandas need to eat for up to fourteen hours a day.

Mostly their diet consists of bamboo, eating around fifteen kilos a day. However they also eat fish and small mammals.

They mature at around 6 years old and only breed once a year, usually giving birth to a single cub which is totally dependent on the mother for the first eight to nine months.

The WWF(World Wildlife Fund) and the CMF (Chinese Ministry of Forestry) have developed a conservation plan but, with so few left, the panda's future is far from safe.

Answer: blue whale

The blue whale is not only the largest animal to exist today but also thought to be the largest creature ever to have existed on the planet. Reaching a length of around thirty-three metres and weighing up to one hundred and fifty tons, the blue whale out-sizes the biggest known dinosaur!

This gentle giant of the deep is thought to be making a come back with figures going up from a few hundred to around four thousand, according to the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

The major problem that faces the blue whale is the likelihood that as numbers rise they will be hunted again, as is the case with the humpback whale.

However, compare their estimated number now (of a few thousand) with the more than thirty thousand of these wonderful creatures that were were hunted and killed in 1931 alone.

Scientists are also wondering what effect climate change will have on them, as they (the whale not the scientists!) feed very close to the ice edge, but scientists are unsure if this will help or hinder.

Answer: gorilla

Think of a gorilla and King Kong might come to mind, but gorillas are usually peaceful and shy animals who spend most of their time resting in the sun, when not looking for food (they are vegetarians). However, they are powerful, weighing up to two hundred and thirty kilos, and will see off intruders when they feel threatened.

They are divided into three sub species; the western lowland, eastern lowland, and the mountain gorilla.

Their numbers are diminishing for numerous reasons, including loss of habit and poaching. They are often killed because of the price that a gorilla's hand or head will fetch overseas.

Answer: snow leopard

The snow leopard prowls above the tree line in central Asia in near permanent snow, hence the name, and are usually smaller than their African cousins weighing around 40 kilos. However their tails are considerably longer than other cat species, adapted to help them balance on the high and rugged ground they travel on.

There are around one hundred and fifty snow leopards in zoos around the world. No one can say for sure how many are left in the wild, but they are considered to be rare and could well be on the edge of extinction.

The beautiful heavy fur that protects them from the cold temperatures attracted hunters. They were also killed because they preyed on domestic livestock, which was probably due to loss of habitat.

They are now legally protected by CITES but it's often difficult to enforce regulations in some areas of Asia.

For the cat that has big furry feet that act as snow shoes, the future doesn't look too rosy.

Answer: white rhinoceros

The white rhinoceros, also known as the square lipped rhinoceros, is divided into two subspecies. The Southern white rhinoceros numbers have increased to approximately twelve thousand, largely due to an extensive conservation and breeding program by the Republic of South Africa.

The Northern white rhinoceros has not fared so well. Their population in the wild has dropped from about five hundred in the 1970's to thirteen in 2007 (source - BBC). The Southern rhino breeds well in captivity, whereas the Northern rhino does not.

Black rhinoceros populations have also dropped dramatically and they are now also on the endangered list.

Habit loss plays only a small part in their decline. The main cause is poaching. The Rhinoceros horn is highly prized for use in traditional oriental medicines and thought to be an aphrodisiac. In some Asian markets, the horn sells for far more than the price of gold.

A last ditch attempt to save the Northern white from extinction has been made by San Diego Wild Animal Park, California, by collecting semen from Angalifu (the zoo's only male and possibly the last male in existence) to send to the female rhinoceros held in captivity in the Czech Republic.

Answer: black lemur

Originally abundant in the north west of Madagascar, these shy and nocturnal little fellows became endangered as natural forests where replaced by plantations. Once considered a taboo to kill them, they have been shot and poisoned.

Now sanctuary for them is a small area of Madagascar and on two small islands off the coast.

Still on the endangered list, but with legal protection and international trade strictly controlled they should survive.

Answer: sea otter

The sea otter is yet another mammal that was once hunted to the edge of extinction for its beautiful, thick fur.

Its population now is estimated at thirty five thousand due to an international treaty which gives the otter full protection, but was once believed to be between two and three hundred thousand.

However, they cannot be protected from pollution. The otter's unique coat, the most dense of any animal, traps air as insulation against the cold, as they have no fat or blubber layer. This makes oil spills a major threat.

As the oceans fill with other detritus from humans, they find themselves mistaking plastic for food or becoming trapped. They also compete with man for the same food making them unpopular with the fisheries.

Playful and sociable, but a great deal of time has to be spent on grooming and cleaning that special coat!

The only water mammal to be known for using eating utensils at the table! Rocks are used to crack open hard shells.

When it's time to sleep, otters often wrap themselves up in kelp to avoid drifting out to deeper waters.

Answer: California condor

Californian Condors, once counted in thousands, were found in east and western north American coastal regions, Baja California to British Columbia and Florida to New York.

Due to low reproduction rates, hunting, loss of habitat and flying into high voltage wires, by 1982 only around 25 birds remained in the wild. Conservation programs started in 1981, but because of continuing threats all the remaining wild birds were captured in 1987.

Today they can only be found in the Los Angeles Zoo, the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in California.

It may take a long time to breed these wonderful birds in such numbers that it is safe to reintroduce them to the wild, but so far breeding programs are seen as successful.

Answer: dolphin

There are around 40 species of dolphins (Delphinidae) and Porpoises (Platanistoidea).

Not all are endangered, and opinions on current populations on those that are endangered, are very varied.

Most endangered: The Vaquita (Gulf of California porpoise) with a population of around five hundred. Threats include habit degradation caused by the damming of the Colorado river and fishing.

Hector's dolphin, population around three thousand and a subspecies, Maui's dolphin found off the coast of New Zealand's North Island which has a population of less than one hundred. Threats include marine pollution, being struck by boats and becoming trapped in fishing nets.

We are in danger of losing many river dolphins.

The number of the Indus and Ganges river dolphin has dropped to around a thousand.

There are various species of dolphins in the Amazon river which are listed as threatened or endangered. The river is vast and river dolphins surface briefly making it difficult to estimate their populations.

It's hard to be sure how many dolphins are in danger of leaving the planet forever. Help often comes too late or not at all, even though the warning signs are there.

The Baiji (Yangtze river) dolphin was until recently the most endangered and rarest dolphin in the world and the warning signs were more than obvious in this case.

In the 1950's their population was estimated to be between five and six thousand. By the 1980's there were less than 300 left. The Yangtze river is one of the busiest rivers in the world - twenty thousand ocean going ships and over one thousand fishing ships making for one ship for every hundred metres of the river. Pollution, damming and changing water levels have all contributed to the demise of the Baiji.

The Baiji dolphin came into direct conflict with mankind and to survive it needed to be relocated. The unique Baiji has gone forever and another dolphin takes its place as the most endangered, the Maui.

Answer: manatee

The Florida manatee, an aquatic mammal, is a subspecies of the West Indian Manatee and lives in warm, shallow, coastal and estuary waters. Once found on the coasts of Texas, Georgia and Carolina it is now mostly confined to Florida river estuaries.

Loss of habit, due to coastal development, pesticides, entanglement in nets and poaching have taken their toll, but for the slow moving manatee injuries from collision with motor boats are still increasing even with strict boat speed and "No Boat Zone" laws brought in to try to protect the manatee by the MMPA and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act.

Listed internationally as endangered by CITES, manatee population numbers are around two thousand.


I hope you enjoyed solving the anagrams and found the info interesting.