Survival
Many animals survive in the wild on their own. But some wild animals are in danger of extinction. That means they may disappear forever. Some animals are in trouble because their habitats and food supplies are disappearing. Others are struggling because people and other animals are harming them. The good news is that people help all kinds of animals to survive. Sea turtles need help and they’re getting it. Even if everything goes well, baby sea turtles have a hard time surviving. When they are ready to have their babies, sea turtle mothers crawl out of the water and onto the beaches. They dig their nests and lay eggs. The mothers then return to the ocean. When the eggs hatch, the baby sea turtles cross the open beach on their own. Then they swim through the crashing waves and into the open ocean. To make matters worse, wild animals dig up the sea turtles to eat the eggs. Even though it’s illegal, humans dig up the eggs too. They sell the eggs to people who enjoy eating them. That means fewer sea turtles hatch. Fortunately, people have figured out a way to help the turtles. Teams go out at night to search for the sea turtle eggs. They move the eggs to safe nests with fences around them. Other helpers guard the baby turtles to make sure they make it to the water safely once they hatch. Their efforts are making a difference! Another program helps California condors survive. This amazing bird is the largest in North America. How big is it? Hold out your arms. A flying condor is about twice as big! It is nearly 10 feet from wingtip to wingtip. This bird is very rare. In the 1980s, there were only 22 California condors left! People to the rescue! Scientists at two California zoos captured the 22 condors. When a mother condor laid an egg, scientists removed the egg. That inspired the mother to lay another egg. This way more baby condors were hatched. The scientists helped raise them in the zoos by using condor puppets. The puppets look like the mothers and feed the chicks. The plan is working! The number of condors has grown. More than 200 condors now live in the wild. Many more condors live in zoos. People help keep track of the condors by searching through photographs online. How do people help animals survive? |