Help the Dwarf Chameleon!

Help the Dwarf Chameleon!

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the endangered dwarf chameleon. Brookesia exarmata is the scientific name for the dwarf chameleon, the world’s smallest reptile. Like many other chameleon species, the dwarf chameleon can blend into its background with its adaptation of camouflage. Its beige-brown skin color hides it well in the background of leaves. These animals are from West Madagascar, taking a habitat close to the ground in vegetation.

          Because its only region is that area in Madagascar, they are endangered. The main reason for their declining population is the removal of their habitat. Their participation in the exotic pet trade also gives them a threat. Many people don’t know how to care for wild animals, and most certainly would not know how to care for a dwarf chameleon.

          There are many ways to help. You could:

1. Spread the word
2. Start a petition
3. Prevent the buying and selling of dwarf chameleons in the exotic pet trade
4. Although extremely rare, you may find dwarf chameleons in your backyard. If so, it is best to contact an animal service and notify them.

Help the dwarf chameleons!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Panda!

Help the Panda!

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping pandas. The panda lives in the deep mountainous forests of Southwest China of the Yangtze Basin. They are easily recognized because of their black and white body with their dark patches around their eyes. The panda is a peaceful creature of the bear family, and is China’s pride. Their diet mainly consists of bamboo stalks and they eat most of the day. This species of animal is very big, even though when they are born the baby is about the size of a stick of butter. Their height reaches four feet high and weigh to about 200-300 pounds.

          However, the panda is disappearing fast. According to IUCN, the panda is currently endangered. They have a high risk factor of becoming extinct in the near future! Pandas are essential for the ecosystem of the forests in China. They spread seeds around when they eat and attach to their fur, and they fall off soon to reach the earth. Without bamboo in the forests, other species of animal will also soon die out too. The panda is also necessary of China’s economy by attracting tourists to see them in the national parks. Their forests are being cut down for railroads and roads, separating the population and decreasing the chances to mate. Deforestation of the bamboo also takes away their diet. Poaching is also a major problem when a poacher accidentally shoots a panda when instead aiming for a different animal.

          There are so many ways to help the pandas. You could:

1. Spread the word and tell people.
2. Donate to preserves or organizations that help pandas.
3. Boycott products that use bamboo.
4. Start a petition. Get people to sign it.

Help the Panda!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Elephant!

Help the Elephant!

    Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the elephants. The elephant is one of the most well-known animals of the world. Their remarkable huge bodies, tusks, and tree trunk-like legs make them more likeable. There are two types of the elephant: the African and Asian elephant. They look alike, but there are many features that differ between them. The African elephant has larger ears than the Asian and only the males have tusks. The Asian elephant has a significant bump on their head and both female and male have tusks. Elephants attract tourists to Africa to see the beautiful wild animal creature.

    Elephants are vital to the ecosystem. They eat the seeds of about ⅓ of all the tree species in their area. They spread the seeds around in their feces and helps the soil, enriching the dirt with minerals and nutrients for the plants. They trek through the savannas and forests, helping the wildlife.

    However, these animals are disappearing. They are being poached for their tusks, also known as ivory. For many years, the government has tried to stop illegal poaching, but the process still goes on today. The ivory is sold in black markets to make jewelry. The African elephant is currently vulnerable and the Asian elephant is endangered. The Asian elephant has four subspecies, and all of them are threatened in the wild. Human development is causing habitat loss, which is taking up their food, the vegetation. Roads and canals are replaced instead of trees. Conflict brings out when an elephant is seen in civilization and elephants or people can be hurt. They are also being captured for timber use and males without tusks have a low breeding chance.

    You can always help the elephant. You could:

1. Spread the word. Tell people about it.
2. Donate to organizations that help elephants.
3. Start a petition and get people to sign it.
4. Boycott ivory and advocate against it.
5. Stop riding elephants for tourist attraction.

Help the elephant!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Chimpanzee!

Help the Chimpanzee!

    Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the chimpanzee. The chimpanzee lives deep in the Congo Basin in Africa, and is one of the world’s most intelligent animals ever. In fact, they are much like humans. They share about 98% of humans’ DNA, and many characteristics in their lifestyle and behavior show how much they are alike us. They care for their children for a long period of time and they live for more than fifty years. They have the knowledge to make tools, like sticking a twig in a termite hole to get their food. Even though they spend their life in trees, they can walk on their feet for a mile.

    Although humans aren’t so different from chimpanzees, we are the reason for pushing them into extinction. They are currently in a status of “endangered” for many reasons in human development. In Africa, people are eating chimps as bushmeat. Bushmeat is when the people hunt an endangered wild animal as food. Even though bushmeat is primarily used for people in poverty that can’t find anything else to eat, chimpanzee has become a common food source for wealthy residents, like how people eat wild animals and say it’s “gourmet”. But that’s not the only contributing factor. Young chimpanzee babies are being traded as exotic pets, and people don’t know how to take care of it properly, endangering its life. The Ebola Virus Disease is affecting many chimpanzee’s lives, causing multiple fatal deaths.

    There are many ways to help the chimpanzee. You could:

1. Donate to organizations that help this species.
2. Spread the word and tell people about it.
3. Start a petition and get people to sign it.
4. Boycott bushmeat and illegal hunting.
5. Go against the exotic pet trade.
6. Tell people about the Ebola Virus Disease.

Help the chimpanzee!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Bighorn Sheep!

Help the Bighorn Sheep!

Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the Bighorn sheep. The Bighorn sheep are known for their great ability to climb high, rocky regions and keep their stability to this adaptation. They have “big horns”, just as their name suggests, which are only found males. These North American animals travel in herds that carry about five to fifteen sheeps in amount. Their diet consists of North American plants, such as the willow and  rabbit brush, while the Bighorn sheep that live in the heated deserts of North America eat certain plants such as cacti.

While there are some animals that prey on Bighorn sheep, that isn’t the major problem this species has to face. Habitat loss is a contributing factor to the declining population of the Bighorn sheep. Domesticated sheep takes up their environment. These farm sheep eat most of the food available for the wild species of sheep and  spread pneumonia, a disease that makes breathing difficult.

There are many ways to help the Bighorn sheep. You could:

1. Spread the word. Tell people you know about Bighorn sheep.
2. Donate to organizations that help this species.
3. “Adopt” the Bighorn sheep at:  http://www.defenders.org/bighorn-sheep/what-you-can-do
4. Start a petition and get people to sign it.

Help save the Bighorn sheep!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

 

Help the American Burying Beetle!

Help the American Burying Beetle!

          Hello, this is IGL, and this post is about the American Burying Beetle. The American Burying Beetle once was very abundant and was present in thirty-five states. However, this species of insect is now only seen in six states of the United States. The beetle was placed in the endangered animals list in August of 1938, which his very sad. The American Burying Beetle is sort of black with orange wings. They are nocturnal and can detect dead carcasses of animals an hour after it dies and two miles away. The beetles group together and carry the carcass to a hole where they bury the body so other insects can’t eat their food.

          The American Burying Beetle was once prosperous, but now is very scarce. According to Endangered American Burying Beetle Update, there are only less than a thousand of these bugs present in population today. The use of pesticides has depleted their population. Less prey also contributes to the loss. Certain species of birds have gone extinct because of land change and the American Burying Beetle preyed on those species of bird in the past.

          You can help the American Burying Beetle. You Could:

1.     Donate to organizations that support this species of insect.

2.    Spread the word.

3.    Make a petition and get people to sign it.

4.    Support the Saint Louis Zoo’s program, which is to reproduce the beetles in captivity then release them into the wild.

5.    Decrease your own use of pesticides.

 

Help the American Burying Beetle!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Spix's Macaw!

Help the Spix’s Macaw

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the Spix’s Macaw. This specific bird is beautiful with blue colored feathers, soon descending into white the higher the body gets. Their small silver-colored head has a sharp, black beak. They live in the Northern woodlands in Brazil. They live to about twenty-thirty years in the wild and forty years in captivity. Their main diet is based on seeds, which takes 95% of their food. The Spix’s Macaw is not very talked much and no so popular like the panda or the cheetah. But they are still important to the ecosystem and would be a great loss if this bird goes extinct.

          It is thought to be extinct in the wild by scientists, studies show that small areas where the land has not been surveyed may contain the habitats of a few remaining Spix’s Macaws. Right now, since there is a possibility that there is a scarce population of these birds, it is now stated critically endangered (or possibly extinct in the wild). The cause of their near extinction is because of habitat loss. Also, people are keeping these animals as exotic pets and are still to this day sold in the black market.

          There are ways to help the Spix’s Macaw. You could:

1.     Tell people about them. Not a lot of people know about this species of bird.

2.    Start a petition and get people to sign it.

3.    Boycott the black market.

4.    Donate to charities that help this species of bird.

Help the Spix’s Macaw!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Golden-Cheeked Warbler!

Help the Golden-Cheeked Warbler

         

          The golden-cheeked warbler is a species of bird with the scientific name Dendroica Chrysoparia. This bird is a small size and has a gray and black body with a golden-yellow cheek. They inhabit Texas but migrate south to Mexico and Central America during winter to feed on insects and spiders found in the bark of the trees in the habitat. Particularly to farmers, the golden-cheeked warbler is important to them because they feed on insects and improve the ecosystem.

          Thanks to habitat loss, the golden-cheeked warbler is currently endangered. The trees they need to nest in are cut down for human development. Other warbler habitats are flooded by man-made lakes and cut down for flat land for livestock. Global warming also takes a toll in the participation of their endangerment. The irregularly warm climate confuses them about their migration patterns, which causes them to lay their eggs too early, risking life for the warbler chicks.

          There are many ways to help this bird. You could:

1. Spread the word.
2. Start a petition and get people to sign it.
3. Try to stop causing so much greenhouse gases. Don't use cars as much or consume electricity so much.
4. Plant more trees to prevent so much carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas)
5. Donate!

Help the golden-cheeked warbler!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Amur Leopard!

Help the Amur Leopard!

Hello, this is IGL and this post is about the Amur Leopard. The Amur Leopard is not well-known around the world, but is still important to the world’s ecosystem. They are found in Far East Russia, and can do amazing talents, like jumping high and running fast. They live in the temperate forests and weight about 70-100 pounds.

Unfortunately, the Amur Leopard is critically endangered. That means that pretty soon in the near future, the Amur Leopard will be extinct in the wild. This subspecies of leopard benefits the ecosystem in many weights. They prey mainly on deer, which is good because the deer population wouldn’t increase too much, crowding the habitat and preventing other species of plants and animals to live there. The Amur Leopard is poached for their beautiful coat of spots and suaveness. Also, habitat loss causes the leopards to lose a home. Their population is declining quickly, and needs our help. And without food, they would target livestock, provoking farmers to shoot them.

How can you help? You could:

1.      Donate. The WWF helps the Amur Leopard.

2.      Start a petition. Get people to sign it.

3.      Boycott Amur Leopard products. The leopard’s bones are used as Chinese medicine and their furs are used as unnecessarily over-achieving fashion.

Help the Amur Leopard!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Puerto Rican Crested Toad!

Help the Puerto Rican Crested Toad!

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about the Puerto Rican Crested Toad. The Puerto Rican Crested Toad (Peltophryne lemur) is critically endangered. The amphibian lives in the rocky areas of forests of evergreen. It is threatened because of the growing human population and the introduction of a new species.

         The Puerto Rican Crested Toad one was thriving on the island of Puerto Rico and Virgin Gorda. This toad is the only native toad to Puerto Rico. But they are now declining. The first reason because of the decreasing population is because of habitat loss. They bred in small ponds in the forests. People drained these ponds for agricultural and urban uses. The last population of the toad is in the south of Guanica National Park.

          The next cause is because of the introduction of the Marine Toad. The Marine Toad (Bufo marinus) was brought to manage the grub population that destroyed the sugar canes. Sadly, the marine toad is a lot bigger (7 in.) than the Puerto Rican Crested Toad (2.5-4.5 in.). They fight for breeding areas, food, and shelter. The Marine Toad also eats the Puerto Rican sometimes. Other species of mammals also prey on the Puerto Rican Crested Frog.

          The AZA Species Survival Program (SSP) helps the toad by breeding them and releasing the tadpoles back into the wild. Miami Children’s Zoo also had a birth of tadpoles. The tadpoles were then given to Guanica National Park.

          There are many ways to help the Puerto Rican Crested Frog. You could:

1.     Spread the word. You could write an article to the newspaper or tell someone you know.

2.    Start a petition. Start a petition to have people help the toad.

3.    Donate to the SSP.

 

https://npo1.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=4946

4.    Help at zoos that need help for the Puerto Rican Crested Toad.

Help save the Puerto Rican Crested Toad!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Gorillas!

Help the Gorillas!

          Hello, this is IGL. Another of our projects is to help the gorillas. Cristina is really hyped about this one since her animal is the gorilla. The gorillas live in Africa. They are all threatened by many reasons.

         First, they are killed by bush meat. Bush meat is when people kill and eat endangered animals. All these animals are sold in markets to eat and end up in bellies.

          Second, their homes are being chopped down. Trees are cut down and gorillas don’t have any place to stay.

          Third, there is a disease called the Ebola virus. The virus kills gorillas and their population has decreased over the days.

          And lastly, people poach the gorillas. Poaching is when people kill animals illegally and trade the animal parts in black markets and illegal trade.

          Many gorillas are dying every day, and the population has been declining over the years. They also live in small places of Africa and they all need some help. To help, you could:

1. save paper and recycle
2. Don’t poach, buy illegal parts, or buy bush meat
3. and (this probably will be a long shot) but ask the government to help find a cure for the Ebola Virus or do something about it

The gorillas need your help!

-Idea+Gift=Love