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 Bay Checkerspot Butterfly!

Help the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly!

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly. The Bay Checkerspot Butterfly has a glorious pattern on the back of the wings that resembles somewhat like a tiger’s face. They are pretty small, with a wingspan of two inches. The Bay Checkerspot Butterfly is found in the San Francisco Bay Area, and also Santa Clara County and San Mateo County. This butterfly species rests on a host plant, and always has to be a native plant species to the area. During springtime, the females lay eggs on the plant and after a week, they hatch to caterpillars. The caterpillars are black and orange, with a little bit of hair. They feast on dwarf plantain, and during the summer when the plants die, they enter a period of dormancy. They crawl under rocks to protect themselves from predators. They awaken the next spring and form into a chrysalis. A few weeks later, they become full-grown butterflies. The average lifespan is one year.

          The Bay Checkerspot Butterflies were once abundant in the area. However, during the late ‘90s and 2000’s, the population declined drastically. Scientists discovered later that the nitrogen gas from cars in the nearby highways was causing the change. The soil was abnormally enriched and invasive plants move into the field, overpopulating the native plant species that the butterfly needs to survive on. The status of the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly is unknown, but most likely in the endangered or vulnerable status. After attempts to repopulate the butterfly, finally in 2013, 699 of the butterflies were found.

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

1. Donate to organizations that help the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly. http://www.friendsofedgewood.org/donate
2. Spread the word.
3. Start a petition and get people to sign it.
4. Try to not use cars so much anymore.

Help the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly!

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 Atlantic Cod!

Help the Atlantic Cod!

         Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the Atlantic Cod. The Atlantic Cod was once an abundant species of fish. The Atlantic Cod has a tannish-gold color with yellow fins that shine in the water. There long, slender body could easily be seen in the high waters because of their beautiful glinting color. This fish was traded and sold widely in markets, even the colonial times during the seventeenth century. The fish was so plentiful the people back then didn’t bother of conserving the Atlantic cod.

          However, the present day has a lack of Atlantic cods in the world. The Atlantic cod is currently endangered and scientists believe that they will soon be extinct. Organizations helping this species of fish agreed to make an Atlantic cod fish watch, which means that fishermen can make sure they aren’t fishing too much of them. People are working to keep the Atlantic cod thriving so they will be soon hunted as food once more, but not too much to endanger them again. 

          There are many ways to help the Atlantic cod. You could:

1.     Limit eating so much Atlantic cod if you already.

2.    Try eating a different species of fish that is more abundant in the oceans.

3.    Donate to organizations that help this fish, such as NOAA.

4.    Spread the word about the Atlantic cod.

5.    Boycott foods with the Atlantic cod.

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

Help the Atlantic cod!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Grey-Crowned Crane!

Help the Grey-Crowned Crane

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about the Grey-Crowned Crane. The Grey-Crowned is a bird found in the African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Congo. They have long black legs and their body has gray, black, white, and a golden yellow. It leads to a slender neck with what looks like a red gobble. They have a white cheek and a sharp black beak. But their appearance is most notable with their “crown”. Like a plume on a helmet, it fancies a yellow glitter and a majestic crown-like top. The Grey-Crowned Crane enjoys eating seeds, the tips of grasses, groundnuts, soybeans, and other various types of plants. They also enjoy tiny vertebrates and bugs. They can be heard by their loud honking sounds they make.

          The Grey-Crowned Crane is currently endangered because of human development. They are sometimes captured and traded in illegal process and habitat loss contributes to their declining population. These cranes are also indirectly poisoned by chemicals. Also, the wetlands that these birds live on are lost because of overused pesticides, drainage, too much livestock, and power line collisions.

          There are many way to help these beautiful birds. You could:

1. Spread the word and tell people
2. Start a petition and get people to sign them.
3. Donate to the International Crane Foundation to help them.

Help the Grey-Crowned Crane!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL