Animal facts
Sadly, many animals that live on the earth today are endangered, which means that they are at risk of becoming extinct.
When a species or animal is endangered it means that they are disappearing fast or have a very small population - not large enough to survive.
The biggest threat facing many animals is human activity, as the people that live in our world today are responsible for destroying their habitats as well as hunting and poaching them.
It is people that are also responsible for pollution and global warming, causing climate change and effecting the animals’ environment.
The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) have compiled a ‘Red List’. This red list is a guide to how endangered a species is - animals are measured on a scale from 'Least Concern' to the worst, 'Extinct'.
Some of the world’s most iconic animals are under serious threat. Click on your favourite animal below to learn more about them…
Lion
Did you know that lions have been celebrated throughout history for their courage and strength and are often seen as a symbol of strength, power and ferocity. Click here to learn more.
Black Rhino
Did you know that there are actually five rhinoceros species that live in either Africa or Asia or that Rhinoceros is a Greek word; ‘rhino’ means ‘nose’ and ‘ceros’ means ‘horn’. Click here to learn more.
Tiger
Did you know that the tiger is the biggest species of the cat family or that male tigers can grow to 3 metres long and weigh over 300kg. Click here to learn more.
African Elephant
Did you know that African elephants are slightly larger than Asian elephants and can be identified by their larger ears that are shaped a little like the continent of Africa. Click here to learn more.
Blue Whale
Did you know that the gigantic blue whale is the largest creature ever to have lived on earth. They can grow to over 30 metres long, which is the same as three buses! Click here to learn more.
Giant Panda
Did you know that the giant panda’s scientific name is means ‘black and white cat-foot’ or that they can poop as much as 28kg a day and can even poo in their sleep! Click here to learn more.
Marine Turtle
Did you know that marine turtles truly have been on earth for hundreds of millions of years or that there are seven species of marine turtle, all are excellent swimmers. Click here to learn more.
Mountain Gorilla
Did you know that Gorillas are the world’s largest primates, and stand up to 1.8 metres tall, they share over 98% of their DNA with humans, making them our closest relatives! Click here to learn more.
Adelie Penguin
Did you know that Adélie penguins got their name from the French Antarctic explorer who discovered the birds in 1840 and named them after his wife - Adéle. Click here to learn more.
Polar Bear
Did you know that the polar bear is the largest carnivore (meat eater) that lives on land and has the strongest bite force of all carnivore land mammals. Click here to learn more.