Title:

Threatened Species

Publish Date:

September 2010

ISBN:

978 1 86168 564 3

Covering Ages:

11 to 14 years

Issue Description

More than 12,000 species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. Why are so many of the world’s species at risk? Which ones are in the most danger? This broad overview of the world’s endangered species covers threats to wildlife including hunting, logging, pollution, global climate change, tourism and many others, both in the United Kingdom and around the globe.

The information comes from a variety of sources, including government reports and statistics, newspapers and magazine articles, surveys and polls, academic research and literature from charities and lobby groups; articles have been tailored to an 11 to 14 age group. Additionally, at the end of each chapter are two pages of activities relating to the articles and issues raised in that chapter.

Price:

£5.95

Quantity:

Key Facts

• Tropical rainforests are the world’s richest natural habitats, housing more than two-thirds of all plant and animal species on Earth. Sadly, the rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate – with more than half already gone. (page 1)
  
  
• 95 per cent of all animals and plants that have ever lived on Earth have now become extinct. (page 5)
  
  
• We share the planet with as many as 13 million different living species including plants, animals and bacteria, only 1.75 million of which have been named and recorded. (page 8)
  
  
• Countries across south-east Asia are being systematically drained of wildlife to meet a booming demand for exotic pets in Europe and Japan, and traditional medicine in China – posing a greater threat to many species than habitat loss or global warming. (page 10)
  
  
• Ocean acidity has increased by 30 per cent since the Industrial Revolution because of increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere. (page 13)
  
  
• 24 per cent of butterflies, 22 per cent of amphibians, 15 per cent of dolphins and whales, 14 per cent of stoneworts, 12 per cent of terrestrial mammals and 12 per cent of stoneflies have been lost from England. (page 16)
  
  
• Lynx, brown bears, wolves and elk are among a range of animals being considered for reintroduction to the countryside centuries after they died out in Britain. (page 20)
  
  
• Around 75 per cent of the entire UK population of red squirrels live in Scotland. (page 24)

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Table of Contents

Chapter One: Global Perspective

Endangered species, Shocking global facts, Brazil cattle giants unite to end Amazon destruction, Why does biodiversity matter to me? Year of the tiger, The pet trade’s greed, Elephants under threat, Ocean acidification, Activities.

Chapter Two: Closer to Home

Lost and threatened species, Controlling non-native wildlife, Reintroduction, London’s priority species, Wildlife crime unit, Red squirrel threats, Activities.

Key facts

Glossary

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