By Trust Vishdehi
The Snow Leopard
It is estimated that there are less than 10,000 snow leopards left in the world! You can find snow leopards in the mountains of Central Asia. They eat wild sheep. An average adult snow leopard weighs 72 lbs and is 3.6 feet long. They are mammals and carnivores. A snow leopard can live up to 21 years! The main thing that is killing snow leopards is habitat loss. Snow leopards are also getting hunted and killed for their bones. Shepherds kill snow leopards so they do not kill the cattle. Snow leopards are being poached. The snow leopard is an individual hunter. It likes to sneak up on prey and then pounce on it. They will try to slip under it and then go for their neck and bite it, so it suffocates them.
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The Siberian Tiger
The Siberian tiger is also known as the Amur tiger. There are about 5,000 tigers left in the world. They are located in small groups in China, North Korea, and the southeast region of Russia. The Amur tiger eats wild boar, deer, elk birds, fish, and mice. It mostly eats wild boar. An adult Amur tiger is about 11 feet long in all, and the tail is about 3 feet. The Amur tiger is the biggest cat in the world. An adult Amur tiger can weigh up to 320 kilos. Amur tigers are affected by climate change in ways like from rising sea levels. Rising sea levels are destroying their habitat. It erodes the land and their forest. Deforestation is making life harder for tigers and destroying their habitat, similar to snow leopards. Since the climate is getting hotter, there is a higher chance of wildfires.
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The Irrawaddy Dolphin
There are only about 85 known Irrawaddy dolphins left that live in the Mekong River – they are river dolphins. They eat crustaceans. Crustaceans are like clams and oysters. They can eat shellfish, too. An adult Irrawaddy dolphin will weigh 420 pounds on average and can be 4.8 to 9 feet long. An Irrawaddy dolphin’s life span is about 30 years. Acidification affects them, and so do rising sea levels and sea temperature. If they became extinct, it would be bad for the river ecosystem. The warmer climate will kill the fish that the Irrawaddy dolphin eats, so they will die.
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Rhinoceros
Experts believe there are 27,000 to 30,000 rhinoceros left. Eastern and southern Africa are home to white and black rhinoceros. Their habitat includes grasslands and floodplains, and they eat trees, bushes, and fruit. The black rhino weighs between 1,700 to 3,100 pounds and can live from 35-50 years. White rhinos can weigh up to 5,100 pounds and their lifespan is between 40-50 years. White rhinos can be 6 feet tall.
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Thank you!
-Trust