DAY 3: Taking Action
Activity 1: Predator Free 2050 – A Call to Arms [4 points]
There is currently a huge drive to get rid of all predators from New Zealand. Predators are animals that, in some way, damage our natural environment. Many organisations are working hard to accomplish this goal.
Click on the links below to watch videos about three of the current projects operating to make New Zealand ‘Predator Free by 2050.’
Predator Free Video #1: Cacophony Project
Predator Free Video #2: Taranaki Mounga Project
Predator Free Video #3: Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP)
On your blog, tell us which one of the videos you liked the best and why..
I really liked the 'Taranaki Mounga Project' because it is a community project and they are also protecting Tarankis Mountain. Predators have been eating away at their birds who live in the forests/mountains and they are doing something about it!
Activity 2: Protecting the Most Vulnerable - Fact or Fiction? [4 points]
Here in New Zealand we have a native dolphin, the Māui Dolphin, that is on the verge of extinction (disappearing forever). As of this year, there are only 63 Māui dolphins left and people predict that they will be extinct by 2033. Environmentalists and activists, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), are working hard to save the dolphin because it is such a special and unique animal. To learn more about the Māui Dolphin, please follow this link. If you would like to sign a petition from the WWF encouraging the New Zealand government to take action to save the Maui Dolphin, please follow this link.
Once you have learned more about this unique dolphin, it is time for you to share your learning with us. 
On your blog, post three facts that you learned about the Māui Dolphin. Then, using your imagination, create three more statements about Māui dolphins that are not true (i.e. false). Please don’t tell us which of your statements about Māui Dolphins are true and which are false. It will be the job of the students and staff who read your blog to figure it out.
* Male Maui dolphins are slighter larger than females.
* They can live up to 25 years.
* Maui dolphins use sound to 'see'.
* When Maui dolphins swim in groups, they usaully swim in their own genders. Males are seperated from the females and calves.
* Maui dolphins don't appear close to the shore in groups.
* Maui and Hector dolphins look the same, but they are physically and genetically different.
Activity 3: The Power of Ten [10 points]
Sir David Attenborough is a famous TV presenter from England who loves nature and the natural world. He has spent his career filming documentaries about the planet and working hard to protect it. In a recent interview, Sir David was asked to reflect on all that he had learned and to imagine that he had suddenly been given the power to save 10 animals and/or plants from extinction (disappearing forever).
After thinking about the question, he listed these 10 species (animals/plants):
1. Black Lion Tamarin (pictured to the right)
3. Solenodon
Let’s imagine that you had the same power and that you could save 10 species (animals or plants) from extinction. Who would you save? If I had the choice I would probably save animals like the elephant, white tiger and rhinoceros because they are unique and have lived for centuries on earth. I would also like to save some of my favourite flowers including hydrangeas and calla lily flowers. What about you?
Left to right: White tiger, Hydrangeas, Calla Lily
On your blog, list 10 species (animals or plants) that you would protect from extinction. For each one, give a reason as to why you think it is important to protect.
* White Tiger - because they are really beautiful and I would like a chance to see them before they go extinct.
* The Bornean Orangutan - because they are going extinct because we keep on cutting down their habitat and I just think that is so wrong.
* Amur Leopard - It is one of the most endangered animals and they are already extincted in China and Korea, I don't want them to face any more deaths in any other places.
* Vaquita - It looks very unique and is one of the most rarest marine animals out there.
* Giant Panda - They are very beautiful and cute animals, I would hate to see them extinct before the next generation can see them in real life.
* Javan Rihno - There are only 40 - 60 indivuals left which means they are very rare.
* Hainan Gibbon - They are very pretty and there is only about 23 left. I do not want them to be wiped out and hope people can help keep them alive.
* Jamaican Rock Iguana - It was believed to be extinct in 1970, but there are now 100. I do not want them to be extincted again.
* Olm Salamander - I think they are very cute and unique. They are special because they are the only know amphibian that lives entirely aquatic.
* Northern Quoll - Its population is currently decreasing and they are a native to Australia.
Hi Aaliyah,
ReplyDeleteI think that is good that people are caring about the Tarankis Mountain, It is also bad to see that predators are eating their birds.
Great work and keep it up
Jerome
Hi Aaliyah,
ReplyDeleteI like your facts about the Maui Dolphin,I find them interesting and a little rare, I also didn't know much about them so this is a new thing that I've learned.
Great work and keep it up
Jerome
Hi Aaliyah,
ReplyDeleteI like the animals that you have chosen because they are not like common animals, their names and look are kind of different.
Great work and keep it up
Jerome
Mōrena Aaliyah,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed learning about the Taranaki Mounga project as well. Isn't it great that the local community are coming together to help protect and preserve their native wildlife? Have you been to Taranaki before?
Well done on taking the time to research the Maui Dolphin. It's so sad that there's so few of them left in the world! Have you seen a Maui Dolphin before?
Hmm... you've done well to try and trick your readers here, but I think I might have figure it out! :) Are statements 1, 2 and 5 the ones you made up?
You've compiled a wonderful list of animals Aaliyah. I like that you've considered which animals to save based on how endangered they are. After all, they're the ones that need the most help.
Well done on completing another days worth of activities.
Blog ya later!
Mikey :)