Endangered Species Habitat Matching Game · • Endangered Species Habitat Matching Game Worksheet • Images of 13 habitats divided into four quadrants each (from worksheet) •

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Copyright © New England Primate Conservancy 2014 You may freely use, copy and share this Learning Activity for educational purposes.

For questions or comments about Lesson Plans, Learning Activities or any other NEPC educational materials, e-mail us at [email protected].

New England Primate Conservancy • P.O. Box 23, Merrimac, Massachusetts 01860 USA

Tel: (978) 346-0006 • E-mail: [email protected]

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Learning Activity 4: Endangered Species Habitat Matching Game

An Activity for Understanding That Species are Threatened by Extinction in Most Habitats

Throughout the World

Learning Goals:

• Students will be introduced to the concepts of Conservation Statuses • Students will learn that extinction is forever

• Students will learn that endangered species exist on every continent

• Students will “meet” endangered species • Students will learn about ecosystems • Students will learn that habitats need to be protected in order to save the

animals that live in them

Objectives:

• Students will correctly match each endangered species to their natural habitats

• Students will learn conservation status definitions, from extinct to least concern

• Students will learn some world geography

• Students will learn some ecosystems types and where they are located

• Students will learn that ecosystems (habitats) can exist in multiple worldwide

locations

• Students will learn in which countries or continents endangered species live

• Students will learn that at-risk species are endangered by habitat loss, hunting,

the trade in exotic animals and exotic animal parts






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Materials: • Endangered Species Habitat Matching Game Worksheet

• Images of 13 habitats divided into four quadrants each (from worksheet)

• Photographs of endangered animals from each habitat (from worksheet)

Countries of origin and conservations statuses are noted on cards

• World Map:

Map donating continents is attached

Or use your own more detailed world map or globe

• Conservation Status definitions (below)

• Endangered Species page of New England Primate Conservancy’s website:

www.neprimateconservancy.org/endangered-species.html

• Wildlife Conservation page of the New England Primate Conservancy website:

www.neprimateconservancy.org/wildlife-conservation.html.

Preparation: 1. Print habitat boards on cards stock or photo paper for repeat use.

2. Print 2 sets of endangered species cards:

a. One to use as an answer key.

b. The second on card stock or photo paper for repeat use.

3. Cut out the endangered species cards that are printed on card stock or photo paper.

4. Print world map on card stock or photo paper for repeat use (or use your own map).

Introduction: The concepts that you choose to introduce and include in the activity may be

dependent upon the ages of your students. For younger children, it may be sufficient

to match animal photos to habitats and discuss threatened species statuses at a very

high level. For older children, more sophisticated concepts of habitat loss and

resulting animal endangerment can be presented as follows:






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• Discuss the concepts of extinction, endangered species, and conservation

statuses

Definitions included below

• Discuss what constitutes an ecosystem or habitat (food, shelter, air, climate,

space)

• Discuss that there are many different types of habitats and that different

species may live in specific or multiple habitats, depending upon their physical

adaptability

• Discuss the causes and impact of habitat loss of species

• Use a world map to match species, habitats, countries and continents for an

effective and fun geography lesson

• Have children pick an endangered species from the game cards. Discuss the

habitat in which it lives. Be sure to mention its distinctive physical

characteristics, climate preferences, space requirements, and diet sources in

the habitat. Engage in discussion of how loss of habitat impacts the animals

that live there.

Game Instructions:

• Habitat boards are divided into quadrants for children to place four animal

species on each board

Note that there are two sets of Tropical Rainforest species cards because

there are so many species that live those habitats. Use one or both sets.

• Choose two or more habitats and the endangered species photographs that

correspond to those habitats

• Scramble endangered species photographs

• Student must place each endangered species in its correct habitat






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Calls to Action: • Have students pick one of the endangered species and discuss how it might be saved

from extinction. Depending upon children’s ages, they may do their own research on the

topic.

• Have students match endangered species and their habitats to the world map to discuss

conservation of natural habitats.

• Older children may learn about the many factors that are included in the IUCN’s criteria

for threatened species (which includes impact on their habitats).

• Encourage students to share their newly learned classifications of habitats, conservation

statuses, and feelings about endangered species and the prospects of extinction with

others.

Definitions:

Species are classified by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List into

the following nine groups, set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of

geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation.

• Extinct (EX) – No known individuals remaining.

• Extinct in the Wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized

population outside its historic range.

• Critically Endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

• Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild.

• Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild.

• Near Threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered in the near future.

• Least Concern (LC) – Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category.

Widespread and abundant species and subspecies are included in this category.






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• Data Deficient (DD) – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.

• Not Evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.

When discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term “threatened” is a grouping of three

categories: Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable.

Additional Resources:

• IUCN Red List – iucnredlist.org

• New England Primate Conservancy – neprimateconservancy.org

o Animals in the News

o Endangered Species

o Primate Conservation

o Primate Facts

o Primate Species Profiles

o FAQs

ooo Letters From the Field Blogs ooo Videos Series

••• Video: Conservation Statuses ••• Video: Passenger Pigeon, a recent extinction ••• Video: Thylacine, a recent extinction ••• Video: European Rabbit, for the impact of introduced species on a

habitat and it can result in extinction of native species ooo Wildlife Conservation






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Photo: Florence Devourd






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Photo: Snezana Trifunovic






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Photo: Hansueli Krapf






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Photo: Tiago Fioreze






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Dama Gazelle Sahara Desert, Africa

Critically Endangered

Egyptian Tortoise Egypt and Libya, Africa Critically Endangered

Photo: Abrahami

Addax Sahara Desert, Africa


Photo: MathKnight

African Wild Ass Horn of Africa, Sudan, Egypt, and Libya


Photo: Ltshears

Photo: pats






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Grevy’s Zebra Kenya and Ethiopia, Africa

Endangered

Black Rhinoceros East and Central Africa Critically Endangered

Dhole – Asiatic Wild Dog South and Southeast Asia

Endangered

Golden Langur India and Bhutan, Southern Asia

Endangered

Photo: Amartyabag






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Bengal Tiger Throughout most of Asia

Endangered

Mexican Prairie Dog Mexico

Endangered

Whooping Crane North America Endangered

Western African Giraffe West Africa

Endangered

Photo: Prairie Dog Coalition

Photo: Roland H.Photo: Sasata

Photo: Sumeet Moghe






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Crested Black Macaque Sulawesi, Indonesia


Hyacinth Macaw Central and Eastern South America

Endangered

Brown Spider Monkey Colombia, South America Critically Endangered

West Indian Manatee Florida, USA, Greater Antilles, Mexico, Central

America, northern South America Endangered

Photo: Albert Kok

Photo: ARKive/ Stefano Unterthiner

Photo: birdphoto.com

Photo: Hank Gillette






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Pygmy Three-toed Sloth Panama, Central America Critically Endangered

Sumatran Orangutan Indonesia


Golden Poison Dart Frog Colombia, South America

Endangered

Chimpanzee Central Africa Endangered

Photo: Greg HumePhoto: ARKive/ Bryson Voirin

Photo: Wilfried Berns






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Asiatic Elephant Southeast Asia from India to Borneo

Endangered

Red Wolf Southeastern United States


Wood Turtle North America Endangered

Puerto Rican Sharp-skinned Hawk Puerto Rico

Endangered

Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa






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Grizzly Bear Alaska to Northwest U.S., including Canada

Endangered

Siberian crane Russia


California Condor United States of America Critically Endangered

Black Snub-nosed Monkeys China - Coniferous

Endangered

Photo: Stacey

Photo: BS Thurner Hof

Photo: Unknown






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Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur Madagascar


Grandidier’s Mongoose Madagascar

Endangered

Coquerel’s Sifaka Madagascar

Endangered

Radiated Tortoise Madagascar


Photo: Visionholder

Photo: Kyle Bedel

Photo: Grigory Morozov






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Mountain Gorilla Central Africa


Mountain Tapir Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, South America

Endangered

Giant Panda China

Endangered

Snow Leopard Central Asia Endangered

Photo: Bernard LangrafPhoto: J. Patrick Fischer

Photo: Stephano Unterthiner






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Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep California, U.S.A.

Endangered

Delacour’s Langur Vietnam


Photo: Unknown

Pancake Tortoise Tanzania and Kenya, Africa

Vulnerable

Hoffman’s Pika Mongolia

Endangered

Photo: OchoHof1






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Eskimo Curlew Western Canada and Alaska, U.S.A.

Critically Endangered – may be extinct

Beluga Whale Alaska


Polar Bear All Over the World

Vulnerable

Royal Penguin Antarctica

Vulnerable

Photo: Alan Wilson

Photo: Greg Hume






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Proboscis Monkeys Borneo, Southeast Asia

Endangered

Photo: David Dennis

Barasingha Swamp Deer Nepal

Vulnerable

Photo: Cliff

Painted Terrapin Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand


Fishing Cat South and Southeast Asia

Endangered

Photo: aloshbennett

Photo: OpenCage






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Giant River Otter North-Central South America

Endangered

Photo: Frank Wouters

Western Pond Turtle West Cost of the U.S. and Baja Mexico

Vulnerable

Photo: Y.S. Krishnappa

Yellow-Spotted Bell Frog Southern Australis


Plymouth Red-Bellied Turtle Plymouth, MA, USA

Endangered

Photo: ARKive/ John Wombey






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North Atlantic Right Whale Atlantic Ocean Endangered

Hawksbill Sea Turtle Worldwide


Photo: aquaimages

Hawaiian Monk Seal Hawaiian Islands, U.S.A. Critically Endangered

Waved Albatross Galapagos Islands, South America


Photo: N3kt0n Photo: DGE Robertson






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Maps:

1. World Map






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Map: Debra Curtin Map: Debra Curtin

Documents

Endangered Species Habitat Matching Game · • Endangered Species Habitat Matching Game Worksheet • Images of 13 habitats divided into four quadrants each (from worksheet) •