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Endangered & Invasive
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Population is around 600,000 left in the wild.
There is thought to be about 2,400 black rhinos left in the wild.
Humans are impacting the population of mountain gorillas
through habitat loss and poaching.
Cheetah
Scientific Name:
Acinonyx jubatus
Area(s) Where Listed As Endangered:
Africa to India
The cheetah has a wide range and is found from Africa south of the Sahara to India. It is considered the world's
fastest mammal on land reaching speeds of up to 75 mph. Adults can reach up to 5 feet long and weigh up to 145
lbs. Unlike other cats, the cheetah prefers to chase down its prey rather than ambush them. They are also able to
climb trees.
Cheetahs prefer savanna and arid, open grasslands with available bushland (to hide when stalking prey) for their
habitat. They prey on all sorts of mammals including gazelles, impala, wildebeest, and antelopes, and smaller prey
such as hares, ground birds, and warthogs. Females prefer a solitary life unless it is mating season, and males
prefer to live in groups of two to four, called "coalitions." The female gives birth to one to eight cubs after a gestation
period of 90 to 95 days. The cubs depend on the mother for about three months and are very vulnerable to predators
like lions and hyenas.
7500 cheetahs are left in the world, 2500 of them are in Namibia
and Asia. This species is dwindling quickly and zoologists are working hard at trying to improve the amount of
surviving cheetahs (generally 6 pups to a litter.)
The cheetah is threatened by habitat loss and hunting for their spotted pelt. They are also sometimes killed by
farmers protecting their livestock. This species is protected by the law, and the American Association of Zoological
Parks and Aquariums is dedicated to the research of breeding the species for preservation.
Blue Whale
Scientific Name:
Balaenoptera musculus
Area(s) Where Listed As Endangered:
Oceans
The blue whale is the largest of all whales and is said to be the largest animal in Earths history. The average length of an
adult blue whale is 79 to 88 feet and the average weight is 130 to 150 tons. Blue whales prefer cold waters and open
seas and prefer not to venture near coastal areas. However, some whales have been seen off the coast of Peru.
The blue whale eats mostly krill (small shrimp-like crustaceans) by using its baleen plates lining its mouth to sieve krill
from the water. It can consume several tons of krill daily. Researchers have believed that the blue whale only eats in the
summer, seldom eating during the rest of the year. But recent research has suggested that some blue whales of the north
may eat year-round and that blue whales found traveling with empty stomachs may stop eating during migration and
resume feeding at wintering areas. Blue whales only mate in warmer waters and the gestation period lasts 10 to 11
months. The females give birth to only one calf in the spring which gives the calf the entire summer to grow a layer of
blubber needed to protect it when traveling through colder waters. The calves nurse for around seven months.
There are three subspecies of blue whales. The blue whales of the northern and southern hemispheres generally come
together for mating, but they are considered two separate subspecies, Balaenoptera musculus musculus and
Balaenoptera musculus intermedia. The third subspecies, the pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda), is
smaller than the others, and it is found in the sub-Antarctic waters of the Indian Ocean and the southeast Atlantic Ocean.
Over 350,000 whales have been hunted and killed, and by the 1960s, blue whales were on the edge of extinction. There
are probably only around 2500 blue whales left in the oceans and they are now legally protected despite opposition by
the whaling industry.