The Missing Woodpecker

Transcription

1 PASSAGE 1: Magazine Article The Missing Woodpecker Scientists go on a 60-year search for a beautiful bird. The ivory-billed woodpecker was the biggest woodpecker in the United States. It had black and white feathers. It had big eyes and a very long beak. Those who saw it said it was beautiful. For many years, scientists believed that this kind of woodpecker was extinct. What made it disappear? The bird lived in the forests of the southeastern United States. Over the years, many of those forests were cut down. With few trees left, there was no place for this woodpecker to live. Had it really disappeared forever? No one had seen it since the 1940s. People still told stories about seeing or hearing the bird. Scientists thought these people were probably seeing a different kind of woodpecker. Still, no one could be sure. It was a mystery. New Hope In 1999, something amazing happened. A college student reported that he had seen a pair of the woodpeckers. He said he d gotten a good look at them. He had no proof, but what he said made scientists wonder. Maybe the woodpecker was out there! They had to go find it. Many people went with the scientists to search through the forest. Everyone brought cameras and recorders. If anyone saw or heard the bird, they could get the proof they needed. They searched and searched. There was still no sign of the ivory-bill. Some people called their hunt a wild-goose chase. Finally, in 2002, some searchers heard a strange noise far away. Rap-rap, rap-rap, went the sound. They were amazed. It sounded like an ivory-bill. They quickly recorded the sound. Page 1 of 6

2 Had they found the proof they were looking for? Were there still a few ivorybills hidden away deep in the woods? They sent the tape to a lab that could tell them exactly what the sound was. It would take time. The scientists had to wait. Finally, the results came back. The news wasn t good. The sounds were gunshots. The rap-rap was the sound of hunters shooting their guns. What a disappointment! A Special Sighting In 2004, a man named Gene Sparling was canoeing through a swamp in Arkansas. In the trees, he saw a beautiful black and white bird. It looked like an ivory-bill. Could it really be? Sparling invited two scientists, Tim Gallagher and Bobby Harrison, to Arkansas. The men canoed through the swamp. Suddenly, a large woodpecker flew in front of their canoe. They could not believe it. I saw an ivory-bill, Gallagher said in amazement. The men cried with happiness. The bird was still alive. People around the world were thrilled to hear the good news. However, the story is not over yet. There are probably only a few of these birds alive. Scientists must work hard to protect them. Ivory-bills are a symbol for other endangered animals. Their story shows what can happen to animals when people cut down the forests they live in. Unless we protect the forests, many more animals including the ivory-bill may soon go extinct. Page 2 of 6

3 PASSAGE 2: Web Site Leatherback FAQs This Web site answers some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about leatherback turtles. Interested in learning more about these awesome sea creatures? Read on. Question: How big is the leatherback? Answer: The leatherback turtle is the biggest turtle in the world. This gigantic sea animal grows as big as eight feet long. It can weigh 1,600 pounds. That s as heavy as a small car! Q: Why is it called a leatherback? A: This sea turtle has a soft shell covered with thick skin. The skin looks like leather. It is different from the hard shells of other turtles. Q: What do leatherbacks eat? A: They eat jellyfish and other small sea animals. You may have seen jellyfish at the beach. Swimmers hate them. If they rub against you, they make your skin sting. Still, they are the leatherback s favorite food. Q: Where do leatherbacks live? A: Leatherbacks live in oceans around the world. They like warm waters best. Some have been seen in cold places, too. The males never leave the water. Females do, in order to lay their eggs on the beach. That only takes a few hours. Then the females go back into the water. They don t wait around for the eggs to hatch. Page 3 of 6

4 Q: How many leatherbacks are there? A: In 1980, scientists counted about 115,000 female leatherbacks. The U.S. government says there are now only about 25,000 females left in the world. The number of turtles has gone down very fast. These animals are endangered. If they aren t protected, they could disappear forever. Q: Why are there so few of them? A: There are three main reasons. First, fishing nets trap many leatherbacks each year. Many of the turtles die because they can t come up for air. Now, people who fish are told to use nets that won t trap the turtles. Second, people like the beach. So they build hotels and houses close to the shore. That means that leatherbacks have fewer places to lay their eggs. They don t like to nest near people. Third, trash in the water is a danger to leatherbacks. Plastic bags in the water look like jellyfish. If a leatherback eats a plastic bag, it usually dies. Q: How long have leatherback turtles been around? A: Leatherbacks were here before the time of the dinosaurs. Now, if we don t help them, they may not be around much longer. Q: Will they survive? A: Let s look on the bright side. Leatherbacks are on the list of endangered animals. That means there are laws to protect them so they don t become extinct. People can t use the beaches where they nest. No one is allowed to harm leatherbacks. Scientists keep studying them. We will use what they learn to help these mighty turtles survive. Page 4 of 6

5 PASSAGE 3: Magazine Article Return of the Ferret It s the most endangered mammal in America. Now it s getting a second chance. There used to be lots of black-footed ferrets. They lived on the prairie. They had black circles around their eyes. Their feet were black and furry. Then they were gone. What happened to them? Were these small mammals gone forever? The black-footed ferret was a hunter. To get its food, a ferret had to attack an animal its own size. That animal was the prairie dog. A ferret ate one prairie dog every few days. That s a lot of prairie dogs. Luckily, the plains were full of prairie dogs. Large groups of them burrowed into the ground to build their homes. These prairie dog towns took up a lot of land. Then people came to the plains. As farms grew, prairie dogs lost their homes. Farmers began killing them. Why? They didn t want prairie dogs digging up their land. They didn t want them eating the grass. Soon there weren t many prairie dogs left. The Last Ferret Fewer prairie dogs meant less food for ferrets. Black-footed ferrets began to die out. By the 1960s, nobody had seen one in years. Then, in 1972, nine ferrets were captured in South Dakota. Scientists hoped they would have babies, or kits. They did, but none of their kits lived. The last of these ferrets died in The black-footed ferret was said to be extinct. Surprise! Then scientists got a big surprise. In 1981, a dog in Wyoming killed a black-footed ferret! People searched for more ferrets. More than 100 had been counted by The black-footed ferret was not extinct. However, it was in serious danger. Page 5 of 6

6 A disease began to kill the ferrets. Soon there were only 18 left. Scientists needed to do something. So they captured the last 18 ferrets. They took the ferrets to a wildlife center and took care of them. The Comeback Kits Two years later, they had good news to report. Two ferrets had given birth to kits. Now there were 25 ferrets. By 1991, there were several hundred. But scientists wanted to do more than keep them in cages. So they released 49 young ferrets back into the wild. Would they survive? That question was soon answered. The released ferrets were doing well. They began having kits. Today there are about 300 black-footed ferrets living in the wild. Some were born there. Others were put there by scientists. These animals had a very close call. Now things are looking up. Scientists continue to raise and free black-footed ferrets. They hope that by the year 2010, there will be 1,500 wild ferrets living where they belong: on the prairie. Page 6 of 6