TEACHER INFORMATION PACK ‘IF THEY’RE GONE...’ ENDANGERED SPECIES POSTER

COMPETITION

Contents

1. Introduction to ‘If They’re Gone...’ endangered species campaign 2. The competition explained including judging criteria 3. Curriculum links 4. Rhinoceros factsheet 5. Elephants factsheet 6. Orangutans factsheet 7. Tiger factsheet 8. Fun activities

INTRODUCTION OF THE ‘IF THEY’RE GONE...’ PARTNERSHIP CAMPAIGN

The ‘If They’re Gone...’ campaign which was launched in early March is a year-long

partnership campaign which brings together a range of organisations including UK Government, wildlife NGOs (non-governmental organisations), zoos and safari/wildlife parks.

The campaign focuses on the following four key endangered groups of animals: rhinos, elephants, orangutans and tigers. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about the crisis situation that each of these species is in and will show that it is important to save these animals for future generations.

Numbers of these animals have significantly reduced over recent years. They are being hunted and killed for illegal wildlife products and their natural habitats (places where they live) are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Internationally, the demand for traditional Asian medicines, which use parts of tigers, rhinos and elephants is skyrocketing.

There are many things people can do to help the long-term survival of these magnificent animals and some ideas of how school children can get involved include:

o Encourage their parents to find out where products come from before they buy. Furniture for example could have led to the destruction of the home of animals threatened with extinction.

o Ask their school to use paper which is recycled or that has the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo.

o Encourage their parents not to buy products made of ivory; if we buy, elephants die.

o Encourage their parents to check labels in supermarkets for products containing unsustainable palm oil – and look out for products containing sustainable palm oil as alternatives.

o Tell their family and friends about tigers, rhinos, elephants and orangutans and how important it is to help protect them.

As part of the campaign, Defra is working with Eco-Schools to run a competition aimed at primary school children. Children will be asked to produce a poster promoting the campaign.

Current campaign partners include: British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums; Chester Zoo; Cotswold Wildlife Park; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); Eco-Schools; European Association of Zoos and Aquaria; Fauna and Flora International; Helping Rhinos; Humane Society International; Interpol/Project Predator; Knowsley Safari Park; National Wildlife Crime Unit; Ongava Research Centre (Namibia); Orang-utan Foundation; Paignton Zoo; Sumatran Orang-utan Society; The Sumatran Tiger Trust; Tiger Awareness; Tusk Trust; UK Orangutan Appeal; West Midlands Safari Park; ZSL (London and Whipsnade Zoo).

COMPETITION EXPLAINED

What is the competition about? As part of the ‘If They’re Gone...’ endangered species campaign Defra is working with Eco-Schools to run a poster competition. Primary school children are asked to develop a poster which focuses on the crisis of rhinos, elephants, orangutans and tigers. The poster can either focus on just one of the species, or all four. The poster can also include ideas for what everyone can do to help the long-term survival of these iconic animals. There are no strict rules for what the poster can be made of and as such it can include photographs and drawing etc. Who can participate?

All primary school pupils in England are eligible to take part.

Entries can be made by individuals, small groups of pupils or an entire class. Benefits of participating

It is a fun way of articulating ideas around the conservation of wild animals.

It provides an excellent project which can easily be incorporated into the KS1 and KS2 science curriculum.

It promotes key skills including creativity, team working and research skills.

It’s a great way of getting children engaged in helping to protect and enhance these important species.

There are fun prizes to be won. Prizes There will be one national winner. The prize for the national winner will be a private tour around the Houses of Parliament in London with the Environment Minister Richard Benyon. This will take place on 15 July 2013 and will be offered to a group of 5 children plus two accompanying adults. The travel costs (standard class on public transport) for 5 children and 2 adults will be paid for by Defra. There will also be 5 regional winners, one for each of the following regions: the North of England, East Midlands, West Midlands, South West and South East. Each regional winner will get 10 free tickets for a children’s party. The tickets can be redeemed as follows:

The North of England winner can redeem their tickets at either Knowsley Safari Park, Chester Zoo or South Lakes Wild Animal Park

The East Midlands winner can redeem their tickets at Cotswold Wildlife Park

The West Midlands winner can redeem their tickets at West Midlands Safari Park

The South West winner can redeem their tickets at Paignton Zoo

The South East winner can redeem their tickets at London Zoo Please note that travel costs for regional winners will not be paid. Timing and how to enter

Completed entries must be received by 28 June 2013.

All entries/posters must be photographed and then sent in as an attachment via email to marketing@defra.gsi.gov.uk

The winners will be announced in early July. Judging criteria Entries will be judged by a panel made up of representatives of Defra, Eco-Schools and a conservationist from one of the campaign partners. Entries will be judged against the following criteria:

Creativity

Passion

Ability to engage others

Clarity of message

CURRICULUM LINKS

Key Stage 1 & 2

Geography – Knowledge and understanding of environmental change and sustainable development

Knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes

Knowledge and understanding of places

Science – Living things and their environment

PSHE – Preparing to play an active role as citizens

Citizenship – Preparing to play an active role as citizens

English – En3 Writing

Design and technology: Developing, planning and communicating ideas

Art & Design - Exploring and developing ideas

RHINOCEROS FACTSHEET What types of rhinos are there?

There are five species of rhinoceros including The White, Black, Greater one-horned (also known as the Great Indian Rhinoceros), The Sumatran (Hairy, or Asian Two-horned) and the Javan rhino (Lesser One-horned)

Where do they live? Rhinos live in Africa (Kenya, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Rwanda) and Asia (Nepal, India, Malaysia and Indonesia).

How many rhinos are left in the wild?

Estimates are that there are only around 28,000 rhinos (all species) left in the wild; most of these are concentrated in South Africa. The most endangered rhinos are the Javan rhino with as few as 40 left at one site on Java in the wild.

Why do we need to save rhinos?

Rhinos are one of the most popular animals on safaris which means they can contribute to economic growth and sustainable development through the tourism industry. This creates jobs and tangible benefits to local communities living alongside rhinos. It would also be sad to live in a world where these animals only exist in zoos and books.

What do they eat? Rhinos are herbivores and like to eat trees and bushes. White rhinos are generally grazers so they eat grass.

What are their main threats?

Poaching: Rhinos are killed for their horns to be used in traditional alternative medicines and/or as status gifts. In 2012, 668 rhinos were poached in South Africa. This is a significant increase on 2011 poaching figures (448). If poaching continues to increase at the current rate, overall rhino numbers will soon start to go into decline as poaching and natural mortalities overtake births. Habitat loss: In Asia, places where rhinos live are being destroyed and turned into palm oil plantations and illegal logging. In Africa, land available for rhinos is threatened by rise in the human population as they need more land to grow food for humans.

What else is interesting about rhinos?

A charging rhino can reach speeds of 56km/h

Rhino horn grows in layers from specialised skin cells, which are made of the same substance as human hair and nails.

Man is rhino’s only natural predator

The earliest rhino species evolved some 40 million years ago

The gestation period for rhinos is 15-16 months

Rhinos are known as odd-toed ungulates – this is because they have three toes on each foot

A group of rhinos is called a crash

Male rhinos are known as bulls, female rhinos as cows, and young rhinos as calves

Where can I find out more about rhinos?

www.tusk.org www.helpingrhinos.org www.iucnredlist.org (Red list of endangered species) www.actforwildlife.org.uk/projects/black-rhinos

ELEPHANT FACTSHEET What types of elephants are there?

There are two surviving species of elephants, the Asian and African Elephant. The African Elephant has two sub-species the savannah elephant and the forest elephant. The Asian Elephant has four sub-species: the Borneo Elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Indian Elephant and the Sri Lankan Elephant.

Where do they live? Elephants can currently be found in the wild in 13 countries in Asia and 37 countries in Africa.

How many elephants are left in the wild?

Estimates are that there are as few as 500,000 African Elephants and as few as 30,000 Asian Elephants left in the wild.

Why do we need to save elephants?

Elephants are considered very important by scientists because they help to maintain suitable places for lots of other animals and plants. For example, in tropical forests elephants create clearings and gaps in the canopy that encourages tree growth. In the savannahs they can reduce bush cover to create an environment favourable to a mix of browsing and grazing animals. It would also be sad to live in a world where these animals only exist in zoos and books.

What do they eat? Elephants are herbivores, which means that they eat leaves, twigs, branches, grass, roots, seeds, fruits and flowers.

What are their main threats?

Loss of habitat: Approximately 95% of places where elephants live (habitats) have been destroyed by people. Main contributing factors for this has been the increase in populations in Africa and Asia. Human-elephant conflict: This is common and widespread and is a serious threat to the survival of elephant populations and the safety and livelihood of communities. Poaching: Elephants are being killed for their ivory tusks. In Africa this has reached record levels in recent years. 2011 has been reported as the worst year since records began.

What else is interesting about elephants?

Elephants spend up to 16-18 hours per day eating

Elephants are the largest of all land mammals and a fully grown adult can weigh as much as 6,800kg and live up to 70 years. Their skin is an inch thick.

Elephants use their feet to listen, they can pick up sub-sonic rumblings made by other elephants, through vibrations in the ground.

Like human toddlers, great apes, magpies and dolphins, elephants have passed the mirror test which means that they recognise themselves in a mirror.

Where can I find out more about elephants?

www.tusk.org www.iucnredlist.org (Red list of endangered species) www.actforwildlife.org.uk/projects/elephants

ORANGUTANS FACTSHEET What types of orangutans are there?

There are two species the Bornean Orangutan and the Sumatran Orangutan. The Bornean Orangutan has three sub-species the Northwest Bornean Orangutan, the Central Bornean Orangutan and the Northeast Bornean Orangutan.

Where do they live? Orangutans live in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra. Sumatra is in Indonesia, with the island of Borneo being divided into 3 countries –Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Orangutans spend most of their time in the trees, where they find shelter (they make nests from leaves and branches) and find food.

How many orangutans are left in the wild?

Estimates are that there are less than 6,600 Sumatran Orangutans and less than 54,000 Borneo Orangutans left in the wild.

Why do we need to save orangutans?

Orangutans are beautiful, amazing and important too. To save the orangutan we must conserve their forest home. If we can do this, we will also help all the other wonderful plants and animals that live there too. Orangutans are doing their bit already – by eating the fruits of the forest they are playing a key role in spreading seeds!

What do they eat? Orangutans are primarily frugivores (fruit eating), but also eat leaves, bark, flowers insects (termites and ants) and on occasion meat of slow loris which is a primate species in Southeast Asia.

What are their main threats?

Loss of habitat: Loss of prime orangutan habitat (lowland tropical forests) is the biggest threat to these animals. Lowland tropical forests where orangutans mainly live are being destroyed primarily to turn them into oil palm plantations but also through forest fires.

What else is interesting about orangutans?

The strength of an orangutan is believed to be 7 times greater than of a human.

Like humans, all the great apes are extremely intelligent. Orangutans also share 96.4% of our own DNA.

Orangutans have 32 teeth - the same number as humans.

Baby orangutans cry when they’re hungry, whimper when they’re hurt and smile at their mothers.

Orangutans are great apes (not monkeys). One of the main differences between apes and monkeys is that apes have larger brains and they don’t have tails.

Young orangutans stay with their mothers for up to 7 or 8 years - the longest period of infant dependency of any primate other than humans.

Where can I find out more about orangutans?

www.orangutan.org.uk www.orangutans-sos.org www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk www.iucnredlist.org (Red list of endangered species) www.actforwildlife.org.uk/projects/orangutans

TIGER FACTSHEET What types of tigers are there?

There are nine sub-species of tigers, three of which are already extinct. The six surviving sub-species are: Bengal/Indian tiger, Indochinese tiger, Malaysian tiger, Sumatran tiger, Amur/Siberian tiger and the South China tiger.

Where do they live? Tigers are currently living in the wild in 13 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia (Sumatra), Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

How many tigers are left in the wild?

Estimates are that there are as few as 3,200 tigers remaining in the wild. The most endangered sub-species is the South China Tiger (fewer than 30 left in the wild) followed by the Sumatran tiger (as few as 300 left in the wild). In just over a century the planet has lost 97% of its largest cat species.

Why do we need to save tigers?

As a large predator at the top of the food chain, tigers play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. These ecosystems supply both nature and people with fresh water, food and many other vital services which means that by saving the tiger we are helping people too. It would also be sad to live in a world where these animals only exist in zoos and books.

What do they eat? Large mammals like wild pigs and deer are their favourite. They will also eat other animals like monkeys, rodents, fish and frogs.

What are their main threats?

Poaching: Tigers are being killed for the use of their body parts (primarily bones) in traditional alternative medicine. They are also hunted for their skins. Human-tiger conflicts: An ever-growing human population in key geographical regions means that humans encroach further and further into the natural habitats of tigers. Once their homes are gone tigers may eat livestock or even attack people and are then killed in return. Loss of habitat: As a result of illegal plantation industries such as timber and palm oil large sections of rainforests are being destroyed.

What else is interesting about tigers?

A tiger can eat up to 45kg of meat a night – that’s as much as 400 hamburgers.

The life span of a tiger in the wild is about 10-15 years.

Unusually for cats, tigers enjoy water and are good swimmers.

A tiger roar can be heard over 2km away.

Tiger footprints are called pugmarks.

A group of tigers is called a streak.

A tiger’s stripes are as unique as a finger print.

Tigers are the biggest of the cat species. Where can I find out more about tigers?

www.21stCenturyTiger.org www.globaltigerinitiative.org/ www.panthera.org/species/tiger www.zsl.org/conservation/species/mammals/tiger-conservation/ www.tigertrust.info www.tigerawareness.co.uk www.iucnredlist.org (Red list of endangered species)

FUN ACTIVITY - WORD SEARCH

How many of these words can you find? Borneo Cage Climber Flower Forest Fruit Garden Lamandau Nest Orangutan Pongo Poppy Rasak Released Sanctuary Skill Sumatra Survival Village Wildlife

Borneo Cage Climber Flower Forest Fruit Garden Lamandau Nest Orangutan Pongo Poppy Rasak Released Sanctuary Skill Sumatra Survival Village

FUN ACTIVITY – WORD SCRAMBLE

Unscramble the letters to see what the real words are.

N R H O I H E E P A N T L

T E X I N T C D E R N A G E E D N

R F A A C I I S A A

P O T T E C R T O R N G U A A N

I E G R T M A N I L S A

L W I D

FUN ACTIVITY – SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

FUN ACTIVITY – ORANGUTAN CROSS WORD

1 2

3 4

5

6 7

8

9

10

11

Across Down

3. Which lesser ape lives along side orangutans? (6) 1. Dominant male orangutans grow these on their face (5,4)

5. Where do orangutans live? (10) 2. Where do orangutans sleep? (5)

6. Orangutans are members of the great *** family (3)

4. The name of one of the islands where orangutans live (6)

8. What is the name of the only red haired ape? (9) 7. The name of the other island where orangutans live (7)

10. What do orangutans eat? (5) 9. The rainforest is made up of lots of these (4)

11. The local people of the Rainforest makes baskets out of this (6)