| Endangered Species: Alligator |
Christainsburg Elementary School
Submitted by: Shelly Grade 5
Christainsburg, VA, USA
ALLIGATOR |
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Why Study This Topic?
I want to find out about the Alligators' habitat,
what does it eat, and how this animal become endangered. I also want
to find out what color it is, its shape, its size, and what its enemies
are. I also want to find out if the alligator lives in packs or alone.
I also would like to know if the alligator likes to have a odor.
I also would like yo know at what time it leaves its parents. I want
to know how many babies it has at one time.
When I grow up, I want my kids to grow up and
help these endangered animals.
What Was Already Known
Before I began my search, I already knew what
color the alligator was. I also knew what the alligator ate for food.
I also knew it was a Florida animal. I also knew that it was endangered,
because people wanted its skin, and killed it.
I also knew that the animals don't clean themselves.
I also found out that the mother only has one baby at a time.
Search for Information
I searched all
over the Internet. The places I searched are: Yahooligans,
Go to Net,
and Burmingham Zoo. I also went to our school library, and I found
two books on the alligator.
I also looked in the encyclopedia in the A's
section, and I didn't find anything on it, so then I went to the F section
and looked on Florida animals.
Description of Plant or Animal
The color of the alligator
is black or green. It has some dried bumpy scales
it also has a big fat piece of blubber on its neck. The size of
it is 90-foot long. It weighs about 2 tons.
It's body is a shape of a rectangular oval. It has a shape of plates on
its back - sort of like a dinosaur. The alligator also
has a very large mouth to eat its predators the alligator eats meat,
Habitat Requirements
The alligator's habitat requirements
is that the alligator doesn't eat fruit or veggies
or plants so therefore it is not a herbivore. The alligator
eats meat, so it is a carnivore. The things it eats are mice, and fish.
The alligator lives in the swamps of Florida. The alligator drinks
out of the streams of Florida and sometimes the rivers. The alligator has
to have a lot of space to catch its food, so it will not miss it.
The alligators shelter is the swamps.
Adaptations
The alligator's predator is man and cougar.
They are its predator.
The alligators prey is fish, crawl dads, and birds that live in
water or
swamps. The alligators can camoflauge itself,
so that it can blend in like a rock
in the swamps or in the water.
The alligator's physical features are that it
can catch its food well. It also can swim well.
Reasons for Endangerment
The reason for the alligator's endangerment is that
most people kill them for their meat, so they can eat it. Another
reason for its endangerment is loss of its habitat. People go to
the swamps or the waters when they are fishing that live in the water.
When they are fishing, they scare the alligators away. Then, when
they see the alligator, they try to catch it.
The problem of pollution is when trash gets in
the water or swamps and the water turns green and slimly. Then it
turns a brownish color, and it gets dirty. Then the alligator loses
its habitat. The population of the alligators are fewer, because a lot
of people are killing it for its skin. People also like to eat it.
They also take the alligator for the fat on its neck.
Restoration Actions
My idea for the
future action taken is that I would try to help the
zoos afford enough money to have enough room for alligators
to sleep. Then they have to buy some food to feed them. When taken
to the zoo, zookeepers have to buy food and water in pails. To feed
them, the zoos have to buy hay in the winter time to keep the animals
in the gates warm.
What Was Learned
I already
knew the alligator's habitat .I also knew that the alligators can
climb up on dry land. I also knew that the alligator can get up to
one or two tons.
I also knew that the alligator is 20to30 feet long.I also
knew that another alligator, the osteolaemus tetraspis, is as long as 60-70
feet long.
Conclusions From Search
The places I searched are www.yahholigans .com.
Ialso searched at http://www. search a saurase.com. I also searched at
alot of other places, so I could have some research about the alligator
to write this report.
I would not like to be an alligator, because
people would kill me because they wanted to eat me.
Bibliography
http://species.fws.gov/bio_alli.html
http://www.fpl.com/html/kid_gator.html
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Christiansburg Elementary |
Last updated on January 25, 2000
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