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DON’T FEED FIGHTDECLININGBIODIVERSITY—
THE WILDLIFE SAVEANIMALS!
Feeding animals
makes them less
fearful of and Ring-Tailed
more dependent Lemur
on humans, which WHERE THEY LIVE: Madagascar
affects the critters’ WHY THEY NEED HELP: Wild lemurs
ability to survive. Plus, live nowhere else except on this island
people food can make off the coast of Africa. They keep their
animals sick. (Bird feeders The most forest home healthy by eating fruit
diverse group
are OK—just give the and, um, dropping the seeds back into
of organisms
fliers plenty of space!) on Earth is the ground to grow. But because of
9 bacteria. habitat destruction and poaching,
only about 2,000 ring-tailed lemurs
LOOK—DON’T TOUCH remain in the wild.
Bring binoculars on an outdoor adventure to enjoy wildlife
from afar. That way you don’t disturb animals, which can
change their behavior.Critters are better off spending energy Fiji Banded
looking for food or caring for young—not hiding from you! Iguana
10 WHERE THEY LIVE: Fiji and Tonga,
BAD PLANTS islands in the South Pacific
Invasive species are plants and WHY THEY NEED HELP: Non-native
animals that don’t belong in a rats and cats hunt the iguanas, while
habitat. They can destroy native domestic goats and pigs run free to
species and shake up the whole munch and trample the plants these
ecosystem. You can help! Sign up reptiles need to survive.
to help remove invasive plants at
a local park or nature center. Dhole
11 WHERE THEY LIVE: Southeast Asia
Birds can become confused by bright 12 FIND THE WHY THEY NEED HELP: Humans have
LIGHTS OFF
RIGHT FISH
nighttime lights,causing them to collide Bluefin tuna and overhunted the dholes’ prey, such as
deer and wild pigs, making it hard for
with windows or fly in circles until they’re Atlantic halibut these wild dogs to thrive.
exhausted. Turn off unnecessary lights at are large fish
night in the spring and fall, when birds are that reproduce
migrating. You can also talk to your par- and grow very
ents about turning off the lights at their slowly—so try Snowy Owl
high-rise offices. to avoid eating WHERE THEY LIVE: Near the
them unless you North Pole
know they’ve WHY THEY NEED HELP: Snowy owls
been fished can survive in warmer habitats, but
sustainably. they can’t live without the lemmings
Use a guide like they prey on. Melting Arctic snow can
FishWatch to flood lemming burrows, wiping out the
select a swim- owls’ favorite food.
mer that can be
removed from
the ocean with- Sloth Bear
out harming the WHERE IT LIVES: India, Nepal, and
13 ecosystem. Sri Lanka
NO PLACE FOR PETS WHY THEY NEED HELP: Sloth bears
Never release a pet into the wild—it could become an inva- are often affected by people cutting
sive species! Cats, dogs, snakes,ferrets, and even hedgehogs down trees in their forests, as well as
prey on local wildlife. If you can’t care for your pet, find it a poachers. A decline in sloth bears
new home. affects the entire habitat.
© ZORANDIM / DREAMSTIME (13); YAKUB88 / SHUTTERSTOCK (LEMUR); ONDREJ CHVATAL /
SHUTTERSTOCK (IGUANA); © SANDESH KADUR / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (DHOLE); JIM CUMMING / APRIL 2018 • NAT GEO KIDS
SHUTTERSTOCK (SNOWY OWL); © AXEL GOMILLE / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (SLOTH BEAR) 29