Endangered & Extinct Species · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Endangered and Extinct Species

Science · Animals of the World · ages 9-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Hunters kill elephants for their tusks faster than new calves are born. Which threat to animals is this?

    • Habitat destruction
    • Hunting and poaching
    • Climate change

  2. Ben says the Amur leopard is extinct because only about 100 are left. What should you tell him?

    • He is right, 100 left is the same as gone
    • The Amur leopard is safe and common now
    • It is endangered, not extinct, because some are still alive

  3. Which word means a species is completely gone forever, with none left anywhere?

    • Extinct
    • Endangered
    • Least concern

  4. Extinct means a species still has a few members left in the wild.

    Circle one:   True   False

  5. A city bulldozes a forest to build new houses, leaving the animals there with nowhere to live. Which cause of endangerment is this?

    • Invasive species
    • Habitat destruction
    • Pollution

  6. Rats arrive on ships and start eating the eggs of island birds that have no defense against them. Which cause of endangerment does this story show?

    • Invasive species
    • Hunting and poaching
    • Climate change

  7. Temperatures slowly rise and the rains move away from a forest. The frogs there are adapted to cool, wet weather and start to die off. Which threat is this?

    • Pollution
    • Invasive species
    • Climate change

  8. The ocean is warming, and the coral reefs where clownfish live and hide are dying. What is the most likely result for the clownfish?

    • It could become endangered as its reef home disappears
    • It will go extinct within the year
    • It will be safe, because fish can just swim away

  9. A species listed as 'critically endangered' needs help more urgently than one listed as 'least concern.'

    Circle one:   True   False

  10. Using the bar chart, about how many giant pandas and mountain gorillas are left in the wild altogether?

    Amurleopard100Mountaingorilla1000Giantpanda1900

    Answer: ______________

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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Endangered and Extinct Species W1-mt_5S4byWDX6n-s1

  1. Hunting and poaching · Killing animals for body parts like tusks is hunting and poaching. No land was cleared and the weather did not change.
  2. It is endangered, not extinct, because some are still alive · Extinct means zero members left anywhere. About 100 Amur leopards are still alive, so the species is endangered.
  3. Extinct · Extinct means every last member is gone. Endangered means some are still alive but at risk.
  4. False · Extinct means every member of the species is gone. If a few are left, the species is endangered, not extinct.
  5. Habitat destruction · Clearing land for buildings removes the homes animals need to survive, which is habitat destruction.
  6. Invasive species · The rats are an invasive species: animals moved into a new place by people, eating native animals that have no defense against them.
  7. Climate change · Shifting temperatures and weather patterns are climate change. Nothing was poisoned and no new species moved in.
  8. It could become endangered as its reef home disappears · Losing the reef means losing a home, and losing a home can push a species toward endangered. Endangered means at risk of disappearing, not gone overnight.
  9. True · The Red List runs from 'least concern' up to 'critically endangered' and finally 'extinct.' The closer to extinct, the more urgent the help.
  10. 2900 · About 1,900 giant pandas plus about 1,000 mountain gorillas is about 2,900 animals altogether.
Worksheet · LightMySky