Tag archives for conservation
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The spotted beauties were pacing back and forth in anticipation of our arrival, actually their yummy lunch, just as we pulled into the Cheetah Conservation Fund. The ravenous cheetahs welcomed us as they devoured their horse and donkey meat.
Their meat is surrounding a big bone to slow them down. In the wild they have to eat extremely fast, if they don’t vultures or jackals will take their kill away from them. The only problem is, if they eat super fast they might choke. The six in front of us had very good manners.
Aubrey with people from the Cheetah Conservation Fund
We spent the day wandering the 60,000 hectare property and shared dinner with all of the remarkable staff and volunteers. CCF is an amazing project leading the world in the conservation of cheetahs. The project is home to 46 orphaned cheetahs that will never be able to go back to the wild. They have done extensive research on the cheetah and taken injured cheetahs found on the land of local farmers and released them back into the wild after healing injuries or illnesses.
On our first evening we had the honor of meeting the person behind the entire project, Dr. Laurie Marker. She is such a humble and extraordinary lady. We could have talked for hours. She is known as one of the world’s leading cheetah experts. She came to Namibia in 1977 and found her love for these gorgeous creatures. She learned that they were in serious danger. Instead of waiting for someone else to help she decided to BE that someone. In 1990 she founded what is now the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
She has inspired people all over the world to start projects to save the cheetah and other endangered species. One day I hope to do something as incredible for this world of ours as she has.
A running cheetah
Dr. Marker and CCF have done some other things to help make our world a better place. They are now taking an encroaching acacia bush and turning it into a slow burning organic wood logs. This is creating jobs and restoring the cheetah’s habitat.
Our next day we watched three cheetah siblings devour their lunch and were told this incredible story:
There once was a mama to be cheetah wandering around a farmer’s property. He didn’t want the cheetah to harm his livestock so he shot the mama. He then realized the cheetah was pregnant. Luckily the babies were developed enough that when he cut her stomach open he saved three of the four cheetah cubs. The farmer tried to care for them but didn’t really know how so he took them to CCF and they have been there ever since.
At sunset we took a beautiful drive through the CCF game park and the Waterberg Plateau. Kudu, eland, warthogs, springbuck and Oryx were roaming around us as the sky turned orange and purple.
Our final morning Dr. Marker wanted me to hear her babies purr so she let me go in and watch an incredible cheetah run. It was epic! They were so close that I could feel the wind as they ran by. I had the once in a lifetime chance to sit down with them and hear them purr… my heart stopped!
I learned so much the last few days and have a new found love for these creatures. Leaving was SO hard I could have stayed forever, but I know that one day I will return and be reunited with my spotted friends and my new role model, Dr. Marker.
A young cheetah
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Although lions are known as the kings of the jungle, their numbers have been dwindling due to a loss of habitat and prey. Humans have been encroaching on the lion’s home turf by cutting down trees to create farmland and other developments. This causes the lions to lose both their home and favorite foods.
Ask your parents if you can donate to National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative!
Any amount will do, but five dollars can buy a lion guardian to protect the big cats.
Photograph by Beverly Joubert
Did you know that 71 percent of the Earth is covered by either seas or oceans and they help feed us, regulate our climate, and generate most of the oxygen that we breathe? This Friday, June 8, you can join aquariums and zoos around the world to celebrate World Oceans Day.
If you can’t visit your local aquarium or zoo in person, you can still participate by visiting the World Oceans Day website and pledge your commitment to keeping the oceans clean and healthy for the future.
Learn ten things you can do to save the ocean.
How will you celebrate World Oceans Day?
Phenomenal Friday Fact
Time for another Phenomenal Friday Fact!
Over the past 25 years, 8,763,377 volunteers have cleaned up
291,514 miles of coastal land and waterways in 152 countries and locations
while participating in the Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup. Although the event is only one day each year, it is still the world’s largest volunteer effort for ocean health.
Volunteers have collected a whopping 166,144,420 total debris
items worldwide since the first event 25 years ago. This includes 52,907,756
cigarettes, 7,825,319 plastic bags, 1,248,892 balloons, and much more.
Not all items recovered are so ordinary! Some of the weirdest
finds include a whole toilet, a wedding dress, a family of crawdads living in a
purse, and even a grand piano!
Even though the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup has passed, you can still help! Grab a parent and host a Clean Seas Party.
Have you ever participated in a park or creek cleanup?
Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of The Green Belt Movement, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, died on September 25, 2011 at the age of 71. She started the Green Belt Movement to encourage people worldwide to protect the environment. Maathai believed, “The planting of trees is the planting of ideas. By starting with the simple act of planting a tree, we give hope to ourselves and to future generations.”
Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, more than 40 million trees have been planted across Africa, improving the land and the lives of the people who live there. Their goal for the future is to plant one billion trees worldwide. Maathai was the first African woman and the first environmentalist to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai is well-known for her achievements in environmental activism and human rights advocacy, specifically in women’s civil rights.
Will you help them reach their goal by planting a tree?
Phenomenal Friday Fact
Photograph by sgf-pictures, NG Kids My Shot
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar designated six new national natural landmarks last week. One of the new landmarks, Lake Billy Chinook in Oregon, is pictured above. In a statement, Salazar said “By designating these remarkable sites in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington as national natural landmarks, we help establish and pass down to future generations those awe-inspiring places that make America truly beautiful.”
Learn more about the new national natural landmarks on National Geographic News.
See pictures of national parks on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Buddy Mays, Alamy
Have you ever thought about how much water you and your family use each day? Grab your mom or dad and find out your water footprint using the National Geographic water calculator! You can also compare your family’s water usage to other people in your area, and pledge to reduce your water footprint.
Check out the water footprint calculator on National Geographic.
Learn more about conserving resources on National Geographic Kids.
Sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico are some of the animals impacted by the BP oil spill. Sea turtles, such as leatherback sea turtles, lay their eggs on the beach. When the baby turtles hatch, they make their way to the water. Oil from the spill could injure the baby turtles, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is managing a program to relocate turtle eggs from 700 nests on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
The eggs will be hatched at a facility in Florida, and the baby turtles will be released into the ocean from beaches on the Atlantic seashore. Some turtles have already been moved, such as the ones seen above. This picture was taken as the baby turtles were released at Florida’s Cape Canaveral seashore.
Read about the baby turtles and see more pictures on National Geographic News.
Watch a video of the baby turtles being released on National Geographic Kids.
Play Great Turtle Race on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph courtesy Kim Shiflett, NASA
The average bathtub can hold 40-50 gallons of water. That’s a LOT of water going down the drain when you’re ready to dry off. Want a quick way to save water on Earth Day (April 22)? Skip the bath!
If your parents insist that you wash off mud from soccer practice, think about taking a shower instead of hopping in the tub. Conventional showers use 7-10 gallons per minute, and water-saving shower heads use 2-4 gallons per minute. So if you jump in for a 5-minute shower, you’ll use about 10 to 35 gallons during a 5-minute shower.
Get more green tips from National Geographic Kids.
Play Creek Cleanup and see how much trash you can scoop out of the water.
Photograph by Beverly Joubert
Africa’s lion population is quickly getting smaller and smaller, and action must be taken immediately to save these majestic animals.To raise awareness, the National Geographic Society launched the Big Cats Initiative this month. This project will support programs and education that will help the big cats of the world, with a special focus on lions.
Dereck and Beverly Joubert are one of the big forces behind the project. They are National Geographic Explorers-in Residence who have spent over 25 years studying and working to conserve Africa’s animals, especially the big cats. They want people to understand that when it comes to saving the big cats like lions and leopards, the time to act is now. “”We no longer have the luxury of time when it comes to big cats,” Dereck says.
Learn more about the Big Cats Initiative on National Geographic.
Get the facts on lions on National Geographic Kids.
Play Crittercam: African Adventure on National Geographic Kids.
Saving energy is important. But what is energy, exactly? How is it measured? And how do we use it in our daily lives? Get answers to these questions and much more on the Energy Kids website. Play games, answer riddles, and get ideas for science fair projects while you brush up on your energy knowledge.
Get tips on how to save power on National Geographic Kids.
Learn how we can get energy from cows! Read Cow Power.
