Endangered Species [origami].pdf

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Endangered Species Origami

“When the last individual of a race of living things

breathes no more,

another heaven and another earth

must pass before such a one can be again.”

~ William Beebe

Humpback whales in the singing position. Courtesy Dr. Louis M. Herman, NOAA

Earth loses hundreds of species every year, and many of these losses

are the result of human activity. Some of these species may have held

the key to curing cancer, or feeding everyone on the planet, or improv-

ing our lives in ways we can’t even imagine. But we’ll never know,

because they are gone.

Here’s an activity that can help introduce the topic of endangered spe-

cies, particularly whales and sea turtles.

What You Will Need

r 8 1/2 x 11 inches sheets of colored paper (one for each animal)

r Scissors

In 1973, the U.S. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act to

protect species that are in danger of extinction, as well as the ecosys-

tems that supports these species. NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service are responsible for making the Endangered Species Act work.

But they can’t do this job alone. Protecting endangered species needs

everyone’s help, and the irst step is getting people to think about the

problem.

Warning

Be careful with sharp scissors.

What You Will Do

Make origami models of whales and turtles

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P rotect the e arth

How to Make an Origami Sea Turtle

1. Begin by making a square

piece of paper. Fold one

corner of a piece of paper

over to the adjacent side.

10. Fold the point upward to

create a head.

11. Lift the bottom edge to

meet the vertical center

line.

2. Like this. Finish making the

square by cutting off the

small rectangle.

6. Bring the folded edges to

meet the valley fold (the

river). Crease lat.

3. Fold side to side and unfold.

This is the “valley fold” or

“river.”

7. Unfold the top side points.

12. Like this. Press lat and

fold outward as shown.

4. Turn over and fold right and

left points down to form a

“roof.”

8. Like this.

13. Repeat steps 11 and 12

with the other foot.

5. Like this. Then turn over.

9. Fold the top point down as

shown.

14. Turn over. You’ve made a

turtle!

Origami illustrations courtesy Matt McIntosh, NOAA

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How to Make an Origami Blue Whale

1. Begin by making a square

piece of paper. Fold one

corner of a piece of paper

over to the adjacent side.

5. It looks like an ice-cream

cone. Now fold the top

point down, as shown.

9. Like this.

10. Make a short cut through

the end of the fold in the

tail. Fold the edges of the

tail outwards.

2. Like this. Finish making the

square by cutting off the

small rectangle.

6. Fold the right side over to

meet the left side.

3. Put a square of paper on

the table so it looks like a

diamond. Fold side to side

and unfold.

7. Put your inger on the bot-

tom point as you turn the

whale sideways.

11. Like this.

4. Fold the lower left and right

sides to meet the center

crease.

8. Fold the end point up to

make a tail.

12. Draw eyes, ins and any

other patterns you like.

Origami illustrations courtesy Matt McIntosh, NOAA

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P rotect the e arth

Sea Turtle Facts

p Sea turtles have been on the planet

since the early Mesozoic era almost 180

million years ago! They survived the great

dinosaur extinction during the Cretaceous

era, and lourished until recent times.

4 Requiring dredges to use equipment that

protects turtles, and restricting dredge

activities in certain areas where sea

turtles are abundant

4 Requiring plans to reduce the chances

of sea turtles being trapped in coastal

power plants

4 Supporting regulations to control artii-

cial lights near turtle nesting beaches

(artiicial lights can disorient sea turtle

hatchlings)

4 Working with other countries to conserve

sea turtles throughout their range

p There are six species of sea turtles com-

monly found in the United States in the

Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Paciic:

4 Leatherback

4 Loggerhead

4 Kemp’s Ridley

4 Hawksbill

4 Green

4 Olive Ridley

Green Turtle

Hawksbill Turtle

p What’s the problem? Sea turtles are

threatened by:

4 Accidental capture by commercial isheries

4 Loss of habitat and nesting areas due to

coastal development

4 Being hit by ships

4 Overishing of important food items such

as mollusks, and crabs

4 Killing turtles and their eggs for food

p How are sea turtles doing? None of the

ive species found in the Atlantic and Gulf

of Mexico have met recovery plan goals.

The Kemp’s ridley has shown a long-term,

strongly increasing trend in the number of

nesting females (which is the most common

way to measure population status). Sadly,

thousands of dead sea turtles continue to

wash ashore along the U.S Atlantic and Gulf

coastline each year.

p Sea turtles eat a variety of organisms, in-

cluding algae, seagrasses, sponges, crusta-

ceans, jellyish and mollusks.

p NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

are working together to conserve and help

marine turtles recover, along with other

federal agencies, state partners, coastal

communities, private individuals, and other

nations.

p Sea turtles have a unique life history. They

are highly migratory, often swim long

distances, live long lives, take a long time

to reach maturity, and crawl ashore to dig

nests and lay eggs.

p Some things being done to conserve sea

turtles:

4 Requiring certain types of ishing vessels

to use ishing gear that prevents

accidental capture of sea turtles

4 Protecting prime nesting habitat along

key coastal areas

p Leatherback, loggerhead, and Kemp’s ridley

turtles are only found in the U.S. Atlantic

and Gulf of Mexico.

For more about sea turtle biology, status and

the threats that face them: Visit NOAA’s Na-

tional Marine Fisheries Service Web site: http://

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr and the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service Web site: http://northlorida.

fws.gov/SeaTurtles/seaturtleinfo.htm .

p In the Atlantic, Green and hawksbill turtles

are found more commonly south of Virginia.

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Courtesy NOAA

Whale Facts

Courtesy NOAA

p Whales are

the largest

animals that

ever lived on

the Earth. They are even larger than the

dinosaurs of prehistoric times.

Humpback whale breaching

p The biggest whale is the blue whale, which

grows to be about 94 feet (29 m) long

—the height of a 9-story building. These

enormous animals eat about 4 tons of krill

(microscopic loating animals) each day,

obtained by ilter-feeding through baleen.

p NOAA works

to protect and

conserve whales

because all

whales are pro-

tected under the Marine Mammal Protection

Act, and some are also protected under the

Endangered Species Act.

p All whales belong to a group known as

cetaceans (seh TAY shuhnz). There are two

types of whales—toothed (odontocete) and

baleen (mysticete). Baleen is a special ilter

that whales use to sieve tiny food particles

from the water.

p The smallest whale is the dwarf sperm

whale, which as an adult is only 8.5 feet

(2.6 m) long.

p NOAA’s efforts to protect and conserve

whales include legislation, National Marine

Sanctuaries and other marine protected ar-

eas. NOAA also works with the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service on issues concerning whales

and other ceteaceans.

p Adult blue whales have no predators except

man. Almost all species of baleen whales

were exploited by the commercial whaling

industry from the 1700s to the mid-1900s.

Several species of both toothed and baleen

whales were hunted close to extinction.

Most populations have not yet recovered

from intense hunting and still face threats

to their survival from human activities.

p Today, there are 78 species of whales swim-

ming in the oceans around the world; 67

species are toothed and 11 are baleen.

Want to Do More?

• For more information, visit:

http://www.noaa.gov/whales/ and http://

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mam-

mals/ – NOAA’s whale related programs

p Whales are large, intelligent, marine mam-

mals. They breathe air through a blowhole

into lungs, are warm-blooded, and give birth

to their young as opposed to laying eggs.

p Many baleen whales are in danger of be-

ing hit by ships, particularly the critically

endangered Northern right whale.

p Many ceteaceans, especially baleen whales,

migrate over very long distances each year.

They travel, sometimes in groups (pods),

from coldwater feeding grounds to warm-

water breeding grounds. Gray whales make

the longest seasonal migration of any of the

whales—about 12,500 miles each year!

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/ – NOAA’s

National Marine Sanctuaries

p Being tangled in various types of ishing

gear is a serious threat to several species of

cetaceans.

http://mpa.gov/ – NOAA’s marine protected

areas

http://www.fws.gov/ – U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service

http://noaa.gov

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Killer whale shyhopping

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