Earlier this year in my language arts class we read a book called Squirm by Carl Hiaasian. In this novel we learned about endangered animals. So we researched an endangered animal mine was the Amur Leopard with its scientific name Panthera pardus orientalis. We made our books with a local artist Peg Gingnoux. The process of making these books was on the first day we would paint the paper with different colors and designs. From then we would collage and make our animal and their habitat. There is a photo above of this process and the final book. The artistic part of this project took about 7 classes. Then we wrote stories from the animals’ point of view. The process took a while because we had to revise the story multiple times, adding more detail, using figurative language, and checking for run-on sentences and misplaced commas. Now below is my endangered animal story about the Amur Leopard.
My name is the Amur Leopard, also known as Panthera pardus orientalis. Did you know, my name is the Amur Leopard because my habitat is right on the Amur River? I live with the fear of thinking my species could be extinct anytime. The freezing air on the border of Russia and China brushes against my hair at night. Getting my food is not an easy job. Any animal smaller than me is mine. My favorite is the yummy deer that stays away from me at night. All I do is try my best to survive and eat the rodents and animals that come near me. I balance myself on a log, trying to get the best sleep. The caves are the darkest and safest area away from the predators. My heart feels like a frantic bird trying to get out of my chest. Even though we are quiet hunters, they can still get us. My paws are as silent as a mouse. The cave whispered warnings. The deep, dark cave yelled at me. It felt like I had run 10 thousand miles.
My biggest threats are my enemies, who are hunters, and the loss of my habitat. They are trying to expand my habitat, so we don’t go extinct. When I leave my home, I sometimes think I might never come back. It’s really hard for me to defend myself because the hunters are always on my tail. As the sun sets, even just sleeping is terrifying. My species has fewer than 100 left in the wild. I maintain a healthy balance of species in their habitat, especially deer, which are our main prey.
This is how you can help my species! The World Wildlife Fund works with local communities, regional authorities, government, and other non-governmental organizations to help my species. The World Wildlife Fund is trying to increase the population of my prey, which means I will have more food to consume! You can donate even just a penny to The World Wildlife Fund to save my amazing species! Thank you for reading about my species! Donating does a lot, so please help our species! A little bit goes a long way. Have that mindset and donate to The World Wildlife Fund!
The snow was a great thing to start off the new year with! I had a blast play with my friends in the snow twice! The snow last week was really icy, but the snow this week was really fluffy. I was glad that I could have fluffy snow to throw snowballs and make a snowman! I went sledding with my friends on the golf course, which had the best sledding! We also made a lot of fun treats during the snow, like cookies and Rice Krispies! Playing in the snow and sledding were really fun! I hope we will get to see more snow later this month!
