Critically endangered species

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/critically-endangered-species

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What does "Critically Endangered" mean?It means a species is at the very highest risk of disappearing from the wild soon. Scientists use strict rules, like a big drop in numbers or very few left, to give this label.
2. Why is the vaquita so rare?The vaquita lives only in the northern Gulf of California and there may be fewer than 10 left. They get caught accidentally in fishing nets used for another fish called totoaba.

Biodiversity: The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
Anthropogenic: Originating in human activity.
Taxonomic Group: A classification within the system used to categorize living organisms.