Poaching

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

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/poaching

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 is the primary definition?The illegal hunting, capturing, or harvesting of wild animals and plants
2. What is the historical antecedents?Often a response to restricted access to resources and class-based hunting privileges
3. Why do people poach animals?Some poachers do it to get money from selling parts like ivory or rhino horn. Others may need food and take animals because they have no other options.
4. How does poaching hurt the environment?When animals are taken, it can lower the number of that species and make the whole ecosystem unbalanced. It can even lead to some animals disappearing forever.

Transnational Organized Crime: Criminal activity that spans national borders, often involving sophisticated networks and high profits.
Trophic Cascade: Indirect ecological effects that are caused by the addition or removal of a top predator from an ecosystem.
Genetic Bottlenecking: A sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events or human activities, leading to reduced genetic diversity.