HELPING THE MUSEUM SPREAD ITS MESSAGE

Teachers or others interested in making their own branch of the Museums of Endangered Ocean Life, get in touch. We can help you find ways of helping kids create their own works of art and science that get posted in the museum, worldwide!

More importantly, we can help kids find ways to truly make a difference, no matter where they live. There is always something to do to make the world a better place, a healthier place, and more fun too. Fred can help put smiles on faces - faces of happier kids with new purpose in a new year!

Become a FRIEND OF FRED and help spread the word about those who help endangered species. Invite Fred to your school. He will bring lots of good information and connect you with others.

More information at whalemail@waypoint.com

Facing Future Explained

EXTINCT means gone, pau, from all places. Example, the O'o is extinct from its former forests in Hawaii. They no longer exist.

EXTIRPATEDmeans gone from a given area. Example, Grizzly Bears were extirpated from California about 1925. They still exist.

ENDANGERED means that a species is nearing extinction unless actions are taken immediately to save them. It is usually a legal term associated with the Endangered Species Act, but because this is a political tool, it does not always reflect accurate science. Example: the Hawaiian Monk Seal is endangered and will likely become extinct.

THREATENED means that a species is likely to near extinction and become endangered unless actions are taken to protect it and its habitat. Example: Bald Eagles were threatened but have been removed from this list due to habitat protection and reductions in use of chemicals such as DDT.

SPECIES OF CONCERN: Many states have lists that include species not covered under federal protection as endangered or threatened. These may be species extirpated from the state, but present in greater numbers in neighboring areas.

Unfortunately, no reasonable approach has been worked out to list endangered habitats, the primary living space for all life forms. To many scientists, the entire Arctic is now endangered. Imagine, as Richard Ellis says, "If Australia were suddenly to disappear, don't you think we would wake up and do something?" Well, we are losing an area about the size and importance of Australia as the Arctic disappears, transforming due to climate change and taking with it the Polar Bears, Bowhead Whales, and Peoples dependent on that vast ecosystem.

Friday, December 4, 2009

ALL WHALES GREAT AND VERY SMALL


Sue Coccia is a Washington State Artist
with a special love of whales.
Her "Blue Whale"
helps us see into the ocean world of baleen whales.

It is one of many images by Sue you will see here in the Museum of Endangered.
Unfortunately, many whales remain officially listed as endangered.
These include the largest animal to have ever walked, swam, or otherwise
graced the planet with its presence, the Blue Whale.
I saw my first blue whale off the north end of Marrowstone Island.
As it shot a firehose stream of water nearly 30 feet into the sky,
I watched its back, back, back, back, back.....go on for
what seemed forever. They are immense and inspiring animals.

This image is being posted today
to announce a new website aimed at helping one of the smallest
and probably the most endangered of all whales, the Vaquita.
The Vaquita is a porpoise that might reach five feet in length,
compared to the Blue Whale's 80 and even 100 feet.
They live on the edge of extinction
at the head of the Sea of Cortez.

Visit
http://www.vivavaquita.org/

to learn more.

Visit
http://www.acsonline.org/
(American Cetacean Society to learn even more about whales and how to help)

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