Sand Cats

The Sand Cat is a very sly animal. This animal is unique because of its way of getting food. Where it lives and how it looks and acts is what makes it special.

This species is a carnivourous . So the nocturnal cats hunt for food eating girbils and rodents. Its excellent hearing can find the quietest scratching of small rodents from a far distance like a similar cat the house cat. They can live far from water sources by taking moisture from their prey .There are four species of these cats but the most studied and seen is the Sand cat.

Living in this part of the lands helps the Sand cats because of the ability of camoflauge getting away from predators. But camoflauge doesn't work all the time. The most current predators are not really predators at all they are people who are destroying the cats enviroment . The residents are telling the goverment about the dissapearance of their chickens. The Sand Cats have been proved to be stealing chickens, North of Lake Chad but have not been proved anywhere else. The most common thing is getting ran over by moving vehicles.

Sand cats are poor climbers and jumpers, but are great diggers. The sand cat is the only cat in Arabia that digs its own burrow, in which it lives all year. A small amount of these cats live in the Sahara Desert and the deserts surrounding South Asia. In the enviroment which the sand cat lives in it is known as Felis Margrita, which is the scientific name.

Sand cats usually freeze when bothered by people and have a habit of closing their eyes against lights at night. The sand cat is a lighter yellow or gray-colored feline. Dark lines are on the legs and cover half of their tail. Their claws are dull and their prints are often visible in the tracks.Unlike most cats, the Sand cat has little furs on the pads of its feet. This is so that it can run in the sand without sinking into it. This cat only lives to be about 13 years old and the average weight is 6 to 8 pounds. The full length of the cat is 20 inches and the tail alone is 6 inches. Certainly you can see that the Sand Cat is a very sly mammal. This animal is important because we need to save the animals from extinction. People need to be more careful of their actions. If you one of these animals leave it alone so it can reproduce more.

- Linda, 12, California

Animal Rights!

There are many endangered animals in the world. Reasons for endangerment include; poaching which is illegal hunting. The elephants for example are poached for their ivory. Deforestation is another reason - animals lose their natural habitat, and lack abundance of prey.

There are many endangered or extinct animals.The great white shark is endangered due to poaching. People kill them to make food in Japan. Then there are whales which are killed for there blubber. What the poachers do to kill the whale is shoot it with a special harpoon that inflates them so they don't sink. It's so sad hearing about what sick and twisted things people do to animals just because they are so selfish. Animals are God's creatures too and don't deserve what things people do to them.

Some people don't care that when they drop trash on the the ground some poor little animal might be suffering for it.So the next time you think about littering think again.

-Dallas, 11, Wyoming

If you have a pet that you love, then you should know that there are some animals, just like the one(s) that you love, that are being used to test some of your favorite beauty or hair care products. Some animals are having shampoo dropped in their eyes or they are made to swallow it. Have you ever accidentaly swallowed or gotten shampoo in your eyes? It hurts! What happens if it's toxic? Or if it makes you go blind? If the animal dies or goes blind, these companies just think " Oh, well." And move on to the next animal. If you think this is stupid and I'm just a person that likes to complain, think about this. What if it was YOUR pet or, if you don't have a pet, what if it was you or someone you love. If the animals do live through having to swallow shampoo or having it dropped in their eyes, they put them in gas chambers filled with carbon monoxide, and it kills them! Then they move on to the next helpless, little animal. Maybe one day, these companies will realize that people are against this, and they might stop using animals to test their products and start using something else. Maybe you could be of help to save these poor, innocent animals' lives.

- Anonymous

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Have you ever thought about becoming a vegetarian, but when you think of it you see a red haired hippie with dreadlocks? Well clear that image out of your head because being vegetarian is becoming more and more popular with teenage and pre-teen girls!

Have you ever thought of where the meat comes from, the factory farms. It's a very sad and horrible thing but it's true, they come from places where there is barely any room for them to move. But here's another question you might be facing - how am I going to get protein? There are lots of other ways to get protein besides meat: Beans and Rice together are a great combination, nuts and sunflower seeds are great too! And who doesn't like smoothies! You can make homemade smoothies that you can add protein powder to, you can get it at your local grocery store! Also, if you just cant imagine giving up hot dogs and burgers, there are substitutes. That's right - FAKE MEAT! They have lunch meat, chicken, hot dogs and burgers. There is so much more than seaweed for those vegetarians! And for the fast food if you are in a rush, more and more places are offering salads, and Burger King even has a veggie burger!

So the question is, Are you ready to save hundreds of animals lives, just by changing the way you eat? I think so. I think we all can! Because we are girls and we can change the world!

- Alexia, 12, Washington

This isn't a fluffy and pink article about animals, but a serious one. I read an article in a British paper and it was about a turtle massacre in Mexico. These heartless murderers killed hudreds of turtles who were coming onto the beach to lay their eggs. This disgusted me, because beside the article was quite a graphic picture of these poor creatures that had been slaughtered for their meat. Turles can live for so long, so why should they have their life cut short by 50 years by some poacher who needs a bit of extra cash? Turtles are such beautiful creatures that are so elegant. They are rapidly going to be extinct if we let these people keep on doing this. I am against all killing of animals, as I think everything deserves a right to life - even that fly that won't just leave you alone. Please have a thought for those poor turtles who just wanted to lay their eggs and carry on their family.

- Amiee 13 England