Page 7 - Kind News, March/Apr 2022

HUMANE HERO
AMAZING WORLD

Save

the

This drawing shows
a food web. What do you
Michael Starkey has been obsessed with think would happen if the
shrub in this drawing
snakes his whole life. “What’s not to love,” became endangered?
he says, “Snakes are scaly and cold-blooded; What would happen if this
they have fangs and rattles!” Michael is a snake was extinct?
wildlife biologist at the organization “Save
The Snakes.” He works to protect snakes
around the world. Why protect snakes, you
this page, from top: nynkevanholten/bigstock photo; (illustration) pogorelovaolga/bigstock photo; tgryg /bigstock photo;
might ask? “Snakes help us by eating harmful
pests and maintaining balance in the food
web, and their fascinating biology deserves
our respect and appreciation.”
Many snakes are endangered, and some
species are close to extinction. You can help
by learning more about snakes and ways to
protect them at savethesnakes.org or read Science Words to Know
Michael’s book, Snakes for Kids: A Junior
Scientist’s Guide to Venom, Scales, and Life Biology - the study of living things or the characteristics of a
in the Wild. living thing (For example: The biology of a snake is the way a
Email us a letter or a poem telling us what snake looks and behaves.)
you think about snakes, and the first 20 kids Biologist - someone who studies biology
will get a sticker from Save The Snakes! Send Organism - a living thing
your letter or poem, along with your name, Endangered - when an organism is at risk of extinction
age, and address to KindNews@RedRover.org. Extinction - the dying-out of an organism so there are none left

CRITTER CLUES
riddle rat: digital zoo/photodisc/getty images. 2 When I hunt for food and when I 6 I run very fast—up to
5 When I hunt, I hunt like a cat
1 I have amazing hearing. I can hear
and pounce on my prey.
quiet sounds from 40 yards away!
30 miles per hour!
sleep, I stay solitary, or by myself,
instead of in a pack.
7 Since I am nocturnal, I am
most active at nighttime.
3 I have a keen sense of smell—I can
even smell food that is underground!
8 I am often playful with others
4 My babies are called “pups” or “kits.”
of my kind, and sometimes
even with different animals!
What am I?

Mar/Apr 2022 | 7
RIDDLE ANSWER: A GROUNDHOG.