Endangered Species We Need to Help Sustain

There are a lot of threatened and endangered species in West Virginia. They are endangered because of pollution, toxic waste, and sometimes because they are hunted to extinction. Their environment has changed because of man and the search for earning a living. Below are listed just a few of the animals that are endangered now:

Gray Bat
Indiana Bat
Virginia Big-Eared Bat
Bald Eagle
Eastern Puma
Cheat Mountain Salamander
Falt-Spired Three-Toothed Snail
James Spiny mussel
Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel

Here are a few descriptions of some of the animals whose numbers are increasing:

The Bald Eagle is the USA national symbol. It used to be endangered but now it's increasing its numbers, but still vulnerable.

The Virginia big-eared bats ~ used to be endangered in 1979. They are now increasing slowly. There used to be about 1,300 and now there are 13,000. They continue to increase daily.

The pink mucket is endangered mainly because humans are destroying their homes. The pink mucket is a mollusk. It is about 4 inches around. They are found in West Virginia and other states. There are also several organizations that are trying to save the pink muckets.

The Virginia northern flying Squirrel is endangered because of predators such as hawks, owls, foxes, raccoons, and bobcats. Humans have destroyed their habitats by logging trees which causes loss of their homes. Without trees, they don't have a source for food and soon die.

The state of West Virginia has a special center where endangered birds go to be protected from their enemies and to be helped to regain their health. The name of the center is The Three Rivers Avian Center and it's just like an animal shelter for these birds.

The center also has a special program where they bring the different birds to schools to encourage students to help save endangered birds and other species of animals. http://www.tracwv.org/ It's a very exciting program because the students can see the birds up close. Students realize how beautiful they are and learn about the importance of saving them.  

We would hope if you ever came to West Virginia to please keep our animals safe so they will not become endangered or extinct. We love our native animals and wish they will live forever for future generations!

Return to sustaining wildlife

Susan, Kayla, Jessica, and Sania

editing Can