Customer Reviews

The Peregrine Falcon - Endangered No More (Wildlife Winners)

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Tells the success story of the second species to be removed from the endangered species list. Written for children this fact filled book is enjoyable for grownups and children alike.

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Thursday, April 22, 2004

Wildlife Winners - The Peregrine Falcon - Endangered No More
By: Mac Priebe

I did my report on the Peregrine Falcon. The peregrine falcon belongs to a group of birds known as "raptors". This falcon is found throughout the United States, Canada, and all over the world. They like to have their homes in high places. They have learned to nest on high buildings in the cities. Peregrines do not build nests. They choose a high place and scrape a spot on the ground for their eggs. They lay three to five eggs. Their food source is pigeons and smaller birds and occasionally bats.

The main thing in this book is the peregrine falcon. The falcon is about 20 inches in length and weighs about 2 pounds. The falcon uses their sharp talons to hold on to their prey when hunting. They reach speeds up to 200 miles per hour. The falcon can fly faster than any bird on Earth. It is believed to be the fastest of any creature in the world. They were officially listed endangered in the year of 1970.

The conflict for the peregrine falcon is humans and poison. In the 1960's, peregrine falcons were disappearing due to over hunting and DDT poisoning. DDT is a chemical sprayed on crops by farmers to keep the insects off of the crops. There was known to be a half a dozen falcons in Canada and a few hundred in the United States.

The law solved the conflict. By the 1970's, Canada and the United States passed laws to protect the endangered species and ban the use of DDT. Since the 1970's, volunteers and scientist have helped to save thousands of the falcons. They are safe now though, because you can't hunt them or use DDT. 30 years later, with its removal from the endangered species list, the peregrine falcon is back.

I recommend this book to everyone. I recommend this book especially to people who like animals. Falcons are very cool animals and if you read this book you can learn a lot about them.

I bought this book for my 8-year old because a speaker will be making a presentation to his 3rd grade class regarding the Peregrine falcons. It's a great story about one of our successes in turning arund this species' path toward extinction. I believe that the reading level is more geared towards 8-10 year olds. My son learned about extinction, harmful chemicals (DDT) and other biological and ecological ideas. Lastly, my son absolutely loves the picture of a Millenium Falcon (Star Wars) contained in the book