Puma

These cougars do not live in packs but individually have their territory rarely share. TheCougars northeastern mountainous areas occupy more territory than the others. Somehave no territory and pumas roam freely.

To reproduce this male puma invades the territory of a female and tries to cross to do so.They breed at any time of year so the young have no exact time to be born. Measurereaches 2.40 meters including its tail and weigh 115 kilograms maximum.

To mark their territory on the eastern cougar uses his different odors (urine) and scratches on the trunks of trees and earth as warning signs that this is their territory.

Depending on the altitude of where you live a puma is nocturnal, or active during the day,when a puma living in the treeline (higher in the mountains) hunt their prey day and are active during the day but when they live below or lower altitude are nocturnal.

Keep the rest of the meal to eat later and they have an advantage by doing this: at low temperatures their food is better preserved.
The Eastern Puma or Mountain is in danger of extinction due to overhunting and lack ofhabitat.
By: Torres Rosales Janeth Andrea

Leopard

It belongs to the group of big cats, the leopard hunts at night and resting by day over the vegetation, branches or other cave animals.

For the leopard trees are her house resting there, hunt and keep their food fromscavengers and in some cases if they can not eat fruit hunt.

The leopard is very lonely especially in times of reproduction that takes about three months, the female can have up to six puppies but more often are 2 or 3.
It is sometimes confused with the cheetah by the color of its coat, but in reality are verydifferent because the leopard is more aggressive than the cheetah as it has to protecttheir food and himself from the Lions and Hyenas.

The leopard is very fast, runs at a speed of 72 Km / Hr and except the cat, is stocked withlots of food. It has 12 subspecies and one more that is already extinct (Zanzibar Leopard).
Deforestation, hunting and pollution are destroying the population of the species.
By: Torres Rosales Janeth Andrea

Turtle

We have a lot of fame in our group of reptiles that are on the coast of Mexico. One of the most famous reptiles we have in our coast are sea turtles, as they reach our shores each year 10 of the 11 different varieties of sea turtles.
Sea turtles are found in all oceans in tropical and temperate waters. While on earth are slow, the water is very fast, agile and are excellent swimmers apart.

Sea turtles can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour in the water. During the breeding season is very commonly seen on beaches and sandy shores in large groups that are burying their eggs that are incubated with the ambient temperature. After 45 to 65 days the fry (baby turtles) hatch and come to the surface of the sand.
 

They go very quickly to the sea. Very few baby turtles survive (depending on the situation they face). Your destination can be any of these situations: they eat other fish, the capture or survive.

The turtles may be carnivorous, herbivorous or omnivorous. Sea turtles are endangered by over-hunting or capture.
Sea Turtles are Endangered in America are:
The Green Turtle - usually lays its eggs in North America and Florida.
The Tortoise Shell Leather – This turtle lives in the northeastern coast of South America. This turtle instead of having a visible shell is a shell of a small layer of skin.
Loggerhead turtle and loggerhead sea turtle – This turtle lives in the eastern coast of Canada.
Snapper Turtle - This turtle also lives in Canada and is the largest of living in fresh water and rivers.
By: Dorantes Pimentel Anayansi Abigail

Leatherback Turtle

The leatherback turtle, channel, or leatherback leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all living turtles, reaching a length of 2 meters and weighing over 600 kilos. A male individual weighed 916 kilos, but the turtles of this size are rare. Is found in all tropical and subtropical seas and is the only species within the family Dermochelyidae.

This species has many unique features that distinguish largely on other sea turtles. Your metabolic rate is about 3 times higher than expected in a reptile of its size, which, together with its counter-current heat exchangers and large size, can maintain a body temperature of up to 18 ° C above the surrounding water. Some scientists even believe that the leatherback has some capacity to generate their own body heat, as a mammal, although losreptiles are ectotherms or "cold blood", so they depend on external temperatures to regulate their own. However, we also can consider this species as gigantoterma.

physical characteristics

The leatherback is the largest of all sea current and very different from the rest, both in appearance and in their physiology. It has a smooth shell and dark, with ridges that run through from head to tail. This shell is not formed by bony scutes, but is made of soft connective tissue (hence the name turtle leather is given at times). In the shell is not observed and the sharp edge bib side, just a gentle curve that gives a semi-cylindrical appearance to the animal. This way, vaguely reminiscent of the musical instrument, is what has given the name of leatherback turtles.

The front flippers of leatherbacks are much longer than in all other turtles, both raw and size proportionally. In adult individuals, the distance from tip to tip can be up to 270 centimeters.

The peak has developed a hook to help the leatherback turtle and jellyfish bite your throat is inward pointing barbs that help you swallow them.

Distribution and habitat

Leatherbacks live in almost all oceans of the world, venturing farther north or south than other sea turtles because of its peculiar system of regulating body temperature.

In the summer, leatherbacks are more common in the area from the Gulf of Maine Floridan north to south. Have been observed also in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Ocean Leatherback turtles Pacíficoson more often seen in the Hawaiian Islands, which are known to congregate in the north of the archipelago. When approaching elinvierno heading south, the Caribbean Sea and the coastal areas of South America and Africa, where the turtles are from Europe. In the latter, thanks to the Gulf Stream, they venture further north during the summer months, and have come to be seen sporadically off the coast of Norway and the Baltic Sea. The populations of East Asia migrate to the coasts of Indonesia and Australia and the Indian Ocean. Thanks to recapture, it is known that this species of turtle performs transoceanic migrations, such individuals tagged in Gabon, Africa, have been recaptured in south-western Atlantic Ocean.

The turtles prefer deep waters are grouped together more often when they arrive to the ground. In the summer are often seen basking near the surface, particularly in the estuary of Long Island, where they have been injured at times collide with the propellers of ships.

Threats and Conservation

In the U.S., the leatherback turtle has been classified as endangered throughout its distribution since 1970. You will be also included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This makes it illegal to injure or kill the turtles.

The adult leatherback turtles are large animals, not particularly vulnerable to predators.The eggs and hatchlings, however, are the most endangered of all. Birds, dogs and other predators have been seen digging opportunists nests and eating eggs. The young are also vulnerable in the way from the nest to the sea. Once you enter the water they become prey to many new predators and very few survive to adulthood.

Human activity threatens the leatherbacks in many ways. Believing them to be forgotten, the eggs are collected by people enPuerto Rico, the surrounding islands and probably elsewhere. The remodeling of the beaches can disrupt or destroy the particular type of habitat needed turtles nesting leather, and the lights of progress can cause the chicks away from the sea instead of going to him. Human use of beaches can destroy nests and eggs laid or buried too deep for the hatchlings to emerge. Finally, humans can harm nesting females out of curiosity.

While adults are at sea its greatest threat comes from humans altogether. The ingestion of plastics, rubber, tar, motor oil and other synthetic products can kill an adult leatherback or damage seriously. Many have been injured by collisions with boats, especially in shallow water. The equipment associated with commercial fishing, including wires, nets, ropes and cables can entangle and drown adult turtles. Although the "turtle excluder devices" are mandatory for networks often fail when it comes to allowing an animal the size of an adult leatherback turtle escape from them. NOAA estimates that about 640 adult leatherback turtles are killed each year by commercial fishing.

The networks are set deliberately to catch other species of sea turtles in some areas of Puerto Rico. Although not intended for leatherback turtles, some are occasionally caught.This practice is illegal, but is ongoing. In New Guinea, leatherbacks regularly hunted for food.
By: Hernandez Aguayo Nestor Giovanny

Axolotl

The axolotl, or axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is an amphibian with a tail that belongs to the family of the tiger tilapia ambistomátidos or from Mexico.

The axolotl looks like a giant tadpole. Its body is elongated, the head is large with small eyes and no eyelids. They have a large mouth and tiny teeth. Their language is retractable (like frogs). They have 4 toes on front paws and 5 on the rear.

At the height of the neck have three pairs of external lateral gills through which they breathe, drink water leaving the mouth and moving them out through the gills.

 They also have sacs of the lungs, which have not developed as the lungs due to its limited use, so it goes, from time to time, to the surface for air.

They measure between 25 and 30 cm in the adult and expect to live 25 years, under normal conditions.
It is carnivorous, their food can be classified as live food and dry food, among others. But his teeth are so rudimentary usually swallowed whole. When the axolotl to eat something, suddenly opens his mouth and absorbs water along with food or what have you around.
Its name in Nahuatl atl, "water" Xolotl, "monster" means "water monster" and comes from the Aztec god Xolotl, brother of Quetzalcoatl and monstrous because of twin birth. Xolotl is a god who is afraid of death, that does not accept and want to escape from it through his powers of transformation.

A curiosity is that the axolotl has the ability to become sexually mature and reproduce in the larval stage. Some may reach maturity (their skin is darker), but not others, so it is common to find larval salamanders in semi-larval lighter in color. But axolotls have no molt.

Another curious feature of the axolotl is that it has the ability to regenerate itself if it has some member amputee, arm or leg, it grows back. You also agree perfectly transplantation of a limb (legs, etc.) of an axolotl to another, and that member becomes fully functional.
The axolotl is native to Mexico and is critically endangered.
 Its only natural habitat is the lakes near Mexico City and some rivers and caves especially Chignahuapan Xochimilco, in the state of Puebla, where they are now very rare.

The causes of extinction of the axolotl are several. On the one hand suffer predation by alien species such as koi and goldfish were introduced by man, and they devour their spawning. Also in Mexico is usually eaten in broth to strengthen the defenses and Mexican folk medicine used to make syrups for respiratory diseases.
By: Dorantes Pimentel Anayansi Abigail

Jaguar

Threat category: endangered.

In the Mexican Official Standard 059 is listed as endangered (P)In Mexico this species is distributed from tropical forests from southern Mexico to the Rio Grande in the Gulf and in the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Pacific coast to the border with Belize and Guatemala. Usually, the altitude of these areas is 1000 meters above sea level.There are natural areas of protection for this cat, the most important are the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche and Quintana Roo in Sian Ka'an. The jaguar is extinct in the area of ​​Tuxtla and most of southern Mexico as a result of intensive hunting and forest destruction (COATES-ESTRADA & ESTRADA, 1986).

In the 90 were estimated around 350 jaguars in some areas of the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In 1992, estimated from 125 to 180 jaguars in Mexico in an area of ​​4000 km 2 in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, and another 350 in the state of Chiapas. In 2006 it was estimated that in Mexico were between 100 and 150 copies. (According to information from Oscar Moctezuma, director of Naturalia, Committee for the Conservation of Wildlife).In Calakmul was estimated density of a jaguar for every 26 to 32 km2 with a one to one ratio of males and females.

Knowledge about the size of wildlife populations is a key aspect for consideration and handling. Among the technical evidence that could be used with this cat, the collection of fingerprints and the differentiation of individuals based on them is a practical in areas with good conditions for printing steps. A better differentiation and fingerprint analysis is achieved by making plaster casts of them. In the place of work using this technique (380 km2), identified the presence of six copies of adult males, six adult females, five juveniles and an infant bystanders. Based on these data is thus estimated the density of jaguars in the area.
By: Ruiz Eseguia Lucy Irais

Vaquita Marina

The Vaquita Marina, an endangered speciesThe vaquita porpoise endemic to Mexico, is in danger of extinction. It is estimated that no more than 600 individuals of this species die annually from 40 to 80 cows turtles entangled in fishing nets. This Mexican species disappear from the face of the earth if urgent measures are not taken to save it.

The vaquita may be the first cetacean species to extinction due to human activities. This species lives in the Upper Gulf of California one of the most productive marine habitats in the world. The Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of ​​Cortez and the Baja California peninsula that separates the Pacific Ocean, contain a great diversity of flora and fauna and coastal and, in particular, a high percentage of endemic species that are found nowhere else on the planet. And this is the case of the vaquita.

The major cause of mortality of the vaquita is because it is entangled in gill nets used by fishermen to fish for shark, swordfish, northern milkfish and other species. The coastal fishermen are willing to reduce the use of these networks if there is a reordering fishing in the area. This is possible because most of the vaquita's habitat is within the Biosphere Reserve of the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta. The law states that protected natural areas that include marine ecosystems should not be used fishing techniques with serious environmental impacts. Currently, they enter the area of ​​the Reserve Fleet that by law should not do. If the law is applied, coastal fishermen could access other marine resources and stop using most of the gill nets. This would be a first step that must be followed by the promotion of productive alternatives for fishing communities in the region.
By: Cabello Chio Noemi Celeste

Quetzal

This beautiful bird is found in tropical regions of America, originating in the cloud forests of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama, has a
size from 30 to 35 cm long, has a feather
bright or iridescent emerald green, his legs are short and
dark, males are unmistakable for their tail feathers, which can reach up to 90 cm, there are some that up to one meter.
It also has black feathers on the bottom center of the tail. In the head
have a ridge bristling, his beak is yellow and chest and belly are dark
crimson red. The reason for its green plumage is confused with always wet leaves of the trees, more colorful females are more modest, with a shorter tail feathers with darkstained, the head is brown brown with black peak and only has the abdomen red.
Reproductive stage is from February to June and its incubation period is 11-18 days.
This bird feeds on wild fruits as aguacatillos, but also berries, toads, tree frogs, snails, small lizards and insects.
The song of the quetzal Central is a whistle or shriek very characteristic.
The word "quetzal" was originally used only for the Resplendent Quetzal, ResplendentQuetzal, the famous quetzal
long tail of Central America, which is the bird symbol
Republic of Guatemala, but now also names all the species of the genus and EuptilotisPharomachrus.
The six quetzal species existing (and endangered) are:


* Pharomachrus antisianus.
* Pharomachrus auriceps.
* Pharomachrus fulgidus.
* Pharomachrus mocinno.
* Pharomachrus pavoninus.
* Pharomachrus neoxenus.
By: Ruiz Eseguia Lucy Irais

Blue Whale

Another endangered animal: mammal Blue Whale can grow to 30 meters and 190 tonspesasr.
The blue whale can reach 30 meters long and 190 tons, is believed to be the largest animal on Earth's surface. At present, only smaller fish survive about 25 meters.

The blue whale's belly is sometimes grayish or yellowish due to the presence of smallalgae that attach to it. Its top and sides varies from blue to bluish gray. His head is longand thin, occupies one third of the length of the animal. The beards hanging from the upper jaw and is used to filter water crustaceans.

It feeds on krill, small shrimp-like body and some small fish, for it has several hundreds ofhorny plates, made from ballina or baleen, which are called "baleen whale", through whichfiltered seawater, obtaining its food, which is trapped between these beards.

Blue whales spend eight months a year in the cold waters of Antarctic OCEAC, there areabundance of krill, and during the winter months they migrate to warmer waters, where they breed.

It has a very low birthrate. They are ripe for reproduction up to ten years and has only one brood per year.

Today experts estimate that there are only about 1,000 copies, the species has been hunted almost to extinction for their bones, oil and meat. The biggest predator of whales is definitely the man. As with many other species, hunting has taken them nearly to extinction.
By: Cabello Chio Noemi Celeste