WEBVTT FILE

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(device ringing)

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(notification chiming)

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- Hey, it's Jay.

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When I was a kid, my family
lived on the edge of a city.

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We didn't have to go far from home

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to see traffic and tall buildings,

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but behind our house was a forest.

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And occasionally, we'd get a visit

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from our wilder neighbors, like these

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Sometimes, deer poking
around our yard was annoying.

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They ate our flowers,

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but it was also a reminder

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that we shared our
space with wild animals.

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Someone named Kesiah has a question

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about the animals we share the world with.

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Let's call Kesiah now.

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(device ringing)

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(notification chiming)

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- Hi, Jay.

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- Hi, Kesiah.

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- I have a question.

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Why do animals become endangered?

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- Great question.

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Why do animals become endangered?

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An animal is considered endangered

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when that kind of animal, that species,

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is in trouble.

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When there are zero of a species left,

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that's called extinction.

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An endangered species is a
species in danger of extinction.

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But what makes a species go extinct?

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To answer that question,

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it might help to think about the opposite.

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What keeps a species healthy?

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Now would be a good time to
pause the video and discuss.

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Okay, ready?

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All animals need certain things
to stay alive and healthy,

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things like food,

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protection from danger,

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room to move,

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and a safe place to have babies.

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The place an animal lives
that has the things it needs

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is its habitat.

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Different animals have different habitats

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because they need different things.

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This desert has everything
this lizard needs:

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sunny rocks to warm up on, ants
to eat, sand for burrowing.

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But imagine if this
salmon tried to live here.

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Yikes, way too hot and dry!

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This is a terrible habitat for a salmon.

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Our planet has gone through
lots of changes over the years.

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As the Earth changes naturally,

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sometimes a species can
no longer find a habitat

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that has what it needs.

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Like, imagine a lake slowly dries up.

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The fish that live in the water

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won't be able to live
on dry ground, right?

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If they can't find more
water, they won't survive.

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In the end,

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sometimes a species that
loses their habitat like this

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goes extinct.

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But there's something else
that can make big changes

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to animal habitats:

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humans.

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Let's take a closer look

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at how this happened
for one kind of animal.

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This is a bald eagle.

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Bald eagles live in many
places from Alaska to Mexico.

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They tend to live in
places that have water,

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like rivers or lakes,

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and tall trees, like these.

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Bald eagles eat fish that
live in bodies of water,

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and they build nests in tall trees.

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That's how they protect their eggs.

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This is a bald eagle habitat.

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Many years ago, bald
eagles became endangered.

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Even in places where bald
eagles had tall trees to live in

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and lots of fish to eat,

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they still weren't having
many healthy babies,

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and wildlife experts were confused why.

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What was going on?

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The answer turned out
to be something hidden.

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Years earlier,

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scientists had discovered
an incredible new way

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to kill pests,

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a chemical called DDT.

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People sprayed lots of it on
their farms, lawns, parks,

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and even public pools.

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But all that DDT didn't always
stay where it was sprayed.

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Sometimes, it dripped
into streams and rivers.

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Fish in those rivers soaked up DDT.

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See any possible problems here?

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When bald eagles ate fish loaded with DDT,

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that wasn't good for them.

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It made it hard for them
to have healthy babies.

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Chemicals like DDT aren't the only thing

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that can cause harm like this.

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This sea turtle is swimming
in its habitat, the ocean,

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but look what's happened.

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It got caught in trash.

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If the turtle stays stuck,

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do you think it'll be able
to lead a healthy life

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and have healthy babies?

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Not likely.

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When something gets into nature
that causes harm like this,

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it's called pollution.

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Luckily, in this case, divers
cut the sea turtle free.

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Still, pollution is a problem

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in many habitats around the world,

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but we can help solve this problem.

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In 1972, the US passed a law,

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making it illegal to spray
lots of DDT outdoors.

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As people stopped spraying DDT

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where it could enter bald eagle habitats,

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they started having more healthy babies.

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Like many kinds of pollution,

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leftover DDT in natural spaces

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may continue to be a challenge,

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but limiting the flow of
new DDT into animal habitats

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was an important first step.

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People also took steps

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to protect bald eagle
habitats in other ways,

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like check this out.

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Some places, people have built these,

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tall platforms perfect for nesting.

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These help bald eagles
find what they need,

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even in areas where trees
have become more scarce.

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Because of changes like these,

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there are now way more bald
eagles than there once were.

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So in summary, every animal has a habitat,

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the place they live that
has the things they need

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to stay alive and healthy.

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When habitats change naturally over time

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or when humans harm or
pollute animal habitats,

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the species that live there

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might not have what they need anymore.

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Sometimes, they become endangered.

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Still, there's lots we can do

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to protect animals and their habitats

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and help keep species from going extinct.

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We can keep our streets free of trash

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so it doesn't end up
where it can harm animals

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like sea turtles

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and we can help endangered animals

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near us find what they need,

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like by building
platforms for eagle nests.

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Small changes to how we live

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can keep habitats healthy for us

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and the incredible animals
we share the world with.

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That's all for this week's question.

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Thanks for asking, Kesiah.

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We're going to be
answering one more question

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about endangered animals.

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We picked out three
questions sent in to us

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that we're thinking about answering.

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When this video's done playing,

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you'll get to vote on one.

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You can choose from:

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Why does it matter if
an animal's endangered?

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How long does it take
an endangered species

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to become extinct?

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Or how do we protect endangered animals?

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So submit your vote when the video's over.

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We want to hear from all of you watching.

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There are mysteries all around us.

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Stay curious and see you next week.