Karen Latchana Kenney - Saving the American Alligator

Ideas for Parents
and Teachers Pogo Books let children practice
reading informational text while
introducing them to nonfiction
features such as headings, labels,
sidebars, maps, and diagrams,
as well as a table of contents,
glossary, and index. Carefully leveled text with
a strong photo match offers
early fluent readers the support
they need to succeed. Before Reading Walk through the book and
point out the various nonfiction
features. Ask the student what
purpose each feature serves. Look at the glossary together.
Read and discuss the words. Read the Book Have the child read the book
independently.

Invite him or her to list questions
that arise from reading. After Reading Discuss the childs questions.
Talk about how he or she might
find answers to those questions. Prompt the child to think more.
Ask: American alligators were
once on the endangered list.
Do you know any other animals
on this list? What can you do
to help? Pogo Books are published by Jump! 5357 Penn Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55419 www.jumplibrary.com Copyright 2019 Jump! International copyright reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Kenney, Karen Latchana, author. Title: Saving the American alligator / by Karen Latchana Kenney.

Description: Pogo books edition. Minneapolis, MN : Jump!, Inc., [2019] Series: Great animal comebacks | Audience: Age 710. Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018022644 (print) LCCN 2018025543 (ebook) ISBN 9781641282772 (ebook) ISBN 9781641282765 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: American alligatorConservation Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC QL666.C925 (ebook) | LCC QL666.

C925 K48 2019 (print) | DDC 597.98/4dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018022644 Editor: Jenna Trnka Designer: Anna Peterson Photo Credits: Svetlana Foote/Shutterstock, cover; Eastmanphoto/Dreamstime, 1; Eugene Kalenkovich/ Shutterstock, 3; tswinner/iStock, 4; Images Etc Ltd/ Getty, 5; ClassicStock/Alamy, 67; State Library & Archives of Florida, 89, 10, 1213; FLPA/Mark Newman/Age Fotostock, 11; FLPA/Alamy, 1415; All Canada Photos/Alamy, 16; Arto Hakola/Alamy, 17; passion4nature/Getty, 1819; brians101/iStock, 2021 (foreground); THEPALMER/iStock, 2021 (background); Matthijs Kuijpers/Dreamstime, 23. Printed in the United States of America at Corporate Graphics in North Mankato, Minnesota.

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER HUNTING AN
ANCIENT REPTILE Scales cover this giant reptile . It is almost
entirely hidden underwater. Can you see it?
It is an American alligator. .
But this wasnt always the case.
These . alligator skin Alligators have been on Earth
for a long time. alligator skin Alligators have been on Earth
for a long time.

How long?
Around eight million years!
They survived Earths changing
. And changing ocean
levels. What has been their
biggest threat? Humans. Native Americans hunted
them first. They ate the meat.
They used the skins, too. DID YOU KNOW? Alligators havent
changed much over
time.

Rough scales
cover their bodies.
They can grow to be
feet (4.6 meters) long.

In the 1800s, this reptiles
was high.
But people kept hunting
them. Settlers hunted them
for their meat. Skins were
used to make shoes and
bags. And people moved
into their . DID YOU KNOW? Many alligators were killed
during the American Civil War
(1861 1865).

Why? Soldiers
wore boots made of their
skins. Horse saddles were
made from the skins, too.

CHAPTER SAVING THE
ALLIGATOR By 1960, it was clear
alligators were in trouble.
left few
in the wild. No laws were
in place to protect them. They were on the brink of
extinction. Something had
to be done.

Some states
limited hunting seasons.
But populations still did
not grow.

State workers these
. Why? To track and
study them. Hunting them was made
illegal across the country
in 1962. They were listed
as an
in 1967. But still
killed them.

Why? To sell
the skins for high prices. DID YOU KNOW? The 1967 law led to
another. The Endangered
Species Act of 1973.
It gives states money.
The money helps states
save endangered animals.

alligator farm In 1979, the alligator was put
on the CITES list. This list is
part of a law. It says people
can sell alligator skins.
But there are strict rules.
The skins have to be from
alligators that lived on farms
and ranches.

This means
poachers could not sell their
skins. Fewer alligators were
killed. Their numbers rose.

CHAPTER ALLIGATORS
IN THE WILD In 1987, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service took them off the endangered
list. Now you can see them in the marshes
and rivers of the South.

They
in the sun for warmth.