Habitat loss and destruction is the largest threat facing Canadian wildlife. Without habitat, there is no wildlife. Animals need wilderness to survive. They need specific habitats where they can find food, water, shelter and a safe place to raise their young. Currently, 455 Canadian species are listed as being "at risk" by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

When wild places are bulldozed to make way for highways, houses and shopping malls, ploughed for farms, logged for lumber, mined for natural resources, polluted with chemicals and garbage, they disappear, along with the plants and animals that live in them.

When species disappear off the face of Earth, they become extinct. And every time a species becomes extinct, it's gone forever. Although extinction is a natural process (trilobites, dinosaurs, sabre-toothed tigers and millions of other plants and animals have all lived on the planet and disappeared naturally, over millions of years), it is now happening far too quickly. New creatures cannot evolve quickly enough to replace old ones.

Oh, Give Me a Home Imagine that you work for a real estate company that specializes in finding suitable habitats for plants and animals to live. Choose five endangered species from Canada's List of Wildlife at Risk (or endangered species from around the world) and research the behaviour and habitat requirements (food, water, shelter, space) for each species. Then write an ad describing the perfect home and community for each species. For example, 'Giant Panda seeks a dense mountain forest in China that offers a plentiful supply of bamboo.' or, 'Wanted for Leatherbacks: Clean, open waters free of fishing gear, with lots of jellyfish-NOT plastic bags. Also need quiet, dark tropical beaches for nesting.' - Earth Book For Kids