Endangered Animals Bookmarks

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Encouraging children to learn about and care for endangered species is an important step toward creating a better future for our planet. One fun and creative way to spark their interest is by making these endangered animals bookmarks.

Not only can this activity foster their love for reading, but it can also educate them on the importance of protecting endangered animals. In this blog post, we will guide you through a step-by-step process of making endangered animals bookmarks with your kids.

Get ready for a fun, educational, and crafty adventure!

Facts about Endangered Animals:

Before jumping in, here are some interesting facts about the animals you and your kids will make for your endangered animals bookmarks. You can share all the facts with your child or only one set of facts, depending on which bookmark they choose to make.

10 Facts about Pandas:

1. Female pandas give birth to one or two cubs every couple of years.
2. A baby panda is born blind and opens its eyes when it’s about six weeks old. A panda cub will stay with its mothers for 18 months and then set out on its own.
3. Giant pandas grow to be 2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder and they are 4 to 6 feet long. A panda weighs between 150 and 280 pounds.
4. Panda bears are actually called “giant pandas,” black and white bears native to the bamboo forests of central China’s mountain range (like in the movie Kung Fu Panda).
5. Pandas are omnivores, which means they can eat fish and small animals.
6. Pandas can swim and climb trees.
7. Pandas do not hibernate like other bears do. When the weather grows colder, giant pandas will travel down the mountain to a warmer climate until it gets warmer in spring.
8. The main thing a panda bear eats is bamboo, which makes up about 99 percent of its diet.
9. A panda spends up to 12 hours each day eating bamboo, as much as 30 pounds each day.
10. The panda’s unique color helps it to camouflage itself in the snowy habitat it is native to.

10 Facts about Red Pandas:

1. There are fewer than 10,000 red pandas in the wild. They are truly endangered animals, which is why they are one of the endangered animal bookmarks. Their biggest threats are hunting (also called poaching) and loss of habitat.
2. Red pandas are active mostly at night. They search for food around sunset and sunrise each day.
3. Red pandas are about the size of a large housecat. They are a lot like cats in several ways.
4. Like other bears, red pandas hibernate when the weather grows really cold. They wrap their long tail around themselves and fall into a deep sleep.
5. A red panda can live up to about 15 years.
6. The red color of a red panda’s coat helps it to blend in with the forest habitat where it lives.
7. The diet of red panda is up to 98% bamboo, just like giant pandas. They can eat as much as 20,000 leaves of bamboo in a single day.
8. You might be surprised to learn the red panda is not related to a giant panda. They are more closely related to raccoons, wolverines, and otters.
9. Other names that red pandas have been called include red bear-cat, red cat-bear, and firefox.
10. A red panda will sleep up to 17 hours a day, just like a koala.

10 Facts about Koalas:

1. Koalas are found in nature in the eucalyptus forests of Australia.
2. Koalas are protected by law because as much as 80% of the habitat where koalas live has been lost to urbanization, drought, and fire. This is why it’s one of the endangered animals bookmarks.
3. The koala measures about two to three feet tall. Southern koalas weigh about 15 – 29 pounds, whereas northern koalas weigh 9 – 19 pounds. They have strong feet with claws, which is ideal for living in tree branches.
4. The name “koala” comes from an Aboriginal language and means “no water.” This is because koalas do not often drink water. Their main source of water (hydration) comes through eucalyptus leaves, which is their main source of food.
5. You have probably called koalas a koala bear, because they look kind of like a little gray bear. In fact, koalas are marsupials, which is in the same family as wombats and kangaroos.
6. A baby koala is called a joey. When a koala joey is born, it is as small as a peanut. Even though it cannot yet hear or see, it makes its way into its mother’s pouch and stays there for about six months.
7. Koalas live about 10 to 12 years of age out in the wild, but females often live longer than males, up to 18 years old.
8. A koala likes to sleep a lot! It spends about 18 hours a day sleeping in trees. They sleep so much because eucalyptus leaves are low in nutrients and so it takes a lot of time digesting the food.
9. Koalas have unique fingerprints, just like humans do.
10. The main diet of koalas is eucalyptus leaves. They will eat a couple of pounds a day, but they are also careful to eat the leaves that have the most liquid and nutrients, which are usually at the top of the eucalyptus trees.

Okay, let’s jump into the craft of making endangered animals bookmarks!

List of Supplies for Endangered Animals Bookmarks:

• Colored craft papers
• Pencil – to trace the template
• A pair of scissors
• Craft glue
• Sharpies
• Endangered Animals Bookmarks Template (opens in new window)

Instructions for Endangered Animals Bookmarks:

Step 1:

Select colored craft paper for the koala, panda, and red panda patterns. You’ll want to use orange, pink, and cream (or white) craft paper for the red panda. Use white, black (or dark grey), and pink craft paper for the panda. Then, pick out grey, black, and pink craft paper for the koala pattern.

Let’s start our endangered animals bookmarks project with the panda bookmark. Trace the panda patterns on the selected craft papers from the provided template. Use scissors to cut them out nicely.

Step 2:

The panda template includes outer and inner ear patterns, eye bases, eye patch patterns, and blush. Trace and cut out the head base from white paper. Glue the inner ear cutouts onto the outer ear cutouts and wait for it to dry. Then glue them on the two straight sides of the head base. Use a Sharpie to fill the eye base cutouts. Glue the eye patterns onto the eye patch cutouts.

Step 3:

Next, you’ll need to glue the eye patch patterns to the head base, below the ears.

Step 4:

Use a Sharpie to draw the nose and mouth. Attach the blush cutouts onto the cheeks of the head.

Step 5:

Take a square sheet that’s roughly 6in x 6in (15cm x 15cm).

Step 6:

Fold the sheet in half, diagonally, so that it’s a triangle.

Step 7:

Fold the right half of the bottom closed side upwards and join the right corner with the top corner. Similarly, fold up the left side and join the left corner with the top corner.

Step 8:

Unfold the left and right folds.

Step 9:

Fold the top corner of the top layer in half and join it with the bottom side. This will form a pocket.

Step 10:

Fold up the right side along the previous crease.

Step 11:

Fold in the top-open half of the right side inside the pocket.

Step 12:

Similarly, fold up the left side and fold the top-open half of it inside the pocket.

Step 13:

Attach the papercraft panda head pattern on the triangle side of the origami corner bookmark. Allow the glue to dry before using the panda corner bookmark.

Follow the same steps to create your other endangered animals bookmarks, using the template and following the image below of the completed endangered animals bookmarks.

Additional Activities to Add to this Endangered Animals Bookmarks Project

Here is a whole slew of ideas, resources, and printables about animals.

If you’re interested in doing more crafts centered on endangered animals, you could try this fun koala craft with your kids.

Or, set up an around-the-world day with your homeschool class!

Did you know that sea turtles are also endangered animals? This sea turtle plushie craft is a fun project to introduce your child to yet another animal considered endangered due to loss of habitat and hunting.

The Homeschool Scientist has information and a printable on sea turtles.

List of Books on Endangered Animals

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