This activity pack contains:
• Tiger fact file
• Orang utan fact file
• Siberian Wolf fact file
• Tiger Shark fact file
• Make an endangered animal
• Design your own Clan tattoo
• Design a campaign poster
• Write a short story
• Endangered animals crossword (solutions below)
Across: 2. Gray wolf, 3. Dodo, 4. Falcon, 6. Tiger, 9. Rhinoceros, 11. Durian, 13. Orang utan, 15. Carnivore, 16. Extinct
Down: 1. Komodo Dragon, 5. Sumatra, 7. Herbivore, 8. Eighteen, 10. Camouflage, 12. Penan, 14. Ecosystem
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TIGER WARS and the tiger
In Tiger Wars, Saker is on the run from the only life he knows. From India to the Himalayas and
China he’s pursued by hunting dogs, mercenaries, spies, thieves and assassins in his quest to set
free the most majestic, lethal and valuable of all the predators – the tiger. With him, on every
dangerous step of the adventure, is Sinter, a girl who has her own reasons for running away.
TIGER FACT FILE
The largest wild cat in the world, the tiger is a
powerful predator who generally hunts alone and at
night. Tigers have been known to eat up to 27kg
of meat in one night. Some tigers live where it gets
very cold – in India and parts of Southeast Asia. The
whole species is endangered throughout its range.
Tigers have been overhunted for their fur as well as for
other body parts that many people use in traditional
medicines. Tigers’ habitat has also dwindled seriously
as humans have developed land for uses such as
farming and logging.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Panthera tigris
FAMILY NAME: Felidae
ENDANGERED STATUS: ENDANGERED
CLASSIFICATION: Mammal
LIFE SPAN: 20 years
DIET: Carnivore
HABITAT: Grassland, Forest
WEIGHT: 720 lbs
SPEED: 40 mph
LENGTH: 6 feet
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Endangered animals crossword
Across
2. Canis lupus is the scientific name for this animal
3. This type of bird is now extinct
4. Saker’s tattoo is a drawing of this bird of prey
6. Panthera tigris is the scientific name for this animal
9. An endangered species hunted for their horns
11. An orang utan’s favourite (and smelly) type of fruit
13. Pongo pygmaeus is the scientific name for this animal
15. Both the tiger and the gray wolf are examples of this type
of eater
16. When a species disappears completely it becomes this
Down
1. The largest living species of lizard
5. O rang utans are only found in the rainforests of two
islands in South East Asia. One is Borneo, can you
name the other?
7. An animal who eats mainly plant material
8. The number of toes that a gray wolf has
10. A tiger’s stripes are useful for this
12. A tribe living in Borneo, who
feature in Ghosts of the Forest
14. A group of plants and animals that live,
feed, reproduce and interact in the
same environment
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Write a short story
Here is one of the first paragraphs of Shark Seas. Write your own story about what happens next…
“There was no land in sight in any direction, just the endless dark blue, occasionally flashing
a tangerine in the last hints of sunrise. Soon it would be blazing hot, and she would have to
cover every inch of herself or she would burn like a burger on a griddle.
“LINE!” the shout went up from her colleagues. Sinter threw back her hood, and saw the
most spectacular sight of her life…”
Use the back of this sheet and extra sheets if you need to.
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Excerpt from Shark Seas © Steve Backshall
Design a
campaign poster
Alongside the amazing adventures
of Saker and Sinter in the Falcon
Chronicles, Steve fills the stories
with fascinating information about
animals and the natural world and
the ways in which humans are
conspiring to damage it.
Steve says: “Human beings have
a tremendous power to change the
way the world works and I know
that YOU have the power to make a
difference. One single individual can
make mountains of change.”
What would you choose to campaign
about? Design a campaign poster…
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Design your own Clan tattoo
In Tiger Wars, we read about where Saker, one of the main characters, gets his name from:
‘He reached down to his ankle and pulled up his left trouser leg. There on his
calf was a bite mark, no blood but still white, and inflicted by blunt teeth.
Below it, above his ankle, was a simple monochrome tattoo, the head of
a hook-beaked bird of prey, the huge eye dark and intimidating. A saker
falcon. Yes! Saker was his name.’
All of Saker’s fellow members of the Clan have their own tattoos.
Why not choose your own Clan name and design your Clan tattoo?
Excerpt from Tiger Wars © Steve Backshall
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Make an endangered animal
The tiger, the orang utan and the Siberian or gray wolf are just some of the world’s
endangered animals. Others include the gorilla, leopard, elephant and rhino.
Try making a model of an endangered animal using waste and recycled materials.
You could use:
• Toilet rolls
• Egg cartons
• Paper plates
• Cardboard boxes
• Plastic bottles
• Mesh food wrapping
• Aluminium foil
• Drink cans
• Card and paper scraps
• Fabric and material scraps
• Plastic bottle caps
Check out www.animalsarenotrubbish.co.uk for some ideas and inspiration!
www.stevebackshall.com
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WILDS OF THE WOLF and the Siberian wolf
In Wilds of the Wolf, Saker and Sinter escape by the skin of their teeth when their plan to
sabotage a billionaire businessman plundering ‘black gold’ (natural oil and gas) and hunting
wolves in the remote Yamal peninsula in North West Siberia goes disastrously wrong. But
they escape one kind of peril only to find themselves in an even more terrifying situation.
Separated by blizzards and avalanches, lost in a breathtakingly beautiful but deadly frozen
Arctic wilderness, suffering from frostbite and hunger, listening to the wolves howl and the
packs draw closer, it seems that this time they cannot possibly live to tell their tale . . .
Read more from Steve Backshall overleaf . . .
SIBERIAN WOLF FACT FILE
The Siberian or gray wolf is the most common wolf in the world,
and is found in North America, Europe, Asia, and a small portion
of Africa. It is also the largest member of the dog family. Wolves
live in groups called packs, and their communication skills are very
important to the pack’s survival. Wolves work together to hunt,
raise their young, and protect their territory. They also use scents
produced by their bodies to communicate. One source of scent is
urine, which they use to mark territory and to tell other wolves in
their own pack where they are. The gray wolf plays a vital role in
the health and proper functioning of ecosystems.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Canis lupus
The gray wolf was once one of the world’s most widely distributed
mammals, but the population has been reduced by about two
thirds. Competition with humans for livestock and game species,
concerns over the danger posed by wolves to people, and habitat
fragmentation pose a continued threat to the species. Despite these
threats, because of the gray wolf’s relatively widespread range
and stable population, it is classified as “least concern” by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
HABITAT: Forest, Mountain, Grassland, Arctic
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FAMILY NAME: Canidae
ENDANGERED STATUS: LEAST CONCERN
CLASSIFICATION: Mammal
LIFE SPAN: 6-8 years
DIET: Carnivore
WEIGHT: 60-135 lbs
SPEED: 38 mph
LENGTH: 4.5-6 feet
GHOSTS OF THE FOREST and the orang utan
In Ghosts of the Forest, Saker and Sinter have split up. Sinter is nursing in the shanties of Ho Chi
Minh city. Saker is with the peace-loving Penan helping them protect the orang utans and save
their own forest homes, as unscrupulous loggers wreak destruction. But they are being watched.
And hunted. Deep in the jungle, they’re reunited on their most daredevil and audacious mission
yet, to save the endangered orang utans before they become true ghosts of the forest.
Read more from Steve Backshall overleaf…
orang utan FACT FILE
An adult male orang utan can weigh up to 220
pounds (100 kilograms) and females weigh about
half what males do. Orang utans spend most of
their time up in the trees. Equipped with very long,
powerful arms and hook-shaped hands and feet, they
can climb and swing from tree to tree with ease. On
the ground, orang utans walk on all fours. Orang utans
find their food, such as fruit, nuts and bark in the trees
where they live. Orang utans find the water they need
for drinking up in the trees – in hollows, on leaves, or
even on their own fur after a rain. Trees are essential
to every aspect of the orang utans’ world. The cutting
down of trees – deforestation – has landed this
species on the endangered species list.
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SCIENTIFIC NAME: Pongo pygmaeus
FAMILY NAME: Hominidae
ENDANGERED STATUS: ENDANGERED
CLASSIFICATION: Mammal
LIFE SPAN: 30-40 years
DIET: Omnivore
HABITAT: Forest
WEIGHT: 73-180 lbs
SPEED: 2.7 mph
LENGTH: 4-5ft
Shark Seas and The Tiger Shark
Tiger Sharks are known and named for the stripes they’re born with. But in fact, these lines fade
as the shark matures and can disappear altogether. They are also infamous man-eaters. This is
because they are known to be consummate scavengers, eating anything they can find with their
sharp, serrated teeth, including: sea turtles, snakes, birds, squids and even sea pollution. This has
earned Tiger Sharks the nickname “wastebasket of the sea.” They also have an excellent sense
of sight and smell, aiding in their scavenging.
Tiger Shark Fact File
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Galeocerdo Cuvier
FAMILY NAME: Requiem Shark
ENDANGERED STATUS: Near threatened
CLASSIFICATION: Fish
LIFE SPAN: Up to 50 years
DIET: Carnivore
HABITAT: Tropical and sub-tropical waters
WEIGHT: 850-1,400 Ibs
SPEED: 2.4 mph
LENGTH: 10-14 ft
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