Introduction

Good morning Climate Kids and welcome to our Carnivores and Climate Change module. 

Today, we are excited to investigate one of my favorite groups of animals – the carnivores. Through this video/presentation, we will explore what makes a carnivore a carnivore, why they are so important to our region and ecosystems here in southern california – and most importantly how they are impacted by climate change and human activity and what you can do to help them. This lesson is apart of the Climate Kids – Carnivores and Climate Change Module and the Thru the Lens Module in collaboration with the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy.

To start it’s important to define “What are carnivores?” Here we have a couple of great examples that you may or may not have seen before – a bobcat on the left, a wiley coyote on the upper right, and one of the largest of the carnivores across our region on the bottom – the mountain lion – sometimes referred to as a puma, a cougar and even a panther.  

Now what do all of these amazing animals have in common – what makes them carnivores? Any guesses.