In the News: Wild Animals and You

Rahm's Readers Teen Summer Challenge - Newsworthy Animal Challenges

There are an estimated 15,000 primates kept as pets in the United States. You can read stories of monkeys that were super cute for years until one day they behav

e completely unpredictable. Is a monkey's behavior really unpredictable?
How does a monkey's behavior change throughout its life span? Investigate using the following sources:

Read:

•  Alton woman whose pet monkey bit boy is charged

Discover:

• Should chimps' have human rights?, opens a new window (video)
• Tips on Preventing Exotic Animal Attack, opens a new windows (Video)
• Primates Don’t Make Good Pets, opens a new window (Text LPZoo)
• Monkeys as Pets, opens a new window (Blog post)

Create: Write your own  news report about owning a wild animal as a pet. Gather all the facts you need to make an accurate report about the risks involved with keeping wild animals as pets. When you're finished with the article, don't forget to collect your  badge for the 1st News Literacy Challenge. Just bring the article to your library. If you haven't signed up yet, you can register at Teen Summer Challenge: Make Your Imprint.

Explore more on this topic at the library including this title by Peter Laufer about the smuggling of exotic animals:

Forbidden Creatures

News Literacy Summer Learning Challenges 2014 are made possible by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation through the Chicago Public Library Foundation.