Poaching

Hello. I’m a secret, but not a fun one. I am the reason a forest can suddenly feel too quiet. I am there when an animal is taken away from its family when it’s not supposed to be. It’s not fair, and it makes the animal world sad. My name is Poaching.

I am the name for when people hunt or catch animals when it is against the rules. A long, long, long time ago, even back in the year 1066 in England, kings said that only they could hunt in certain forests. When other people broke the rules and did it anyway, that was me, Poaching. Today, I am much more hurtful. I happen when people try to take elephants for their big white tusks, or rhinos for their horns, or tigers for their beautiful striped fur. There are rules to keep these animals safe. When I am around, it is very dangerous for the animals and can make whole animal families disappear forever.

But I do not have to be so powerful. All around the world, there are wonderful animal heroes. People like park rangers and scientists work very hard to stop me. They create big, safe parks where animals can live and play freely. A very long time ago, in 1872, they made a special park called Yellowstone just for the animals. By learning about me, you learn how to be an animal helper, too. You can help protect all the amazing animals so they can stay with their families, happy and safe in their wild homes.