The March Sadness educational bracket tournament of animals impacted by climate change and other environmental threats is halfway through the first round — and Monday saw some very close races.
Sea Horse triumphed over number one seed Sea Lion, while Sea Otter, seeded perhaps too low, beat Walrus handily. Whale swam all over Salmon, and in the closest race of the day, Penguin pulled ahead of Manatee by one vote thanks to key coverage on Facebook. The Fins and Flippers division will send the winners into the Sweet Sixteen, each with eyes on the prize of the championship: a ClimateProgress deep-dive feature article exploring the story behind the environmental and climate impacts it faces.
Read the rules here.
Round 4 features the eight animals in the Hooves and Horns division. Elephant stares down the tiny Horned Lizard, Rhino confronts its aquatic distant cousin Narwhal, the little-known Saola butts horns with Moose, and you’ll have to choose between Mountain Goat and Reindeer. There are three ways to vote: in the embedded tweets below, on Twitter with the hashtag #CPMarchSadness, or on our Facebook page.
Elephant vs. Horned Lizard
Asian elephants, which are already endangered, are in grave danger of dying of heat stroke in Myanmar if temperatures raise even a few degrees higher than average, according to a 2013 study. Both Asian and African elephants are also threatened by water shortages brought on by drought, and hot, dry weather is particularly risky for elephants, since they rely on splashing water on themselves to help regulate their temperature.
A spiky-bodied reptile with a round, flat body, Texas horned lizards naturally range from Louisiana to Arkansas. When threatened, this feisty creature can puff up its spiny body and even eject blood from its eyes. However, these defenses will do little to counter the dangers of climate change and habitat degradation. Climate change is making droughts across the Southwest hotter and longer, which can make food scarce for the lizard. One of its primary food sources is the harvester ant, which go dormant during extended droughts. Reptiles are also cold blooded, making them sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation. Temperatures outside of their normal range can cause physical stress, and may impact reproductive rates.
Which one will advance to the Sweet Sixteen for a chance at an in-depth feature story?
Vote for your favorite! RETWEET for Elephant or FAVE for Horned Lizard #CPMarchSadness http://t.co/FN8STzR6F6 pic.twitter.com/Bzl1twC1Gi
— Climate Progress (@climateprogress) March 24, 2015
Rhino vs. Narwhal
The northern white rhino is the world’s rarest large mammal, with only a handful still alive in captivity. Poaching, wildlife degradation, development and climate change have made for a harsh demise to this majestic relative of the southern white rhinos, which with about 20,000 still alive makes them the only non-endangered rhino. According to a recent report from the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London, the Earth has lost half its vertebrate species since 1970, with the worst declines in developing, low-income nations. About seven percent of the overall decline could be attributed to climate change, with the rest due to exploitation, poaching, habitat alteration, degradation, or loss.
Narwhals are best-known for their single tusks, but some scientists fear the Arctic whales face a singular threat from climate change. Their diet is based around a few species of fish, and climate change could shrink their narrow habitat. Warmer waters could bring in not only more commercial fishermen to compete for food, but more killer whales, which hunt narwhals.
Vote below!
Who will you pick? RETWEET for Rhino or FAVE for Narwhal #CPMarchSadness http://t.co/FN8STzR6F6 pic.twitter.com/Nq6Iiq01L7
— Climate Progress (@climateprogress) March 24, 2015
Moose vs. Saola
When a moose prepares for the winter, one thing it counts on from the cold is that many of the fleas, ticks, and other blood-sucking parasites preying on its skin will succumb to the cold. As northern winters get milder and shorter, the concern for the largest member of the deer family is that more and more of the fleas will survive into the spring. This means that more moose suffer fates like some of those in Alaska and New England, weighed down by up to 100,000 ticks, sucking their lifeblood away.
The Saola is a three-foot-tall antelope-like mammal that has been known to the Western world for a shorter period than MTV has. This straight-horned, facially spotted, strangely glanded cousin to cattle and goats was first discovered in 1992 in the hard-to-reach forests that zip together Vietnam and Laos. An endemic species, it relies on the very specific climate of the tropical mountainous region, where it has thrived for thousands of years. Deforestation and climate change are an encroaching threat to this species of which none exist in captivity and only a few remain in the wild.Now that you know what a saola is, will you vote for it or the moose?
There can only be one. RETWEET for Saola or FAVE for Moose #CPMarchSadness http://t.co/FN8STzR6F6 pic.twitter.com/7eForYersH
— Climate Progress (@climateprogress) March 24, 2015
Mountain Goat vs. Reindeer
Alpine chamois mountain goats are shrinking due to climate change, according to a study published last year. Researchers found that young Alpine chamois are significantly smaller than their peers were 30 years ago, weighing about 25 percent less than goats in the 1980s did. According to the study, this change in size is strongly linked to climate change, but it’s unclear yet how the shrinkage will affect the goats: it could help them better withstand hotter summers, but it may may also mean the goats aren’t as prepared for harsh Alpine winters.
It’s only logical that Santa’s helpers would not take well to global warming. Reindeer populations across the world are plummeting, in part due to a gradual loss of their snowy habitat, and by extension their food sources. What’s more, loss of reindeer populations could actually exacerbate climate change — researchers in Finland have found that by grazing, reindeer can help prevent solar heat absorption, which can make warming worse.
Which horned mammal will go to the next round?
Who will win? RETWEET for Mountain Goat or FAVE for Reindeer #CPMarchSadness http://t.co/FN8STzR6F6 pic.twitter.com/loYXqPIAV0
— Climate Progress (@climateprogress) March 24, 2015
***TOURNAMENT UPDATES:Day 1–3/19: Paws and Claws pt. 1 — Polar Bear vs. Wombat; Tasmanian Devil vs. Pangolin; (voting closed) WINNERS: Polar Bear and Pangolin.Day 2–3/20: Paws and Claws pt. 2 — Lemur vs. Koala; Panda vs. Wolverine (voting closed) WINNERS: Koala and Wolverine.Day 3–3/23: Fins and Flippers — Sea Lion vs. Sea Horse; Penguin vs. Manatee; Walrus vs. Sea Otter; Whale vs. Salmon (voting closed) WINNERS: Sea Horse, Sea Otter, Whale, and Penguin.Day 4–3/24: Horns and Hooves — Elephant vs. Horned Lizard; Rhino vs. Narwhal; Saola vs. Moose; Mountain Goat vs. Reindeer (voting closed) WINNERS: Elephant, Narwhal, Moose, Mountain Goat.Day 5–3/25: Shells and Wings — Sea Turtle vs. Pelican; Sage Grouse vs. Peregrine Falcon; Oyster vs. Butterfly; Lobster vs. Red Knot (voting NOW OPEN)Day 6–3/26: TBDDay 7–3/27: TBDDay 8–3/30: TBDDay 9–3/31: TBDDay 10–4/1: TBDDay 11–4/2: TBDDay 12–4/3: THE FINAL FOUR: TBD Day 13–4/6: THE CHAMPIONSHIP: TBD