How many species of animals are there?

The answer to this question is - nobody knows!

Scientists who study animal life are called zoologosts. They have recorded 20,000 species of fish, 6,000 species of reptiles, 9,000 birds, 1,000 amphibians, and 15,000 species of mammals. And, although there are a million named species of insects, scientists estimate that there could be another million waiting to be discovered and named!

The tragedy is that man is wiping out species so fast that children today will never have the opportunity of seeing many of those that are still living as they read this book. By the time they are grown up, many more species will be extinct.

The destruction of the Amazon rain forests, for instance, which is taking place now, will wipe out thousands of species of animal life that man has not yet even identified.