With its white fluffy tail and adorable eyes, the arctic fox truly is a captivating and cute animal. But it’s much more than its pretty face, it’s an animal of incredible importance to its niche and the role it plays in its ecosystem. It serves as a crucial predator, hunting and controlling the population of the lemmings and other small rodents. 

If the arctic foxes were removed from the ecosystem, it would have disastrous consequences for the balance of the ecosystem. The lemmings, voles, birds and fish are one of the arctic foxes main prey that they hunt. Without the arctic fox, the population of these small animals would skyrocket and overpopulate because they’re some of the main animals that they hunt. This would eventually lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem and could have a domino effect on the entire food chain. How? Because if these animals begin to overpopulate, the competition for food and other resources would also increase which could ultimately lead to their extinction.

Furthermore, the population of the lemmings and the arctic fox are highly interdependent. If the population of one goes up, so does the other, and vice versa. This balance is crucial for the survival of both species and the overall health of the ecosystem. 

Moreover, take into consideration that one of the key herbivores in the arctic tundra are the lemmings. They play a major role both for the flow of energy from plants to avian and mammalian predators and the dynamics of the vertebrate food web.

It’s apparent that the arctic fox isn’t all about its cute face and tiny size. It's a big part of our ecosystem and is vital for the balance of the arctic ecosystem. So, without a second doubt, vote for the arctic fox.

Bearcats, Heroes of the Forest

Bearcats are essential to the wellbeing of South Asian biomes and jungle forests, their unique ways of interacting with and providing for their environments are crucial to the health of their homes, in places like Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam. In this piece of exemplary writing, you will learn the ins and outs of this animal, and its amazing interactions within its niche. 

Bearcats eat vegetation as their main source of food and prefer the strangler fig over other fruits. This helps, surprisingly enough, build their very habitat. When the fig seeds that the bearcat eats goes through its digestive system, the acid removes the hard outer shell of the seed. The bearcat is only one of two species with the digestive enzymes able to soften the shell, which makes the bearcat a keystone species in its forest. After the seed has been defecated, the seed can grow into a tree to provide homes for the animals in its environment. Strangler figs can not grow without this process and without the bearcat, the animals around it would not have the trees to hide in, the trunks to raise young in, the cover of its canopies. Without the bearcat, animals in its environment would be without a home.

The bearcat also produces the seeds that feed other animals in Southeast Asia like the Red Panda and Proboscis monkey. Without the nutrients that bearcats provide many animals that live in the forests would die or become endangered. Without the bearcat's awesome ability to make figs, a meal essential to animals like the vampire parrot, which is called a 'figovourous' - (an animal that only eats figs.)

Along with nurturing the forests, bearcats help keep the population balanced. Bearcats eat small mammals like rodents and invertebrates which is just a fancy word for animals without a backbone or bony skeleton. If the bearcat went extinct there would be an overgrowth of rodents and bugs in the forests. They would destroy animals and other plant life and throw off the balance in the ecosystem. But luckily the bearcat is keeping the ecosystem safe, for now.

In conclusion, Bearcats are the most important animal in their niche. Bearcats provide homes and food through the seeds, and balance the ecosystem of the forest.

Dear March Animal Madness Voters, 

Textured scales, gentle souls, the Indian Pangolin needs your votes.

The Indian Pangolin is an important animal in its ecosystem because it saves forests. The Indian Pangolin’s main food sources are ants and termites, and with their help, trees can prosper and create an environment in which all animals can live.

Without the Indian Pangolin, lots of drastic changes would happen. You instantly would see the increase in bugs and insects. Imagine how that would be. Insects and bugs everywhere. Termites would feed on trees weakening their trunk and causing the tree to topple over. This would affect trees and plants negatively by killing most of its population. 

Imagine what would happen to predators like the tiger! They would starve since the Indian pangolin isn’t there anymore acting as its food source. This would destroy the ecosystem. 

Along with their taste for insects, Indian Pangolins love to dig burrows with their long sharp claws. These burrows act as a haven for these creatures but also help the environment. When the Indian Pangolin digs into the dirt it helps the soil get water and the nutrients it needs. In the beginning, as we said before, it helps save forests. 

As amazing as these creatures are, their life only hangs by a thread. By voting for the Indian Pangolin it helps bring awareness that these creatures are the most trafficked mammal around the world to stop their near extinction.   

 In conclusion, we would love to make a comeback so we want everyone to talk to Ms.Alf and Mr. Riemann about how much you love the Indian pangolin to help us win the competition. 

Sincerely, 

The Indian Pangolin Team

You thought you saw the last of me? No! I have been resurrected as a zombie mosquito! 

I am clearly the most important animal in my niche because I play many roles in all the ecosystems! Annoying as I may be, I provide food for many organisms in my ecosystem. Our population skyrocketed when humans introduced us all over the world. Many small critters eat us like lizards, birds, spiders and other insects! 

I also help decompose dead animals by collecting their blood so it doesn’t go to waste. Collecting blood from a carcass is an easy meal for me as I also help it degrade back into nitrogen for the cycle of life to continue. My babies are filter feeders clearing out microorganisms and organic debris in the water as larvae. 

I spread viruses to keep the population of organisms in control. Things like Encephalitis and West Nile fever kill many humans but also kill animal populations too! I make sure no animals overpopulate. 

Bees and butterflies aren’t the only pollinators. I am also a very important pollinator too. I help pollinate your crops and without us, many plant species around the world will fall because our species are the only pollinators in the area. In fact, blood is not our only primary food source, it’s actually nectar and sap. I only drink blood for protein to feed my children, is that so wrong. 

Now before you go and slap your next mosquito, consider how great the mosquito is at adapting to everything you humans throw at it. 

GO VOTE FOR IT