adventure

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 41

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 41

We’re staying in western Africa today to meet a brightly colored lizard! Be careful where you step though, these little reptiles like to live among the leaves of the rainforest floor! Let’s be quiet and see if we can find…

MEET THE AFRICAN FIRE SKINK

Range/Habitat: West-Central Africa/ rainforests

Diet: Insectivore: insects, spiders

Length: 9-14”

Conservation Status: common

Fun Facts:

African Fire Skinks are also called the fire-sided skink.
They have red and black bands on their body and blue and black bands on their tails.
African fire skinks live in the leaf litter of the rainforest floor.
They burrow underground.
African fire skinks can shed their tails.
They can live for 15-20 years.

These skinks are so colorful. Everyone thinks lizards are green or brown, but they can come in a huge variety of colors. Do you have a favorite lizard?

Categories: adventure, africa, Animals, Children, education, Environment, lizards, nature, rainforests, reptiles, science, wildlife | Tags: animals, children, education, environment, kids, lizards, nature, reptiles, science, wildlife | Leave a comment

MAMMAL MONDAY # 41

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY # 41

We’ve off to Western Africa to meet a rare and special species! These mammals look like a smaller version of a large and in charge animal, named the hippo! That’s right folks we’re off to the marshes to meet…

MEET THE PYGMY HIPPO!

Range/Habitat: West Africa/ marshes, ponds

Diet: Herbivore: grasses, shrubs, ferns

Length/Weight: 4 ½-5 ft/ 540-600 lbs

Conservation Status: vulnerable

Fun Facts:

Pygmy hippos are about 1/5 the size of the Nile Hippo.
They are different than their cousins though. They spend most of their time on land.
They only have one pair of incisors, compared to the two that large hippos have.
Pygmy hippos are mostly nocturnal (active at night).
They are solitary (spend most of their time alone).
Pygmy hippos have always thought to be rare.
They are relatively shy.
Pygmy hippos ooze pink fluid to protect their skin.

These round and plump relatives of the common hippo sure are cute. We wonder if we could fit one in our bathtub. Probably not… oh well.

Categories: adventure, africa, Animals, Children, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: animals, children, education, environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | 2 Comments

We Meet Sheep!

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Working Sheep!

We recently went to a Chastain Park to visit a herd of sheep and goats! What were these goat and sheep doing in our local park? Well, they were there to eat and eat and eat! The herd of sheep is part of a program sponsored by Trees Atlanta to help clear local parks and areas of overgrowth and invasive plants. Chastain Park in particular had a problem with kudzu! That’s where the herd of 100 sheep and goats get to work! They spent several weeks eating the around 2 acres of kudzu, pretty easy to do when you’re a sheep that can eat up to 150 square feet of kudzu a day!

Here’s a map of the area where the sheep “worked” 🙂

The herd was hired from EWE-niversally Green! That’s right folks there are companies where you can hire sheep to eat your plants! Cool, huh?

The sheep and goats have move to A. D. Williams Park to chomp away more invasive plants! Yum! Check out the Trees Atlanta website for when and where you can visit the sheep herd again!

Check out our photos from our breakfast with sheep!