PANDAMANIA!
Happy World Panda Day! Our friend Petunia Panda is sharing some great panda facts for you and we’ll have a great video for you to watch on Youtube and Instagram!
See how well a panda dances on Instagram and YouTube!
conservation
PANDAMANIA!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, endangered species, environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife
1 Comment
CRAZY BIRD!
CRAZY BIRD!!
We’re meeting a bird that is a folivore today! These ancient birds are crazy looking, but they sure are cool! Let’s meet the hoatzin!
Hoatzin Fun Facts:
- Hoatzin birds live in South America in swamps, marshes and mangroves.
- They are folivores and eats leaves and flowers.
- Hoatzin can grow up to 26″ long and weigh around 1 3/4 lbs.
- They are listed as least concern by the IUCN.
- They are the last member of an extant group of birds from 64 million years ago.
- Hoatzin have large crests of feathers on top of their heads.
- Hoatzin have large crops to help them digest the leaves they consume. The crops are so big they take away room for flight muscles.
- They are not strong fliers.
- These vocal birds use a variety of calls to communicate with each other, including warning calls for predators.
- Hoatzin live in small colonies.
- Hoatzin chicks have claws on the end of two of their digits on their wings. Chicks use these to help them climb out of water they may go into to avoid predators.
- They are excellent swimmers.
Hoatzin are amazing birds. These tropical birds definitely look like dinosaurs to us! We’ll keep our distance though, no one wants to get too close to a bird’s who is called the stinkbird! Hold your trunk Ellie!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, birds, children, conservation, education, environment, nature, science, wildlife
1 Comment
SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!
SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK
Hello students! Welcome back to vocabulary class! It has been a long break for me, but I am back and ready to learn some cool science words! Are you?
Today’s word is: Folivore: is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Some examples of folivores include hoatzin, pandas, koalas, giraffes, sloths, caterpillars and iguanas.
I know Ellie and Edmond and some of the other professors are excited for you to meet some of these leaf eaters this week! Say hi to them for me!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, environment, nature, science, vocabulary, wildlife
1 Comment
We Have the Right Whale
We Have the Right Whale
This week we’re meeting some plankton eaters! And today we’re meeting a whale that winters off the Georgia coast! In fact they are our state marine mammal! Woohoo! Let’s learn some cool stuff about these giants of the ocean!
Right whale fun facts:
- Right whales are divided into two species, the Northern and the Southern. We’re meeting the North Atlantic right whale today!
- These whales inhabit the ocean waters of the coast of North America.
- North Atlantic right whales grow up to 52 feet in length and weigh up to 70 tons! Wow!
- North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered. There are around 400 of these amazing creatures left.
- These baleen whales are carnivores. They feed on plankton like krill. They skim these tiny prey from the water using their baleen.
- They feed generally in spring through fall in the cold waters of the Northern Atlantic Ocean near Canada.
- Female north Atlantic right whales are larger than the males.
- Females migrate to the waters off of Georgia and Florida to calve. They have one baby at a time.
- Northern right whales are slow swimmers and tend to stay near the surface.
- They are often in danger of boat strikes. In their protected habitats, boats must keep slow speeds.
- Scientist believe these giants live up to 50 years and maybe even up to 100 years.
- There are great conservation efforts going on to protect these whales. They are one of the most endangered whale in the ocean today. Fortunately they have been protect since the 1930s, but recovery has been slow. You can learn more about those efforts from the NOAA website on them.
Protecting the earth’s creatures and the habitats we share starts with all of us. These whales along with other ocean dwelling animals can be found with plastic in their stomachs. Make sure your plastic goods go into a recycling bin and never into wild habitats! Let’s do it for the Right Whale!
WORLD WILDLIFE DAY!
WORLD WILDLIFE DAY!
Today is World Wildlife Day and we here at the University are sharing ways you can help wildlife in your backyard and around the world! Each professor will be sharing their tips today and we have a great way to get involved too! So come join us and help us celebrate World Wildlife Day!
We’ll be participating in the #InOurHands campaign for the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust! You simply draw an elephant on your hand, take a picture and share on social media. Add us and @DSWT on your tweet or tag us and the trust on Facebook! Elephants could be lost in the wild if we don’t help! To learn more about the campaign check out their website!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, environment, nature, science, wildlife
1 Comment
HOLEY MOLEY!!
HOLEY MOLEY!!
We’re on day three of our you choose week and we had a friend vote for moles! So of course we narrowed down to the star nosed mole! This crazy looking creature is sure to be popular, so let’s get moving and head underground to meet this wild animal!
Fun Facts:
- The first thing you notice on a star nosed mole is the nose. It is compromised of 22 finger like projections, 11 on each nostril. Those projections are called tendrils.
- Star nosed moles live in wetlands and moist habitats along the coast of Northeastern North America.
- Star nosed moles can grow up to 8 inches and weigh up to 2 oz.
- They are insectivores. They have 44 teeth to crunch up insect exoskeletons.
- Star nosed mole nose projections are full of extremely sensitive receptors called Eimer’s organs. Other moles have these receptors, but the star nosed mole has 25,000 of them; more than any other animal!
- Star nosed moles are functionally blind, so those crazy looking tendrils give them a picture of their environment and of their prey! It can tell if a prey is edible in 8 milliseconds! WOW!
- They can smell underwater too!
- Their tendrils have no muscles or bones in them. They are not used as a scent organ. The mole has nostrils that use for smell.
- Star nosed moles dig shallow tunnels in the wet ground. They are also excellent swimmers, using those wide front feet and back feet to help them swim.
- They tend to be out on the ground more than other moles who stay in their burrows.
We could on days and days about the star nosed moles. Those tendrils are unique in the animal kingdom. Scientists have been studying these critters for years and continue to learn so many things about them. They even think they may be able to pick up slight electrical fields! WOW! Our earth is full of so many crazy creatures that are so fascinating!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife
2 Comments
SUN BEARS!
SUN BEARS!!
As part of our you choose week- we’re going to meet the Sun Bear!
Fun Facts:
- Sun bears are also called the dog bear or honey bear.
- Sun bears are found in Southeast Asia in rainforests.
- Sun bears are omnivores. They eat fruit, eggs, honey and termites.
- They can get up to 4 1/2 feet long and weigh up to 145 lbs.
- Sun bears are listed by the IUCN as endangered.
- They have sleek, smooth brown-black fur with a white-orangeish “sun” patch on their chest.
- They have very loose skin around their neck.
- Sun bears are the smallest member of the bear family.
- Sun bears have very long tongues that they can extend up to 10”. They use these tongues to get termites and honey.
- Sun bears are nocturnal (active at night).
- They spend most of their time in trees.
Sun bears are just so adorable. They are endangered mainly due to habitat loss. Helping protect their rainforest home by reducing, recycling and reusing! Yay for the 3 Rs!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife
2 Comments
ROCKING WITH THE LLAMAS!
ROCKING WITH THE LLAMAS!
Happy Leap Day! We decided to ask our pals for this special day to choose the animal we spotlighted! We had our twitter friend ask to spotlight llamas! So here we go!
Llama Fun Facts:
- Llamas are relatives of camels!
- Llamas live in South America in the Andes Mountains.
- Llamas are herbivores. They eat plants and grasses.
- They can get up to 9 ft tall and weigh up to 440 lbs.
- They are very social in live in herds.
- Llamas are intelligent animals.
- Llamas came to South America around 3 million years ago from North America. They no longer live in North America.
- Even though they are related to camels they have no dorsal hump.
- Llamas are related to alpacas too. The domesticated llamas come in many different sizes and colors.
- Baby llamas can stand in about an hour after being born!
- Llamas were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago. Even today they live among the people of the Andes mountains carrying goods on their backs.
Llamas are so cute! We just love them! We even love to say llama! It rhymes with so many things like pajama and drama and mamma! There’s a poem in there somewhere. (Maybe one will pop up on Instagram). We have llama in pajamas coloring sheet for you!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife
2 Comments
DO A CHEER FOR POLAR BEARS!
DO A CHEER FOR POLAR BEARS!
Happy International Polar Bear Day! Edmond is doing a cheer for polar bears! Join him!
GIVE US A P!
P is Polar! Polar bears live in polar habitats near the arctic circle!
GIVE US AN O!
O is for one pound! Baby polar bears weigh around one pound when they are born. They are pink and about 12 inches long!
GIVE US A L!
L is for large! Polar bears are the largest land predator on earth!
GIVE US AN A!
A is for awesome mom! Polar bears are awesome mothers. They look after their cubs for two years!
GIVE US A R!
R is for reflect! Polar bear fur is translucent, not white! That fur reflects off the white snow giving them a white appearance!
GIVE US A B!!
B is for black! Polar bears have black skin to help them absorb the heat from the sun!
GIVE US AN E!
E is for evolved! Scientists think polar bears evolved from brown bears!
GIVE US A B!!
B is for black! Polar bears have black skin to help them absorb the heat from the sun! Their livers have 10 times more Vitamin A than any other animal on earth!
GIVE US A R!
R is for really fat! Polar bears have up to 4 inches of blubber to keep them warm in those cold arctic habitats!
We love our polar bear pals! These bears are losing their arctic habitats. We can help them by taking measures to use less energy at home, work or school by turning off those lights when you leave a room, unplug your laptop when you are done using it, ride your bike to work or carpool… All these help us keep our planet cleaner and safer!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, Uncategorized, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, environment, mammals, nature, oceans, science, wildlife
2 Comments
OMNIVORE TEETH!
OMNIVORE TEETH!
So far we’ve talked about carnivore teeth and herbivore teeth and today we’re moving on to omnivore teeth! Omnivores are animals that eat both plants and animals. They have teeth to help them with both of those items.
Sloths eat plants, flowers and small insects. They have peg shaped teeth to break down plant material. They have no incisors.
Warthogs are grazers. They also eat grubs, eggs and carrion.
Warthogs have 2 pair of tusks that grow outside of their mouth. The bottom tusks can get razor sharp by rubbing against the top tusks. They use their tusks for digging, fights with other warthogs and protecting themselves against predators.
Bears are some of the most famous omnivores out there. They have chompers for eating fish, but love to eat berries and nuts too.
Seagulls are also omnivores. They are famous for eating all kinds of animals and plant material. Seagulls have many different types of hunting techniques. They use their beaks have no teeth.
Raccoons are also omnivores. The have regular omnivore teeth, but their top incisors have one sharp edge to help them eat nuts, berries, rodents and frogs.
Omnivore teeth are a great combination of sharp teeth for eating animals and flat molar teeth to crush plant material! Some omnivores have neat teeth adaptations for eating! We think all animal teeth are super cool!
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife
Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, environment, nature, science, wildlife
1 Comment
Today’s Post
The Adventures of Ellie and Edmond 