Environment

WATERY WEDNESDAY#3

Watery Wednesday has arrived; and we have a wild looking sea creature for you today! This funny looking animal is called a dragon but it doesn’t breathe fire! It’s actually a member of the seahorse family! So let’s meet this not ferocious dragon!

MEET THE WEEDY SEA DRAGON!

Range/Habitat: South Australia/reefs and rocky shores

Diet: Carnivore: tiny crustaceans, zooplankton

Length: up to 18”

Conservation Status: Common

Fun facts:

• The Weedy Sea dragon is one of the largest members of the sea horse family.
• They have “leaf-like” flaps that help them blend in with sea weed and plants.
• They don’t have a prehensile tail like other sea horses, so they cannot hold on to plants!
• They use their large dorsal fin (on their back) to swim and tiny fins on the side of their heads to balance. Weedy Sea Dragons are not very good swimmers though.
• The male Weedy sea dragon carries the fertilized egg on the undersurface of his tail. He carries them until they hatch.

We just love the Weedy Sea Dragon! It looks like it’s from another planet! But it’s not, it’s from Australia!

REPTILIAN TUESDAY#3

It’s Tuesday and that means it is time meet another rocking reptile! And it’s a snake! Did some of you just scream and go hide? There’s no need to run and hide from our snake friends! Snakes aren’t scary; they’re very beneficial and are very important part of the food web. So have you uncovered your eyes? Come meet….

MEET THE SIDEWINDER!

Range/Habitat: Southwest US-North Mexico/Desert

Diet: Carnivore: lizards, small rodents

Length: 18-32”

Conservation Status: Common

Fun facts:

• The Sidewinder is a rattlesnake. They have a rattle on the end of their tale they use to ward off predators.
• Sidewinders are venomous.
• Their color can vary from cream to yellowish-brown to pink, depending on their specific habitat.
• Female sindwinders are smaller than males.
• Instead of sliding forward like other snakes, sindwinders throw themselves forward making a diagonal path.
• They are nocturnal during the hot summer months and diurnal during the cooler months.

See snakes can be really cool? Look at the pattern these animals make in the sand!

MAMMAL MONDAY#3

Woohoo, it is Mammal Monday and we have a funny faced primate for today’s animal. Primates are mammals that include prosimians (includes lemurs, lorises and tarsiers) and monkeys and apes. Primates are pretty awesome group of mammals and we’re going to post a whole blog about primates very soon! Let’s meet today’s red faced monkey first!

MEET THE RED UAKARI!

Range/Habitat: South America (Brazil and Peru)/ Amazon River Basin-flooded forests

Diet:  Omnivore: seeds, fruits, flowers, and insects

Length/Weight: 15-22 ½ “/ 6 ½-7 ½ lb

Conservation Status: Endangered

Fun facts:

• The Red Uakari is diurnal (active during the day) and arboreal (spends most of its time in trees).
• They have hairless faces and foreheads.
• The color can vary from pink to red. They also have long shaggy coats of fur that can vary in color from red to brown to orange!
• The Uakari have very broad short tails, unlike most monkeys that live in trees.
• They live in troops of up to 100 individuals, but will split up into smaller groups to look for food during the day.

These are some very unusual and colorful monkeys! They are also endangered… Can you think of anything we could do to help them?

FEATHERY FRIDAY #2

Who’s ready for another Feathery Friday? WE ARE! Today’s bird has long powerful legs and funny crest of feathers on top of its head. Have a clue yet? Nope? Well look right here…

MEET THE SECRETARY BIRD!

Range/Habitat: Sub-Saharan Africa/grasslands, desert and savannahs

Diet: Carnivore: snakes, large insects, frogs, lizards and small mammals

Height/Weight: 4 ½ ft-5ft/ 5 ½ – 10lb

Conservation Status: Common

Fun facts:

• Secretary birds are diurnal (they’re active during the day) and nests in Acacia trees at night.
• They have long powerful legs that they use for striking prey.
• It’s thought that they were named after English secretaries because the crests on their heads look like quills that secretaries used to write with, but it’s now thought that is it comes from an Arabic word meaning “hunter bird”.
• Secretary birds walk more than they fly. They can walk up to 15 miles a day in search of food.
• It is admired in Africa for its hunting skills, especially its ability to kill venomous snakes.
• It’s even part of the Coat of Arms for South Africa.

The Secretary bird is one excellent predator! We love a bird that walks all day (elephants walk lots too). How much do you walk a day?

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY #2

We’re so excited for another Super Surprise Thursday! Will today’s animal be a bird? Will it be a reptile? Or will it be mammal? It’s none of those! It’s an animal that it right at home on our Watery Wednesdays! Come meet today’s fish that takes its name from two different mammals!

MEET THE FOXFACE RABBITFISH!

Range/Habitat: Indo-Pacific Oceans/Coral Reefs

Diet:  Herbivore: algae

Length: 9-16”

Conservation Status: Common

Fun facts:

• It’s called the Foxface Rabbitfish, because its small face resembles a fox and its diet and mouth are “rabbit-like”.
• Foxface rabbitfish are very shy.
• They have a single row of flat teeth for eating algae off coral reefs.
• They have several rows of venomous spines along their dorsal fins and rear fins.  These are used to protect them from predators.
• They are not harmful to humans, but being poked by a spine can hurt- OUCH.

Wow- the foxface rabbitfish has a funny name! If you could re-name it, what would you call it? We like bumble bee algae eating fishJ!

WATERY WEDNESDAY #2

This Watery Wednesday brings us a very special little fish. This fish is amphibious meaning it not only lives in the water but can come out and spend time on land. Who could this special fish be? Let’s find out…

MEET THE ATLANTIC MUDSKIPPER!

Range/Habitat: West Africa, Indo-Pacific Oceans/mangroves, swamps and intertidal waters

Diet:  Carnivore: crabs, insects and small invertebrates

Length: 6-10”

Conservation Status: Common

Fun facts:

• Mudskippers are amphibious, meaning they spend time in water and on land.
• They can breathe in and out water. They use their gills in water and breathe through their skin and the lining of their mouth out on land.
• They have to keep their skin moist on land in order to breathe.
• They use their front (pectoral) fins to climb out of the water. The fins are modified to help them maneuver on land.
• They also skip or jump across the muddy coast.
• They have funny large eyes on top of their heads that help them see all around them.

Mudskippers are amazing little fish! Have you ever seen a fish on land before?

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #2

It’s our second Reptilian Tuesday and we have a special little lizard just waiting for you to learn about it! It’s an insectivore. What’s an insectivore you ask? It’s an animal whose diet consists of insects. Do you like to eat bugs? Yeah, us neither! Well let’s get right to it and…

MEET THE TOKAY GECKO!

Range/Habitat: Southeast Asia/ rainforests- trees

Diet:  insectivore: roaches, centipedes and other insects

Length: 7-14”

Conservation Status: Common

Fun facts:

• Tokay geckos are the 2^nd largest gecko species on earth.
• They are solitary and males are very territorial.
• Tokay geckos are nocturnal; they are active and hunt at night.
• Tokay geckos get their name from the loud call that the males make.
• Like other lizards, Tokay geckos can release their tail when caught by a predator. They can release the whole tail or just parts. The tail will regenerate in about 3 weeks.
• They have expanded adhesive toe pads for gripping and climbing. They’re mostly arboreal, meaning they live in trees.

These great geckos are considered to be good luck in parts of the world and are welcome in households because they eat bug! That’s one helpful gecko!

MAMMAL MONDAY #2

You have the Monday morning blues? Well after learning about today’s mammal those blues will be disappear! Have you ever wonder what animals are lurking in the rainforests, hiding just out of the sight? Could it be a leopard? Or is it a monkey in the trees? Or is it today’s quiet, shy, solitary and secretive Okapi?

MEET THE OKAPI!

Range/Habitat: Central Africa-Democratic Republic of Congo/tropical rainforests

Diet:  herbivores: twigs, shoots, fruits, leaves

Length/Height/Weight: 6 ½-7 1/4 ft : 12-16 ½ in : 440 lb-770lb

Conservation Status: Lower Risk

Fun facts:

• The Okapi was not identified until 1900.
• The Okapi is the closest living relative of the giraffe.
• Okapi are very shy and secretive.
• Okapi have long black prehensile tongues. They use their tongues to grab leaves and branches.
• They have stripes on their legs and rear end.
• Male okapis have two skin covered horns that are called ossicones. Giraffes also have ossicones. They are actually part of the skull.
• Every okapi’s stripe pattern in different!

These relatives of the giraffe are very special! We’re so glad that someone discovered them in the rainforests! And we’re sticking our tongue out to the Monday blues too!

FEATHERY FRIDAY

It’s everyone’s favorite day of the week- FRIDAY! And Friday means feathers! Yep it’s our bird friends turn to take the spotlight! Did you know there are about 10,000 species of birds? Goodness who knew that there were so many? And each one is so different. Some birds are flightless, some swim in the water, some are small and some are very small. They eat everything from worms, seeds, nectar, fish, rodents, snakes and fruit.  They inhabit every continent on earth and every habitat from deserts, to rainforests, to the icy Arctic. So what’s so special about birds? How are they different from mammals, reptiles and fish? Well let’s find out.

These are the characteristics that make a bird a bird…

• Birds are warm-blooded or endothermic- meaning they regulate their own body temperature.
• Birds are vertebrates (they have a backbone).
• Birds lay eggs.
• Birds are covered in feathers.
• Bird’s bones are hollow and light weight.

Do you have a favorite bird?

Ellie’s favorite bird is the African grey parrot and Edmond’s the Southern ground hornbill!

Are you ready to meet today’s bird?

MEET THE BLUE FOOTED BOOBY!

Range/Habitat: South America to the Galapagos Islands, spend day in ocean and on rocky shores at night

Diet: Carnivores: fish, squid, sardines, anchovy

Size/Weight: 32-34in, 3 ½ lbs

Conservation Status: Common

Fun facts:

• Blue footed boobies are excellent swimmers and divers.
• The name booby comes from the Spanish word bobo meaning “fool or clown”. They were named that because they are so clumsy when walking on land.
• They use their bright blue webbed feet to keep their chicks warm.
• Both parents take care of the chicks.
• The male booby performs a dance to attract a female.  Often the male with the bluest feet gets the girl!

Not only do the birds have funny looking feet and a funny sounding name, we think they are FUN!

Check out the video of the male doing his mating dance!

We’re going to be doing the Blue footed booby dance all day!