mammals

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY # 64

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY # 64

Time to look at the picture, read the clues and take a guess in the comments!

I am a four legged mammal.
My long neck is unlike any animal on earth.
My tongue is 18-20 inches long.

WHO AM I?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: adventure, animals, children, conservation, education, environment, mammals, nature, science | 1 Comment

MAMMAL MONDAY # 64

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY # 64

We sure hope you enjoyed Bear Week; we know we did! It’s Mammal Monday again and we’re going to an island in Indonesia to meet a small four legged animal! So let’s hop aboard the E & E boat and take a trip to the South Seas!

MEET THE ANOA!

Range/Habitat: Sulawesi (Indonesia)/ rainforests, mountains

Diet: Herbivore: leaves, fruits, ferns

Length/Weight: 5 ¼-5 ½ ft/ 330- 660 lbs

Conservation Status: endangered

Fun Facts:

Anoas are also known as the midget buffalo.
They have plump bodies and short legs.
Anoas have horns that face backwards, to help them run through the thick forests.
Anoas are solitary.
There are two species of Anoa, the lowland and the mountain.

These little water buffalo are so cute! Who knew that water buffalo came in miniature size? We love our hoofed cousins!

BEAR WEEK DAY # 5

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

BEAR WEEK DAY #5

It’s the last day of Bear Week and we sure have had a blast meeting some awesome bears! We are off to Alaska to meet our last bear of the week! So let’s back our coats and backpacks and head out to meet…

MEET THE BROWN BEAR!

Range/Habitat: Northern North America-North Europe-Asia/forests,

mountains, grasslands

Diet: Omnivore: fish, roots, berries

Length/Weight: 6 ½-9 ¾ ft/ 220-2,200 lbs

Conservation Status: common

Fun Facts:

Brown Bears are the most widely distributed bear in the world.
They have long claws.
There are several subspecies of the brown bear, including the Grizzly and Kodiak.
Brown bears have large humps on their shoulders.
Brown bears hibernate during the winter.
They can reach speeds of 30 mph.

Brown bears are large, top of the food chain predators that eat mostly an herbivorous diet! Momma bears and their cubs are not to be messed with though. They are very protective and at 30 mph can run faster than a human!

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

BEAR WEEK- GUESS THE BEAR!

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

BEAR WEEK- GUESS THE BEAR!

Look at the picture, read the clues and then tell us what bear your think it is in the comments!

I live in China.
I only eat bamboo.
I am the size of a stick of butter when I am born.

Who Am I?

Categories: adventure, Animals, bears, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: adventure, animals, bears, children, conservation, education, environment, mammals, nature, oceans, science, wildlife | 6 Comments

BEAR WEEK DAY #2

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

BEAR WEEK DAY #2

We’re traveling to Southeast Asia today to meet a very handsome bear with a funny long tongue! Grab your gear we’re heading into the rainforest!

MEET THE SUN BEAR!

Range/Habitat: Southeast Asia/ rainforest

Diet: Omnivore: fruit, shoots, eggs, honey, termites

Length/Weight: 3 ½-4 ½ ft/ 110-145 lbs

Conservation Status: endangered

Fun Facts:

Sun bears are also called the dog bear or honey bear.
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.
They have very long claws for climbing and digging for insects and honey.
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. There are lots of things that we can do to ensure our rainforests are kept intact. We love The Rainforest Site, because all you have to do is click once a day and money goes to save habitat for great animals such as our Sun Bear pal!

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

BEAR WEEK DAY #1

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

BEAR WEEK!

It is March’s theme week and we’re spotlighting one of our favorite animals- Bears! We’ll be meeting several of the 8 species of bears, making a bear craft and we’ll have guess the bear! Whew! Are you ready to start this unbearleavablely exciting week? Well then, let’s head out to the Appalachian Mountains of North America to meet..

MEET THE BLACK BEAR!

Range/Habitat: North America-Mexico/ forests, mountains

Diet: Omnivore: berries, grubs, nuts, insects

Length/Weight: 4 ¼-6 ¼ ft/ 120-600 lbs

Conservation Status: common

Fun Facts:

Black bears are excellent climbers.
They have long claws to help them dig for food and for climbing.
They have prehensile lips. Those lips help them grab small food items.
Black bears sleep through the winter in the northern ranges. They do not hibernate.
Black bear mothers are extremely protective of their cubs.
The cubs stay with their mothers for about two years.

Black bears are agile and cute. They are also smart and are known to get in human food and trash. It’s important for people to keep their trash in containers that are bear proof!

MAMMAL MONDAY # 63

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY # 63

We’ve backed our bags and are going to Europe to find a member of the flying mammal club! And since there’s only one member of this club, it’s obvious we are going to meet a bat! Grab those night vision goggles and let’s head off on today’s adventure.

MEET THE LESSER HORSESHOE BAT!

Range/Habitat: Europe-North Africa-W. Asia/ scrub-woods

Diet: Insectivore: insects

Length/Weight: 1 ½”/ 3/8 oz

Conservation Status: common

Fun Facts:

Lesser Horseshoe bats are one of the smallest bats in the world.
They have a horseshoe shaped nose.
Lesser horseshoe bats live in colonies.
Lesser horseshoe bats are smaller than a human thumb.
They hibernate underground in the winter.
Lesser horseshoe bats usually fly close to the ground.

These tiny little flying mammals are ugly and cute and the same time. Bats come in all shapes and sizes and they are all beneficial! Bats rock!

Categories: adventure, Animals, bats, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: adventure, animals, bats, children, conservation, education, environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | 1 Comment

MAMMAL MONDAY # 61

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY # 62

We’re jetting off to Southeast Asia on this Mammal Monday to meet one high flying mammal! Keep your eyes and ears pealed because these apes like to sing! Are you ready?

MEET THE BLACK CRESTED GIBBON!

Range/Habitat: Southeast Asia/ rainforest-mountains

Diet: Herbivore: fruit, leaves, shoots

Length/Weight: 18-25”/10-20 lbs

Conservation Status: critically endangered

Fun Facts:

Black crested gibbons are arboreal (spend most of their time in trees).
They have long arms to help them swing through the trees.
Black crested gibbons live in small family groups.
Male black crested gibbons are black with white cheeks and females are tan with black crests on their heads.
Black crested gibbons produce songs, as pairs and as individuals.
They are lesser apes.

Black crested gibbons are so gorgeous. Do you know what makes them apes and not monkeys? One key feature is that they do not have tails! Neat!

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

WE MEET SOME EXTREME MAMMALS!!

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

We Meet Some Extreme Mammals!

We caught a preview of the new exhibit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History – EXTREME MAMMALS! This awesome exhibit goes through the evolution of how mammals came to be! We are one diverse group, we come in all sizes, shapes, coverings and live in all kinds of habitats! We make up one special class, so we’re giving out class superlatives to take you through this amazing exhibit!

Let’s Meet the Ellie and Edmond Extreme Mammal Class Superlatives!

The Repenomamus!
Most Likely to eat a Dinosaur!!

Best Antlers Goes to our pals the modern day moose!

Best Ossicones goes to this guy- he had 5!

Best Nose goes to Elephants!

Sharpest!

Best smile!

Most Broom Like Teeth goes to our Baleen Whale Friends!

Least likely to find a hat that fits!

Best Armor goes to the mammal who wore this- the Glyptodont!

Most Likely to Make a Paleontologist’s Day!

Best Newcomer- The Striped Rabbit who was discovered in 1999!

Most Likely to Move Like Molasses- The Giant Ground Sloth!

Class Clown- Edmond for his acrobatics try to touch a giraffe hoof!

Class Clown- Edmond for his acrobatics trying to touch a giraffe hoof!

We had such a blast exploring and learning about mammals through time! These stand out stars are just the tip of the iceberg (we didn’t want to give away the whole exhibit)!

Make sure you take your bipedal mammal self over to catch EXTREME MAMMALS at Fernbank and learn all about mammals of the past and present! And who knows you might decide if you humans are extreme mammals too :)!