mammals

SEA OTTER AWARENESS WEEK!

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SEA OTTER AWARENESS WEEK!

We’re celebrating the largest member of the otter family all this week! That’s right we’re giving a shout out to those adorable marine mammals the Sea Otter!

We’re sharing some cute photos, fun facts and resources to celebrate these fur balls!

  • Sea Otters are members of the weasel family!
  • Sea Otters live in the Pacific ocean along the North American shore and the Northern Asian shore.
  • Sea Otters spend most of their time in water. They will occasionally come ashore to rest.
  • Sea Otters’ fur is water repellant and very thick. They can have up to 1 million furs per square inch.
  • Sea Otters role in order to trap air bubbles in their fur. The air bubbles help keep them warm.
  • Sea Otters are often found floating on the surface of kelp forests. They will even wrap the kelp around themselves to keep anchored while sleeping
  • Sea Otters groom themselves constantly. This helps keep their fur clean and waterproof. 
  • Sea Otters use rocks to break some of their prey, including crabs and sea urchins.
  • Sea Otters help keep the balance in a kelp forest. One of their favorite prey, sea urchins eat kelp; and without the otters to keep the urchin population in check, the kelp would be gone!

There are so many reasons to love sea otters and to protect them! There are many organizations that are working hard to make sure otters have a future in our oceans! Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great sea otter program. There is a new movie going around the country called Otter 501 all about the rescue of an orphaned otter! We are hoping to see it this week!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us what you love about Sea Otters!

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, oceans, science, sea otters, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

INTERNATIONAL RHINO DAY!

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

INTERNATIONAL RHINO DAY!

We’re celebrating our friends the rhinoceros today! These magnificent animals are one of our very favorites, with their large bodies, hairy ears and fabulous horns!

We’re going to give you some fun rhino facts, a coloring sheet and some great resources to help our friends!

RHINO FUN FACTS:

  • There are 5 species of rhinos, the Black Rhino, the White Rhino (the African species), the Northern India Rhino, the Sumatran Rhino and the Javan Rhino (the Asian species).
  • Rhinoceros is Greek for nose and horn!
  • All rhinos have poor eyesight.
  • White rhinos have a large broad mouth for grazing grass.
  • Black rhinos have a narrow prehensile lip to help them grasp leaves.
  • Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same protein that makes up your hair and fingernails.
  • Rhinos’ ears can move and rotate independently of each other. This adaptation helps the rhino hear.
  • Rhinos are herbivores.
  • Rhinos are related to horses, tapirs and zebras! Woohoo!
  • The Sumatran Rhino is the smallest rhino weighing around 1,700 lbs and the White rhino is the largest weighing around 5,000 lbs.
  • A group of rhinos is called a crash!
  • All rhinos are endangered. Many organizations, like World Wildlife Fund and Saving Rhinos are working very hard to save and protect these amazing animals. Check them out and see how you can help!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a cute rhino for you to color! As always, remember to share your pictures when you color them!

 

 

Categories: adventure, africa, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, rhinos, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

MAMMAL MONDAY # 45

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY #45!

We’re off to the rainforests of Central Africa to meet one cute rodent! That’s right folks, we said cute rodent! Grab your gear and let’s head out!

MEET THE GAMBIAN SUN SQUIRREL!

   Range/Habitat: Central Africa/ rainforest, grasslands

   Diet: Omnivore: eggs, insects, seeds

   Length/Weight: 6-8”/ 9-13 oz

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Gambian Sun Squirrels have olive-brown-yellow banded fur.
  • They have 14 rings down their tail.
  • Gambian Sun Squirrels bask in the sun (that’s where they get their name).
  • Gambian sun squirrels are primarily arboreal (spend most of their time in the trees.
  • They reline their nests with new leaves each night.

Gambian sun squirrels are adorable. We love that they spend their time basking in the sun to keep warm! We wonder if they use sunscreen.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: adventure, africa, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

INTERNATIONAL RED PANDA DAY!

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

INTERNATIONAL RED PANDA DAY!

We’re celebrating the adorable and furry red panda today with a few fun facts and pictures!

  • Red Pandas are arboreal (they spend most of their lives in the trees).
  • They are nocturnal (active at night).
  • Red Pandas live in high altitude, cold climates in China and Nepal.
  • They are covered in a thick red fur. It even covers the pads of their feet.
  • Red Pandas have a pseudo thumb (fake thumb) on their wrists to help them hold bamboo.
  • They eat bamboo, fruit, nuts and eggs.
  • Red pandas nickname is the Fire Fox!
  • Recent studies show they are not related to bears or racoons! They are a member of their own family! Neat!

Red Pandas are so adorable and they endangered as their habit is disappearing. To find some cool ways to help these cuties, check out the Red Panda Network website!  You can even adopt your own panda! Woohoo!

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

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

MAMMAL MONDAY # 44

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY #44!

We hope you enjoyed learning about some of smarties of the animal kingdom last week! We sure had fun! It’s back to our regular scheduled programming and that means it is Mammal Monday and we’re off to the rainforests of South America to meet one cute little primate! So grab your binoculars and let’s do this!

MEET THE BOLIVIAN SQUIRREL MONKEY!

   Range/Habitat: West-Central South America/ rainforest

   Diet: Omnivore: insects, fruits, seeds

  Length/Weight: 10 ½-12 ½”/ 34 oz

  Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys live in large troops, with up to 40-50 individuals.
  • The troops have sub groups, males, females and juveniles.
  • They are very social and vocal.
  • Bolivian squirrel monkeys’ tails are longer than their bodies and heads combined.
  • Bolivian squirrel monkeys are arboreal (spend most of their lives in trees).
  • They spend half of their days foraging for insects.

Goodness these Bolivian squirrel monkeys adorable. Can you imagine hearing a whole troop of these monkeys in the trees? That would be so fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, rainforests, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE DAY #2

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE DAY #2

We’re going for a dip in the big blue ocean to meet today’s intelligent animal. These sleek, fast and smart mammals have adapted big brains that scientists are just beginning to understand. Just how smart these mammals are is still undetermined, but what we know about them now is pretty cool! Grab your goggles and let’s go!

MEET THE BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN!

   Range/Habitat: Oceans worldwide, except for the polar regions

   Diet: Carnivore: fish, mollusks, crustaceans

   Length/Weight: 6 ¼- 13 ft/ up to 1,110 lbs

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Bottlenose dolphins are very social and live in complex groups.
  • They make many different whistles and clicks to communicate with each other. These vocalizations are still be studied and understood by scientists.
  • Each dolphin has a signature or individual whistle that identifies them, like we have names.
  • They use tools. One group of dolphins has been seen using sponges to protect their noses from stingrays and stonefish as they look for prey.
  • Bottlenose dolphins are able to recognize themselves in a mirror.
  • They learn behaviors from their mothers and other dolphins.
  • Bottlenose dolphins have been taught to understand sign language.
  • They also use many different cooperative hunting techniques.

Bottlenose dolphins have earned a reputation for being cute show animals, but they are so much more than that. Researchers are really just beginning to understand the depths of their intelligence, both in institutions and in the wild. One dolphin Kelly, is amazing researchers at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, check them out!  Too bad we don’t know how to speak dolphin! Squeak, click, whistle!

  

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, oceans, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

FISHING FOR ANTS CRAFT!!

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SEPTEMBER CRAFT/ACTIVITY!!

We’re celebrating Back to School this week and we’re featuring some super smart animals, including chimpanzees! Chimps are known to take sticks and use them to fish out termites or ants for a nice protein rich snack! So we thought it would be fun to make a craft so you can pretend to be a chimpanzee! Are you ready?

 

Materials:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Empty clean 1 Liter soda bottle
  • Scissors
  • 12 small buttons
  • One strip of magnet (we found ours at Michael’s)
  • Small dowel or chopstick
  • Tacky glue
  • Brown or green marker
  • Brown or green paint & brush
  • Exacto or craft knife (to be used by an adult)

Instructions:

1. Paint your bottle with two coats of paint. You will have wait for the first coat to dry completely before starting the second one. (The bottle is your ant mound)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. While the paint dries color your dowel with the marker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.Then cut your strip of magnet in to small pieces that will fit on the back your buttons and one piece to put on the end of your dowel

4. Glue the magnet pieces to the backs of the buttons and to the end of the dowel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Once the second coat of paint has dried (this make take a while), have an adult take the craft knife and cut 3 holes in the bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you are ready to practice using your stick tool to get ants! Just drop your buttons in and start fishing for button ants!

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, crafts, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE WEEK!

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE WEEK!

As children all over are heading back to school to learn and grow, we here at Ellie and Edmond headquarters want to celebrate amazingly intelligent animal friends! And you humans thought you were smart! Scientists all over the world are realizing that animals can learn language, use tools and even recognize themselves in a mirror. We’re off to the rainforests of West Africa to meet our first smarty and human kinds’ closet living relative! Let’s head out on this adventure!

MEET THE COMMON CHIMPANZEE!

   Range/Habitat: West-Central Africa/ rainforest

   Diet: Omnivore: invertebrates, fruits, nuts

   Length/Weight: 25-35”/ 60-130 lbs

   Conservation Status: critically endangered

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Chimpanzees are highly social and live in complex social groups.
  • They can make 30 plus different kinds of calls and vocalizations.
  • Chimpanzees have a wide variety of facial expressions.
  • Chimpanzees are tool users and tool makers. They make tools from sticks and extract termites or ants with the stick. They also use things like rocks to crack open nuts.
  • They build nests to sleep in at night. They build a new one every night.
  • Chimpanzees learn tool making/using behavior from their mothers and other chimps.
  • They use cooperative and complex hunting skills to capture live prey.
  • Chimpanzees have been known to learn sign language.
  • They can recognize themselves in a mirror.

We could go on and on about these amazing apes! We still have so much to learn from them. There is even a Bonobo chimp who has learned complex language named Kanzi, read more about him here. Sadly, these apes are very endangered and it critically important that we all work to ensure their future. Jane Goodall, one of our personal heroes, has been studying and working with chimpanzees for many years. The Jane Goodall Institute is great place to learn more about how to help the apes! Also check out the movie Chimpanzee, you will love it!

 

 

 

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, apes, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, rainforests, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY GREATEST HITS!

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY GREATEST HITS!!

We went Africa to meet one unique mammal on this Greatest Hits! Who’s excited? We are! This mammal has some very special adaptations to help them eat the leaves that others can’t! So let’s meet…

MEET THE GERENUK!

   Range/Habitat: East Africa/dry and bushy scrub

   Diet: Herbivore: leaves

   Length/Weight: 4 ½ -5 ¼ ft/62-115 lb

   Conservation Status: Near Threatened

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Gerenuks are part of the antelope family.
  • They have long slender bodies, necks and small faces.
  • Gerenuks can curve their spines into an S shape, which enables them to stand on their hind legs.
  • Because they can stand on their hind legs, they can eat leaves that other animals can’t reach.
  • Gerenuks are also called the giraffe gazelle.
  • They have large ears and eyes that help them hear and see predators.
  • Only male gerenuks have horns.
  • They get all of their water supply from the leaves they eat, so they can survive in dry habitats.

Gerenuks are kind of funny looking with their long thin bodies and giant ears. We think it’s super cool that they can stand up on their hind legs to eat! What a neat adaptation!  They are called the giraffe gazelle, but they’re not related to the giraffe.

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

MAMMAL MONDAY GREATEST HITS!

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

We’re doing one more week of Ellie and Edmond’s Greatest Hits as we finish up some projects at headquarters! We hope you enjoy these fun animals!

MAMMAL MONDAY GREATEST HITS!!

On this Mammal Monday we went to the rainforests of South America to find our first primate! We have a very special friend today. It’s our first primate! These adorable little monkeys sport a wild hairdo! Let’s get ready to meet…

MEET THE COTTON TOP TAMARIN!

   Range/Habitat: Northwest South America/rainforest, forest

   Diet: Omnivore: fruit, plants, insects

   Length/Weight: 8-10”/14-16 oz

   Conservation Status: endangered

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Cotton Top Tamarins are small New World monkeys. New World monkeys live in Central and South America.
  • They live in family troops of 10-12 monkeys that are made up of a mated pair and their offspring.
  • Cotton top tamarins often give birth to twins.
  • Like other tamarins, cotton top dads and older siblings help raise the babies. They carry the babies on their backs.
  • Cotton top tamarins are arboreal (they live in the trees).
  • Their tails are very long, 13-16”.  That’s longer than its body! The tail helps them balance while they get around in the trees.
  • Cotton top tamarins are very vocal and have lots of different calls, to express danger, fear, joy and playfulness.
  • They use calls to warn each other of predators. There are different warning calls for predators in the air and predators on the ground.

These little monkeys are about the size of a squirrel, but have much better hairdos :)! How great is it that they dad and siblings help with the babies?

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, rainforests, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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