Posts Tagged With: america

Year in Review!

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

2012 YEAR IN REVIEW!

Wow! We have one exciting year here at Ellie and Edmond headquarters! We’ve been to every continent on the planet in search of amazing animals and wow did we find some! We’ve met reptiles, mammals, fish and birds in almost every kind of habitat on earth! We sat down and looked over all our stats to see our most viewed post of the year and we’re re-posting it for you today! So let’s take one more adventure in 2012 and head out to meet one nifty reptile again!

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK DAY #2

It’s day two of American Animals week and we drove the RV down to the Southwestern United States to find a really cool reptile! Grab your sunscreen or mud and your sunglasses, because it’s going to be a hot one!

MEET THE GILA MONSTER!

   gila monsterRange/Habitat: Southwestern US-desert, scrub, rocky outcrops

   Diet: Carnivore: eggs and small animals

   Length: 14-20 “

   Conservation Status: threatened

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Gila Monsters are one of two venomous lizards in the whole world (the other is the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard.)
  • They brightly colored to ward of predators.
  • Gila Monsters have a forked tongue like a snake and it helps them “smell” for prey.
  • They inject venom into their prey when they bite. They have special glands in their lower jaw that stores the venom.
  • Gila monsters’ tails store fat so they can survive when food is scarce or when they hibernate in the winter.
  • Gila monsters have bumpy heads. Those bumps are part of their skull.
  • They are not harmful to humans, despite their bad reputation! So Gila Monsters aren’t so monstrous after all!

We think Gila monsters are super cool! These amazing reptiles are protected here! That is good news, because it sure would be a shame if we didn’t have this neat lizard to see!

  


Categories: adventure, american, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, lizards, nature, reptiles, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK DAY # 5

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK DAY #5

It’s the last day of our celebration of American Animals week! We’ve packed up the RV and headed to the woods of the Northeast to find our national bird! These majestic birds now fly over most of our country after almost being lost. Bring your binoculars and your best bird watching skills and let’s do this!

MEET THE BALD EAGLE!

   Range/Habitat: North America/ woodlands, near marshes or bodies of water

   Diet: Carnivore: fish, small birds, carrion

   Length/Weight: 28-38”/ 6 ½- 14 lbs

   Conservation Status: least concern

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Bald Eagles have been the National Bird since 1782.
  • They have a wingspan of up to 8 ¼ feet.
  • Bald Eagles mate for life. They reinforce their pair bonds with spectacular flights that they do together.
  • Pairs build their large nests and raise their chicks together.
  • They are the only eagle native to North America.
  • Bald Eagles have excellent eyesight.
  • They can live for up to 28 years!
  • Bald eagles don’t develop their white feathers until around the age of 5!

We just love Bald Eagles and think they make a fine national bird! They are so regal. Unfortunately we almost lost these birds to pollution and habitat loss and they were near extinction in the mid 1900s. After much human effort to save them they are now living in almost every state! YAY!!!

  

 

Categories: american, Animals, birds, Children, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

AMERICAN ANIMALS DAY # 4

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK DAY # 4

We hope everyone had a lovely holiday yesterday and for those of you in other countries, we hope you had a nice WednesdayJ! We’re taking the RV to the California coast to meet a vocal and social mammal today! Grab your wetsuits because the water is cold!

MEET THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION!

   Range/Habitat: Western US-Galapagos islands/ oceans-coastlines

   Diet: Carnivore: fish, squid

   Length/Weight: up to 7 ¾ ft/ 610-860 lbs

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • California Sea lions are large and have a thick layer of blubber.
  • They live in large groups with a dominate male and numerous females.
  • California sea lions are very social and very vocal.
  • They are faster than any other member of the seal or sea lion family and can swim up to 25 mph.
  • California sea lions can rotate their rear flippers.
  • California sea lions can stay under water for up to 10 minutes.
  • Male California sea lions are larger and dark brown, whereas the females and juveniles are tan.
  • They can live up to 30 years.

We just love California Sea lions! They are so full of personality and smarts! We even met a one who knew to stick out his tongue! Do you love sea lions too? Here’s a great video of some divers swimming with them!

  

Categories: american, Animals, Children, education, Environment, mammals, nature, oceans, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy 4th of July!!

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!

We hope everyone has a fantastic & safe holiday and to our international friends Happy Wednesday! We hope you have enjoyed meeting a few native animals so far! We’ll be back on the road tomorrow! Until then enjoy these photos of us with a bald eagle & an American alligator :)!

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Categories: american, Animals, Children, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

AMERICAN ANIMALS DAY #2

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK DAY #2

It’s day two of American Animals week and we drove the RV down to the Southwestern United States to find a really cool reptile! Grab your sunscreen or mud and your sunglasses, because it’s going to be a hot one!

MEET THE GILA MONSTER!

   Range/Habitat: Southwestern US-desert, scrub, rocky outcrops

   Diet: Carnivore: eggs and small animals

   Length: 14-20 “

   Conservation Status: threatened

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Gila Monsters are one of two venomous lizards in the whole world (the other is the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard.)
  • They brightly colored to ward of predators.
  • Gila Monsters have a forked tongue like a snake and it helps them “smell” for prey.
  • They inject venom into their prey when they bite. They have special glands in their lower jaw that stores the venom.
  • Gila monsters’ tails store fat so they can survive when food is scarce or when they hibernate in the winter.
  • Gila monsters have bumpy heads. Those bumps are part of their skull.
  • They are not harmful to humans, despite their bad reputation! So Gila Monsters aren’t so monstrous after all!

We think Gila monsters are super cool! These amazing reptiles are protected here! That is good news, because it sure would be a shame if we didn’t have this neat lizard to see!

  

 


 

 

 

 

 

Categories: american, Animals, Children, education, Environment, lizards, nature, reptiles, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK!

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK

We’re celebrating all American animals this week in honor of July 4th! So we’ve packed up our RV and we’ll be driving all around our country looking for animals that are native to our home! We have room for everyone, so join us! Our first stop on this tour in the western plains to meet a very large mammal!

MEET THE AMERICAN BISON!

   Range/Habitat: Western-Northern United States/plains, mountains,

woodlands

   Diet: Herbivore: grasses, buds, shoots

   Length/Weight: 7-11ft/ 770-2000 lbs

   Conservation Status: common

 

Fun Facts:

  • American Bison are also known as the American Buffalo.
  • They are tall and can reach up to 6 ½ ft high at the shoulder.
  • American bison are very fast and can run up to 37 mph.
  • They have small short horns on their heads.
  • American bison have excellent hearing and sight.
  • American bison migrate to find food.
  • Female American bison live with maternal family groups with a dominate female in charge.
  • Male American bison live in bachelor groups.

These majestic bison almost went extinct in this country. Efforts were made to save them and they now roam the American West, but there are only two truly wild herds left in Yellowstone National Park and Wood Buffalo Park in Canada. We are so glad that they’re still around! Buffalo are just too cute to miss :)!

Categories: american, Animals, Children, education, Environment, mammals, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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