Posts Tagged With: animals

FEATHERY FRIDAY GREATEST HITS!

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

FEATHERY FRIDAY GREATEST HITS!

We went to the desert on this day to meet a famous bird! Have you ever seen the cartoon where there’s a coyote and a roadrunner? Did you know that there are real roadrunners? Well they are real and they’re pretty cool! So let’s meet our feathery friend the…

MEET THE GREATER ROADRUNNER!

   Range/Habitat: Southwestern United States-Northern Mexico/desert and scrub

   Diet: Carnivore: lizards, snakes, scorpions and spiders

   Length/Weight: 22”/12 oz

   Conservation Status: Common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Greater Roadrunners can fly but spends most of its time on the ground.
  • They can reach speeds of up to 18 mph! That is one fast bird.
  • Greater roadrunners generally walk/run to catch their prey.
  • They use their large beaks to attack prey.
  • They have long tails that they lay flat when running.
  • Greater roadrunners have black skin under their feathers. They expose the skin to the sun to absorb heat.

We all love watching the coyote roadrunner cartoons, but the real roadrunner is more fun! They are fast and furious little birds. How fast can you run? You should try and be a roadrunner for the day!

  

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

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY GREATEST HITS!

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY GREATEST HITS!

We went to Australia to meet this feathery animal! Who is it, you say? Well it’s a bird you think would say who but this one doesn’t! Whooooo is it then?

MEET THE BOOBOOK OWL!

   Range/Habitat: Australia-South New Guinea/forests, grasslands, farmlands

   Diet: Carnivore: insects, birds, mammals

   Length/Weight: 12-14”/6-10oz

   Conservation Status: Common

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Boobook owls are named after the call it makes.
  • They are nocturnal like other owls, but often feed at dusk and dawn too!
  • Boobook owls are specialists at catching prey in mid-air.
  • They have grey beaks and feet.
  • Both females and males take care of the chicks.

This funny little owl doesn’t make the typical who call! That’s what makes it so special! Listen to it here.

  

 

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

WATERY WEDNESDAY GREATEST HITS!

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WATERY WEDNESDAY GREATEST HITS!

On this Water Wednesday we went to a coral reef to find a comical fish! Ok, this fish really isn’t that funny, but it is named after clowns and they’re usually funny, unless you’re scared of them! Let’s meet this fun fish…

MEET THE CLOWN TRIGGERFISH!

   Range/Habitat: Pacific-Indian Oceans/Coral reefs

   Diet: Carnivore: mollusks, crustaceans

   Length/Weight: up to 20”/up to 4 ½ lbs

   Conservation Status: Common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Clown triggerfish are very colorful.
  • They have strong and sharp teeth for crushing the shells of their prey.
  • Clown triggerfish can wedge in cracks and crevices of the reef when threatened by predators.
  • They usually do not use their tail fin to swim. They use their dorsal (top) and anal (bottom) fins to swim!
  • Clown triggerfish are very territorial.
  • Both male and female clown triggerfish protect the nest of eggs until they hatch.

These crazy looking Clown triggerfish sure are cool! If you could create your very own fish, what colors would you use?

 

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

REPTILIAN TUESDAY GREATEST HITS!

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY GREATEST HITS!

We’re going to a coral reef today to meet a very cool reptile! Let’s get our snorkel gear and take a dip! We’re off to find a reptile who lives in the ocean!

MEET THE BANDED SEA KRAIT!

   Range/Habitat: Southern-South Eastern Asia/ tropical oceans-coral reefs

   Diet: Carnivore: fish, eels

   Length: 3 ¼-6 ½ ft

   Conservation Status: Common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Banded Sea Kraits are members of the sea snake families. They spend most of their lives in the ocean.
  • Banded sea kraits are highly venomous. They are more deadly than most land snakes.
  • They are not harmful to humans, because they have short fangs and are very docile.
  • Banded sea kraits have paddle shaped tails that help them swim.
  • They come on shore to lay their eggs.

Sea kraits are incredible snakes! Did you know there were snakes that lived in the ocean? We saw one while we snorkeling in Indonesia! It was awesome! If you could go snorkeling what animals would you like to see?

 

 

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

MAMMAL MONDAY GREATEST HITS

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

For the next two weeks, we’re sharing some of greatest hits here on Ellie and Edmond! We need a little time to focus on our book and iPad app, so we’re sharing some animals that were posted a while ago that didn’t get any love! We hope you enjoy our Greatest Hits!

MAMMAL MONDAY GREATEST HITS

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:

  • Okapi were not identified until 1900.
  • Okapi are the closest living relative of the giraffe.
  • They 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. 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!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

FEATHERY FRIDAY # 43

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

FEATHERY FRIDAY #43

We’re off to the Big Apple today to meet one fast and freewheeling bird! These city dwellers live all over the world and are amazingly adaptable! Let’s grab a yellow cab and goooooo!

MEET THE PEREGRIN FALCON!

   Range/Habitat: Worldwide/ coasts, cities, mountains, wetlands

   Diet: Carnivore: birds

   Length/Weight: 13 ½-20”/ 1 ¼-3 ¼ lb

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Peregrine Falcons are one of the fastest birds in the world.
  • Peregrine Falcons can reach speeds of up 145 mph.
  • They have the widest distribution of any diurnal land bird.
  • Peregrine Falcons are diurnal (active during the day).
  • Female peregrine falcons are larger than males.
  • They “dive” while flying to catch their prey.
  • Peregrine Falcons often nest in high places, such as skyscrapers, towers and cliffs.

These magnificent birds sure are amazingly fast! Don’t blink because you may miss them. They’re also a great success story! Peregrine falcons were almost wiped out in the Eastern U.S., but with the ban of DDT, they have made a great comeback. We just love that they love to nest on skyscrapers!

 

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

Joey the Horse!!

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Joey the Horse!

We had a chance to meet the star of the play “War Horse” and this star is very special! Joey is a horse sized horse puppet who stars in the play about his service during World War I and his young owner who goes on an adventure to bring him home.

Joey and Caption Nichols

Joey and his head puppeteer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Broadway Atlanta had a special meet and great with Joey, his puppeteers and one of the actors from the play at the Center for Puppetry Arts (one of our favorites).  From the minute Joey walked on stage, we forgot that he was puppet. His ears moved like a horse, his tail moved like a horse and he even breathed like a horse! Edmond was very impressed.  As the actor who plays Caption Nichols talked about Joey, the horse responded to him, even getting upset when he walked up to him face to face.

Joey was made in South Africa and has 3 puppeteers who operate him, two inside the puppet and one at the head. The puppet itself weighs around 100 lbs. The puppeteers must move together and act as one horse! These guys make an excellent horse!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW!!

After we were mesmerized by Joey, the 3 puppeteers came out on stage to tell us more about their special job making Joey come alive!

The puppeteers!

 

Edmond loved hearing the puppeteers talk about being a horse!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“War Horse” is coming to Atlanta at the Fox Theater, Sept. 25th– Sept 30th.  You can check out the Fox Theater’s website for tickets. We are definitely going to see it, but will have to bring tissues for Edmond :)! This show is recommended for ages 10 and up. Thank goodness we are just old enough.  And for those of you, who are too, go check it out! It is sure to be an amazing adventure!

 

Categories: Animals, Atlanta, Children, education, plays, Puppets | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

SHARK CRAFT!!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

AUGUST CRAFT

    SHARK KOOZIE!!!!

We’re celebrating Shark Week at Ellie and Edmond Headquarters, so for this month’s craft we’re making a shark koozie! This shark’s bite will keep your drink cool! Chomp!! Chomp!! As usual, if you make the craft share your pictures with us on Facebook or Twitter @EllieandEdmond.

Materials:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Koozie (we purchased ours at Michael’s)

Light Blue Fun Foam

Scissors

Hot glue gun

Wiggly eyes

 

Instructions:

1)   Print patterns for teeth & fins (below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2)   Cut out two rows of teeth, two side fins, two top fins

3)   Glue teeth around the opening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4)   Glue on top fin.

5)   Glue on eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)   Glue on side fins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to recycle your can when you are done with your beverage!

 

Categories: Animals, Children, crafts, education, Environment, nature, oceans, sharks, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

SHAAAAARKS!!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SHAAAAARKS!!!

This Watery Wednesday we’re celebrating Sharks, the ocean’s top predators! These amazing animals are often feared, which is sad because they do not deserve such a terrible reputation. They come in all shapes and sizes and eat everything from large mammals to tiny plankton!

SHARK FUN FACTS:

1) Sharks have been on the planet for 400 million years.

2) Some species of sharks have not changed much in the last 64 million years!

3) There are over 400 species of sharks and they are found in every ocean on earth!

4) Sharks can smell 1 drop of blood in a million drops of water!

5) A shark skeleton is made of cartilage, the same tissue that makes up your ears and nose!

6) Whale sharks are the largest species of shark!

7) Some sharks will use thousands of teeth in a lifetime.

8) Bull sharks can live in fresh water habitats.

9) Sharks are covered in dermal denticles. They are enamel covered plates.

10) Sharks have a lateral line that is made up of jelly filled canals. This helps them detect movement or prey.

Sharks are seriously cool! They are also in serious trouble and it’s up to us to help them out! One great way to adopt a shark! No, we don’t mean bring one home!

Check out the for ways to help!

 

  

  

 

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

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 43

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #43

We’re taking a hike in Southern Europe to find a lizard that looks like a snake! Yep folks, we’ve heard that there are lizards in the world that don’t have legs! Are you ready to go exploring?

MEET THE EUROPEAN GLASS LIZARD!

   Range/Habitat: Southeast Europe-W. Asia/ dry grasslands, rocky areas

   Diet: Carnivore: slugs, snails, invertebrates

   Length: 3 ¼-4ft

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • European glass lizards are legless lizards.
  • They are grey as juveniles and brown as adults.
  • European glass lizards have movable eyelids.
  • They are diurnal (active during the day).
  • European glass lizards don’t just realize their tails, they shatter it. The tail falls off in pieces in order to fool their predators.

These cool lizards think they’re fooling everyone looking like a snake! They’re not fooling this elephant and horse though! How about you?

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, lizards, nature, reptiles, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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