Posts Tagged With: conservation

A Dragon in the Water

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

A Dragon in the Water

We are off to meet a little reptile who is called a dragon! They don’t look like dragons, but they are neat!

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Chinese Water Dragon Fun Facts: 

  • Chinese water dragons grow to around 3 ft long. Their tail is about 2/3 of their body length.
  • Those tails can aide in balance, swimming and protecting themselves from predators.
  • Males are slightly larger and have larger crests on their heads.
  • The crests under their throats can be all kinds of colors, including purple, peach and blue.
  • These arboreal lizards are diurnal.
  • They are omnivores that eat insects, small fish and some vegetation.

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We love spotting small animals as much as we love seeing the big, famous ones. For habitats and ecosystems to be healthy, all the animals that live there must have healthy populations.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Happy Frogs!

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Happy Frogs!

It’s World Frog Day and we are so happy to share some amazing amphibians we met at The Ampbian Foundation right down the road from headquarters! This amazing organization is working to protect frogs and other amphibians and reptiles from around the world! We met some amazing frogs the day we visited, including the gopher frog who the foundation raises and reintroduces in to the wild. Make sure you check out The Amphibian Foundations website & help them out! We’re all here for the frogs!

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Good luck in the wild gopher frog!

 

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Categories: adventure, amphibians, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, frogs, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Watch Out for Flying Frogs

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Watch Out for Flying Frogs

We headed off to meet an adorable amphibian today! They may be known to fly. We wonder if they wear capes? Hehehe! Let’s find out.

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Chinese Flying Frog Fun Facts: 

  • These little 4 inch frogs call tropical and subtropical forests their homes.
  • They are arboreal.
  • They are also called Chinese Gliding Frogs.
  • They have webbing between their toes. That webbing allows them to glide from tree branch to tree branch.
  • They can glide up to 50 feet.
  • Females create foam nests for their eggs and attach to those on leaves above water.
  • They are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

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We enjoyed spotting this little frog with the funny little feet! It makes us want to go hang gliding!

Categories: adventure, amphibians, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, frogs, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Golden Bird

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Golden Bird

We went on an excursion today to look for a native bird of China. These birds are hard to miss with their bright colors and golden heads.

Golden Pheasant, Tangjiahe Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China

 

Golden Pheasant Fun Facts: 

  • Golden pheasants can grow up to 41” long. Two-thirds of that length is tail.
  • The males are much more colorful than the females. Females are typically more brown in color.
  • These diurnal birds are omnivores. They eat leaves, grains and insects.
  • Golden pheasants spend most of their time on the ground.
  • They will roost in trees at night.
  • While they can fly, they only do so in short bursts.
  • They are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

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We enjoyed seeing this bird in the wild. You often spot them in zoos too!

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

One Neat Monkey

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

One Neat Monkey

Our first day here in China we head to the mountainous forests in the Southwest of the country to meet a really neat monkey! We’re not sure we’d call them cute, but they are awesome! Come meet the Golden snub-nosed monkey with us!

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Golden Snub-nosed Monkey Fun Facts: 

  • These monkeys live where it can snow. They tolerate colder temperatures than most non-human primates.
  • Males are larger than females (about 1/2 the size of males). They have longer hair on their backs.
  • The have flattened pushed back noses that are open nostrils.
  • They live in groups of 20-30 individuals during the cold winter. The smaller groups come together in the summer and you may fine groups of 200 individuals.
  • These herbivores eat pine needles, lichen, bamboo shoots and fruit.
  • They are highly vocal.
  • Golden snub-nosed monkeys are listed as Endangered by the IUCN.

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We enjoyed viewing these monkeys in the trees. It is amazing that these primates can tolerate such cold. Most primates live in tropical climates. Do you think they have sweaters stashed somewhere?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, mammals, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Raccoon + Butterfly= Fish

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Raccoon + Butterfly= Fish

We met another great animal during our snorkel trips- this time a wonderful reef fish- the raccoon butterflyfish! Meet them with us!

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Raccoon Butterflyfish Fun Facts: 

  • These Butterflyfish average 8 inches long.
  • They are nocturnal.
  • These carnivores each small invertebrates and nudibranch.
  • They have large eyes.
  • They prefer shallow reefs.
  • They have a false eyespot to fool predators.

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These little fish are fun! They are popular in aquariums too. We love their bright coloration!

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, oceans, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We Are Fanimaly- Whales & Hippos

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

We Are Fanimaly!

It’s Hippo Day and we are doing a We Are Fanimaly! Today we are discovering that hippos closest living relative is the whale! Whaaaaaa? You ask! That’s right they share an ancient ancestor millions of years ago and then went on very different paths!

 

  • Hippos and Whales split on the evulotionary line about 54 million years ago.
  • Whales once had feet and walked on land, before they evolved in to fins.
  • Hippos and whales have multi-chambered stomachs. They do not regurgitate their food like rumanents though. The food works it way through the chambers before going to the true stomach.
  • Marine mammals have one lobed lungs, unlike terrestrial animals who have multi-lobed lungs. Hippos share the trait of one lobed lungs with their whale relatives.
  • Hippos also have large voice boxes that are similar to whales. They are known to make clicking noises similar to some species of whales. In fact, most hippo communication takes place under water.

 

Well we bet you had no idea that hippos and whales shared some seriously neat traits! As if we need more reasons to love hippos!

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, mammals, oceans, science, Today's Post, whales, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hey Nene!

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Hey Nene!

After exploring for bats, we decided to sleep in again and go birding. Today we wanted to find the State bird of Hawaii. Off to meet a goose.

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Hawaiian Goose Fun Facts: 

  • The Hawaiian goose is also called the Nene- named after their soft call.
  • They grow up to 16 inches tall and weigh up to 6 3/4 lbs.
  • They are herbivores. They eat seeds, grasses , fruit and flowers.
  • Nenes evolved from the Canada Goose.
  • Males are slightly larger than females.
  • There were only 32 birds in 1952. With great conservation efforts, their populations have been raised to 1000 birds.
  • They are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

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We had a fun time on Maui meeting these rare species. It is with great care that they have been a success story. We hope their population continues to grow.

Categories: adventure, Animals, birds, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bat Time!

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Bat Time!

We headed out on a nighttime adventure looking for some flying mammals of Hawaii. We found these furry fliers and couldn’t have been more excited.

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Hoary Bat Fun Facts: 

  • The little bats grow up to 6 inches long and weigh just under a pound.
  • Females weigh almost double what the males do.
  • They get their name from the their white tipped fur. Hoary means grayish-white.
  • They have no fur on the underside of their wings.
  • These insectivores use echolocation to find their prey. Their echolocation can be heard by the human ear.
  • Hoary bats are the only native Hawaiian island mammal. All other native mammals are marine mammals.
  • These mostly solitary bats roost in dense trees.
  • Hoary bats are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

 

We love bats, especially these little guys. Some people think bats are ugly, but we can’t disagree more! These moth eaters are the cutest. Don’t you agree?

Categories: adventure, Animals, bats, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Birding Fun

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Birding Fun!

We slept in after our big snorkeling trip yesterday! We hoped a plane to the island of O‘ahu for a few days in the late morning. We were on a mission to find one of Hawaii’s native birds in the wetlands! We were super lucky to spot some! Come learn about them with us!

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Hawaiian Gallinule Fun Facts: 

  • Hawaiian Gallinule are also known as the Hawaiian moorhen.
  • They can grow up to 12 inches long and weigh up 3/4 lbs.
  • They are omnivores. They eat grass, algae and insects.
  • These wetland birds do not have webbed feet. They are excellent swimmers though.
  • They molt once a year in the summer. The molt takes 25 days or so.
  • Hawaiian gallinule are known to be very secretive.
  • Nesting parents are very territorial. They both help incubate the eggs and protect the young chicks.
  • They are listed as Endangered by the IUCN.

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It was neat to see these shy water loving birds. We love their funny long legs and feet!

Categories: adventure, Animals, birds, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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