Posts Tagged With: environmental blog

Fairies!

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Fairies!

We are meeting one last animal from our coloring book today- the Pink Fairy Armadillo. These crazy looking animals are fascinating and we can’t wait to learn more about them with you!

3312244B-4879-4FEE-A52D-DC0840119D11

Pink Fairy Armadillo Fun Facts:

  • They are also known as the pichiciego.
  • These little animals are about 4 1/2 inches long.
  • Their pink shells are only attached by a thin membrane.
  • They call sandy plains their home.
  • Pink fairy armadillos have long digging claws on their front claws. They can bury themselves in the sand in a matter of minutes.
  • These omnivores eat insects and plant materials.
  • They are nocturnal and solitary.
  • Pink fairy armadillos spend most of their time underground. They make a swimming motion in the sand with their long front claws.

 

These alien looking little armadillos are so cool. We had never heard of them until recently. They call Argentina home.

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

Prickly

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Prickly

Today we are meeting a prickly animal who is the 2nd largest rodent in North America. Any guesses who it is?  Well let’s find out!

6CFDEA16-FD15-422E-AD46-FDEA250F933B

 

North American Porcupine Fun Facts:

  • Porcupine backs are covered in quills.
  • They can not throw my quills, but if a predator like a wolf tries to attack they can release the quills.
  • They have around 30,000 quills!
  • Quills are made of keratin, the protein that make up human nails & hair.
  • Porcupines are excellent climbers and swimmers.
  • These herbivores eat a variety of plants, bark, berries and roots.
  • When porcupines are born their quills are soft. They grow harder in just a few days.
  • These nocturnal creatures also give off a strong odor to deter predators.
  • Porcupines have a natural antibiotic in their skin to help protect them if they fall and accidentally poke themselves with their quills.

 

There are old world (Asia, Africa & Europe) porcupines and new world (the Americas) porcupines. All have those famous quills.

Categories: adventure, american, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Know Your Echinoderms

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

CB62F432-51CF-4AF6-971D-028E41135961

Echinoderm Fun Facts: 

  • Echinoderms include sea stars, brittle and basket stars, sea urchins and sand dollars and sea cucumbers. 
  • They have been around for around 500 million years.
  • Their name comes from Greek and means urchin and skin. They all have spines- some larger and sharper than others.
  • Most Echinoderms have radial symmetry- body parts are arranged around a central point. 
  • Echinoderms do not have blood- they use water to circulate throughout their body. Water also helps them move their tube feet which they use for locomotion. 
  • Some Echinoderms can regenerate their body parts. Sea stars are known for regrowing arms. 

We’ll meet some neat Echinoderms this summer at camp? Do you have a favorite? We love sea stars and sand dollars in particular. 

Categories: adventure, Animals, camp, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, oceans, science, sea stars, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black & White Bird

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Black & White Bird

As we were exploring the cliffs and coasts to meet puffins, we met another neat sea bird- the razorbill! These neat looking birds look even more formal than penguins!

razorbills

Razorbill Fun Facts:

  • They grow up to 8 1/2 inches long and weigh up to 30 oz.
  • These carnivores eat fish and crustaceans.
  • These sea birds spend most of their life at sea. They spend time on cliffs and coastlines to breed in the spring.
  • Male and females mate for life. They come together to incubate the egg.
  • The oldest living razorbill lived to 41 years.
  • They are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

razorbills2

These gorgeous birds are so cool! They have the neatest little white lines on their beaks. They are quiet fun to watch dive for food.

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

Where Will the Next E&E Adventure Be?

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Where Will the Next E&E Adventure Be?

We are heading out on last adventure for the year! Are you ready to learn in May? Then we’ll be heading out to Camp E&E for the summer! Woohoo!

We are heading to Europe and a land near the Arctic Circle.

Is it the home of the largest deep water coral reef.

There are over 15,000 miles of coastline. 

It is a land of polar bears, salmon and large glaciers.

You can’t miss the fjords. 

Can you guess where our next adventure be? 

 

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

We Are Fanimaly- Anteater/Sloth

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

We Are Fanimaly- Anteater/Sloth

We are starting up a feature from the past this week! We’ll be post a segment we call     We Are Fanimaly once a month. This feature will spotlight animals that are related. Some of these you may know and some of them may surprise you! This month’s features our giant anteater from last week. 

 

390E2C3F-1EED-4EAD-A776-E0B89F714FAA

 

Anteaters and sloths are relatives! Can you believe it? Our Giant Armadillo from a few days ago also belongs in their Fanimaly! They look nothing alike! Hehehehe!

  • Their superorder is Xenartha.
  • These animals only live in the Americas.
  • They have been around for about 59 million years.
  • Remember the Glyploton- the giant armadillo? Well there were giant ground sloths too!
  • The name Xenarthra means “strange joints”.
  • The name was chosen because anteaters, sloths and armadillos have vertebral joints unlike any other mammals on earth.
  • Anteaters and sloths are more closely related to each other than their armadillo cousins.
  • The animals in the Xenartha surperorder are either insectivores (anteaters & armadillos) or herbivores (sloth).
  • There are 6 sloth species and four anteater species.
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, mammals, nature, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Blog at WordPress.com.

%d bloggers like this: