Posts Tagged With: envrionment

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 52

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #52

We’re going to a tiny island off the east coast of Africa to meet today’s reptile. These rare reptiles are gorgeous. Let’s go on a hike to meet…

MEET THE ROUND ISLAND BOA!

   Range/Habitat: Round Island

   Diet: Carnivore: lizards

   Length: 3- 5 ft

   Conservation Status: endangered

Fun Facts:

  • Round Island Boas are one of the world’s rarest snakes.
  • They have keeled shaped scales.
  • Round Island boas have long slender bodies and narrow heads.
  • Female Round Island boas lay eggs.
  • Young Round Island boas are bright orange when they are born.

Round Island Boas are so cool. Luckily, these endangered snakes have people working to help increase their numbers. We sure hope they are successful!

 

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

WATERY WEDNESDAY #18

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WATERY WEDNESDAY# 18

Woohoo it’s Watery Wednesday again and we have a reptile that lives in the shallows of rivers and ponds! What? Yep, we have a reptile for Watery Wednesday! Come meet this little turtle…

MEET THE TWIST NECKED TURTLE!

Range/Habitat: Northern South America/river-ponds

Diet: Carnivore: insects, snails, tadpoles

Length: 5 ½-6 ½”

Conservation Status: Common

 

Fun Facts:

  • Twist necked turtles do not pull their heads backwards into their shells, they pull them sideways.
  • They are relatively bad swimmers, and usually stay in shallow waters.
  • Twist necked turtles have very flat carapaces (top shells).

These neat little turtles have a very special adaptation as they pull their head in sideways and not backwards. They are one of the very few turtles who are able to do this on the planet! Neat! What kind of special adaptation do you have? Can you touch your nose with your tongue or make silly faces? Ellie can touch her back with her trunk!

 

 

 

 

Categories: Animals, Children, education, Environment, nature, reptiles | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

FEATHERY FRIDAY # 9

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

FEATHERY FRIDAY # 9

We love our fine feathered friends and we love brightly colored ones even more! Today’s Feathery Friday friend lives right here in the Southern United States (that’s where we live)!

MEET THE PAINTED BUNTING!

Range/Habitat: Southern United States/woodlands, brushy areas

Diet: Omnivore: seeds, insects

Length: 5 ½ “

Conservation Status: Near threatened

Fun Facts:

  • Painted Buntings are very colorful birds. They are often called the most colorful bird in North America.
  • They often pair for life.
  • They are shy and hard to see in the wild, despite their bright colors.
  • Male Painted buntings are highly territorial.
  • Painted buntings are a member of the cardinal family.
  • They are migrating birds. They spend their winters in Mexico.

These bright and colorful birds sure are beautiful! If you’re live in the Southern United States, you’d be lucky to see one of these birds in the wild! Can you name all the colors you see on these birds?

Categories: Animals, birds, Children, education, Environment | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

MAMMAL MONDAY # 8

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY# 8

It’s Monday and we hope everyone had great weekend! Monday means it’s time to meet another mammal! 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. Do you remember which antelope is? *answer below

 

 

*Okapi: ( http://wp.me/p1Gkpi-16 )

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

SUPER SURPRISE # 7

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY #7

We didn’t have a Super Surprise animal last week because it was World Rhino Day! We hope you enjoyed learning all about rhinos on our Facebook page and our Twitter account!* Today’s animal is very special as it is naked mammal! Naked you say? Yep, it’s a naked animal. Let’s see who it is!

MEET THE NAKED MOLE RAT

Range/Habitat: East Africa/tropical grassland-deserts

Diet: Herbivores: roots-tubers

Length/Weight: 3-3 ½”/1- 2 oz (about as much as 4 to 5 quarters)

Conservation Status: Common

 

Fun Facts:

  • Naked Mole Rats are a very funny looking mammal. They are almost hairless, except for a few pale hairs and whiskers.
  • They are very social and live in colonies of up to 70-100 individuals.
  • Naked mole rats have a very unusual social structure. There is a queen naked mole rat and workers.
  • The queen is the dominant female and is the only naked mole rat to bread (have babies) in the colony.
  • Worker naked mole rats dig the elaborate tunnel systems that they live in. They also gather food.
  • Naked mole rats rarely surface from their underground tunnels.
  • They have tiny ears and eyes. They can’t hear or see well.
  • Naked mole rats have large teeth that they use for digging and eating.

We know naked mole rats aren’t the cutest animal on the planet; in fact they’re pretty bizarre looking! But even the bizarre animals are cool! Sometimes even more cool that the cute ones!

 

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

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #6

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #6

We’re loving trees this week! Yesterday’s mammal of the day was a Clouded leopard (they’re arboreal) and today’s reptile also lives in the trees. In fact tree is part of their name. Cool! So who is this super fabulous tree loving snake… Let’s find out!

MEET THE EMERALD TREE BOA!

Range/Habitat: Northern South America- Bolivia, Peru, Brazil/ rainforests

Diet: Carnivore: small mammals, birds

Length: 5-6 ½ ft

Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

  • Emerald Tree Boas are an arboreal snake (they live in trees) and they have many adaptations to live in the trees.
  • Emerald tree boas are a bright green color and it helps them camouflage with the leaves of the trees.
  • They have prehensile tails. They can hang from their tails.
  • They curl around branches and rest during the day, because they are primarily nocturnal (active at night).
  • They will curl around branches and hang their heads lower than their bodies to lunge at prey.
  • Emerald Tree Boas are constrictors, meaning they squeeze their prey before swallowing them whole! They don’t have venom, but they do have long teeth to help grab their prey.
  • Emerald tree boas have special pits around their mouths to detect the heat given off by other animals. This heat sensing ability helps them tract prey.
  • Young Emerald tree boas are not green; they are brown, red and orange. They turn green around 1 year of age.

Wow! You have to have lots of cool adaptations to live in the trees! Thank goodness Emerald Tree Boas have plenty! What fun adaptations would you have if you had to live in a tree?

Categories: Animals, Children, education, Environment, reptiles | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

FEATHERY FRIDAY #5

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

FEATHERY FRIDAY#5

We’re very excited about today’s Feathery Friday! This bird is known to be very smart and great at imitating human speech. Wonder if they can do a good elephant or horse impression? Let’s meet today’s fabulous feathery friend…

MEET THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT!

Range/Habitat: West-Central Africa/lowland rainforest and farmland

Diet: Herbivore: fruit, nuts, leaves

Length/Weight: 13”/14 oz

Conservation Status: Common- Near Threatened

Fun Facts:

  • African Grey Parrots are highly social birds that live in flocks.
  • There are two subspecies (types) of African grey parrots: the Congo, who is larger and has a bright red tail and the Timneh, who is smaller and darker and has a maroon tail.
  • When flying in large flocks African greys call to each other and communicate by flashing their bright red tails.
  • They have a long life span. They can live up to 60+ years.
  • They are highly intelligent and have been compared to human toddlers.
  • African greys are highly vocal and are amazing at mimicking sounds and language!
  • Alex is an African Grey Parrot that worked with Dr Irene Pepperberg and was known to do things such as sort colors, shapes and count! We’re going to write a separate post about Alex- he was a very special bird!

African grey parrots are very special birds! They’re very smart and social, a great combination! If you could teach a parrot to say one thing, what would it be? Ellie would teach him to trumpet like her!

 

 

 

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SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY #5

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY#5

We’ve made it to another Thursday and that means we have a Super Surprise animal today! Who will it be? Is it a lion or a bear or this guy…

MEET THE EGYPTIAN COBRA!

Range/Habitat: Northwest Africa and East Africa/ desert and grasslands

Diet:  Carnivore: small mammals, snakes, birds and eggs

Length: 3 ½-8ft

Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

  • The Egyptian Cobra is highly venomous snake.
  • They are nocturnal (active at night).
  • They are known to be aggressive and are quick to defend themselves.
  • They will “stand up” and spread open their hoods to make themselves look bigger.
  • Egyptian cobras are highly territorial and will often fight each other for territory.
  • Their venom is fatal to humans if not treated.

Egyptian cobras are quite intimating but are awesome! Remember that every animal has a place on this earth and even the ones that seem scary belong in their habitat! Just think, if we didn’t have snakes, we’d have tons and tons of rats and mice! They’re all part of the food web!

Recently an Egyptian Cobra made the news when she escaped from enclosure at the Bronx Zoo. Luckily she was found curled up in a corner of the reptile house!

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/bronx-zoo-cobra-found-alive/

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

WATERY WEDNESDAY #5

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WATERY WEDNESDAY#5

Woohoo it’s another Watery Wednesday! We’ve found another fish that gets its name from a mammal. (Remember the Wolffish?) This one won’t roll over, sit or shake paws for you though. Can you guess what shark it is? Let’s meet…

MEET THE SPINY DOGFISH!

Range/Habitat: Coastal waters-worldwide (generally under 59 degrees)

Diet: Carnivore: crustaceans, anemones, fish

Length: 3 ¼ ft- 5 ft

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Fun Facts:

  • The Spiny dogfish is a small, slow moving, bottom dwelling shark.
  • They have venomous spines on both dorsal (top) fins that are used for defense and can cause painful wounds.
  • They are often found swimming in large schools. They often feed together in large groups or “packs”. This feeding behavior is most likely where the name dogsfish came from. (Wild dogs also feed in packs or groups.)
  • They are known to be aggressive and voracious eaters.
  • They have one of the longest known gestation periods (time of pregnancy) of any shark (or any vertebrate for that matter) around 24 months (2+ years). That is longer than an elephant!

The Spiny dogfish is a cool and strange looking little shark, but with those venomous spines we’re glad this shark doesn’t shake fins ;)!

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REPTILIAN TUESDAY #5

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY#5

Happy Tuesday! We hope everyone enjoyed Labor Day! We’re back with a funny looking reptile that has horns! What? Yep, we said horns! Some say it even looks like a dinosaur, but it’s not! Who is this awesome lizard? Let’s find out…

MEET THE JACKSON’S CHAMELEON!

Range/Habitat: East Africa-Kenya/Tanzania/ High altitude mountainous regions

Diet:  Carnivore: insects

Length: 8-12”

Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

  • Male Jackson’s Chameleons have 3 bony horns on the front of their head.
  • They use the horns to fight other males for territory.
  • Female Jackson’s Chameleons do not have horns.
  • Like other chameleons, they can change their color depending on their mood, health and surroundings.
  • They are bright green. Their ability to camouflage with their habitat is their primary defense mechanism.
  • Jackson’s chameleons do not lay eggs; females incubate the eggs inside her body and give birth to live young.
  •  Baby chameleons are brown and turn green around the age of 4 months.

These crazy chameleon look kind of like triceratops or a rhino to us! We think they are fantastic! What do you think?

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