Day #42 (4/23/2014) Southern Tamandua

We were so excited to see one of Professor Tamanadua’s wild relatives while we are here in South America! Tamanduas are such great creatures, even if they are a bit stinky :)!

Their range/habitat: Central- South America/forest-scrub
Their length/weight: 2-8 ft/ 4 1/2- 7 lbs Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Insectivore: ants, termites

• Southern Tamanduas are also known as lesser anteaters.
• They are arboreal.
• Southren Tamanduas have a strong musty odor to help protect them predators.
• Southren tamanduas have no teeth. They use a long tongue to catch their insect prey!
• They are nocturnal.
• Southern tamanduas have long claws for climbing and digging for prey.
• They have a partially prehensile tail that helps them grip branches in trees and balance when they stand up on their hind legs.

Tamanduas and anteaters are one of natures coolest animals. Those long claws, noses and tongues make them unusual and fascinating! One tamandua can eat up to 9,000 termites in one sitting! Nom! Nom! Nom!

-Ellie and Edmond

Day #38 (7/10/2014) Short Beaked Echidna

We had such fun watching platypuses the other day. We headed off to our next stop on our short trip to Australia. We were on a mission to find the other monotreme (mammal that lays eggs) that lives in Australia too.  We hiked for a quiet a while during the morning and finally hit the jackpot! We spotted an echidna! We were so excited!
Their range/habitat: Australia-New Guinea/deserts-forests
Their length/weight: 14-39″/9-15lbs  Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Insectivores– ants, worms, termites

• Echidnas are also known as spiny anteaters.
• They are considered one of the oldest species on earth.
• Echidnas can live up to 50 years.
• Echidnas are solitary.
• They have a poor sense of sight, but an excellent sense of smell and hearing.
• Echidna snouts are also called beaks.
• They are excellent diggers.
• Echidnas have 6” tongues!

Echidnas may just be one of the most alien creatures that we have ever seen. They have remained nearly unchained since prehistoric times. They are just crazy and weird! Australia is an island full of these creatures. We can’t wait to see what we find tomorrow!

-Ellie and Edmond

GUESS THE ANIMAL!!
We’re in Australia for the week and we went exploring to find a very special animal today! Look at the picture, read the clues and tell us who you think it is?

• They are mammals.
• They are very odd looking.
• They are one of two monotremes in the world!

WHO IS IT?

SLOTHS!!

Cutest baby sloths ever!

We almost missed sloth week! Who doesn’t love these relatives of the armadillo and anteater? These slow, arboreal and adorable mammals are one of our favorites! They live in the rainforests of South America hanging out in the trees! They are sooooooo slothy that algae grows in their fur! We secretly have a theory that at night, they don capes and fly around sprinkling thoughts of cute sloths all over people as they sleep! Hahaha! What’s your favorite thing about sloths?

GUESS THE ANIMAL!

We headed to the tip of the African continent to find today’s animal! Make sure you read the clues after you look at the picture. We are looking for a specific answer (a species- not just a general animal name).

• These birds live in a temperate climate.
• They live on the beaches of South Africa.
• They make a call that sounds like a donkey.

WHO IS IT?

Day 36- We’re back on the road to Africa this week…

We packed our good old trunk with the necessities and boarded the E&E plane to Africa this week! So nice to be back on the road. We thought we would do a safari and look for what animals we could find! After we landed we headed out to camp and unloaded in our cabin for the week. We were excited to see what animals we could find! Luckily one of our first sights was the amazing gerenuk  (Gair-uh-nook)…

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

• 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- because we know that’s the okapi! So many fun names! Edmond said he’s going to write a song about gerenuks and okapis- he is so silly!

–Ellie

GUESS THE ANIMAL!!

While we were bird watching Africa we spotted this large animal hiding in the trees! Can you guess who we spotted looking over the savannas?

• This large cat can carry large prey up trees.
• They have rosettes.
• They have white spots on the back of their ears.

WHO IS IT?