Posts Tagged With: mammals

Island Rats!

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Island Rats

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Date: 10/10

Location: Galapagos Islands

  • Galapagos island rice rats were first described by Charles Darwin.
  • They are nocturnal.
  • Rice rats burrow under rocks or in the hollow of a cactus.

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  • They are the only native rat on the Galapagos Islands.
  • They now live only on one island, Santa Fe.
  • Rice rats have more babies during wet years.

We had to disembark the SS Ellie and Edmond at night to locate these tiny inhabitants. We always carry red flashlights as not to disturb the animals (many animals can not detect it). Our guide knew just where to look. We watched a few little rats chowing down on dinner and scurrying about! We’ll sleep in before heading off to meet tomorrow’s animal.

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

Is That a Lion in the Tree?

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Is that a Lion in the Tree?

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Date: 9/28

Location: Brazilian Rainforest

 

  • Golden Lion Tamarins have beautiful golden coats and fluffy manes around their faces.
  • They are diurnal (active during the day) and arboreal (live in the trees).
  • Golden Lion Tamarins live in small family groups led by a female-male breeding pair.
  • Mother Golden lion tamarins give birth to 1 or 2 offspring.
  • Father Golden lion tamarins take care of the babies and carry them on their backs. They give them to their mom when it’s time for feeding.

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Golden lion tamarins are adorable, but they are endangered. We saw a group because ranchers have saved parts of their land to give the monkeys a home. Zoos in America are raising these tamarins and sending them back to the wild to be released. They are tagged with radio collars and followed by scientists! This is conservation at work. It takes all of us!

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

Soooooo Slow!

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Sooooo Slow!

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Date: 9/21

Location: Amazon Rainforest

  • Sloths are related to armadillos and anteaters.
  • Two-toed sloths are arboreal. They spend most of their lives in the tops of the trees.
  • They only come down once a month to use the bathroom.
  • Like other sloths, they have algae and insects growing in their fur.

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  • Toe-toed sloths are nocturnal, they spend their evenings eating flowers and leaves.
  • They are excellent swimmers.
  • Two-toed sloths are larger than their cousins the three-toed sloths.
  • Two-toed sloths have no canines or incisor teeth.

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Sloths have always been a favorite of ours. It was a treat to find one on our adventures in the rainforest this week. Of course, we needed binoculars to look so high up in the trees. Can you imagine spending most of your life hanging upside down in the trees? It works for the sloth!

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River Wolf!

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

River Wolf!

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Date: 9/14

Location: Amazon River

  • Giant river otters are highly social- live in family groups of one monogamous pair & offspring.
  • They are very vocal and make many different sounds including, clicks & whistle.
  • Giant river otters recognize each other by white marks on their chests. They pop up out of the water to look for food and other otters. It’s called periscoping!

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  • Largest member of the otter family.
  • Giant river otters have webbed feet and a flat wing like tail for swimming.
  • They have dense fur to keep water from getting to it’s skin. That fur is velvet soft.
  • Giant river otters are considered to be apex predators in their habitats.
  • They eat 6-9 lbs of food a day!
  • The can detect changes in water currents & pressure with their whiskers.
  • Baby otters do not know how to swim when they are born. They are taught by their parents.

 

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The Tupi people of Brazil call it the ariranha- meaning water jaguar and n Spanish the name means river wolf.

 

Wow! What a day we had on the river! In the past three days we spotted pacu, anaconda and today giant river otters! They were an extra special treat, as they are highly endangered and very rare to spot! Conservationists are working hard to protect this special species! We could sit on the boat all day and listen to them chirp and talk to each other!

 

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

Giant in the Rainforest!

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Giant in the Rainforest!

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Date: 9/6

Location: Amazon rainforest

Observations:

  • The giant anteater has no teeth. They have 2 foot long tongues that extract termites and ants.
  • One giant anteater can eat up to 35,000 insects a day.
  • They can flick their tongue up to 160 times per minute. Giant anteaters must be fast to avoid ant bites.
  • Giant anteaters have a keen sense of smell. They use it to find the ant mounds.

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  • Giant anteaters walk on their wrists. They have long sharp claws (about 4 inches) that they can not walk on.
  • Those claws are used for ripping into ant and termite mounds.
  • Giant anteaters are excellent swimmer. Their long snouts make great snorkels!
  • They can use their long sturdy tails to help them stand on two legs. They do this to look for predators or to fight off a predator!

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We had a wonderful time waiting on the edge of the forest to see a giant anteater wander up. They look so clumsy when they move, but we think they are awesome! Those claws not only help them break-in to breakfast, but they are critical in helping them protect themselves. Mother anteaters carry babies on their backs, so they use those small claws for holding on! These may be our favorite animal, but we have a whole month here in the rainforest. Time to head back to camp and figure out who we can find tomorrow!

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

Welcome Back!

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Welcome Back!

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Hello everyone! Welcome back to another great year at the University of Ellie and Edmond! We are so excited to have all our old students return and we are super excited to meet some new ones! You may notice some changes in our site! Each professor has their own page, where you can learn some basics about mammals, reptiles and amphibians, insects, birds and fish! The post of the day, will be found under Today’s Post now too.

This year, we are going on field expeditions every month. Each month we’ll be visiting a different area. We met with Rita the Rat, our professor of geography and culture and picked our route and our stops!

 

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We picked different habitats, from deserts to rainforests to coral reefs. We’ll be starting in the Amazon rainforest then heading to the Galapagos islands in October! We hope you like our new journal type entries too. You’ll spot the professor that is works with that type of animal at the top, plus our vital information and then what we learned about our new friend! It’s all very exciting! We’re packing our bags and we’ll be in the rainforest tomorrow! Let’s get ready to do some field work and make new animal friends!

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

One Big Rodent!

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

One Big Rodent!

We’ve met the jaguar yesterday and today we’re off to find another animal that calls Brazil home! These super cuties are often called rodents of unusual size! Hahaha! Let’s meet the capybara!

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Fun Facts:

  • Capybaras can be found in Central and South America in marshes, ponds and lakes.
  • They can grow up to 4 feet long and weigh up to 150 lbs.
  • Capybaras are herbivores. They eat grasses, plants and fruit. They eat up to 8lbs of vegetation a day.
  • They are listed as least concern by the IUCN.
  • Capybaras are the largest rodent in the world.
  • They have webbed feet.
  • They are excellent is swimmers and often spend most of their time in water.

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  • A capybara’s eyes, nose and ears are on top of their head. This allows them to just have those body parts above the water while their bodies are underwater.
  • Their teeth grow throughout their lifetime.
  • Capybaras chew their food from side to side.
  • Capybaras live in small groups.
  • They are very vocal.
  • Capybaras got their name from the Tupi people of Brazil, an old native tribe of Brazil. The name means “grass eater”.

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These furry little rodent pigs are so fun to watch! Who doesn’t love them? We know we do!!

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

There’s a Big Cat in the Jungle!

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

There’s a Big Cat in the Jungle!

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This week we are featuring animals native to Brazil, where the Olympics are continuing this week. Brazil is an amazing place, with savannas to rainforests. It is home to the largest part of the Amazonian rainforest, that houses 10% of world’s known species. Brazil ranks number 3 in the number of species of birds that call it home! Wow! This place is definitely amazing!

Today we are going to meet one of Brazil’s felines! This big cat is an icon known around the world- let’s meet the jaguar!

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Fun Facts:

  • Jaguars are found in Central and South America in rainforests, savannas and swamps.
  • They can reach up to 6 feet long and weigh up to 200 lbs.
  • Jaguars are carnivores. They eat deer, caiman, tapirs and other animals.
  • Jaguars are listed as near threatened.
  • Jaguars are the largest big cat in the Americas.
  • They are excellent climbers and excellent swimmers.
  • Jaguars have spots with spots in those. Those spots are called rosettes because of their rose appearance.

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  • Jaguars are efficient predators and kill their prey with a bite to the head of their prey.
  • They are solitary and territorial.
  • There are occasional jaguars with melanism. They have all black fur. In light you can see their spots.
  • Jaguars are revered in their native lands. Their was even a jaguar god who ruled the underworld.
  • The name jaguar comes from a Native American word that means “he who kills with one leap”.

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These gorgeous cats are amazing! They have it all, good looks, great athleticism and those classic cat whiskers! Hehehehe!

 

 

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

WORLD ELEPHANT DAY!

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WORLD ELEPHANT DAY!

It’s World Elephant Day and Ellie is sharing just a few of the reasons elephants are so awesome! She’ll also be sharing some reasons why they need your help!

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IMG_1288We lose an elephant to poachers every 15 minutes. That’s 96 elephants every day!

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These magnificent creatures are killed for their tusks! Tusks that are used to make trinkets, carvings and jewelry. We must all work to stop this! There are ways you can help!

Educate others! Donate to David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Get involved- make your voice heard! Check out 96 elephants to learn more about wildlife crime and how you can help stop it! Together we can protect elephants!

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

THIEF IN THE NIGHT!

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Ellie and Edmond ©

THIEF IN THE NIGHT

We’re meeting one more local of Salamander Woods. Are you ready? This animal is coming over during our last big bonfire as he is nocturnal! Let’s all be on the lookout for a little racoon!

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Raccoon Fun Facts:

  • Raccoons live in North America. They are common.
  • They grow up to 28″ long and can weigh up to 20lbs.
  • Raccoon are omnivores. They will eat almost anything, from invertebrates to plants to small animals.
  • Raccoons have 40 teeth!
  • They live in all kind of habitats, from swamps to forests to cities.
  • Raccoons are famous for their masked faces.
  • Raccoons are nocturnal.

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  • They are known to wash their food off in creeks or streams.
  • Raccoons do not hibernate, but they do store fat before the winter and lose up to 50% of their body weight.
  • Raccoons have 5 digits on their front paws. These fingers act like human hands in a way.
  • They are excellent climbers and swimmers!

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Raccoons are intelligent critters! They get a bad rap, but they are amazing! And you know you can’t resist those cute little faces!

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

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