Posts Tagged With: nature blog

Snakes in the Ocean

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Snakes in the Ocean

Happy Monday! We’re meeting some more snakes during our Creepy Crawlies month. We know these reptiles can be scary, but let’s remember they are important parts of the environment. Today we’re meeting a snake that lives in the ocean.

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Banded Sea Krait Fun Facts: 

  • Banded sea kraits are found mostly in coral reefs.
  • They do come ashore to drink fresh water, lay their eggs and when they shed their skin.
  • These water going snakes have flatten tails to help them swim.
  • These venomous snakes mostly prey on eels.
  • Their prey- the eels, are bigger than they are and it can often take weeks to fully digest. They will haul on to land to digest their food.
  • They are considered to be shy and fairly docile.
  • Females are larger than males and can grow up to 4 feet long.

 

Who knew the ocean had snakes? And knew it could take weeks to digest your dinner? Crazy!

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

Our New Band Name

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Our New Band Name

We’re meeting another snake today and it’s named the Bandy-bandy! It just may be the best name ever and when we start our own elephant & horse band we’re naming it Bandy-bandy!

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Bandy-bandy Fun Facts: 

  • Of course the bandy-bandy is named after the rings of black & white on it’s body.
  • These small round headed snakes grow up to 2 feet long.
  • Bandy-bandies are residents of Australia.
  • These burrowing snakes are nocturnal.
  • They are venomous and are known to eat other snakes.
  • Bandy-bandies are known for their “stance” when threatened- they form a hoop or u shape to look bigger.

 

We like these cool little snakes. They are rarely seen by humans, due to being mostly nocturnal. Now if you had to name your band after an animal what would it be?

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

Ribbons!

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Ribbons!

Today we’re meeting an interesting mostly aquatic snake- called the ribbon snake. Any guess where they got their name from?

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Ribbon Snake Fun Facts:

  • Ribbon snakes call marshes, ponds and lakes home.
  • They are excellent swimmers.
  • They are related to garter snakes.
  • These slender constrictors only eat ectothermic prey including frogs and fish.
  • They use their site and hearing senses when hunting for prey.
  • Ribbon snakes hibernate during the winter.

 

These neat little snakes have small heads and therefore eat smaller prey. Like all snakes they swallow them whole.

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

Creepers Month!

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Creepers Month!

It’s October tomorrow and that is the traditional month for creepy crawlers- you know the usual suspects; bats, spiders, bugs, blacks cats and snakes! We had a request to share more about that last one- so we’re meeting some snakes from around the world.

Today we’re meeting the black rat snake- a constrictor and helpful snake.

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Black Rat Fun Facts: 

  • They are also known as Eastern Rat Snakes.
  • These large constrictors can grow up to 7 feet long.
  • They call suburbs, woodlands and farms home.
  • Their favorite prey are eggs, amphibians and birds.
  • Black rat snakes are excellent swimmers and climbers.
  • They can release a foul order to deter predators, including hawks.

 

These snakes are harmless to humans and are helpful to keep rodent populations in check. If you see one, just let them be and wave from a distance.

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

Sun in the Ocean

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Sun in the Ocean

We’re meeting one awesome fish today! It is big, odd looking and one of a kind! Come learn more about the Ocean Sunfish or Mola Mola with us!

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Mola Mola Fun Facts: 

  • Molas are large and round shaped. The name mola means millstone for its round shape. 
  • They are known for swimming up by the surface and letting birds pick parasites off of their skin.
  • It is the heaviest bony fish in the world. They can get as large as 15 feet!
  • Female ocean sunfish lay 300 million eggs at a time. 
  • Those eggs are star shaped and about the size of a pin head!
  • Ocean sunfish are related to pufferfish. 
  • These odd disk shaped fish use their dorsal and anal fins to swim! 

 

These super cool alien looking fish are one of our favorites. We sure wouldn’t say they are cute, but wow are the neat!

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

No Flying Here

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

No Flying Here

We are continuing to meet some animals from our coloring book this week and today that means were learning more about the kiwi! These little flightless birds from New Zealand are icons and quiet fascinating!

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Kiwi Fun Facts:

  • Kiwis are related to emus and ostriches.
  • Kiwis and their ancient relatives have been on earth for 30 million years.
  • They do have wings that are about 1 inch long. These wings are useless.
  • Flighted birds have hollow bones to help them fly; but not the kiwi, they have bones full of marrow – like mammals.
  • Kiwis also have claws on the end of each claw.
  • Female kiwis lay the largest egg to their body ratio of any bird on the planet.
  • A female can lay 300 eggs in their lifetime.

Kiwis are so cute and funny looking with their tiny wings, long beak and clawed feet. Can  you imagine a funnier looking bird?

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

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!

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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

Heading to the Moon?

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Heading to the Moon?

Did we get you? We are not heading to the moon, but we are meeting animal named the moonrat today. Let’s learn more about this animal with the funny name.

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Moonrat Fun Facts: 

  • Moonrats are not rodents, but actually relatives of the hedgehog. 
  • These insectivores are found in Southeast Asia and spend their nights foraging for food.
  • They have mostly white faces and grey bodies, but some individuals are all white.
  • They can grow to be up to 16 inches long. 
  • Fossils similar to the moonrat were found to be 16 million years old.
  • Moonrats produce a strong ammonia scent when threatened and when marking their territory.
  • They are solitary and highly territorial.
  • Moonrats are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
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Welcome Back!

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Welcome Back!

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We’re back at the University of E&E! We’re gearing up for a year of amazing animals! And we have a fantastic surprise to announce tomorrow! Next week we’ll get started back to full posts with two weeks of meeting some of the most amazing and unfortunately feared animals on the planet- snakes.

We had two students donate to orphan elephants to make those posts happen- so thank you! And hopefully after meeting these reptiles we’ll all appreciate them more!

Grab your supplies and let’s get ready to learn!

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

That is One Big Shark

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

That is One Big Shark

We are meeting the biggest shark and the biggest fish in the ocean on the 3rd day of shark week! These spotty gentle giants are amazing and we’re excited to share more about them with our campers!

Whale shark, Rhincodon typus, at Daedalus in the Egyptian Red Sea.

WHALE SHARK FUN FACTS: 

  • These plankton eaters filter their food from the oceans, unlike most of their other shark relatives.
  • Whale sharks call tropical waters around the world home.
  • They are known to migrate to find good food sources.
  • The largest fish in the world can grow up to 40 ft long.
  • Like the mako shark, the whale shark is ovoviviparous. They incubate eggs inside and give birth to live young. They can give birth to several hundreds of pups.
  • Whale sharks are covered in spots and each shark’s spots have a unique pattern.
  • Scientist use those spot patterns to ID individuals and study their populations.
  • These giants are listed as ENDANGERED by the IUCN.

 

Whale sharks are thought to have been swimming the world’s oceans for around 60 million years. They weren’t discovered by humans til the 1800s! Because they are popular to swim with in the wild, they are more valuable alive than dead (or for meat). In most places they are protected, which is great, because we couldn’t imagine the oceans without them.

 

 

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

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