Posts Tagged With: science

Bears and Seals!

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Bears and Seals!

Yesterday’s Guess the Animal was the Black Bear. One of the clues was that this animal is related to seals. We had lots of people guess otter, because of this clue! That was a great guess, but otters are related to weasels and wolverines.

Bears on the other hand are related to seals and sea lions, otherwise known as pinnipeds. Last year we had a series of cartoons call We Are Fanimaly, where we talked about animal relatives. We’re going to show you the Bears and Pinnipeds cartoon again! We’d like to start the We Are Fanimaly posts again very soon!

Image

FUN BEAR FACTS: 

  • Bears have shaggy coats and short tails.
  • Bears are mammals.
  • There are 8 species of bears.
  • Many species hibernate during the winter.
  • All bears are omnivores.
  • Bears can live up to 30 years.
  • Bears can run up to 40 mph.
  • Polar bears are marine mammals.
  • The most common bear is the brown bear.

FUN PINNIPED FACTS:

  • The pinniped family includes seals and sea lions.
  • Pinnipeds are mammals.
  • There are 32 species of seals.
  • Seals and sea lions have fur and a layer of blubber.
  • Seals and sea lions are carnivores.
  • Pinnipeds use their whiskers to find prey.
  • Seals and seal lions are marine mammals.
Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

GUESS THE ANIMAL!!

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

 GUESS THE ANIMAL!!

Who’s ready to guess the animal today? We’ve got an animal that lives in our neck of the woods! Be sure to tell us who you think it is!

bear (2)

  • They are omnivores.
  • They live all over North America.
  • They are related to seals.

WHO IS IT?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!
swow baleen

Welcome back to class! Who is excited about the big art contest Ellie and Edmond are having? I am really looking forward to seeing all the great entries! This week our word is all about whales! We’re talking about baleen!

Baleen: a fibrous structure made of keratin* that grows in the upper and lower jaw of baleen whales. Baleen allows these whales to filter water out and keep their prey in. Baleen whales eat tiny animals like krill and plankton. Baleen whales include the Blue Whale, the Gray Whale, the Southern Right Whale and the Humpback Whale.

swow baleen cartoon

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

ART HAS GONE TO THE ELEPHANT & HORSES!

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

ART HAS GONE TO THE ELEPHANT & HORSES!

frog craft1

We’re having an art contest and we want you to enter! We’ve wanted to make and Ellie and Edmond calendar for the last couple of years, but have never actually done it. This is where we want you! We’re looking for your Ellie and Edmond art to make into a calendar for 2015! Here are the rules:

  • You can use any medium you like; paint, pastels, crayons, oils, fabric, etc… You just have to be able to scan in your final product.
  • All entries must be sent by Jpeg or PDF and must be emailed to us at ellandedmond@gmail.com.
  • Contest is open to all ages.
  • All art must include us, you may use one of our pictures from the blog or Facebook or Twitter as your inspiration or you can come up with and original idea of us. Remember, we are conservationist and adventurers so think of a fun setting for us.
  • An independent judge will pick the 12 finalist.
  • Contest ends Aug. 30th, 2014. Winners will be announced Sept. 5th, 2014.
  • The 12 winners will receive a calender as their prize and an Ellie and Edmond magnet!

We’ll have a limited numbers of calenders to purchase in the late fall. All proceeds from the calendar sales will go to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an organization that helps raise orphans elephants in Africa! So get those creative juices flowing and pull out those paint brushes! It’s time to create some great art and help orphan elephants too!

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, contest, crafts, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

GUESS THE ANIMAL!

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

GUESS THE ANIMAL!

We’re still here in the rainforest! We spotted a small but brightly colored animal in the trees today! We were super lucky to catch a glimpse too! We made sure to keep our distance though! Read the clues, check out the picture and tell us who we found!

golden frog

  • It’s an amphibian.
  • They are considered to be one of the most toxic animals in the world.
  • They are very brightly colored.

WHO IS IT?

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

WORLD TIGER DAY!

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WORLD TIGER DAY!

tiger

Happy World Tiger Day! We’re ready to celebrate these gorgeous striped cats! There are so many things to love about tigers, so we’ll just name a few! These majestic big cats are endangered though. We’ll tell you about a few places where you can help!

tiger2

  • All tigers live in Asia.
  • There are 6 subspecies of tigers; Bengal, Siberian (Amur), Sumatran, Indo-Chinese, Malayan and South China.
  • Tigers are the largest of all living cats.
  • Tigers are carnivores.
  • Those famous stripe pattern goes all the way to their skin.
  • Adult tigers have 30 teeth!
  • Tigers range in size from about 4 1/2 feet to 9 feet.
  • Tigers are solitary.

tiger adaptations

We just love tigers! There numbers are dropping drastically in the wild! There are only a few thousand left! It’s important on this World Tiger Day that we learn how we can help conserve tigers! You can “adopt” a tiger from World Wildlife Fund or Defenders of Wildlife. Another great organization that rescues tigers who are kept as pets or used in circuses is Big Cat Rescue in Florida! Check them out and see all the work they do help!

tiger3

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SCIECNCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

swow warning coloration

Welcome to class everyone! Ellie and Edmond are still in South America exploring the rainforest! I was so excited to see they saw a tamandua out in the wild! This week’s word is all about adaptations! It’s how some animals warn predators that they are toxic or poisonous! I warn predators with my strong odor!

Warning Coloration: When an animal is brightly colored to warn predators that they may be toxic or poisonous. Animals such as poison dart frogs have warning coloration! Monarch butterflies also have warning coloration! This is a great defense mechanism! If you had warning coloration- what would it be?

warning coloration

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

Day 43… Golden Lion Tamarin

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Day 43… Golden Lion Tamarin

We had a great day at watching tamanduas. We took a day to travel over to Brazil to meet another amazing animal that calls the rainforest home! We donned our rain gear and headed in to the forest. These small and agile tree dwelling monkeys aren’t easy to spot, so we had to be patient. We sat for several hours. We could hardly contain our excitement when we spotted a family of the Golden Lion Tamarins we’d been looking for!

e & e rainforest

   Range/Habitat: Eastern South America-Brazil/ rainforest

   Diet: Omnivore: fruit, grubs, insects  Length/Weight: 8-10”/ 14-29 oz

   Conservation Status: critically endangered

golden lion tamarin

 

  • 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.
  • They have many different warning calls for predators. One call warns of predators on the ground and another warns of predators in the air.

golden lion tamarin3   golden lion tamarin2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These tamarins are critically endangered, but zoos  across the country are working very hard to save them. Read about the program here.  We were so lucky to see these amazing monkeys in wild!

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

DAY 42… We meet another tamandua

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

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 :)!

e & e rainforest2
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

tamandua1

• 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.

tamandua2  tamandua3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

swow prehensile

Hello students and welcome to class this fine Monday! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend! I hear that Ellie and Edmond are heading to South America this week! That should be so exciting! I bet they will see some animals with prehensile tails! Prehensile is our word of the week too!

Prehensile (prē-ˈhen(t)-səl, –ˈhen-ˌsī(-ə)l): the ability to grab or hold something by wrapping around it.

Most of us think of tails when we think of prehensile limbs- such as monkeys (only monkeys that live in Central and South America have prehensile tails). Other appendages and body parts can be prehensile too- like a giraffe’s tongue or the lip of a black rhino. One of my favorite example of prehensile body part is Ellie’s trunk! The two proboscides (the lip like projections on an elephants trunk) are prehensile; they are capable of picking up a single blade of grass! Wow- who knew! Can you think of other animals who have prehensile body parts, like the panther chameleon below?

swow prehesile cartoon

chameleon

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, vocabulary, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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