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This might be a great article for the Teacher-Led station teaching.
http://www.exoticpetvet.com/budgie-care.html

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​ Home Safety

There are many things in the average home that pet parrots encounter that can be harmful and even deadly. Some concerns are obvious such as open flames but others such as an air freshener can be easily overlooked.
​

Potential Household Dangers:

Ceiling Fans: Birds should never be out when a ceiling fan is on

Super Clean Windows and Mirrors: Birds have a hard time identifying glass and mirrors!

Electrical Wires: Dangling wires have the highest potential for issues due to birds desire to hang off or chew these "vines"

Aerosol Sprays: Very harmful to the air sacs and lungs

Candles: The smoke even in small amounts can be very harmful to the air sacs and lungs. Avoid essential and exotic oils used to add scent to candles as well.

Non-Stick Cookware: Over-heated non-stick cookware releases fumes that are both highly toxic to birds and have been linked to MS in humans

Other Pets: This includes other birds, dogs, cats, etc.

Paint: Paint from the walls of old homes may contain lead.

Jewelry: Especially costume jewelry can contain zinc.

Tobacco smoke and residue

Diet and Feeding
Budgies are herbivores, more specifically they are granivores (seed and grain eaters). In the wild, these birds primarily consume spinifex seeds, various grass seeds, and ripening seeds from wheat and other agricultural products. Budgies have an unique quirk about their food dishes. They will not eat food out of a covered food dish! Due to their natural propensity to eat the seeds of grasses off the ground it is recommended to offer new foods, such as pelleted diets, into their routine by placing them on the floor of the cage and/or a mirror on the floor of the cage. The reason for the mirror is simple, if a budgie sees another budgie eating, it will eat that food more readily although a full conversion will still take time. It is natural for these birds to gorge themselves on a particularly delicious treat or after they have been adopted from a rescue. This is a natural behavior.

The ideal budgie diet consists of:

75-100% Pelleted Diet
15-25% Natural Diet
10% Treats
Remember, all conversions to different diets must be made gradually and care must be taken to monitor food intake as well as weight. Budgies are incredibly prone to obesity as well as fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis) and food consumption should be monitored and exercise encouraged with regular social interaction and activities.
Unsafe Foods:

Chocolate

Caffeine (soda, tea, coffee, etc)

Avocado

Shelled peanuts (these can contain aflatoxins on the shell)

Potato skins (these can contain solanine)

Lighting Enclosure Behavior
With parrots, the bigger the enclosure the better! These birds are very active in the wild and need to have ways to relieve their natural energy in the home. The enclosure needs to be wider than it is tall. Although these birds enjoy climbing the bars it is more important that they can flutter to each side of the enclosure. Bars should be spaced no more than half an inch apart. It is incredibly important to make sure that the cage is not constructed of any form of zinc, lead, or galvanized metal as this can cause life threatening toxicity! Unfortunately, most of the enclosures sold in pet stores for budgies are inappropriately small for this species.

Perches should be placed at various heights throughout the enclosure with the softer perch being the highest as this is where most parrots prefer to sleep. Toys should consist of soft wood tree branches, rope toys, cardboard toys, wooden toys, and leather (vegetable tanned only!). Anything that can be "groomed" with their beaks are immediately appreciated as budgies love to preen! These birds are chewers, and cannot help themselves, so perches and toys will frequently need to be replaced and should be inspected daily for wear and potential dangers. Shredable toys are ideal as well. Females, especially egg laying females, should not be offered mirrors or bells which often inadvertently stimulates their desire to breed and continue laying eggs.

These birds, like most parrots, are early risers! Once the sun comes up they are ready to go and will call out to their flock first thing in the morning! It is important that budgie rooms are well lit and offered natural sun light as well. However, never place a bird cage directly in front of a window. During the day the sun through the window can easily over heat a parrot. Ideally, the light cycle should be 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. In reproductive females, this time may have to be decreased to 8-10 hours of daylight depending on the severity of the hormonal issues. Consult your veterinarian or behaviorist before making changes to the light cycle. There have been several studies that illustrate the benefits of parrots, especially female parrots, receiving UVB lighting as well.

These birds are very vocal and love to be the center of attention! Generally, in the wild they are vocal while in their flock which explains why at home they can be louder especially when "flock members" are coming in the door. One thing to remember is that parrots will match the decibel level of their environment which means that the louder the household is the louder the bird will be. Being able to identify their vocalizations can help an owner understand what their bird is trying to communicate:

Normal: Medium to loud, harsh sounding or sing songy sounding

Eating: Churtles

Excitement: High pitched squawk

Morning and Early Evening: Loud short lived squawking for 1-5 minutes (calling to the flock). This is a sign of high spirits but it will get LOUD ! Also happens when people walk in the door or disturb their eating.

Contact Calls: A loud call will be made to locate other flock members.

Screaming: This is not a normal behavior. In the wild, this behavior occurs during fear. Many behaviorists have found that this occurs often when there is no one home for long hours of the day. For this reason it is recommended to house parakeets in pairs or more. However, if this behavior goes uncorrected it can become a stereotypical behavior and will be difficult to remove.

Most owners will purchase these birds as slightly younger birds. At this stage they are incredibly affectionate and loving. As these birds start to reach maturity (past 6 months old) their behavior tends to change and they will bond closely with one another. If they are housed alone, this is when they will form the strongest bond to owners. Due to their monogamous nature, other members of the household may not be as privy to the level of affection. These highly social birds, even adults that are newly acquired can be tamed down with patience although they are easier to acclimate at a younger age.
In the wild, these birds are raised in the nest and stick close to the flock and their parents during their adolescence, very similar to humans. When these parrots begin to mature and sexual hormones start to surge, these birds will go from the loving overly affectionate birds to trying to drive away their parents. This is normal behavior and to be expected. It is akin to a teenage human trying to leave the nest. This stage, however, can be very trying for parrot owners, and especially first time owners. As the hormones settle down with maturity, they may bond with owners strongly again, sometimes bonding to a new person in the household, as their potential mate. Issues may arise occasionally if the owner fosters this mate relationship which can lead to aggression of the bird towards other members of the household. Working with a bird behaviorist at this point may be extremely beneficial and prevent frustration on the end of the owner and the bird.

Destruction is not a large problem with these birds due to their small size but don't underestimate their ability to chew! This is not meant to be a malicious act but is simply in their nature. These intelligent and curious birds require owners to constantly think on their toes and out of the box to create enrichment and mental stimulation. Providing branches to chomp, ropes to climb, toys to groom/crush/throw/shred, toys that can be picked up with their feet, and mechanical puzzles is just the beginning of their daily enrichment.

Feather picking is another common concern with parrots, especially those suffering from obesity or hepatic lipidosis. There are several beliefs about the cause of this issue including inappropriate intense bonding to owners, phobic behavior, boredom, anxiety, etc. An avian behaviorist and a veterinarian (to correct any potential underlying medical issues) are the best way to help a feather picking bird. To help prevent boredom induced feather destruction, toys meant to simulate preening are highly recommended and often cherished. Feather destruction quickly turns into a stereotypical behavior and can become impossible to extinguish. Consulting an avian behaviorist can make the difference!

Biting, high pitched screaming, and feather destruction are often all signs of a bored and lonely bird but they can also be signs of a medical concern. Any sudden change in a parrot's behavior warrants a veterinary exam!
​
Grooming

Budgies, like all parrots, require a certain level of grooming on a rather frequent basis. Grooming can be a rewarding bonding moment. For grooming such as beak and nail trims, these are often best left to veterinary professionals as this can be detrimental to the bird if done incorrectly and is often very stressful on the bird as well.

Bathing: In the wild, these birds flutter through wet leaves or fly in rain storms to rinse themselves clean. They also enjoy fluttering in rain puddles. Bathing should be offered 3-5 times a week. Misting with a spray bottle or on a shower perch are recommended.

Pedicure: The nails of these birds can become long and often sharp. To keep proper length and to help flatten out the tips to prevent accidental injury to owners, a pedicure is recommended as needed. Typically, for most birds this becomes a 3-6 month routine. Some may need it more often.

Beak Trim: Beaks are the hands and thumbs that birds don't have. Proper maintenance of the beak can become difficult in captivity. Beak trims, especially when there is a malocclusion or deformity, should be completed by a veterinary professional. Typically, birds should not need this done. Generally, budgies don't require beak grooming unless there is damage to the beak or liver disease issue.

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​ Home Safety There are many things in the average home that pet parrots encounter that can be harmful and even deadly. Some concerns are obvious such as open flames but others such as an air freshener can be easily overlooked.​ Potential Household Dangers: Ceiling Fans: Birds should never be out when a ceiling fan is on Super Clean Windows and Mirrors: Birds have a hard time identifying glass and mirrors!

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https://sdzwildlifeexplorers.org/animals/flamingo

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With their bright pink or reddish coloring, it's hard to mistake the flamingo for any other bird! There are six species of flamingos: Greater, Chilean, lesser, Andean, puna or James's; and American or Caribbean. Their color comes from the foods they eat, like algae and small crustaceans (including crabs, shrimp, crayfish, prawns, barnacles, and more).

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Go Wild! Animal Training (Sea Lions-0:00-3:27m)

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Go Wild! Animal Training (Sea Lions-0:00-3:27m)

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https://www.pbs.org/video/go-wild-animal-training-4ddcfg/

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Iowa PBS Presents
The sea lions at the Zoo are always playful and entertaining. We'll learn how they are trained, and even pick up some tips on how to train our animals at home. Go wild with the Blank Park Zoo and Iowa PBS as we embark on an educational adventure to discover the many wonderful ways we can interact with animals and their habitats.

Aired: 06/23/20

Rating: NR

Problems Playing Video? Report a Problem |

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Iowa PBS Presents | Go Wild: Animal Training | PBS

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Iowa PBS Presents The sea lions at the Zoo are always playful and entertaining. We'll learn how they are trained, and even pick up some tips on how to train our animals at home. Go wild with the Blank Park Zoo and Iowa PBS as we embark on an educational adventure to discover the many wonderful ways we can interact with animals and their habitats.

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https://www.readworks.org/article/Thailand/dc0df62d-5138-420d-9f78-a0af663714a5#!articleTab:content/contentSection:91cbad46-7637-48b5-b294-7f17670513e6/

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ReadWorks | Award-Winning, EdTech Nonprofit Organization

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ReadWorks is an edtech nonprofit organization that is committed to helping to solve America's reading comprehension crisis.

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https://www.readworks.org/article/Gray-Wolves-Predator-and-Prey/b7331545-81fa-4e28-9e19-6c55d7615f19#!articleTab:content/

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ReadWorks | Award-Winning, EdTech Nonprofit Organization

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ReadWorks is an edtech nonprofit organization that is committed to helping to solve America's reading comprehension crisis.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.readworks.org/article/Living-on-the-Edge/aa0c9081-f2f3-4a13-af59-c5bc50b8a8d3#!articleTab:content/

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ReadWorks | Award-Winning, EdTech Nonprofit Organization

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ReadWorks is an edtech nonprofit organization that is committed to helping to solve America’s reading comprehension crisis.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.readworks.org/article/Follow-That-Koala!/8d45c420-9ce9-4082-8f39-53f088c00b87#!articleTab:content/

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Improve your students' reading comprehension with ReadWorks. Access thousands of high-quality, free K-12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students.

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https://www.readworks.org/article/Whats-New-at-The-Zoo/2224a412-174e-4b54-9d28-1d75d1430867#!articleTab:content/

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Improve your students' reading comprehension with ReadWorks. Access thousands of high-quality, free K-12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students.

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The wolf ( Canis lupus) is a mammal of the order Carnivora. It is sometimes called timber wolf or grey wolf.

It is the ancestor of the domestic dog. A recent study found that the domestic dog is descended from wolves tamed less than 16,300 years ago south of the Yangtze River in China.

There are many different wolf subspecies, such as the Arctic wolf. Some subspecies are listed on the endangered species list, but overall, Canis lupus is IUCN graded as 'least concern'.

Appearance

Adult wolves are usually 1.4 to 1.8 metres (4.6 to 5.9 ft) in length from nose to tail depending on the subspecies. Wolves living in the far north tend to be larger than those living further south. As adults they may weigh typically between 23 to 50 kilograms (51 to 110 lb). The heaviest wolf recorded weighed 86 kilograms (190 lb).

The wolf has a long muzzle, short ears, long legs, and a long bushy tail.

Wolves usually measure 26-38 inches at the shoulder. Wolves have fur made up of two layers. The top layer is resistant to dirt, and the under-layer is water resistant. The color of their fur can be any combination of grey, white, taupe, brown, and black.

Wolves live in groups called "packs". They are pack hunters. The members of the pack are usually family members, often just the parents and offspring. Wolves that are not family may join if they do not have a pack of their own. Packs are usually up to 12 wolves, but they can be as small as two or as large as 25. The leaders are called the parent (breeding) male and the parent (breeding) female. Their territory is marked by scent and howling; they will fight any intruders.

Young wolves are called 'pups' or 'whelps'. Adult females usually give birth to five or six pups in a litter.

Wolves make a noise called a howl. They howl to communicate with each other from long distances and to mark the edges of their territory. Wolves have a complicated body language.

Wolves can run very fast and far. A wolf can run 20-30 miles in a day.

Grey wolves can live six to eight years. They can live in captivity for up to 17 years.

Wolves are carnivores and eat mostly medium to large size hoofed animals (unguligrades), but they will also eat rodents, insectivores and foxes. Some wolves have been seen eating salmon, seals, beached whales, lizards, snakes and birds. They also eat moose, bison, deer and other large animals.

Wolves can eat about 20 pounds (approx. 9 kg) of meat in one meal. (About 100 hot dogs).

Wolves usually stalk old or sick animals. It is easier for the wolves to take down the sick because they are slower and less powerful. They do not always catch what they stalk. They may go days without food. Sometimes only one out of twelve hunts are successful.

The alpha male and female feed first. Then the other members feed. Sometimes (especially if the prey they have killed is large) wolves may store food and come back that day to feed on it. Wolves have very sharp teeth which helps them tear large chunks of meat from a dead animal. They will eat up to 2/7 their body weight. Wolves will also swallow food and then bring it back up for pups to eat.

Wolves are found in Europe, Asia and North America. They can live in forests, deserts, mountains, tundra, grasslands and sometimes around towns and cities.

Social structure

The wolf is a social animal. Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves. Most lone wolves disperse from packs to form their own or join another one.

The wolf's basic social unit is the nuclear family consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. The average pack size in North America is eight wolves and in Europe 5.5 wolves. The average pack across Eurasia consists of a family of eight wolves (two adults, juveniles, and yearlings), or sometimes two or three such families, with examples of exceptionally large packs consisting of up to 42 wolves being known.

Offspring typically stay in the pack for 10-54 months before dispersing. Some stay in the vicinity of the parental group, while other individuals may travel great distances of upwards of 206 km (128 mi), 390 km (240 mi), and 670 km (420 mi) from their natal (birth) packs. Wolf packs rarely adopt other wolves into their fold and typically kill them. In the rare cases where other wolves are adopted, the adoptee is almost invariably an immature animal of one to three years old, and unlikely to compete for breeding rights with the mated pair. This usually occurs between the months of February and May. Adoptee males may mate with an available pack female and then form their own pack. In some cases, a lone wolf is adopted into a pack to replace a deceased breeder.

Wolves are territorial animals. They generallly establish territories far larger than they require to survive in order to have a steady supply of prey. Territory size depends on the amount of prey available and the age of the pack's pups.

Wolf packs travel constantly in search of prey, covering roughly 9% of their territory per day. Wolf packs are typically settled, and usually leave their territory only when there is severe food shortage.

Communication

Wolves communicate using vocalizations, body postures, scent, touch, and taste.

The phases of the moon have no effect on wolf vocalization, and despite popular belief, wolves do not howl at the moon. Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances. Wolf howls can under certain conditions be heard over areas of up to 130 km ² (50 sq mi).

Other vocalizations include growls, barks and whines. Wolves do not bark as loudly or continuously as dogs do in confrontations, rather barking a few times and then retreating from a perceived danger.

Scent marking is more effective at advertising territory than howling and is often used in combination with scratch marks. Wolves increase their rate of scent marking when they encounter the marks of wolves from other packs. Lone wolves will rarely mark, but newly bonded pairs will scent mark the most. These marks are generally left every 240 m (260 yd) throughout the territory on regular travelways and junctions. Such markers can last for two to three weeks, and are typically placed near rocks, boulders, trees, or the skeletons of large animals.

Reproduction

Wolves are monogamous. Mated pairs usually remain together for life. Should one of the pair die, another mate is found quickly.

Wolves become mature at the age of two years. The age of first breeding in wolves depends largely on environmental factors: when food is plentiful, or when wolf populations are heavily managed, wolves can rear pups at younger ages to better exploit abundant resources. Females are capable of producing pups every year, one litter annually being the average.

Dens are usually constructed for pups during the summer period. When building dens, females make use of natural shelters like fissures in rocks, cliffs overhanging riverbanks and holes thickly covered by vegetation. Sometimes, the den is the appropriated burrow of smaller animals such as foxes, badgers or marmots. An appropriated den is often widened and partly remade. On rare occasions, female wolves dig burrows themselves, which are usually small and short with one to three openings.

The den is usually constructed not more than 500 m (550 yd) away from a water source. It typically faces southwards where it can be better warmed by the sun, and the snow can thaw more quickly. Resting places, play areas for the pups, and food remains are commonly found around wolf dens.

The gestation period lasts 62-75 days with pups usually being born in the spring months or early summer in very cold places such as on the tundra. Young females give birth to four to five young, and older females from six to eight young and up to 14.

Newborn wolf pups look similar to German Shepherd Dog pups. They are born blind and deaf and are covered in short soft grayish-brown fur. They weigh 300-500 g (- oz) at birth and begin to see after nine to 12 days. The milk canines erupt after one month. Pups first leave the den after three weeks. At one-and-a-half months of age, they are agile enough to flee from danger. Mother wolves do not leave the den for the first few weeks, relying on the fathers to provide food for them and their young. Pups begin to eat solid food at the age of three to four weeks. They have a fast growth rate during their first four months of life: during this period, a pup's weight can increase nearly 30 times. Wolf pups begin play-fighting at the age of three weeks, though unlike young coyotes and foxes, their bites are gentle and controlled. Actual fights to establish hierarchy usually occur at five to eight weeks of age. This is in contrast to young coyotes and foxes, which may begin fighting even before the onset of play behaviour. By autumn, the pups are mature enough to accompany the adults on hunts for large prey.

Arctic wolf

The Arctic wolf may be a subspecies of the grey wolf. They live in the Canadian part of the Arctic Circle, as well as Greenland and Iceland.

The habitat of Arctic wolves is very hostile. Not much is known about their lifestyle. They are more friendly than other wolves, but they can still be very aggressive.

Their winter fur is highly resistant to the cold. Wolves in northern climates can rest comfortably in open areas at −40 °C (−40 °F) by placing their muzzles between the rear legs and covering their faces with their tail. Wolf fur provides better insulation than dog fur, and does not collect ice when warm breath is condensed against it. Since about 1930, the skull of many Arctic wolves has become smaller. This might be because of hybridization between wolves and dogs. They are 3 feet (0.91 m) tall when they're adults. Adult arctic wolves weigh about 75 to 120 pounds (34 to 54 kg). Arctic wolves live in a group of 7-20 wolves. They may live up to 5-10 years in the wild. They can live for 14 years if they are well cared for in a zoo.

Wolves and humans

Even though many people think that wolves are terrible, mean creatures, they are actually much gentler than many people imagine. The main reason wolves become violent is because they may be sick or to protect other wolves in the pack. Many people around the world, especially in Canada and Alaska, have huskies for pets: they are a close relative of the wolf.

A few years ago wolves were put back into Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to breed, because they were becoming endangered. The wolves have been very successful in the park. There had been no wolves there for a long time, because of hunting and poisoned water. Many people were not happy about this because they were afraid that the wolves would eat the sheep and cows near the park. However, wolves only eat livestock when they can not find wild prey.

Human hunting of wolves

Theodore Roosevelt said wolves are difficult to hunt because of their elusiveness, sharp senses, high endurance, and ability to quickly incapacitate and kill a dog. Historic methods included killing of spring-born litters in their dens, coursing with dogs (usually combinations of sighthounds, Bloodhounds and Fox Terriers), poisoning with strychnine, and trapping.

A popular method of wolf hunting in Russia involves trapping a pack within a small area by encircling it with fladry poles carrying a human scent. This method relies heavily on the wolf's fear of human scents, though it can lose its effectiveness when wolves become accustomed to the odor. Some hunters can lure wolves by imitating their calls. In Kazakhstan and Mongolia, wolves are traditionally hunted with eagles and falcons, though this practice is declining, as experienced falconers are becoming few in number. Shooting wolves from aircraft is highly effective, due to increased visibility and direct lines of fire. Several types of dog, including the Borzoi and Kyrgyz Tajgan, have been specifically bred for wolf hunting.

Extinction in Britain

Wolves in Britain were all killed after centuries of hunting. The last wolves survived in the Scottish Highlands. There is a legend that the last one was killed there in 1743 by a character called MacQueen.

Within the past ten years, there have been studies that are in favour of allowing new wolves to come and live in the English countryside and Scottish Highlands again. One study was in 2007. Researchers from Norway, Britain, and Imperial College London decided that wolves would help add back plants and birds that now are eaten by deer. The wolves would keep the deer population lower. People were generally positive, but farmers living in rural areas wanted to be paid for livestock that were killed by the wolves.

As pets and working animals

Wolves and wolf-dog hybrids are sometimes kept as exotic pets. Although closely related to domestic dogs, wolves do not show the same tractability as dogs in living alongside humans, being generally less responsive to human commands and more likely to act aggressively. A person is more likely to be fatally mauled by a pet wolf or wolf-dog hybrid than by a dog.

In popular culture

The wolf is a common motif in the myths. The Ancient Greeks associated wolves with Apollo, the god of light and order. The Ancient Romans connected the wolf with their god of war and agriculture Mars, and believed their city's founders, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by a she-wolf. Norse mythology includes the feared giant wolf Fenrir, and Geri and Freki, Odin's faithful pets.

In Chinese astronomy, the wolf represents Sirius and guards the heavenly gate. In China, the wolf was traditionally associated with greed and cruelty and wolf epithets were used to describe negative behaviours such as cruelty ("wolf's heart"), mistrust ("wolf's look") and lechery ("wolf-sex"). In both Hinduism and Buddhism, the wolf is ridden by gods of protection. In Vedic Hinduism, the wolf is a symbol of the night and the daytime quail must escape from its jaws. In Tantric Buddhism, wolves are depicted as inhabitants of graveyards and destroyers of corpses.

In the Pawnee creation myth, the wolf was the first animal brought to Earth. When humans killed it, they were punished with death, destruction and the loss of immortality. For the Pawnee, Sirius is the "wolf star" and its disappearance and reappearance signified the wolf moving to and from the spirit world. Both Pawnee and Blackfoot call the Milky Way the "wolf trail". The wolf is also an important crest symbol for clans of the Pacific Northwest like the Kwakwakaʼwakw.

The concept of people turning into wolves, and the inverse, has been present in many cultures. One Greek myth tells of Lycaon being transformed into a wolf by Zeus as punishment for his evil deeds. The legend of the werewolf has been widespread in European folklore and involves people willingly turning into wolves to attack and kill others. The Navajo have traditionally believed that witches would turn into wolves by donning wolf skins and would kill people and raid graveyards. The Dena'ina believed wolves were once men and viewed them as brothers.

In fable and literature

Images for kids

A Canis etruscus skull in the Montevarchi Paleontological Museum

A wolf carrying a caribou hindquarter, Denali National Park, Alaska

The Capitoline Wolf, sculpture of the mythical she-wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus, from the legend of the founding of Rome, Italy, 13th century AD. (The twins are a 15th-century addition.)

Country children surprised by a wolf (1833) by François Grenier de Saint-Martin

In Spanish: Canis lupus para niños

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Wolves live in groups called packs. A pack is a family of 7-8 wolves with a mom, dad, and offspring. The wolves’ communication skills are very important to the pack’s survival. Wolves work together to hunt, raise their young, and protect their territory. Wolves communicate with more than howls. They…

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International Wolf Center | Teaching the World about Wolves.

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Fun wolf facts for kids | International Wolf Center

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With so many things to know and discover about wolves, let's explore many of the fun facts there are out there! We can learn more now with this post.

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Koalas are marsupials, related to kangaroos.

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The , or, inaccurately, koala bear (a common term outside of Australia, though koalas are marsupials, not bears), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats.

The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of 60-85 cm (24-33 in) and weighs 4-15 kg (9-33 lb). Colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than those further south.

Koalas typically inhabit open eucalyptus woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to 20 hours a day. They avoid social interaction, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring.

Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old.

Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus, as well as by bushfires and droughts.

Because of its distinctive appearance, the koala is recognised worldwide as a symbol of Australia. The animal was hunted heavily in the early 20th century for its fur, and large-scale cullings in Queensland resulted in a public outcry that initiated a movement to protect the species. Sanctuaries were established, and translocation efforts moved to new regions koalas whose habitat had become fragmented or reduced.

The koala is not an endangered species, but it is a near vulnerable species. One reason is the loss of habitat, which means that koalas have less space to live. In some places there are very few koalas left. But there are also places, such as French Island (Victoria), with too many koalas that eat too much. Because of this the eucalyptus trees and other animals are in danger. A study looking at koala numbers at 1800 sites for 20 years, shows that the number of koalas is falling. The study, by the Australian Koala Foundation, estimates that there are only about 50,000 koalas left.

The word koala comes from the Dharug gula, meaning no water. Although the vowel 'u' was originally written in the English orthography as "oo" (in spellings such as coola or koolah - two syllables), the spelling later became "oa" and the word is now pronounced in three syllables, possibly in error.

Adopted by white settlers, "koala" became one of several hundred Aboriginal loan words in Australian English, where it was also commonly referred to as "native bear", later "koala bear", for its supposed resemblance to a bear. It is also one of several Aboriginal words that made it into International English, alongside e.g. " didgeridoo" and " kangaroo." The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words phaskolos "pouch" and arktos "bear". The specific name, cinereus, is Latin for "ash coloured".

Koalas were hunted by Indigenous Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia. The koala is featured in the Dreamtime stories and mythology of indigenous Australians. The Tharawal people believed that the animal helped row the boat that brought them to the continent. Another myth tells of how a tribe killed a koala and used its long intestines to create a bridge for people from other parts of the world.

Several stories tell of how the koala lost its tail. In one, a kangaroo cuts it off to punish the koala for being lazy and greedy. Tribes in both Queensland and Victoria regarded the koala as a wise animal and sought its advice. Bidjara-speaking people credited the koala for turning barren lands into lush forests. The animal is also depicted in rock carvings, though not as much as some other species.

The first recorded encounter between a European and a koala was in 1798, and an image of the animal was published in 1810 by naturalist George Perry. Botanist Robert Brown wrote the first detailed scientific description of the koala in 1814, although his work remained unpublished for 180 years.

Popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala, introducing the species to the general British public. The first living koala in Britain arrived in 1881, purchased by the Zoological Society of London. Further details about the animal's biology were revealed in the 19th century by several English scientists.

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, visited the Koala Park Sanctuary in Sydney in 1934 and was "intensely interested in the bears". His photograph, with Noel Burnet, the founder of the park, and a koala, appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald.

After World War II, when tourism to Australia increased and the animals were exported to zoos overseas, the koala's international popularity rose. Several political leaders and members of royal families had their pictures taken with koalas, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry, Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako, Pope John Paul II, US President Bill Clinton, Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev, South African President Nelson Mandela, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Appearance

Koalas have brownish-grey or silver-grey fur, and a big pink and/or black nose. They have sharp claws which help them to climb.

Koalas' also have finger prints which look the same as human finger prints. Finger print experts have had difficulty in being able to tell if the prints are from a human or koala.

Finger prints are rare among mammals that climb trees. Scientists do not know why the koala has them, but their best guess is that it helps the koala select leaves to eat.

Koalas are mostly active at night. They live in trees and are rarely found on the ground. They eat leaves of Eucalyptus trees. Koalas do not drink often, they get most of their water from the Eucalyptus leaves.

Koalas live alone most of the time, but they have a social hierarchy with the other koalas who live near.

Because they get so little energy from their diet, koalas must limit their energy use and sleep or rest 20 hours a day; only 4 hours a day are spent in active movement. They are predominantly active at night and spend most of their waking hours feeding. They typically eat and sleep in the same tree, possibly for as long as a day.

On warm days, a koala may rest with its back against a branch or lie on its stomach or back with its limbs dangling. During cold, wet periods, it curls itself into a tight ball to conserve energy. On windy days, a koala finds a lower, thicker branch on which to rest. While it spends most of the time in the tree, the animal descends to the ground to move to another tree, walking on all fours.

The koala usually grooms itself with its hindpaws, but sometimes uses its forepaws or mouth.

After a pregnancy of 35 days, the newly born koala is about a quarter of an inch long, and is born with no ears, eyes, or hair. It crawls into its mothers pouch on its own. After 12 months the young koala is old enough that it does not go into its mother's pouch or need milk anymore. The female koala can have another baby then.

Young koalas usually leave their mothers when they are 18 months old, but if their mother does not have another baby they sometimes stay for up to three years. Koalas become mature when they are about two years old, but they often have their first baby after another two years.

Health and mortality

Koalas may live from 13 to 18 years in the wild. While female koalas usually live this long, males may die sooner because of their more hazardous lives. Koalas usually survive falls from trees and immediately climb back up, but injuries and deaths from falls do occur, particularly in inexperienced young and fighting males. Around six years of age, the koala's chewing teeth begin to wear down and their chewing efficiency decreases. Eventually, the cusps disappear completely and the animal will die of starvation.

Koalas have few predators; dingos and large pythons may prey on them; birds of prey (such as powerful owls and wedge-tailed eagles) are threats to young. Koalas are generally not subject to external parasites, other than ticks in coastal areas. Internal parasites are few and largely harmless.

Koalas can be subject to pathogens such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria, which can cause keratoconjunctivitis, urinary tract infection, and reproductive tract infection. Such infections are widespread on the mainland, but absent in some island populations. The koala retrovirus (KoRV) may cause koala immune deficiency syndrome (KIDS) which is similar to AIDS in humans. Prevalence of KoRV in koala populations suggests a trend spreading from the north to the south of Australia. Northern populations are completely infected, while some southern populations (including Kangaroo Island) are free.

The animals are vulnerable to bushfires due to their slow movements and the flammability of eucalyptus trees. The koala instinctively seeks refuge in the higher branches, where it is vulnerable to intense heat and flames. Bushfires also fragment the animal's habitat, which restricts their movement and leads to population decline and loss of genetic diversity.

Dehydration and overheating can also prove fatal. Consequently, the koala is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Droughts also affect the koala's well-being. For example, a severe drought in 1980 caused many Eucalyptus trees to lose their leaves. Subsequently, 63% of the population in southwestern Queensland died and recovery of the population was slow.

Later, this population declined from an estimated mean population of 59,000 in 1995 to 11,600 in 2009, a reduction attributed largely to hotter and drier conditions resulting from droughts in most years between 2002 and 2007. Another predicted negative outcome of climate change is the effect of elevations in atmospheric CO ₂ levels on the koala's food supply: increases in CO ₂ cause Eucalyptus trees to reduce protein and increase tannin concentrations in their leaves, reducing the quality of the food source.

Cultural significance

The koala is well known worldwide and is a major draw for Australian zoos and wildlife parks. It has been featured in advertisements, games, cartoons, and as soft toys. It benefited the national tourism industry by over an estimated billion Australian dollars in 1998, a figure that has since grown. In 1997, half of visitors to Australia, especially those from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, sought out zoos and wildlife parks; about 75% of European and Japanese tourists placed the koala at the top of their list of animals to see.

Early European settlers in Australia considered the koala to be a prowling sloth-like animal with a "fierce and menacing look". At the beginning of the 20th century, the koala's reputation took a more positive turn, largely due to its growing popularity and depiction in several widely circulated children's stories. Perhaps the most famous fictional koala is Blinky Bill. Created by Dorothy Wall in 1933, the character appeared in several books and has been the subject of films, TV series, merchandise, and a 1986 environmental song by John Williamson.

The first Australian stamp featuring a koala was issued by the Commonwealth in 1930. A television ad campaign for Australia's national airline Qantas, starting in 1967 and running for several decades, featured a live koala (voiced by Howard Morris). The series has been ranked among the greatest commercials of all time.

The song "Ode to a Koala Bear" appears on the B-side of the 1983 Paul McCartney/ Michael Jackson duet single . A koala is the main character in Hanna-Barbera's The Kwicky Koala Show and Nippon Animation's , both of which were animated cartoons of the early 1980s.

Food products shaped like the koala include the Caramello Koala chocolate bar and the bite-sized cookie snack Koala's March. Dadswells Bridge in Victoria features a tourist complex shaped like a giant koala, and the Queensland Reds rugby team has a koala as its mascot. The Platinum Koala coin features the animal on the reverse and Elizabeth II on the obverse.

The drop bear is an imaginary creature in contemporary Australian folklore featuring a predatory, carnivorous version of the koala. This hoax animal is commonly spoken about in tall tales designed to scare tourists.

While koalas are typically docile herbivores, drop bears are described as unusually large and vicious marsupials that inhabit treetops and attack unsuspecting people (or other prey) that walk beneath them by dropping onto their heads from above.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Phascolarctos cinereus para niños

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Koalas look like cute, cuddly teddy bears, but they're not even related to bears. Koalas are marsupials like kangaroos, possums and Tasmanian devils. These slow-moving animals eat only one kind of food - eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus is a tree with thick, fragrant leaves that are poisonous to people and other animals. Koalas have special bacteria in their stomachs that make the leaves safe to eat.

Koalas are nocturnal. They eat leaves during the night and sleep or rest during the day. They are very good at climbing trees and like to sit in branches to nap. They come down to the ground only when moving to a new tree, which is a good thing. Because they move so slowly, dogs and dingoes can catch and hurt them. Sometimes they get hit by cars too. They are safest in the trees.

Fun Facts about Koalas for Kids

New koala babies are the size of a jelly bean. They can't see or hear. They crawl into their mothers' pouch and stay there for up to six months. Then baby koalas ride on moms' backs for a few more months before they're ready to go it alone.

Kangaroos have a pouch like a pocket. It opens toward the animal's head. Koalas have pouches that open toward the animal's hind legs. This is to keep dirt out of the pouch.

Koalas have sharp claws for climbing.

Koalas communicate with each other. They snore, grunt, screech or even scream.

Koala Vocabulary

Learn More All About Koalas

Take a look at this interesting koala video:

A documentary video about koalas' lives in Australia.

Koala Q&A

Question: How much do koalas eat?

Answer: Eucalyptus leaves aren't very nutritious so koalas have to eat a lot. They eat as much as 2 pounds each day. They keep leaves stuffed in their mouths for a later snack.

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Question: Are koalas endangered?

Answer: They are not endangered yet, but scientists are keeping an eye on them. A disease is killing many of them.

Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Koalas info? Take the FREE & fun all about Koalas quiz and download FREE Koalas worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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Koala Fun Facts for Kids (All You Need to Know!)

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Easy Science for Kids Koalas - The Eucalyptus Leaves Eaters - learn fun facts about animals, the human body, our planet and much more. Fun free Koalas - The Eucalyptus Leaves Eaters activities!

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The koala is one of the most famous Australian animals. Known throughout the world for its cute looks, this popular marsupial lives in eucalyptus trees and spends most of its life asleep! This page contains koala facts for kids, and is in our Australian Animals series.

Koala Information For Kids

The koala 'bear' is not a bear at all, but a herbivorous marsupial, belonging to the family of mammals which have pouches in which they carry their young.

Cute and cuddly with thick ash grey fur, adult Koalas measure around 33.5 inches (85 cm) and weigh up to 20 pounds (9 kg). Koalas are found in Eastern Australia.

Conservation Status

In 2016, the koala's IUCN conservation status was changed from ' Least Concern' to ' Vulnerable '. The number of koalas found in the wild is decreasing.

Cute Koala

Watch the video below to see just what a koala looks like, and how big it is in relation to humans.

Koala Habitat

Eucalyptus trees are the primary habitat of Koalas and they are rarely observed anywhere else.

Koalas have opposable digits and large, sharp claws. This allows them to easily remain in the tree tops, even when dozing. The thick fur on their bottoms protects them from the hard branches on which they sit.

Koalas are territorial, and each Koala occupies several 'home trees' which are visited on a regular basis and used only by them.

What Do Koalas Eat?

When not asleep, Koalas spend most of their time eating eucalyptus leaves, consuming up to 2.5 lb (1kg) per day.

The leaves are poisonous, and contain very little energy. Koalas chew their food well, and their digestive process can take several days. Excess leaves are stored unchewed in the koala's cheek pouches.

Koalas have evolved a specialized gut, part of which - the caecum - is longer in proportion to body size than that of any other animal.

Koalas use their highly developed sense of smell to decide which leaves are poisonous or safe to eat.

Koalas are known for being fussy eaters. Of the 600 varieties of eucalyptus leaves, Koalas will only eat 40 - 50 of these, and show a preference for only around 10.

Most koalas get all of the water they need from eucalyptus leaves. Only larger males have to find water to drink.

Koala Facts For Kids: Koala Families

Young female Koalas give birth to a single baby (joey) around once a year. Older females may only give birth every 2 - 3 years.

Joeys are born just 35 days after mating. Looking like little pink jellybeans, they are blind, hairless and have no ears.

The new-born joeys use their keen, hard-wired, senses of smell and touch to locate the mother's pouch. Like most other marsupials, Koala mothers keep their joeys in their pouch for around 6 months.

When they leave the pouch, the infant will 'piggyback' or cling to the mother's belly until it is a year old.

Koalas communicate using a range of noises, and mothers and babies make soft clicking, squeaking and murmuring sounds to one another.

A common call which is shared by all Koalas is a cry which sounds like a baby screaming, made by individuals under stress.

Threats to Koalas

Koalas were hunted during the 1920s and 30s, causing populations to plummet. Reintroductions have boosted the population somewhat, but at present it is estimated that only around 300,000 mature individuals exist in the wild.

In 2016, the koala's conservation status was changed from 'Least Concern' to 'Vulnerable'.

Each koala needs up to 100 eucalyptus trees, and the continued reduction in the extent of Australia's woodlands is affecting koala populations. 80% of Koala habitat has already been destroyed since European settlement in Australia.

List of Koala Facts For Kids

1. Koalas have a distinct odour due to eating a lot of eucalyptus leaves.

2. Koalas can sleep for up to 18 hours per day to conserve energy.

3. Koalas have a 'thumb', allowing them to grip branches and food.

4. Koalas are generally nocturnal.

5. Adult males have a scent gland on their chests which they rub on trees to mark territories.

6. Communication between koalas consists of a range of noises including a loud 'bellow'.

7. Joeys are only around 2 cm long when born.

8. Although there are over 600 varieties of eucalyptus, Koalas only eat some of them.

9. Only 25% of the fibre eaten is absorbed by the Koala.

10. The scientific name for a Koala is Phascolarctos cinereus, which comes from an ancient Aboriginal word meaning 'no drink'.

We hope that you enjoyed these koala facts for kids. Visit our Australian Animals page to find out about more creatures from 'Down-Under'.

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Koala Facts For Kids: Information, Pictures, Video & More

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The koala is one of the most famous Australian animals. Known throughout the world for its cute looks, this popular marsupial lives in eucalyptus trees and spends most of its life asleep! This page contains koala facts for kids, and is in our Australian Animals series.

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The koala is a small, furry animal of eastern Australia. It is sometimes called a "bear" because it looks like a living teddy bear. But the koala is not really a bear. It belongs to the group of animals called marsupials, which carry their young in a pouch. The scientific name of the koala is Phascolarctos cinereus.

The koala has a sturdy body with pale gray to yellowish fur. It is about 24 to 33 inches (60 to 85 centimeters) long. It has small, yellow eyes; a round, black, leathery nose; and big, fluffy ears.

The koala lives mostly in eucalyptus trees. It has strong claws and toes that help it to grasp branches. The koala eats the leaves of only a few types of eucalyptus tree. It can be hard for a koala to find food because it is such a picky eater.

A female koala has one baby at a time. The baby is called a joey. The mother carries the joey in her belly pouch for a few months. Then the joey climbs onto its mother's back. It clings to her until it is about 1 year old.

The koala was once hunted by the millions for its fur. Then governments passed laws to protect it. But the koala is still threatened by disease and by the loss of its natural habitat.

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The koala is a small, furry animal of eastern Australia. It is sometimes called a "bear" because it looks like a living teddy bear. But the koala is not really a bear. It belongs to the group of animals called marsupials, which carry their young in a pouch.

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Easy Science for Kids Budgie Facts for Kids - learn fun facts about animals, the human body, our planet and much more. Fun free Budgie Facts for Kids activities!

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Written by Deb White . Posted in Parrot Species

Budgies are probably the most popular small pet birds and they make great pets for kids because of their intelligence and playful, social nature. Budgie is short for Budgerigar. They are also called parakeets.

Budgies can be very good talkers. Their chirps are very pleasant and not too noisy. Budgies have a strong instinct to chew and should be provided with destructible toys to satisfy this need and to keep their beaks trimmed. Hand fed budgies enjoy interacting with humans. Tame budgies, especially males, often learn to talk.

Budgies come in a wide variety of colors, but the budgies in the wild are mostly green and yellow providing them with very good camouflage.

Budgies are small parrots with long, flat tails. You can often tell the sex of a budgie by looking at their cere (the nostril area). The cere is blue for mature males and it is pale brown for females. When they are babies, both the male and female budgies have pinkish ceres.

Budgies are native to Australia.

The budgies' habitat is characterized by open woodland and grassland. Budgies move from area to area as the seasons and the availability of food change.

In the wild, budgies live in small flocks that sometimes combine into very large flocks. Several thousand budgies have been observed together at watering holes! (Check out our video)

Budgies breed when the food supply is plentiful. They build their nests in tree holes and usually lay four to six eggs. The female sits on the eggs while the male gathers food, eats it, and returns to the nest. He then regurgitates the food to feed the female.

The budgies' diet in the wild consists mainly of grass seeds. However, in captivity, budgies should be fed seeds and pellets, plus a variety of leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, sprouts, whole grains and legumes.

Video credit: National Geographic

Listen to Budgies in the wild: View a video of Budgies hanging out near their nest:

Video credit: World Parrot Trust
View a video of a huge flock of Budgies taking a drink while successfully avoiding a falcon:
Video credit: Earthflight

To see more pictures and obtain information about budgies click on the links below:

Life Span:

8 - 15 yrs.

Length:

7 - 9" (18 - 23cm)

Weight:

0.9 - 1.1 oz. (26 - 30 grams

To learn more about Budgies click here

View a BBC video of a flock of Budgies:
Video credit: BBC

A budgie named Puck holds the world record for the largest vocabulary of any bird (1728 words)! His record is listed in the 1995 edition of Guinness World Records.

Sparkie the Budgie was famous in England in the 1950's. He could recite ten rhymes, 383 sentences and 531 words, and he even had a record that sold all over the world!

Budgies poop every twelve to fifteen minutes!

Did you know that some budgies have fluorescent feathers? Check out this video:

The 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy owned two parakeets named "Bluebell" and Marybelle"

The scientific name for budgies, Melopsittacus, means pretty" sounding (mellow) parrot" in Latin.

The name Budgerigar came from the aboriginal Australian word "betchegara" which mean "good food."

Budgies have been honored by Australia and Poland on postal stamps:

(source: bird-stamps.org)

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Written by Deb White . Posted in Parrot Species Budgies are probably the most popular small pet birds and they make great pets for kids because of their intelligence and playful, social nature. Budgie is short for Budgerigar. They are also called parakeets. Budgies can be very good talkers.

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The Budgerigar ( nicknamed budgie) is a small parrot. It belongs to the tribe of the wide- tailed parrots (Platycercini). Budgerigars are often called parakeets, especially in American English. The term Parakeet refers to many types of small parrots with long flat tails. The budgerigar is found in the drier parts of Australia. It has lived there for over 5 million years. It is commonly kept as a pet. Budgies are intelligent birds and can be taught to mimic human speech.

Evolutionary history

The budgerigar has been thought to be the link between the genera Neophema and Pezoporus based on the barred plumage. However, recent phylogenetic studies using DNA sequences place the budgerigar very close to the lories ( tribe Loriini) and the fig parrots (tribe Cyclopsittini).

Anatomy and physiology

Wild budgerigars average 18 cm (7 in) long, weigh 30-40 grams (1.1-1.4 oz), with an average wingspan of 30 cm and display a light green body colour (abdomen and rumps), while their mantles (back and wing coverts) display pitch-black mantle markings (blackish in fledgelings and immatures) edged in clear yellow undulations. The forehead and face is yellow in adults but with blackish stripes down to the cere (nose) in young individuals until they change into their adult plumage around three to four months of age. They display small, iridescent blue-violet cheek patches and a series of three black spots across each side of their throats (called throat patches). The two outermost throat spots are situated at the base of each cheek patch. The tail is cobalt (dark-blue); and outside tail feathers display central yellow flashes. Their wings have greenish-black flight feathers and black coverts with yellow fringes along with central yellow flashes, which only become visible in flight or when the wings are outstretched. Bills are olive grey and legs blueish-grey, with zygodactyl toes.

Budgerigars in their natural habitat in Australia are noticeably smaller than those in captivity. This particular parrot species has been bred in many other colours and shades in captivity (e.g. blue, grey, grey-green, pieds, violet, white, yellow-blue), although they are mostly found in pet stores in blue, green, and yellow. Like most parrot species, budgerigar plumage fluoresces under ultraviolet light. This phenomenon is possibly related to courtship and mate selection.

The upper half of their beaks is much taller than the bottom half and covers the bottom when closed. The beak does not protrude much, due to the thick, fluffy feathers surrounding it, giving the appearance of a downward-pointing beak that lies flat against the face. The upper half acts as a long, smooth cover, while the bottom half is just about a half-sized cup-piece. These beaks allow the birds to eat plants, fruits, and vegetables.

The colour of the cere (the area containing the nostrils) differs between the sexes, being royal blue in males, pale brown to white (nonbreeding) or brown ( breeding) in females, and pink in immatures of both sexes (usually of a more even purplish-pink colour in young males). Some female budgerigars develop brown cere only during breeding time, which later returns to the normal colour. Young females can often be identified by a subtle, chalky whiteness that starts around the nostrils. Males that are either Albino, Lutino, Dark-eyed Clear or Recessive Pied (Danishpied or harlequin) always retain the immature purplish-pink cere colour their entire lives.

It is usually easy to tell the sex of a budgerigar over six months old, mainly by the cere colours, but behaviours and head shape also help indicate sex.

A mature male's cere is usually light to dark blue, but can be purplish to pink in some particular colour mutations, such as Dark-eyed Clears, Danish Pieds (Recessive Pieds) and Inos, which usually display much rounder heads. Males are typically cheerful, extroverted, highly flirtatious, peacefully social, and very vocal.

Females' ceres are pinkish as immatures. As they age, they move from being beigish or whitish outside breeding condition into brown (often with a 'crusty' texture) in breeding condition and usually display flattened backs of heads (right above the nape). Females are typically highly dominant and more socially intolerant. This behavior is more pronounced around other females than with males.

Like many birds, budgerigars have tetrachromatic colour vision, but all four classes of cone cells operating simultaneously requires the full spectrum provided by sunlight. The ultraviolet spectrum brightens their feathers to attract mates. The throat spots in budgerigars reflect UV and can be used to distinguish individual birds.

Budgerigars are nomadic birds found in open habitats, primarily in scrublands, open woodlands, and grasslands of Australia. The birds are normally found in small flocks, but can form very large flocks under favourable conditions. The nomadic movement of the flocks is tied to the availability of food and water. Drought can drive flocks into more wooded habitat or coastal areas. They feed on the seeds of spinifex, grass seeds, and sometimes ripening wheat.

Naturalised feral budgerigars have been recorded since the 1940s in the St. Petersburg, Florida, area of the United States, but are much less common now than they were in the early 1980s. Increased competition from European starlings and house sparrows is thought to be the primary cause of the population decline.

Budgerigars and humans

Several possible origins for the name "budgerigar" have been proposed:

A mispronunciation or alteration of Gamilaraay gidjirrigaa possibly influenced by the Australian slang word "budgery", meaning "good".

Similarly, from gijirragaa from the Yuwaalaraay. The nomadic nature of Australia's aboriginals would lend itself to forming common linguistic references, and since none had any written language, differences in pronunciation and the presentation thereof are subjective within the constructs of Western hearing.

A compound of "budgery", "good" and gar "cockatoo". The word "budgery", also spelt "boojery", was formerly in use in Australian English slang meaning "good".

Alternate spellings include budgerygah and betcherrygah.

Other names

The budgerigar was first described by George Shaw in 1805, and given its current binomial name by John Gould in 1840. The genus name Melopsittacus comes from Greek and means "melodious parrot". The species name undulatus is Latin for "undulated" or "wave-patterned".

Alternative common names for the budgerigar include the shell parrot, the warbling grass parakeet, the canary parrot, the zebra parrot, the flight bird, the scallop parrot. Although more applicable to members of the genus Agapornis, the name lovebird has been applied to them from their habit of mutual preening.

Aviculture

The budgerigar has been bred in captivity since the 1850s. Breeders have worked to produce a variety of colour, pattern and feather mutations, including albino, blue, cinnamon-ino (lacewinged), clearwinged, crested, dark, greywinged, opaline, pieds, spangled, dilute (suffused) and violet.

"English budgeriegars" more correctly called "show" or "exhibition budgerigars" are about twice as large as their wild counterparts, and with a larger size and puffier head feathers have a boldly exaggerated look. The eyes and beak can be almost totally obscured by these fluffy head feathers. English budgerigars are typically more expensive than wild-type birds, and have shorter life span of about seven to nine years. Breeders of English budgerigars show their birds at animal shows. Most captive budgerigars in the pet trade are more similar in size and body conformation to wild budgerigars.

Budgerigars are social animals and require stimulation in the shape of toys and interaction with humans or with other budgerigars. Budgerigars, and especially females, will chew material such as wood. When a budgerigar feels threatened, it will try to perch as high as possible and to bring its feathers close against its body in order to appear thinner.

Tame budgerigars can be taught to speak, whistle and play with humans. Both males and females sing and can learn to mimic sounds and words and do simple tricks, but singing and mimicry are more pronounced and better perfected in males. Females rarely learn to mimic more than a dozen words. Males can easily acquire vocabularies ranging from a few dozen to a hundred words. Pet males, especially those kept alone, are generally the best speakers.

Budgerigars will chew on anything they can find to keep their beaks trimmed. Mineral blocks (ideally enriched with iodine), cuttlebone and soft wooden pieces are suitable for this activity. Cuttlebones also supply calcium, essential for the proper forming of eggs and bone solidity. In captivity, budgerigars live an average of five to eight years, but life spans of 15-20 years have been reported. The life span depends on breed, lineage, and health, being highly influenced by exercise and diet. Budgerigars have been known to cause "bird fancier's lung" in sensitive people, a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Breeding in the wild generally takes place between June and September in northern Australia and between August and January in the south, although budgerigars are opportunistic breeders and respond to rains when grass seeds become most abundant. They show signs of affection to their flockmates by preening or feeding one another. Budgerigars feed one another by eating the seeds themselves, and then regurgitating it into their flockmate's mouth. Populations in some areas have increased as a result of increased water availability at farms. Nests are made in holes in trees, fence posts or logs lying on the ground; the four to six eggs are incubated for 18-21 days, with the young fledging about 30 days after hatching.

In the wild, virtually all parrot species require a hollow tree or a hollow log as a nest site. Because of this natural behaviour, budgerigars most easily breed in captivity when provided with a reasonable-sized nest box. The eggs are typically one to two centimetres long and are pearl white without any colouration if fertile. Female budgerigars can lay eggs without a male partner, but these unfertilised eggs will not hatch. Females normally have a whitish tan cere, however when the female is laying eggs, her cere turns a crusty brown colour. Certain female budgies may always keep a whitish tan cere or always keep a crusty brown cere regardless of breeding condition. A female budgerigar will lay her eggs on alternate days. After the first one, there is usually a two-day gap until the next. She will usually lay between four and eight eggs, which she will incubate (usually starting after laying her second or third) for about 21 days each. Females only leave their nests for very quick defecations, stretches and quick meals once they have begun incubating and are by then almost exclusively fed by their mate (usually at the nest's entrance). Females will not allow a male to enter the nest, unless he forces his way inside. Depending on the clutch size and the beginning of incubation, the age difference between the first and last hatchling can be anywhere from 9 to 16 days. At times, the parents may begin eating their own eggs due to feeling insecure in the nest box.

Chick health

Breeding difficulties arise for various reasons. Some chicks may die from diseases and attacks from adults. Other budgerigars (virtually always females) may fight over the nest box, attacking each other or a brood. Sometimes, budgerigars (mainly males) are not interested in the opposite sex, and will not reproduce with them; a flock setting-several pairs housed where they can see and hear each other-is necessary to stimulate breeding. Another problem may be the birds' beaks being under lapped, where the lower mandible is above the upper mandible.

Most health issues and physical abnormalities in budgerigars are genetic. Care should be taken that birds used for breeding are active, healthy and unrelated. Budgerigars that are related or which have fatty tumours or other potential genetic health problems should not be allowed to breed. Parasites (lice, mites, worms) and pathogens (bacteria, fungi and viruses), are contagious and thus transmitted between individuals through either direct or indirect contact. Nest boxes should be cleaned between uses.

Splay leg is a relatively common problem in baby budgerigars and other birds; one of the budgerigar's legs is bent outward, which prevents it from being able to stand properly and compete with the other chicks for food, and can also lead to difficulties in reproducing in adulthood. The condition is caused by young budgerigars slipping repeatedly on the floor of a nest box. It is easily avoided by placing a small quantity of a safe bedding or wood shavings in the bottom of the nest box. Alternatively, several pieces of paper may be placed in the box for the female to chew into bedding.

Development

Eggs take about 18-20 days before they start hatching. The hatchlings are altricial - blind, naked, unable to lift their head and totally helpless, and their mother feeds them and keeps them warm constantly. Around 10 days of age, the chicks' eyes will open, and they will start to develop feather down. The appearance of down occurs at the age for closed banding of the chicks. Budgerigars' closed band rings must be neither larger nor smaller than 4.0 to 4.2 mm.

They develop feathers around three weeks of age. (One can often easily note the colour mutation of the individual birds at this point.) At this stage of the chicks' development, the male usually has begun to enter the nest to help his female in caring and feeding the chicks. Some budgerigar females, however, totally forbid the male from entering the nest and thus take the full responsibility of rearing the chicks until they fledge.

Depending on the size of the clutch and most particularly in the case of single mothers, it may then be wise to transfer a portion of the hatchlings (or best of the fertile eggs) to another pair. The foster pair must already be in breeding mode and thus either at the laying or incubating stages, or already rearing hatchlings.

As the chicks develop and grow feathers, they are able to be left on their own for longer periods of time. By the fifth week, the chicks are strong enough that both parents will be comfortable in staying out of the nest more. The youngsters will stretch their wings to gain strength before they attempt to fly. They will also help defend the box from enemies, mostly with their loud screeching. Young budgerigars typically fledge (leave the nest) around their fifth week of age and are usually completely weaned between six and eight weeks old. However, the age for fledging, as well as weaning, can vary slightly depending on whether its age and the number of surviving chicks. Generally speaking, the oldest chick is the first to be weaned. Though it is logically the last one to be weaned, the youngest chick is often weaned at a younger age than its older sibling(s). This can be a result of mimicking the actions of older siblings. Lone surviving chicks are often weaned at the youngest possible age as a result of having their parents' full attention and care.

Hand-reared budgies may take slightly longer to wean than parent-raised chicks. Hand feeding is not routinely done with budgerigars, due to their small size and because young parent raised birds can be readily tamed.

Colour mutations

All captive budgerigars are divided into two basic series of colours; namely, white-based (blue, grey and white) and yellow-based (green, grey-green and yellow). Presently, at least 32 primary mutations (including violet) occur, enabling hundreds of possible secondary mutations (stable combined primary mutations) and colour varieties (unstable combined mutations).

Male specimens of budgerigars are considered to be one of the top five talking champions amongst parrot species, alongside the African grey, the amazon and the eclectus parrots, and the ring-necked parakeet.

Puck, a male budgerigar owned by American Camille Jordan, holds the world record for the largest vocabulary of any bird, at 1,728 words. Puck died in 1994, with the record first appearing in the 1995 edition of Guinness World Records.

In 2001, recordings of a budgerigar called Victor got some attention from the media. Victor's owner, Ryan B. Reynolds of Canada, stated Victor was able to engage in contextual conversation and predict the future. Though some believe the animal was able to predict his own death as was claimed, further study on the subject is difficult without the bird. The recordings still remain to be verified by scientific analysis. Critics argue Victor's speech in the recordings is not coherent enough to be determined as spoken in context.

Pet budgies have continued to make headlines all over the world for their mimicry, talking ability and charm. One budgie, named Disco, has become an internet superstar. As of 2013, Disco has been viewed over 6,067,744 times on his YouTube channel. Some of Disco's most popular key phrases include, "I am not a crook" and "Nobody puts baby bird in a corner!"

Images for kids

Wild budgerigars in flight at Mount Hope, New South Wales, Australia

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The Budgerigar ( nicknamed budgie ) is a small parrot. It belongs to the tribe of the wide- tailed parrots (Platycercini). Budgerigars are often called parakeets, especially in American English. The term Parakeet refers to many types of small parrots with long flat tails. The budgerigar is found in the drier parts of Australia.

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Budgerigars, with the scientific name Melopsittacus undulatus, are also called 'budgies', 'parakeet budgies', or just 'parakeets'. Budgies are one of the most abundantly found parakeets that fall in the category of bird pets. Budgerigars are a trendy pet bird found across inland Australia and have a population of about 5,000,000 worldwide. They are native to savannas, grasslands, open forests, grassy woodlands, and farmlands of Australia and they are usually found near water. In line with their most favorable nomadic conditions, they are often spotted moving in small flocks and even sometimes bigger flocks of birds. Budgies feathers are made up of keratin.

Budgies are 6.5-7.8 in (17-20 cm) tall and they weigh about 1.1-1.4 lb (498-635 g). They have a length of 7 in (18 cm). Once these budgies have finished mating and their eggs are fertilized, the female bird lays eggs over a timespan of 10 days, laying one egg at a time. They have a clutch size of four to eight eggs and the incubation period lasts for 18-20 days. Nesting can occur at any time of the year, with pairs capable of producing more than one clutch at a time.

The lifespan of wild budgies is often found to be nearly four to six years, and the ones held captive (pet budgies) have a life span of about five to eight years when they are well taken care of as pets. According to the IUCN, the conservation status of a budgie is Least Concern (this means that their population is increasing).

Here are some interesting facts on the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) that everyone will enjoy. If you like these, then do read our guides to the great crested flycatcher and the secretary bird too

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What type of animal is a budgerigar?

A budgie is a bird.

What class of animal does a budgerigar belong to?

Aves is the class of animal that a budgerigar belongs to.

How many budgerigars are there in the world?

Budgies are a very popular pet bird with a population of about 5,000,000 worldwide.

Where does a budgerigar live?

Budgies are found in savannas, grasslands, open forests, grassy woodlands, and farmlands. A budgie is also usually found near water. In search of food and water they are often seen moving in flocks. Normally, budgies are spotted moving in small flocks but sometimes they are seen in bigger flocks of birds.

What is a budgerigar's habitat?

Budgie birds are widely distributed in the arid interior of Australia. They are mainly found in Australian savannas, grasslands, open forests, grassy woodlands, and farmlands and, as previously mentioned, they are usually found near water. A budgie bird is nomadic in nature, so they are often found moving in flocks from one place to another whilst looking for food and water. Whilst they are considered an Australian native bird, these truly wild flocks can be spotted in some different parts of the world too, including some parts of Florida in the USA.

Who do budgerigars live with?

A budgie is found living in flocks of its own kind and they are often found moving in small flocks from place to place in the various Australian regions. Budgies have also been seen mingling with other species of birds, although most times, they are seen with flocks of their just own kind. They are often seen existing in pairs too and, when a budgie is kept as a pet, people like to keep them in pairs. This shows that budgies enjoy existing and living with birds of their own kind.

How long does a budgerigar live?

The lifespan of wild budgie birds is often found to be nearly four to six years, and the ones held captive (pet budgies) have a life span of about five to eight years when they are well taken care of as pets. In rare cases, if pet budgies are very fortunate, it is also possible for them to live for up to 15 to 20 years.

Wild budgies (parakeets) live their life in the wild, and as such, their chances of death are far higher than those held captive. They are exposed to every possible predator including predatory birds, reptiles, and mammals. Also, the availability of food and water plays another important role in their reduced life expectancy in the wild as budgies living in the wild sometimes struggle to find food and water which are both needed for their survival. This is why droughts are so dangerous for budgerigars, as in a drought period, they risk dying due to the lack of availability of water and food.

How do they reproduce?

Once a budgie has finished mating and its eggs are fertilized, the female budgie lays eggs over a timespan of 10 days, laying one egg at a time. In some situations, the budgerigar needs to breed many times before the female's eggs are fertilized. Once the mating and fertilization process is complete, the female budgie will situate herself in their nest, and the male budgie will start to feed her for the period of time when she is nest bound. They have a clutch size of four to eight eggs, and the incubation period lasts for 18-20 days. Nesting can take place any time of the year, with pairs of budgerigars capable of producing more than one clutch each year.

What is their conservation status?

According to the IUCN, the conservation status of a budgerigar is Least Concern as their population is actually increasing. This means that they are free from the threats of becoming extinct or vulnerable. Right now they have a current population of about 5,000,000 worldwide. They are mainly found in Australia's grasslands and farmlands, but they are also seen existing in other parts of the world like some regions of Florida in the USA. So, keeping in mind that they are found in different parts of the world and are existing in an abundance, we can happily say that they are not under the threat of becoming endangered.

What do budgerigars look like?

Budgerigars look a lot like a parrot. They are very cute creatures and are very small. They are green and yellow in color and are extensively found in the regions of Australia. They have distinguishing black scalloped markings on their nape, back, and wings. Some budgies that are held in captivity can also be found in different colorings of blues, yellows, grays, whites, and also with different colored crests.

Adult budgerigars have a yellow face with a tipped lower cheek in the colors violet and blue. In female budgies, you can see visible black spots under their throats, and they have a blue tail and green underparts. You will find fewer spots on the throat (or even none at all) of a young budgie, as compared to a grown-up budgie. They have a yellow forehead just like the adult budgies, but they have a shorter tail and dark brown eyes.

How cute are they?

Budgies are very cute birds. They are very playful and friendly creatures and are loved worldwide as pet birds by many. They can be kept as solo pets or in pairs, but most people prefer to keep them in pairs, and watching a pair of budgerigars interact with each other is super cute too! Budgies are less tamed and they don't mimic speech as well as parrots. However, they are very intelligent and curious and are usually kept caged in areas of the houses where the family spends a lot of time. They are amused by simple toys and they love to explore their surroundings.

How do they communicate?

Budgies communicate by talking in a high-pitched chirp and at a fast pace. They can also pick up a few words or phrases that they hear commonly and may start repeating them.

How big is a budgerigar?

Budgerigars are 6.5-7.8 in (17-20 cm) tall and they weigh about 1.1-1.4 lb (498-635 g). They have a length of 7 in (18 cm) and they are two times bigger than a rat.

How high can a budgerigar fly?

Budgerigars usually tire easily but they can fly up to one mile in distance if they catch a wind current or feel frightened.

How much does a budgerigar weigh?

Budgies weigh about 1.1-1.4 lb (498-635 g).

What are their male and female names of the species?

There are no specific male and female names for budgerigars, they are simply known as male budgerigars and female budgerigars.

What would you call a baby budgerigar?

A baby budgerigar is usually called a juvenile or a chick.

What do they eat?

Budgies usually eat seeds, berries, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

Are they loud?

Budgie sounds are not considered to be too loud when compared to other species of birds but they are can be noisy to keep in your home. If you don't love constant chatter and noise then a budgie might not be the best pet for you. They love to chatter and chirp happily to themselves, and they often sing too! They can also pick up words or phrases that they hear around them, and might start repeating these all day long!

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, pet birds, including parrots and parakeets, are hugely popular and budgies are a worldwide famous pet bird. They are very playful and friendly creatures but, compared to parrots, budgies are less tamed and they don't mimic speech quite as well. Being very intelligent and curious, they are usually kept caged in areas of the houses where the family spends a lot of time. They are amused by simple toys and love to explore their surroundings thoroughly. They do make good pets, as long as they are provided with good care and basic food like seeds and vegetables. With good care, they can live for 15 to 20 years, thus exceeding the normal lifespan of a wild budgerigar.

Did you know...

Budgerigars are known to be one of the smallest parrot species and the scientific name of budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus, when translated means a 'melodious parrot'.

Budgies feathers are made up of keratin and budgies usually eat seeds, berries, fresh fruits, and vegetables as part of their diet.

Australian budgies have been seen mingling and co-existing with English budgies (also known as parakeets). The English budgie species is actually very similar to the Australian budgie species and people like to keep them as pets too. Have you ever seen an English budgie or an Australian budgie? We wonder if you'd be able to tell the difference between these different parrot species!

Budgies love their owners! If you give your pet budgie lots of love and attention it will truly love you, how special?

If you own a pet budgie you might not even notice its pee as budgies only produce a tiny amount of urine.

How much does a budgerigar cost?

A pet budgerigar bird will cost roughly between $10 to $35 in the US. As they are very small birds they are less expensive than some other types of pet birds.

How do you pronounce budgerigar?

Budgerigar is pronounced "buh-juh-ree-gaa".

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including the frigate bird, or the golden pheasant bird.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our budgerigar coloring pages.

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Budgerigars, with the scientific name Melopsittacus undulatus, are also called 'budgies', 'parakeet budgies', or just 'parakeets'. Budgies are one of the most abundantly found parakeets that fall in the category of bird pets. Budgerigars are a trendy pet bird found across inland Australia and have a population of about 5,000,000 worldwide.

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Budgie Facts

Main Characteristics

Budgies are among the most popular birds in the world and probably also the bird species most widely kept as a pet bird.

Habitat

In the wild, budgies live together in large swarms in bushy areas and savannahs. They prefer eucalyptus trees. The plumage of budgies shows transverse black markings, which are rather delicate on the head and back and are becoming increasingly wider towards the wings.

Anatomy and Appearance

Colors

Budgies are green by nature, but today there are the most diverse color variants from yellow, yellow/green to white and blue.

Head

Budgies can rotate their head by 180 degrees. This helps them in the wild to look in all directions in order to detect birds of prey early enough. You can watch a budgie rotate its head by 180 degrees when it is going to sleep. It puffs itself up und then turns its head to hide it under one of its wings. By the way: Budgies have an upper, a lower, and an inner lid to protect the bird's eye.

Origin

Where Does the Name Come From?

The name budgeriar most likely derives from the language from the native australians. Budgeri means "good" and "gar" means cockatoo. You want to keep budgies? Our pet section has a detailed pet profile for the budgie and many other birds.

Senses and Abilities

Can Budgies Be Taught to Talk?

Budgies can utter eleven different sounds and are known for their typical warbling sound. Above all, they're very skilled talkers.

A budgie named Puck holds the record for being the bird with the largest vocabulary in the world. Puck was able to use 1,728 words. Unfortunately, the bird, which was owned by Camille Jordan, died in 1994. In 1995, Puck earned an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records with its amazing capabilities.

Sparkie Williams lived from 1954 to 1962 and was a talking budgie with a special talent: It knew eight nursery rhymes and 380 sentences by heart and could say more than 500 words. During a competition organized by the British broadcasting service BBC, Sparkie beat 2,768 other talking budgies and became a kind of celebrity in Britain. An album featuring Sparkie's voice was recorded and sold 20,000 times. The budgie also inspired the British composer Michael Nyman and the German musician Carsten Nicolai to write an opera. It is called "Sparkie: Cage and Beyond" and was performed first in Berlin in March 2009.

Perception

Budgies Percieve Up to 150 Frames Per Second

A budgie can perceive up to 150 images per second. This is why they have problems with normal household lamps. For them, the lamps are permanently flickering.

In fact, this hasn't anything to do with the lamps, but with the electricity from the socket. It is an alternating current at a frequency of 50 Hertz. The human eye is too sluggish to discern the flickering and this is why we see a constant light. But for a budgie it is flickering. To relax their little eyes, most bird owners use a special electronic control gear that increases the Hertz value.

By the way: Humans can see about 16 images per second. If a movie ran at eight frames per second, we could perceive the images one by one.

Behavior

How Far Can a Budgie Fly?

Budgies can't build up fat reserves. They're quickly exhausted and therefore unable to fly long distances. They literally lack the "power" other birds draw from their fat resources. As a maximum, they can cover a distance of up to 62 miles (100 km) in a nonstop 3-hour flight.

Enemies and Threats

In the house: The cat ;) Out there in the wild, mainly birds of prey uch as hawks, sparrowhawks and falcons love budgies to bits.

Reproduction

Normally, budgies lay about four to six eggs, which are incubated by the female birds. The young birds hatch after about 18 days and do not weigh more than 0.07 oz (2 g). After 30-35 days they are already able to fly.

Girl or Boy?

It is very easy to determine the gender of a budgie. Many budgies have a blue or reddish-brown to white waxlike skin called "cere" (featherless area around the nose, above the beak). Male budgies have a blue cere, females a reddish-brown to white cere. Young budgies normally have a pink cere.

Life Expectancy

How Long Do Budgies Live?

It is assumed that budgies can get 15 to 17 years old. Their normal life expectancy is five to ten years.

The Oldest Budgie

A Budgie named Charlie was born in April 1948 and did not stop warbling before June 1977 - at the age of 29 years and two months! This record has also been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1995. Thus, Charlie officially is the world's oldest budgie.

Fun Facts

Hansi-Bubi

"Hansi-Bubi" is not the average name of a budgie but indicates a breed of small budgies that come closest to the wild budgerigar.

Be Careful With These Foods!

Some foods and liquids are like poison for budgies: Avocado, chocolate, coffee, coffein, onions as well as products containing lactose.

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Budgies are among the most popular birds in the world and probably also the bird species most widely kept as a pet bird. In the wild, budgies live together in large swarms in bushy areas and savannahs. They prefer eucalyptus trees.

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➤ FACT 12. These are the name of monkey species - Capuchin MonkeyBaboon, Blue Monkey, Common Marmoset, Squirrel Monkey, Golden Lion Tamarin, Howler Monkey, Japanese Macaque, Mandrill, Proboscis Monkey, Pygmy Marmoset, Rhesus Macaque, Spider Monkey, Vervet Monkey.

➤ FACT 13. As monkeys are omnivores, so most monkeys eat plant parts like fruits, seeds, and flowers but some monkeys eat meat like bird's eggs, insects and spiders.

➤ FACT 14. According to NASA the first living organism in space was a Rhesus monkey named Albert I. a V-2 Blossom launched into space from White Sands, New Mexico on June 11, 1948.

Hope you enjoyed the monkey facts for kids.

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Top Monkey Facts For Kids - Super Cool Facts About Monkey

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➤ FACT 12. These are the name of monkey species - Capuchin MonkeyBaboon, Blue Monkey, Common Marmoset, Squirrel Monkey, Golden Lion Tamarin, Howler Monkey, Japanese Macaque, Mandrill, Proboscis Monkey, Pygmy Marmoset, Rhesus Macaque, Spider Monkey, Vervet Monkey. ➤ FACT 13.

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Monkeys are tree-dwelling ( arboreal) mammals. They are in the primate order. Monkeys are intelligent, social animals. Most monkeys have a tail, even if it is a short one.

The word "monkey" is not a scientific term. It is used for two rather different groups of primates. The big distinction is between Old World monkeys and New World monkeys.

Both these groups are in the infraorder Simiiformes. That infraorder also includes the great apes and man.

Some monkeys live almost entirely in trees. Others live partly on the ground. Monkeys are mainly vegetarian, with a strong preference for fruit. However, they may eat a wide range of other food, including insects. Monkeys can live in forests and savannahs. Monkeys do not live in deserts. Some can live in snowy mountains, but more live in rainforests. There are none in the rainforests of Australia and New Guinea, and apparently they never reached those islands.

Some monkeys are small, about 15 centimetres (6 in) long and 120 grams (4.2 oz) in weight. Other monkeys are much larger, about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) long and 35 kilograms (77 lb) in weight. A group of monkeys is called a "troop" of monkeys or a "tribe" of monkeys.

The two groups of monkeys live in different places: the New World Monkeys in South America and the Old World Monkeys live mainly in Africa and Asia. New World Monkeys are often smaller than Old World Monkeys. Monkeys have long arms and legs to help them swing from trees. Some monkeys' tails can wrap tightly around branches, almost like a "fifth limb". This type of tail is 'prehensile'.

The smallest known monkey is the pygmy marmoset. It is about 14-16cm in size (without the tail). It weighs about 120 grams. It lives in the treetops of rainforests in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. The largest known monkey is the mandrill. It can grow to about 1 m in size. Adults weigh up to 35 kg. The monkeys often climb with the help of their tails.

The word monkey might have come from a popular German story, "Roman de Renart" ( Reynard the Fox). In there, the name of the son of Martin the Ape is Moneke.

In Africa, monkeys can be sold as "bushmeat" (meat of wild animals). Monkey brains are eaten in some parts of Africa, South Asia, and China.

Historical and modern terminology

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word "monkey" may come from a German version of the Reynard the Fox fable, published circa 1580. In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape. In English, no clear distinction was originally made between "ape" and "monkey"; thus the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica entry for "ape" notes that it is either a synonym for "monkey" or is used to mean a tailless humanlike primate. Colloquially, the terms "monkey" and "ape" are widely used interchangeably. Also, a few monkey species have the word "ape" in their common name, such as the Barbary ape.

Later in the first half of the 20th century, the idea developed that there were trends in primate evolution and that the living members of the order could be arranged in a series, leading through "monkeys" and "apes" to humans. Monkeys were distinguished from "apes".

Description

Monkeys range in size from the pygmy marmoset, which can be as small as 117 mm ( in) with a 172 mm ( in) tail and just over 100 g ( oz) in weight, to the male mandrill, almost 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long and weighing up to 36 kg (79 lb). Some are arboreal (living in trees) while others live on the savanna.

Diets differ among the various species but may contain any of the following: fruit, leaves, seeds, nuts, flowers, eggs and small animals (including insects and spiders).

Most New World monkeys have long tails, while Old World monkeys have non-prehensile tails or no visible tail at all. Although both the New and Old World monkeys, like the apes, have forward-facing eyes, the faces of Old World and New World monkeys look very different, though again, each group shares some features such as the types of noses, cheeks and rumps.

Classification

The following list shows where the various monkey families (bolded) are placed in the classification of living (extant) primates.

Relationship with humans

The many species of monkey have varied relationships with humans. Some are kept as pets, others used as model organisms in laboratories or in space missions. They may be killed in monkey drives (when they threaten agriculture) or used as service animals for the disabled.

In some areas, some species of monkey are considered agricultural pests, and can cause extensive damage to commercial and subsistence crops. This can have important implications for the conservation of endangered species, which may be subject to persecution. In some instances farmers' perceptions of the damage may exceed the actual damage. Monkeys that have become habituated to human presence in tourist locations may also be considered pests, attacking tourists.

As service animals for disabled people

Some organizations train capuchin monkeys as service animals to assist quadriplegics and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility impairments. After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with disabled people. Around the house, the monkeys assist with daily tasks such as feeding, fetching, manipulating objects, and personal care.

Helper monkeys are usually trained in schools by private organizations, taking seven years to train, and are able to serve 25-30 years (two to three times longer than a guide dog).

In 2010, the U.S. federal government revised its definition of service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Non-human primates are no longer recognized as service animals under the ADA. The American Veterinary Medical Association does not support the use of non-human primates as assistance animals because of animal welfare concerns, the potential for serious injury to people, and risks that primates may transfer dangerous diseases to humans.

In experiments

Main page: Animal testing on non-human primates

The most common monkey species found in animal research are the grivet, the rhesus macaque, and the crab-eating macaque, which are either wild-caught or purpose-bred. They are used primarily because of their relative ease of handling, their fast reproductive cycle (compared to apes) and their psychological and physical similarity to humans. Worldwide, it is thought that between 100,000 and 200,000 non-human primates are used in research each year, 64.7% of which are Old World monkeys, and 5.5% New World monkeys. This number makes a very small fraction of all animals used in research. Between 1994 and 2004 the United States has used an average of 54,000 non-human primates, while around 10,000 non-human primates were used in the European Union in 2002.

A number of countries have used monkeys as part of their space exploration programmes, including the United States and France. The first monkey in space was Albert II, who flew in the US-launched V-2 rocket on June 14, 1949.

Monkey brains are eaten as a delicacy in parts of South Asia, Africa and China. Monkeys are sometimes eaten in parts of Africa, where they can be sold as "bushmeat". In traditional Islamic dietary laws, the eating of monkeys is forbidden.

Literature

Sun Wukong (the "Monkey King"), a character who figures prominently in Chinese mythology, is the protagonist in the classic comic Chinese novel Journey to the West.

Monkeys are prevalent in numerous books, television programs, and movies. The television series Monkey and the literary characters Monsieur Eek and Curious George are all examples.

Informally, "monkey" may refer to apes, particularly chimpanzees, gibbons, and gorillas. Author Terry Pratchett alludes to this difference in usage in his novels, in which the Librarian of the Unseen University is an orangutan who gets very violent if referred to as a monkey. Another example is the use of Simians in Chinese poetry.

The winged monkeys are prominent characters in L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz books and in the 1939 film based on Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Religion and worship

Monkey is the symbol of fourth Tirthankara in Jainism, Abhinandananatha.

Hanuman, a prominent deity in Hinduism, is a human-like monkey god who is believed to bestow courage, strength and longevity to the person who thinks about him or Rama.

In Buddhism, the monkey is an early incarnation of Buddha but may also represent trickery and ugliness. The Chinese Buddhist "mind monkey" metaphor refers to the unsettled, restless state of human mind. Monkey is also one of the Three Senseless Creatures, symbolizing greed, with the tiger representing anger and the deer lovesickness.

The Sanzaru, or three wise monkeys, are revered in Japanese folklore; together they embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".

The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted monkeys in their art.

The Tzeltal people of Mexico worshipped monkeys as incarnations of their dead ancestors.

The Monkey (猴) is the ninth in the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The next time that the monkey will appear as the zodiac sign will be in the year 2028.

In Spanish: Mono para niños

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Monkeys are primates that live in tropical jungles. There are 2 main subgroups: New World and Old World. The Americas are home to New World monkeys, while Asia and Africa are home to Old World monkeys.

There are over 264 different species of monkeys around the world. They are intelligent, skilled tool users to help them crack open nuts.

Monkeys are primates.

They can live for between 10 and 50 years.

Monkeys have tails, apes don't.

Like humans, monkeys have unique fingerprints.

Albert II was the first monkey in space in 1949.

There are no monkeys in Antarctica.

The largest monkey is the male Mandrill which is about 3.3 ft. (1 meter) long.

The smallest monkey is the Pygmy Marmoset which measures 4-4 ½ inches (117-159 mm) in length.

The female spider monkey has the longest tail.

The male howler monkey is very loud in fact is one of the loudest animals in the world.

Many face habitat loss from, degradation, residential, commercial, and agricultural development.

Types of Monkeys

Capuchin Monkey

Named after Capuchin monks because of the distinctive pattern on their heads. These small monkeys populate parts of Central and South America. They are diurnal and spend most of the day hunting for food.

They are skillful foragers and eat a varied diet. Their diet includes nuts, plants, fruit, sugarcane, bulbs, and even shellfish.

Howler Monkey

We know howler monkeys for their long tails, which is five times as long as their body.

Patas Monkey

Instead, they rely on alarm calls, fleeing, and even defensive fighting.

Pygmy Marmoset

The pygmy marmoset is a tiny monkey found throughout the Amazon Basin. This species is the smallest monkey on the planet, with adults weighing around 3.5 oz. In captivity, they are sometimes referred to as finger monkeys or fingerlings.

They live in small groups of about six, usually composed of immediate family members. Pygmy marmosets are gummivores, meaning that they live mostly off of tree sap, with some supplementation of insects.

Their unique teeth let them gouge into the trunks of trees to tap into sap flow. They also may eat nectar and fruit. Pygmy marmosets are known for their unique and complex forms of vocalization, which use an elaborate system of vibration and pitch to communicate.

Spider Monkey

Spider monkeys are found throughout tropical regions in Central and South America. Their long limbs and prehensile tails make them excellent climbers and some of the largest monkeys in the New World.

Spider monkeys live in moderately-sized groups that break into subgroups during daylight hours to reduce the risk of attracting predators and inciting squabbles over food. These social groups have complex organizations and may be led by one dominant female.

Spider monkeys live primarily on fruit and nuts, though they may eat plants, insects, and honey. Their large brains help them recall where food is abundant, and they may travel in smaller groups to forage.

Squirrel Monkey

Squirrel monkeys are native to South and Central America, with significant outspread in the Amazon. These small monkeys are known throughout the world for their slim figures and distinctive white "mask" on their facial fur.

They live in large groups of up to 500, staying largely to the trees to avoid predators. They use their long, distinctive tails as balancing mechanisms while moving through the trees. Since they are small, squirrel monkeys are vulnerable to falcons, snakes, and other hunters.

They are omnivorous, with the majority of their diet being fruit and insects. However, they also eat various plant matter, flowers, eggs, and other materials.

Can Monkeys Swim?

Probosci's monkeys have swimming abilities. Scientists have observed them in the wild swimming. In the swamps of Indonesian Borneo's Bakut Island, they take to the water swimming. It serves a practical purpose to find food.

How Long Do Monkeys Sleep?

Monkeys sleep on average 9.5 hours. Nocturnal night monkeys from South Africa sleep for 17 hours a day.

Monkeys sleep while sitting on trees. They balance on branches, resting on their bottoms, and often upright.

They sleep above the canopy for security reasons to keep away from predators.

Are Monkeys Omnivores

Monkeys are omnivores; they eat both meat and plants. The diet of the monkeys varies depending on the species. East African verve monkeys feed on bulbs, bark, roots, eggs, and rodents.

Red colobus and Langur monkeys eat leaves. The belly of colobus monkeys and langurs contains a bacterium. This helps in the fermentation and digestion of leaves.

Owl monkeys feed on leaves, fruits, and insects. Capuchin monkeys eat fruits, buds, leaves, small lizards, bird eggs, and small birds.

Trained Capuchin can catch crabs, frogs, and shellfish. They also eat small mammals and reptiles. They use their hands and feet to hold on to the branches when feeding on various parts of the tree.

While others have ridged and very flexible tails to hold on to branches when eating.

Baboons can eat meat when they catch it, such as young antelopes, rabbits, and birds. Geladas monkeys usually feed on grass.

Old-world monkeys fill their cheek pouches with food. They swallow it later when they find a safe place to rest.

Are Monkeys Smart?

Monkeys are intelligent and understand abstract qualities.

Research from Georgia State University showed versatility in problem solving. They conducted a test to discover how flexible monkeys were.

Monkeys can remember specific routes in the forest. When moving from one region of the forest to another.

Monkeys recall pathways in the wild when moving from one region of the forest to another.

Monkeys use hands and objects like sticks to crack nuts.

Owl monkeys have eyes that can see in the dark, and they can communicate with each other using scents and calls.

Where are Monkeys' Habitat?

Monkeys live in forests, grasslands, high plains, and mountain places. A large category of monkeys spend their time in trees, while others live on the ground.

Monkeys split into two groups, Old and New World monkeys.

Old World monkeys live in Africa and Asia. They include baboons, macaques, mangabeys, guenons, and colobus monkeys.

New World monkeys live in Central America, South America, and Mexico.
New World monkeys include
Howler monkeys
Spider monkeys
Woolly monkeys
Capuchin monkeys
Squirrel monkeys

Monkeys have unique features which attract them to different regions.

A large category of monkeys live in the tropical rainforest or the savannas of Africa.

Geladas and golden monkeys live in mountainous places where there is snow, such as Japan.

Other monkeys live in rocky and wooded area. They spend their time on the ground, although they can climb trees.

These include macaques and baboons.

Monkeys are divided into two subgroups:

Old World monkeys that can be found and live in Asia and Africa

New World Monkeys are found in South America.

Apes are not considered to be monkeys, although monkeys and apes are considered to share the simian primate group.

Most Old World monkeys have curved, small nostrils that are set quite close together however, New World monkeys have round nostrils that are far apart and their noses are flat.

There are 96 Old World Monkey species and 81 New World monkey species, although there are more New World species that are being discovered.

Monkeys can be identified easily as they all have tails.

Most monkeys run across branches, although there are some species that do swing in trees arm-to-arm.

Monkeys communicate through a variety of sound vocalizations, body movements, and facial expressions.

In the world of monkeys, pulling the lip or grinning is a sign of aggression.

Monkeys are very social, living in groups called a 'troop' and they express affection and bonding through the grooming process.

The habitats of monkeys can include grasslands, high plains, trees, and forests.

However, they are quickly losing the places where they can live as it is disappearing due to human invasion.

Monkeys that live in trees are called arboreal and they spend most of their lives in the trees.

Species such as baboons primarily live on the ground.

Monkeys are omnivores and eat such things like nuts, seeds, leaves, flowers, fruit, insects and honey.

The alpha or leader of the group is mostly a male monkey and they generally fight for this right. As a leader, this gives them the right to mate with all the females within the group.

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Monkey Facts for Kids (All You Need to Know!)

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Monkeys are primates that live in tropical jungles. There are 2 main subgroups: New World and Old World. The Americas are home to New World monkeys, while Asia and Africa are home to Old World monkeys. There are over 264 different species of monkeys around the world.

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Monkeys are clever, social animals. They are known for running and leaping through trees with ease. Like apes and humans, monkeys belong to the group of mammals called...

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Sea lions are the most fascinating creatures that you will find in the sea. They growl, bleat, roar, and bark to mark their territory and signal danger. They are called the "lions of the sea" because they have manes and roar loudly like their land-dwelling namesakes.

Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by long fore flippers, external ear flaps, a big chest and belly, short and thick hair, and the ability to work on their fours. They are closely related to walruses and seals. Along with the fur seals, sea lions make up the family Otariidae, which means eared seals.

Sea lions can be found on the Galapagos Islands, the coasts of Japan and Korea, and western North America, from southern Canada to mid-Mexico. They are known for their distinct and adorable appearance, social behavior, cunning intelligence, agility in the water, and playful behavior. Read on and discover 10 incredible facts about these amazing pinnipeds.

1. There are six subspecies of sea lions

Sea lions have six extant and one extinct subspecies.
Vladislav T. Jirousek/Shutterstock.com

Sea lions have six extant and one extinct subspecies. The extant sea lion species include Galapagos sea lions, California sea lions, Australia sea lions, Steller sea lions, South American sea lions, and New Zealand sea lions. The Japanese sea lion became extinct around the 1950s-1970s. They lived in Japan along the northwest Pacific coastline before extinction.

2. Sea lions are smart

Some species of sea lions, particularly the California sea lions, can be trained to perform various tasks and display little fear of humans during their interactions. During the Vietnam War, the Navy used sea lions and dolphins to help with tasks like finding mines and objects and finding and marking enemy swimmers.

Since then, sea lions have been helping the Navy clear mines from the waters. The animals are not trained to take out the intruder or attack the person alone. They are trained to alert the human handlers and swim away while the Navy apprehends the intruder. According to the U.S. Navy, none of the sea animals have ever been injured or killed in the line of duty.

3. Sea lions are mammals

Male sea lions are called bulls, females are known as cows, and babies are referred to as pups.
Alexander Machulskiy/Shutterstock.com

A sea lion is neither an amphibian nor a fish. Together with the seals, sea lions belong to a group of marine mammals called pinnipeds, which means flipper-footed or finned. Unlike fish, sea lions can spend time on land and water. They can jump out of the water and stay on rocky shores or sandy beaches for hours or even days without discomfort or overheating.

Male sea lions are called bulls, females are known as cows, and babies are referred to as pups. Since they are mammals, sea lions do not lay eggs but carry their pups in their tummies for eight to eleven months. Young ones are born on land, and mothers produce milk to nurse them for up to twelve months.

4. All sea lions are carnivores

Sea lions eat a variety of marine mammals, including sardines, clams, rockfish, mackerel, squid, crabs, octopus, and anchovies, among others. They are primarily carnivores. Sea lions hunt together by herding a shoal of fish into a tight circle, then start to pick off the individual fish around the edges. Some types of sea lions may hunt in large groups with dolphins, seabirds, and porpoises.

5. Sea lions can have age-related issues

Old sea lions are vulnerable to dental issues, cancer, poor vision, skin conditions, arthritis, idiopathic seizures, and other neurologic problems. Most of them die because they lack immunity to fight the diseases.

6. Sea lions are very social

Sea lions are often sighted packed in groups on land or floating together on the ocean's surface in groups.
Reinhard Jahn, Mannheim / CC BY-SA 2.0 DE - License

Sea lions, especially the California sea lions, are very social animals. They are often sighted packed in groups on land or floating together on the ocean's surface in groups called "rafts." They prefer to live in colonies of up to a thousand members, with plenty of subgroups within their hierarchy. Their social structure works well for them but can be chaotic for an outsider looking in.

7. The average lifespan of sea lions in the wild is 20 years

Sea lions live up to 20 years in the wild. However, most of them do not live long due to the wear and tear of hunting and many other environmental factors. Sea lions are also vulnerable to predation by killer whales, sharks, and humans.

Their lifespan can extend to thirty years in human care, where they have ready access to food, medical care, and secure living environments free of predators. They may only suffer and die of incurable diseases.

8. Sea lions breathe through their nostrils while on land

Sea lions spend their time on land and in the sea. On land, they breathe through their nostrils. Their nostrils instinctively shut as soon as they dive into the water. Sea lions can remain in the water for an average of 8 to 20 minutes. They can not breathe underwater. Their nostrils stay closed during this time, but they have special muscles that allow them to open them when they come out of the water and need to breathe.

9. Sea lions are expert freedivers and swimmers

Sea lions have special physiological builds that allow them to conserve oxygen while diving.
Foto 4440/Shutterstock.com

Sea lions can dive up to 984 feet (300 meters). They have special physiological builds that allow them to conserve oxygen while diving. They are also remarkable swimmers and can reach a speed of about 20 miles per hour in the water. They swim using their long, powerful fore flippers to generate power and their hind flippers to steer.

10. Sea lions are endangered species

Many subspecies of sea lions, especially the Steller and New Zealand sea lions, are on the brink of extinction. All sea lions are vulnerable to diseases, pollution, and the effects of climate change on ocean conditions.

Extreme temperatures and pollution in the ocean can have an impact on the abundance of fish prey in sea lion habitats. Toxins in the fish prey can also build up in sea lions, leading to neurological conditions, behavioral changes, or even death. Besides, plastic waste in the ocean and on shores frequently entangles sea lions.

Some sea lions are also killed accidentally in net fisheries. They often swim long distances, becoming tired or severely injured when entangled in fishing gear like gillnets or traps. New Zealand sea lions and Australian sea lions are the major victims of bycatch since they are usually attracted to the bait material in rock lobster pots.

Cleaning up the environment is a huge part of the conservation efforts for sea lions. They are less likely to become ill or entangled if we keep the water and surroundings clean. Several international laws have been implemented to help protect the sea lion from extinction.

A group of Steller sea lions on a rock
Alexander Machulskiy/Shutterstock.com

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Sea lions are the most fascinating creatures that you will find in the sea. They growl, bleat, roar, and bark to mark their territory and signal danger. They are called the "lions of the sea" because they have manes and roar loudly like their land-dwelling namesakes.

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California sea lions live on the western coast of North America from the Baja California peninsula in Mexico to British Columbia. These semi-aquatic mammals feed on fish, squid, and shellfish. They are generally found in open water, where they prefer to fish, but are sometimes found in rivers near the coast as well.

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California sea lions live on the western coast of North America from the Baja California peninsula in Mexico to British Columbia. These semi-aquatic mammals feed on fish, squid, and shellfish. They are generally found in open water, where they prefer to fish, but are sometimes found in rivers near the coast as well.

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Flamingos are types of birds. They are noisy birds and they live in big groups called flocks. Flamingos are wading birds. This means they live by water, such as lakes.

They are in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. There are six species of flamingo. Two of species are found in Africa, Europe and Asia. The other four are found in North America and South America.

Description

Flamingos usually stand on one leg while the other is tucked beneath their body. The reason for this behaviour is not fully understood. One theory is that standing on one leg allows the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water. However, the behaviour also takes place in warm water and is also observed in birds that do not typically stand in water. An alternative theory is that standing on one leg reduces the energy expenditure for producing muscular effort to stand and balance on one leg. A study on cadavers showed that the one-legged pose could be held without any muscle activity, while living flamingos demonstrate substantially less body sway in a one-legged posture. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.

Flamingos are capable flyers and flamingos in captivity often require wing clipping to prevent escape.

Young flamingos hatch with greyish reddish plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and beta-Carotene obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly colored and thus a more desirable mate; a white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished. Captive flamingos are a notable exception; they may turn a pale pink if they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild.

Behaviour and ecology

Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp and blue-green algae. Their bills are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from carotenoids in their diet of animal and plant plankton. These carotenoids are broken down into pigments by liver enzymes. The source of this varies by species, and affects the saturation of color. Flamingos whose sole diet is blue-green algae are darker in color compared to those who get it second hand (e.g. from animals that have digested blue-green algae).

Flamingos are very social birds; they live in colonies whose population can number in the thousands. These large colonies are believed to serve three purposes for the flamingos: avoiding predators, maximizing food intake, and using scarce suitable nesting sites more efficiently. Before breeding, flamingo colonies split into breeding groups of about 15 to 50 birds. Both males and females in these groups perform synchronized ritual displays. The members of a group stand together and display to each other by stretching their necks upwards, then uttering calls while head-flagging, and then flapping their wings. The displays do not seem to be directed towards an individual but instead occur randomly. These displays stimulate "synchronous nesting" (see below) and help pair up those birds who do not already have mates.

Flamingos form strong pair bonds although in larger colonies flamingos sometimes change mates, presumably because there are more mates to choose from. Flamingo pairs establish and defend nesting territories. They locate a suitable spot on the mudflat to build a nest (the spot is usually chosen by the female). Nest building is sometimes interrupted by another flamingo pair trying to commandeer the nesting site for their own use. Flamingos aggressively defend their nesting sites. Both the male and the female contribute to building the nest, and to defending the nest and egg. Occasional same-sex pairs have been reported.

After the chicks hatch, the only parental expense is feeding. Both the male and the female feed their chicks with a kind of crop milk, produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract (not just the crop). Production is stimulated by the hormone prolactin. The milk contains fat, protein, and red and white blood cells. (Pigeons and doves- Columbidae -also produce a crop milk (just in the glands lining the crop), which contains less fat and more protein than flamingo crop milk.)

For the first six days after the chicks hatch, the adults and chicks stay in the nesting sites. At around seven to twelve days old, the chicks begin to move out of their nests and explore their surroundings. When they are two weeks old, the chicks congregate in groups, called "microcrèches", and their parents leave them alone. After a while, the microcrèches merge into "crèches" containing thousands of chicks. Chicks that do not stay in their crèches are vulnerable to predators.

Status and conservation

In captivity

The first flamingo hatched in a European zoo was a Chilean flamingo at Zoo Basel in Switzerland in 1958. Since then, over 389 flamingos have grown up in Basel and been distributed to other zoos around the globe.

Greater, an at least 83-year-old greater flamingo, believed to be the oldest in the world, died at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia in January, 2014.

Conservation

Many flamingos that live in Kenya and Tanzania are dying. Scientists do not know why. They think it may be because of bacteria in the water.

Images for kids

Many molecular and morphological studies support a relationship between grebes and flamingos

Moche Ceramic Depicting Flamingo (200 AD) Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru

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Flamingos are types of birds. They are noisy birds and they live in big groups called flocks. Flamingos are wading birds. This means they live by water, such as lakes. They are in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. There are six species of flamingo. Two of species are found in Africa, Europe and Asia.

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Pink Flamingo
Author: Keeepa

Back to Animals for Kids

The flamingo is a beautiful pink wading bird. There are actually 6 different species of flamingos. They are the Greater Flamingo (Africa, Europe, Asia), Lesser Flamingo (Africa, India), Chilean Flamingo (South America), James's Flamingo (South America), Andean Flamingo (South America) and the American Flamingo (Caribbean).

Caribbean Flamingo
Author: Adrian Pingstone

We'll talk mostly here about the American Flamingo which has the scientific name Phoenicopterus ruber. They grow to around 3 to 5 feet tall and weigh around 5 to 6 pounds. The males are generally slightly larger than the females. Flamingo's feathers are usually pinkish red. They also have pink legs and a pink and white bill with a black tip.

Where do Flamingos live?

Different species of Flamingos live throughout the world. The American Flamingo is the only one that lives in the wild in North America. It lives on many Caribbean islands such as the Bahamas,Cuba, and Hispaniola. It also lives in northern South America, the Galapagos Islands, and parts of Mexico.

Flamingos live in a habitat of low level water such as lagoons or mudflats or lakes. They like to wade around in the water searching for food. They are very social and sometimes live in large groups of as many as 10,000 birds.

What do they eat?

The Flamingos get most of their food by filtering out the mud and water in their bills to eat insects and crustaceans like shrimp. They get their pink coloring from the pigment in their food, carotenoid, which is the same thing that makes carrots orange.

Group of Flamingos
Author: Photo by Ducksters

Can Flamingos fly?

Yes. Although we mostly think of Flamingos wading in the water, they can fly as well. They have to run to gather speed before they can take off. They often fly in large flocks.

Why do they stand on one leg?

Scientists aren't 100% sure why Flamingos stand on one leg, but they have some theories. One says that it's to keep one leg warm. In the cold weather they can keep one leg next to their body helping it to stay warm. Another idea is that they are drying out one leg at a time. A third theory states that it helps them trick their prey, because one leg looks more like a plant than two.

Whatever the reason is, it is truly amazing that these top heavy birds can balance on one leg for hours at a time. They even sleep while balanced on one leg!

The juvenile greater flamingo
Author: Hobbyfotowiki

Fun Facts about Flamingos

Parent flamingos take care of their kids for up to six years.

Flamingos have a number of interesting rituals or displays. One of them is called marching where a tight group of flamingos walks together in one direction and then suddenly switches directions all together at once.

They are one of the longest living birds, often living up to 40 years old.

Flamingos make a honking sound like a goose.

Sometimes flocks in Africa can get as large as 1 million flamingos. These are the largest bird flocks in the world.

Flamingos make their nests in the mud where they lay one large egg. Both parents watch over the egg.

For more about birds:

Blue and Yellow Macaw - Colorful and chatty bird
Bald Eagle - Symbol of the United States
Cardinals - Beautiful red birds you can find in your backyard.
Flamingo - Elegant pink bird
Mallard Ducks - Learn about this awesome Duck!
Ostriches - The biggest birds don't fly, but man are they fast.
Penguins - Birds that swim
Red-tailed Hawk - Raptor

Back toBirds

Back toAnimals

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Pink FlamingoAuthor: Keeepa Back to Animals for Kids The flamingo is a beautiful pink wading bird. There are actually 6 different species of flamingos. They are the Greater Flamingo (Africa, Europe, Asia), Lesser Flamingo (Africa, India), Chilean Flamingo (South America), James's Flamingo (South America), Andean Flamingo (South America) and the American Flamingo (Caribbean).

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When a flamingo spots potential dinner-favorite foods include shrimp, snails, and plantlike water organisms called algae-it plunges its head into the water, twists it upside down, and scoops the fish using its upper beak like a shovel. They are able to "run" on water, thanks to their webbed feet, to gain speed before lifting up into the sky.

Flamingos build nests that look like mounds of mud along waterways. At the top of the mound, in a shallow hole, the female lays one egg. The parents take turns sitting on the egg to keep it warm. After about 30 days, the egg hatches.

Flamingo young are born white, with soft, downy feathers and a straight bill. The bill gradually curves downward as the flamingo matures. Both parents take care of the newborn flamingo, feeding it a fluid produced in their digestive systems. The young leave the nest after about five days to join other young flamingos in small groups, returning to the parents for food. The parents identify their chick by its voice. After about three weeks, the adults herd young flamingos into large groups called crèches where they start to look for food on their own.

Most flamingo species are not endangered, although the Andean flamingo is listed as vulnerable, and the Chilean, Lesser, and Puna flamingos are near threatened.

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Flamingos are famous for their bright pink feathers, stilt-like legs, and S-shaped neck. When a flamingo spots potential dinner-favorite foods include shrimp, snails, and plantlike water organisms called algae-it plunges its head into the water, twists it upside down, and scoops the fish using its upper beak like a shovel.

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Giant Panda: Learn about the cuddly looking bear.

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Learn about giant panda bears from China. They eat bamboo in the mountains and are an endangered species.

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Giant panda

Giant panda

Literal meaning

"bear cat"

Alternative Chinese name

Literal meaning

"cat bear"

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, sometimes panda bear or simply panda) is a bear species endemic to China. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda. The giant panda has often served as China's national symbol.

The word panda was borrowed into English from French. No conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word panda has been found. The closest candidate is the Nepali word ponya, possibly referring to the wrist bone of the red panda, which is native to Nepal. The Western world originally applied this name to the red panda.

Description

Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.9 metres (3 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 3 inches) long, including a tail of about 10-15 cm (4-6 in), and 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 160 kg (350 lb). Females (generally 10-20% smaller than males) can weigh as little as 70 kg (150 lb), but can also weigh up to 125 kg (276 lb). The average weight for adults is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb).

The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, limbs and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. The bear's distinctive coat serves as camouflage in both winter and summer environments. The giant panda's thick, woolly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat.

The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan, and also in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu.

Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore. Bamboo shoots and leaves make up more than 99% of its diet. During the shoot season, which lasts from April to August, they put on a lot of weight, which allows them to get through the nutrient-scarce period from late August to April, when they feed mostly on bamboo leaves. Two of the panda's most distinctive features, its large size and round face, are adaptations to its bamboo diet.

Giant pandas in the wild occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat (birds, rodents, or carrion). In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food. The ancient giant panda was omnivorous 7 million years ago (mya), it only became herbivorous some 2-2.4 mya.

As long as giant pandas spend most of the lives eating, they do not have much time for social interaction. The only exception is the breeding season. However, after mating, the male leaves the female alone to raise the cub.

Pandas communicate through vocalisation and scent marking. They are able to climb and take shelter in hollow trees or rock crevices, but do not have permanent dens. For this reason, pandas do not hibernate in cold seasons. Instead, they move areas with warmer temperatures.

Pandas have been known to cover themselves in horse manure to protect themselves against cold temperatures.

Reproduction and lifespan

Pandsa normally give birth to one cub every two years. The gestation period is somewhere between 95 and 160 days. The primary method of breeding giant pandas in captivity is by artificial insemination, as they seemed to lose their interest in mating once they were captured.

Giant pandas give birth to twins in about half of pregnancies. If twins are born, usually only one survives in the wild. The mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and the weaker cub will die due to starvation. The mother is thought to be unable to produce enough milk for two cubs since she does not store fat. The father has no part in helping raise the cub.

When the cub is born, it is pink, blind, and toothless. It weighs only 90 to 130 g ( to oz), or about of the mother's weight. It nurses from its mother's breast six to 14 times a day for up to 30 minutes at a time. For three to four hours, the mother may leave the den to feed, which leaves the cub defenseless. One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns grey where its hair will eventually become black. Slight pink colour may appear on the cub's fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's saliva.

A month after birth, the colour pattern of the cub's fur is fully developed. Its fur is very soft and coarsens with age. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 80 days; mothers play with their cubs by rolling and wrestling with them. The cubs can eat small quantities of bamboo after six months, though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most of the first year. Giant panda cubs weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) at one year and live with their mothers until they are 18 months to two years old.

The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity.

Although adult giant pandas have few natural predators other than humans, young cubs can be attacked by snow leopards, yellow-throated martens, eagles, feral dogs, and the Asian black bear. Sub-adults weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb) may be hunted for by leopards.

Western discovery

The West first learned of the giant panda on 11 March 1869, when the French missionary Armand David received a skin from a hunter.

The first Westerner known to have seen a living giant panda is the German zoologist Hugo Weigold, who purchased a cub in 1916.

Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., became the first Westerners to shoot a panda, on an expedition funded by the Field Museum of Natural History in the 1920s.

In 1936, Ruth Harkness became the first Westerner to bring back a live giant panda, a cub named Su Lin who went to live at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.

In 1938, Floyd Tangier Smith captured and delivered five giant pandas to London, they arrived on 23 December aboard the SS Antenor. These five were the first on British soil and were transferred to London Zoo. One, named Grandma, only lasted a few days. Another, Ming, became London Zoo's first Giant Panda. Her skull is held by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Panda diplomacy

In the 1970s, gifts of giant pandas to American and Japanese zoos formed an important part of the diplomacy of the People's Republic of China (PRC), as it marked some of the first cultural exchanges between China and the West. This practice has been termed "panda diplomacy".

By 1984, however, pandas were no longer given as gifts. Instead, China began to offer pandas to other nations only on 10-year loans, under terms including a fee of up to US$1,000,000 per year and a provision that any cubs born during the loan are the property of China. Since 1998, because of a WWF lawsuit, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service only allows a US zoo to import a panda if the zoo can ensure that China will channel more than half of its loan fee into conservation efforts for the giant panda and its habitat. As a result of this change in policy, nearly all the pandas in the world are owned by China. The pandas leased to foreign zoos and any cubs are eventually returned to China.

American zoos generally pay the Chinese government $1 million a year in fees, as part of a typical ten-year contract.

Pandas have been kept in zoos as early as the Western Han Dynasty in China, where the writer Sima Xiangru noted that the panda was the most treasured animal in the emperor's garden of exotic animals in the capital Chang'an (present Xi'an). Not until the 1950s were pandas again recorded to have been exhibited in China's zoos.

Interesting facts about the giant panda

The giant panda appeared on Chinese Gold Panda coins since 1982 and as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In China and Taiwan the giant panda is sometimes called "spotted bear", "bamboo bear", or "giant bear cat" ("giant cat bear").

Although the giant panda, shares characteristics with both bears and raccoons, the DNA analysis shows that it is a true bear.

In its characteristics, the giant panda is more like an ancestor to other living bear species. It is sometimes called a living fossil.

The giant panda genome was sequenced in 2009.

A 110.45 kg (243.5 lb) giant panda has a canine teeth bite force of 2603.47 newtons.

The giant panda's paw has a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" helps it to hold bamboo while eating.

The giant panda's tail, measuring 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in), is the second-longest in the bear family, behind the sloth bear.

A female named Jia Jia was the oldest giant panda ever in captivity; she was born in 1978 and died at an age of 38 on 16 October 2016.

The giant pandas' eye patches help them identify one another.

Pandas are born with sterile intestines and require bacteria obtained from their mother's feces to digest vegetation.

The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 31 lb) of bamboo shoots a day; it defecates up to 40 times a day.

The giant panda is an animal with unique adaptations, and has lived in bamboo forests for millions of years.

It has been estimated that an adult panda absorbs 54.8-66.1 mg (0.846-1.020 gr) of cyanide a day through its diet. To prevent poisoning, they have evolved anti-toxic mechanisms to protect themselves.

Pandas rely primarily on spatial memory rather than visual memory.

The giant panda can attacks humans, presumably out of irritation rather than aggression.

Microbes in panda waste are being investigated for their use in creating biofuels from bamboo and other plant materials.

Almost all pandas in the world belong to China.

Chi Chi at the London Zoo became very popular. This influenced the World Wildlife Fund to use a panda as its symbol.

Keeping a panda costs five times more than keeping the next most expensive animal, an elephant.

Threats and conservation

The giant panda has been a target of poaching by locals since ancient times and by foreigners since it was introduced to the West. Also, as a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.

It is a vulnerable species. In 1963, the PRC government set up Wolong National Nature Reserve to save the declining panda population. Many believed the best way to save the pandas was to cage them. In the 1990s, however, several laws (including gun control and the removal of resident humans from the reserves) helped them survive. Wild pandas have started to increase in numbers in some areas, though they still are classified as a rare species.

In 2007, 239 pandas lived in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. By December 2014, 49 giant pandas lived in captivity outside China, living in 18 zoos in 13 countries.

Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. Some reports also show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise.

By March 2015, the wild giant panda population had increased to 1,864 individuals. In 2016, it was reclassified on the IUCN Red List from "endangered" to "vulnerable", affirming decade-long efforts to save the panda. In July 2021, Chinese authorities also reclassified the giant panda as vulnerable.

The giant panda is among the world's most adored and protected rare animals, and is one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, located in the southwest province of Sichuan and covering seven natural reserves, were inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 2006.

Population chart

Images for kids

The Qinling panda has a light brown and white pattern

Panda Research and Breeding Center in Chengdu.

In Spanish: Ailuropoda melanoleuca para niños

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These fur animals have thick red hair, short snout, and pointed ears, but it's their bushy tails and tear-shaped markings under their eyes that truly set them apart.

To love them even more, follow us till the end of this article.

15 Facts About Red Pandas

#1 They're Vegetarian Carnivores

It may sound like an oxymoron, but carnivore does not imply carnivorous in this circumstance. Carnivores fall in the biological category that comprises cats, bears, and dogs. If we talk of carnivores, various species fall in this category.

Whereas some Panda's fall in the category of herbivores and some in carnivores. The red panda is categorized as a carnivore because it shares ancestors with other carnivores, yet it seldom eats anything other than bamboo and insects.

The red panda consumes tiny leaves of bamboo plants, but the big panda eats all of them. After eating bamboo leaves, they can spend 13 hours without eating as it is healthy and fulfilling food for them, and they can lose up to 15% of their body weight in the winter.

#2 Blending In

You would not think "excellent for camouflage" when you see the red-orange color of the red panda's coat.

However, the red panda has been discovered to be exceptionally good at concealing from predators by slipping into the branches of tut trees, which are frequently covered in reddish-brown moss. This is useful since death by snow leopard appears to be a very painful way to die.

#3 Red Pandas Can't Jump Very High

Despite its jump ability, the red panda possesses outstanding climbing skills. In addition, they have a knack for choosing trees to hide from predators. On severely chilly days, they also like sunbathing. Red pandas can also swim well.

#4 Panda Cubs

The cubs are born in late spring and early summer in branches and grass nests after three months of growth in their mother. The furs of newborns are very thick and have grey color covering their whole body, and normally you would find their eyes closed.

Cubs are normally born in pairs, but a litter might have one to four siblings. When the cubs reach the age of 3 months, they normally stay away from the nest, but they do not leave their mother until the successive season of breeding starts up.

#5 Roll Himself To Stay Warm

The red panda sometimes goes around like a ball to stay warm. To do this, he hides his head in his chest and his nose between his hind paws.

#6 Rise In The Demand Of Red Panda Pelts

By interviewing local people, reading media, and contacting specialists, researchers captured socio-cultural viewpoints impacting panda conservation in Nepal.

Surprisingly, according to the research, most people living in red panda areas had neither negative nor favorable impressions of the species' economic importance, and they seldom had any medical, cultural, or religious significance.

#7 Female Red Panda Is Extremely Caring Towards Her Babies

When a cub is born, the mummy panda looks after her baby a lot. She can even recognize each youngster based on its scent. So for the initial days when the cub is born, the mummy red panda pays her full time (80-90 percent) to her cub by taking care of him.

She leaves the nest for a few hours and then returns to feed and clean the cubs. The mother can regularly move her pups to different nests and ensure they are all clean.

#8 Red Panda And Raccoon's Sizes Are Similar

You would find the size of the raccoon, and the size of the red panda is identical. Their weight is 8-13 pounds, and when it comes to their length, they are around 21-27 inches long. If you include their tail, you will notice their length around 33-41 inches.

#9 Red Pandas Have A False Thumb

This is another attribute that red pandas and giant pandas have in common. It was assumed that both pandas' fake thumbs, which are essentially elongated wrist bones, adapted to chewing bamboo. This trait was also present in the red panda's carnivorous predecessors.

This transpired was one of the most extreme occurrences of convergence among vertebrates, according to 2006 research. When two unrelated creatures are presented with comparable situations, they appear alike.

In this scenario, the red panda's fake thumb evolved to aid tree climbing and was only subsequently adapted for the bamboo diet. Still, giant pandas develop a nearly comparable trait due to their bamboo diet.

#10 Some Similarities In Red Panda And Giant Panda

Red pandas descend from trees head-first and rotate their ankles, making them one of the few climbing species on the planet that can do so, and giant pandas can also do the same.

#11 Natural Habitat

Eastern Himalayas are considered to be the home for a red panda. These red pandas appear most frequently near the northeastern parts of the Himalayas.

But the World Wildlife Fund estimates that the Eastern Himalayas account for nearly half of their range. This is because red pandas spend most of their time sleeping on the tree, and they mostly search for food at night.

#12 Red Pandas Need Privacy

Red pandas do not live with other pandas unless and until hunting in a group. After that, they spend their daytime alone, but the exception arises during hunting-red panda hunt in a group.

Red pandas love their privacy as much as we humans do. Hence this is what makes them unique creatures in the wild!

#13 Red Pandas Are Popularly Known As Tree Lover

When it comes to red pandas' likings, snow is the only thing that makes them come out from the tree. So, especially in the winter season, you can easily catch a glimpse of a red panda in the zoo.

Otherwise, they do not come down from trees and spend their whole day on trees except hunting. This is considered the only reason why red pandas are called "tree lovers."

#14 They Can Digest Cyanide

Red pandas may digest over 40 distinct types of bamboo. Red pandas, like giant pandas, have evolved to neutralize cyanide in their intestines when eating bamboo, which is high in cyanide compounds.

The presence of cyanide-digesting gut microorganisms and a similar genetic profile implies that the giant and red pandas developed these characteristics and gut microbiota separately to adapt to their overlapping bamboo diet.

#15 Red Pandas Are The Last Ailuridae

The ailuridae family belongs to the Carnivora order of placental animals, which consume meat. The ailuridae were classed as part of the raccoon family by French scientist Georges Cuvier in 1825, and the classification has been disputed ever since.

However, the red panda is now the sole remaining member of the ailuridae family, as its cousins died.

Conclusion

The number of red pandas decreases as they are hunted down and killed by predators. However, the species is one of the best, funny, and beautiful. We hope you have learned many unknown facts about the lovely species red panda, and the facts we have discussed were unknown and interesting to you.

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These fur animals have thick red hair, short snout, and pointed ears, but it's their bushy tails and tear-shaped markings under their eyes that truly set them apart. To love them even more, follow us till the end of this article. It may sound like an oxymoron, but carnivore does not imply carnivorous in this circumstance.

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A red panda totters along the branch of an evergreen tree, placing one paw in front of the other like a gymnast on a balance beam. But then ... whoops! The panda loses its footing. A fall from this height-about a hundred feet-could be deadly. But the panda quickly grips the branch with all four paws and some seriously sharp claws, steadies itself, and keeps moving.

FOREST ACROBATS

Red pandas and giant pandas share a similar name-and a love for bamboo-but they aren't closely related. Scientists think that red pandas are more closely related to weasels, raccoons, and skunks. And while giant pandas spend most of their time plodding around on the ground looking for food, red pandas spend about 90 percent of their time in the trees in the misty mountains of Nepal, Myanmar, and central China where they live.

In fact, red pandas have adapted so well to life in the trees that they're famous for their incredible acrobatic skills. They even have a special thumb-like wrist bone that helps them get an extra grip when climbing. While they can't exactly extend their arms like an acrobat to keep their balance, they can use their tails. If a red panda starts to lean in one direction, it can swing its tail the opposite way to steady itself.

Spending time in trees is how these animals avoid predators, such as snow leopards. Their reddish coats and white face markings provide camouflage in the red-brown moss and white lichen of trees where they live. About the only time red pandas go to the ground is to, um, go. And they scamper down tree trunks headfirst. How? They rotate their ankles 180 degrees-that's like being able to turn your foot backward. The move gives their curved claws a better angle to hang on to the bark.

SAVING RED PANDAS

Red pandas are endangered. Their forest homes are being cut down, and poachers hunt them for their fur. And their adorableness might put them in more danger, since they're ideal targets for the illegal pet trade.

Luckily people are trying to help. For instance, the Red Panda Network hires local people to be forest guardians. These panda pals keep watch over the red pandas in Nepal, replant bamboo, and help paying tourists observe them without disturbing the creatures. Other organizations are using high-tech methods to track poachers. By taking a DNA sample from a red panda rescued from the black market, conservationists can learn where the animals are being taken from.

RED PANDA FAST FACTS

* Red pandas lick themselves clean, just like house cats do.

* Newborns hardly have any fur on the bottoms of their feet. The fur grows as they get older.

* Red pandas wrap their tails around themselves to keep warm in their chilly habitat.

* They eat about 20,000 bamboo leaves every day.

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These mammals spend most of their time in trees and are famous for their incredible acrobatic skills.

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Sometimes people call red pandas "lesser pandas" or "firefoxes". But red pandas are actually not closely related to giant pandas, foxes, or even raccoons. Instead, the red panda, with its distinctive round face, red and black fur, and bushy ringed tail, is in a family of its own, Ailuridae.

When red pandas were discovered in 1825 by French zoologist Frédéric Cuvier, he gave them the name Ailurus fulgens, which means fire-colored, or shining, cat. And with their cinnamon-red and black markings, "fire-colored" is an apt description. Red pandas are about the size of a house cat, with bodies about 56-63cm (22-25 in.) in length and tails about 37-47cm (15-19 in) in length.

Fossils found in North America show that red pandas once lived there five million years ago. But today, their range is limited to the mountain forests of Nepal, India, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. The word "panda" is thought to come from the Nepali word, "ponya", which means bamboo eater or bamboo-footed.

Red pandas are one of the few animals that consume bamboo as their main source of nutrition, and they have a few special adaptations for this specialized diet. (Other bamboo eaters include giant pandas, bamboo lemurs and bamboo rats.)

Similar to the giant panda, the red panda has a protruding wrist bone that acts like a thumb. This false thumb helps the red panda grip bamboo stalks and tree branches. Red pandas also have powerful molars to gnaw on the tough, fibrous bamboo.

A red panda must eat 1-2 kg (2-4 lb.) of bamboo per day in order to get enough nutrition. Unlike the giant panda, red pandas prefer nibbling on bamboo leaves and fresh shoots as opposed to the stalks. A female red panda was once recorded as having eaten 20,000 bamboo leaves in one day! Red pandas need to eat so much bamboo because they can only digest about 24% of it.

Though their diet is made up of mostly bamboo, red pandas sometimes also eat grass, fruit, eggs, insects and small animals. Interestingly, they are classified as carnivores (meat eaters), even though they mainly eat plants.

Red pandas spend most of the day resting or sleeping. They are crepuscular, meaning they are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. When it's cold, red pandas wrap themselves up in their bushy tail and go into a deep sleep called torpor. In torpor, their body temperature lowers and their respiration rate goes down. This helps them conserve energy.

Red pandas are arboreal, meaning they spend most of their time in trees. They have certain physical characteristics that make them well-suited for this environment. Sharp, retractable claws allow them to grip branches and climb down tree trunks head first. Long tails help them keep their balance.

Their red coats blend in well with the reddish moss that grows on the tree trunks in their habitat, while their black undersides make it difficult to see them from below. This camouflage helps protect them from predators such as snow leopards and dholes (Asian canids related to dogs and foxes).

The soles of their feet do not have paw pads and instead are covered in fur. This keeps their feet insulated in the cold weather and covers the scent glands in their paws, which they use to mark their territory. Like raccoons, red pandas use their paws to scoop up water to drink. Like cats, they wash themselves by licking their paws and then wiping their faces and bodies.

Red pandas have a few ways of communicating. When threatened, they stare, bob their heads, arch their tails and stand up on their hind legs. They can also scratch and release a foul odor from scent glands at the base of their tail. Though usually quiet, they can produce a range of sounds including "huff-quacks", warning whistles, bleats, and high pitch twitters.

Family Life

Though normally solitary animals, red pandas pair up during the breeding season from January to April. A female red panda is only fertile for 1-2 days a year. Once pregnant, it takes three months for her to give birth to a litter of cubs. Litters generally consist of 2 cubs, but their size can range anywhere from 1-4.

A few days before she gives birth, a red panda creates a nest out of twigs, leaves, moss and grass in a tree hollow, rock crevice or under a stump. Cubs are born with thick gray fur. Their eyes and ears are shut. To ensure their safety, their mother moves them around to different dens, carrying them in her mouth.

After about 2-3 weeks, the cubs open their eyes and ears. They nurse for about 3-5 months, and then start eating solid food. At this time, their gray fur changes to red. The cubs fully mature and leave the den after about 18-20 months.

In the wild, red pandas live around 8-10 years.

Conservation Status

According to the IUCN Red List, the red panda is considered endangered, and their population is fragmented and decreasing. Threats to the red panda include habitat loss and poaching.

How You Can Help

You can help red pandas by donating to organizations like WWF and Red Panda Network, which work with local communities to protect red panda habitat and ban the hunting and poaching of red pandas. You can also participate in eco tourism.

Red Panda Range

Red Panda Resources

Blog Posts about the Red Panda

About the Author

Abi Cushman is a contributing editor of Animal Fact Guide and My House Rabbit. When she's not writing about weird animal facts, Abi writes and illustrates funny books for kids. Her picture books, and Animals Go Vroom!, are available now from Viking Children's Books.

To learn more and to download free activity sheets, visit www.abicushman.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AbiCushman and on Instagram at @Abi.Cushman.

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Did you know red pandas can eat 20,000 bamboo leaves per day? Learn more red panda facts and see cute red panda photos at Animal Fact Guide!

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Sea lions are 7 species of large marine mammals in the pinniped (seal) family. The sea lions ancient ancestors were land animals somewhat similar to bears.

For reasons unknown these creatures returned to the ocean about 20 million years ago, where they have since become the most successful and widely distributed family of carnivores in the world.

The sea lions entire body is structured for life in the water, with a smooth, torpedo shaped torso and flattened, powerful flippers, like four large swim fins instead of feet.

In fact, the swim-fins scuba divers and backyard snorkelers use were modeled after a sea lions unique, compressed and web-toed hind feet.

Sea lions live in very large social groups called colonies that may come together to sunbathe in masses of hundreds, and take to the beach to mate and raise young in tightly packed gatherings of thousands.

On land they are relatively cumbersome, but, unlike the "true seals", the sea lions can lift their bodies up off the sand and walk on all fours, and even run if necessary.

This ability finds sea lions and fur seals commonly referred to as the "walking seals", while their external ears are why they are also referred to as the "eared seals."

The "true seals", such as elephant seals and harp seals, do not have external ear structures and are not capable of walking, but rather must roll or wriggle from place to place when on land.

In the water, sea lions shine with balletic grace, spending the majority of their time hunting in reefs and ocean waters where they can dive as deep as 900 feet and remain submerged for over half an hour.

Sea lions are true carnivores and individuals may eat as much as 50 pounds of fish and squid in a day. They are solitary hunters and rarely if ever take large game such as penguins or seals, concentrating mostly on small squid and school fish such as herring and anchovy, which they can swallow whole, without any chewing at all.

Sea lions stalk schools of fish which they rush through with jaws agape spearing their quarry with impressively sharp teeth. They also forage through reefs using their long, stiff whiskers, known as vibrissae, to flush out assorted invertebrates, crabs, and their favorite food, squid.

Sea lions are highly social, and happy to live in very close company. They will notoriously pack together on beaches, rocks, boardwalks and boats, smushed against one another in huge, languorous piles.

Sea lions have thick fur and even thicker layers of blubber to keep them warm in their preferred cold climates, but they exist in all the oceans of the world except for the Atlantic ocean.

Species of sea lions and fur seals can be found on the Bering strait, Australia and New Zealand, South America and California.

Like many marine mammals, sea lions are remarkably intelligent with excellent senses of sight, hearing and smell.

In captivity, and when interacting with humans, they are extremely quick to learn, and have been exhibited in shows and circuses for centuries.

The typical performing seal is most likely a California sea lion, one of the most common and familiar of the seven sea lion species. - Sea Lion Facts

sea lion lifestyle and reproduction

Sea lions display extreme sexual dimorphism, (marked differences in appearance or size between males and females of the same species), with adult males being at least two times, and as much as four times larger than adult females.

In addition to just overall size, mature males over 10 years old are recognized by their impressive, crested foreheads and massive necks.

A bony ridge down the centerline of the skull known as a sagittal crest begins to develop at about 9 years of age and, over time, gives the males head a distinct, and impressive look.

Male sea lions gather at specific breeding grounds early in the mating season, and actively attempt to establish their own territories before females arrive.

The breeding ground is known as a "rookery" and is usually on a quiet island with sandy beaches. Much of a males dominance is related to size, with smaller animals almost always giving way to larger ones.

Males will develop a territory of only a few dozen feet in any direction and when another male attempts to enter, lots of bluffing, barking, roaring, hissing and growling occurs.

Actual fighting occurs as well, and injuries can be serious or fatal, but most disagreements are settled by ritualized, sumo-style shoving matches, and games of chicken involving extraordinarily loud full-speed charges at each other.

Once an area is established, the male will patrol his patch of beach and also a few yards of ocean in front of it, barking nearly constantly as he goes.

When all of the beach is claimed, younger, weaker or smaller males unable to gain a territory, form bachelor groups on the outskirts of the beach, and may continue to be chased about from one mating ground to another by the established males.

When the females arrive weeks later, the males try to attract them to their territory and gather a harem of as many as 15 females.

Males with prime, beach-front properties attract the most mates. This is a vitally important time in the life of a mature male sea lion, and he actually may not eat for the entire length of the mating season - up to 30 days- while he struggles to maintain control of his territory and the females who have chosen to reside there.

The female sea lion usually arrives already pregnant from the season prior, and the single pup that she delivers is probably not the offspring of the male whose territory she resides in this season, unless she happened to have hooked up with the same male the prior year.

Females will give birth within a few days of arriving at the rookery, and will be ready to mate 10 to 14 days later. The fertilized embryo develops in the womb for only a few weeks and then becomes dormant. It will not begin to grow again for another 4 months or so, when it will become implanted in the wall of the uterus and start to fully develop.

The entire pregnancy lasts between 8 and 12 months depending on species. This process is known as embryonic diapause and is fairly common in many large mammals.

The pup is quite large when born, weighing up to 55 pounds, sighted and fully furred. The mother remains on the beach with her new pup for the first 5 to 15 days, and fasts this entire time.

When she finally goes back to the sea to hunt and feed, she leaves the pup in a little playgroup of several other pups who will play and sleep together while they wait for their mothers to return.

A mother sea lion may be gone for days at a time, but when she returns, she will be able to find her own pup, in a sea of sea lions, by calling for it with her own distinct vocalization.

The pup has a distinct yelp of its own, and when it hears its mother nearby, begins to call to her desperately. Mother and pup may stay together for up to two years before the youngster heads out on its own.

why is it called a "sea lion"?

Many of the sea lion species we commonly see, actually don't bear a very strong resemblance to lions, so where does the name come from?

All sea lion species are carnivores with large canine teeth, or "fangs", and a muzzle full of stiff whiskers, and may also make loud roaring noises which are all lionesque features, but the most shockingly lion-like species is the incredible South American sea lion.

Males of this species can reach 9 feet in length, weigh over 800 pounds and have huge, broad heads and necks that can be thicker than their torsos in circumference.

The neck and head structure are dazzlingly leonine, but the South American sea lion also has ruff of long hair that makes everything very clear.

The "mane" is most obvious when the fur is dry, and leaves no doubt that the name "sea lion" is deserving.

The largest species of sea lion, the Stellar sea lion, also has a noticable mane, and males of this species can reach 2200 pounds and 12 feet in length.

The California sea lion, notorious for staking its claim along the entire West coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico, is probably the most well-known of the sea lion species, and is the most likely to appear performing in circuses and water parks.

Male California sea lions do have a full, round neck and develop a bony sagittal crest atop the skull cap as they mature that makes for a cool silhouette, but without the mane it doesn't really read "lion", and females of all the species never develop the truly lion-like physical features that ultimately must have inspired the name.

After all, just look at these guys!.

what is the difference between sea lions and seals?

Sea lions are members of the seal or pinniped family. The word pinniped means "flipper feet" or "feather feet" and includes three types of semi-aquatic marine mammals. The walrus, the "true seals" and the "eared seals" or "walking seals".

There are 7 species of sea lions, and 9 species of fur seals that make up the "eared seals". Eared seals differ from true seals in that they have external ears, larger, more powerful forelimbs, and can rotate their hind limbs forward and beneath them.

These differences in skeletal structure allow the sea lion and fur seal to not only sit in a semi-upright position, (that classic pose) but also to walk and even run on all-fours.

The rear limbs of true seals are fused together and are permanently facing rearward, making walking impossible. All pinnipeds, even walruses, are considered seals in the broad sense that leopards are considered cats, so it is not incorrect to call a sea lion a seal, just less precise .

Eared seals spend a great deal of time on land, breeding and sunning on the shores. With long, powerful front flippers, their natural position is upright with the chest raised off the ground.

Their rear legs are two separate, front-facing flippers that can be rotated under the body and they can rise up and move around with a two beat gate. Also often referred to as the "walking seals", the eared seals can actually move, even run, quite rapidly when necessary.

The "true seals" have no external ear flaps, smaller front flippers and rearward facing hind limbs that are fused together into one scalloped flipper. They move across land by stretching their upper bodies out and arching their backs to pull themselves forward.

True seals also swim differently from eared seals, getting most of their propulsion from their fused, tail-like rear flippers and undulating motions similar to a dolphin to propel themselves, while the eared seals use their strong front flippers as big, highly effective oars, appearing to fly through the water like birds.

Walruses have skeletons designed more like the eared seals, but have no ears. They move like the true seals in the water, but like the eared seals on land, and so are somewhere in between these two groups, and are classified in a genus of their own. - Sea Lion Facts

sea lions are amazingly noisy

Although sea lions do not make a wide range of sounds, they are very noisy, and easily one of the most vocal mammals on Earth.

Anyone who has observed large groups of sea lions sunning themselves on beaches or piers, knows that not only is there a continual racket while the animals move about to find good resting spots, but even while they are apparently fast asleep.

Grunts, groans and snores abound in a colony of sea lions. Groans and squeals may occur with the mouth closed, often accompanied by billowing cheeks, but classic barks and roars are delivered with jaws agape, and the noise is nearly constant.

Arguments erupt over possession of prime basking areas, yet they all seem to end up on top of each other.

Sea lions appear to have an innate need to be in close contact with each other, and to literally be surrounded by their peers. The social structure is loose and very uncomplicated except during breeding season. All other times a warm body and a friendly "ark, ark, ark" means this is home.

all in the colony - sea lion invasions

Some sea lion colonies are permanent residence throughout their range, while other species are partially migratory.

The California sea lion may or may not migrate. Many females live on barrier islands year round, raising their pups in large daycare groups with multiple mothers keeping an eye out for danger.

Most males migrate back to the mainland where they have been known to takeover private boats, beaches and even the famous pier 39 in San Francisco.

Legend has it that California sea lions began to appear in extremely large numbers after an earthquake struck California in 1989. On one pier in particular - pier 39- the numbers were uncontrollable.

These sea lions showed little concern for humans desires to utilize the docks, would show aggression when people attempted to move them, and transformed a peaceful dock into a noisy, odorous free for all.

Folks who had docked their boats in the area for decades simple moved out, and the wildlife took over. Now an amazing tourist attraction, the sea lions lounge while onlookers take pictures.

Crowding is a sea lion thing, and they would prefer to sleep three bodies deep than move to an unoccupied platform.

When they aren't crowding the San Francisco piers, the California sea lions are crowding the islands for mating season, where their bodies fill the water and the dunes, and their constant barking, roaring and growling can be heard from over 5 miles away. - Sea Lion Facts

a few more sea lion facts

Sea lions are known as eared or walking seals

A male sea lion is called a bull, a female is called a cow, and a baby is called a pup

A group of sea lions is called a colony on land, and a raft when in the water.

The male stellar sea lion can grow to the size of a compact car weighing over 2000 pounds and measuring over 10 feet long.

Some sea lions can stay underwater for over half an hour without taking a breath

Male sea lions may fast for up to 40 days during mating season.

Female sea lions may fast for up to 16 days when their pup is first born

The sea lion is known as the "angel of the sea" because their front flippers look like angels wings while they are swimming and sometimes when they are sleeping.

The trained seals seen in water parks and circuses are usually California sea lions.

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Sea Lion Facts - Animal Facts Encyclopedia

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Sea lions are 7 species of large marine mammals in the pinniped (seal) family. The sea lions ancient ancestors were land animals somewhat similar to bears. For reasons unknown these creatures returned to the ocean about 20 million years ago, where they have since become the most successful and widely distributed family of carnivores in the world.

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Flamingos are tall, mostly pink birds with long legs. A flamingo often stands with its long, thin neck curved into an S shape. Flamingos fly and feed in large flocks of hundreds to even millions of birds.

Like storks, herons, and ibises, flamingos are wading birds. This means that they feed while standing or walking in shallow water. Flamingos live in warm regions near lakes and bodies of water called lagoons.

There are five species, or types, of flamingo. The most common type is the lesser flamingo. It is found mainly in eastern and southern Africa and India. Other types of flamingo come from Central and South America, Caribbean islands, southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia.

A flamingo has webbed feet, a slender body, large wings, and a short tail. Its head is small, and its bill curves downward. It stands between about 3 feet (almost 1 meter) and 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall.

Flamingos feed with their heads down in shallow water or mud. A flamingo's bill has a series of hairlike plates inside that act as a filter. The bird uses its bill to strain food from the water. Flamingos eat tiny living things such as algae and small animals such as shrimp and snails.

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Flamingos are tall, mostly pink birds with long legs. A flamingo often stands with its long, thin neck curved into an S shape. Flamingos fly and feed in large flocks of hundreds to even millions of birds. Like storks, herons, and ibises, flamingos are wading birds.

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Are you fascinated by wolves? Are you also a little frightened of them? For thousands of years, humans have loved, feared and even hated wolves. By learning more about them, we can learn to appreciate them, rather than fear them.
Quick Facts about Wolves for Kids

All the wolves in a pack help take care of the pups and each other.

Cubs bond with their families when they are babiesand keep these bonds until they are old enough to make their own families.

All wolves howl. We're not sure exactly why they howl, but scientists think wolves howl to scare other wolves away and to communicate to others members within their pack.

Wolves are top predators in the wild and are related to dogs.

Wolves are carnivores. They eat everything from deer and to and mice. They work in teams to hunt large animals, but can hunt small animals on their own if they need to.

Wolves can run up to 38 miles per hour if they are hunting or running away from something dangerous. Usually they trot at slower speeds closer to 5 miles per hour.

Wolves have been known to travel up to 100 miles in one day.

Wolves live in many parts of the world. Gray wolves and red wolves live in the United States.

Wolves are actually a lot like humans. For starters both wolves and humans are mammals, meaning we belong to the same kingdom of life.

All mammals share certain traits that are not usually seen in other types of animals, such as having hair or fur, having backbones, giving birth to live young as opposed to laying eggs, and being warm-blooded.

The most unique trait about mammals is their ability to create milk to feed their young.

Like people, wolves also live in close families, called packs, for their whole lives. A pack has a female and male leader, much like a mom and dad. These two wolves are called the "alphas" because they are the leaders of the pack.

The alphas are also the only ones that have babies. They keep order, direct hunting trips, and resolve fights. Does that sound a bit like your parents?

Each year, the alpha couple will produce one litter of pups, usually with 4 to 6 babies. Wolf mothers give birth to their pups in a den, where they will stay for about a month to nurse their babies.

These mommas do not even leave the den to eat, so other members of the pack will bring them food. When pups are first born, they are blind, deaf, and defenseless, so it is important that they stay hidden and tucked away until their senses develop a bit more and they are able to at least run away from danger.

Other than the brief time after mothers give birth, wolves do not live in dens. Instead, they sleep outside on the ground.

The other wolves living in the pack are most often the alpha's older pups, but can also be their brothers or sisters. This would be like if you had an aunt or uncle that lives with you and your family.

Most often, a pack has 6 to 8 wolf members, but it can be as small as 2 wolves, or as big as 30 or more wolves! This family unit works together to find food, take care of each other, and protect their territory.

The youngest pups will join the pack in hunts when they are about 8 months old. Before then, the other members of the pack do all of the hunting and will share with the younger members.

Wolves stay with their the pack of their mother and father (the alphas) until they are 2 to 3 years old. Then, they are old enough to start their own pack families, so they "move out" to find a mate.

Wolves are carnivores, meaning they eat mostly meat, but sometimes they will also eat apples, berries, and other fruits and veggies that are available. The majority of their food is made up of meat though.

This big family will usually hunt together to take down animals big enough to feed everyone, like a moose, deer, elk, and bison. When big prey is hard to find, wolves will also hunt smaller animals like rabbits, foxes, squirrels, and even mice.

Wolves love to play, but you probably wouldn't want to join their antics. They knock each other down and nip and bite each other - sort of like wrestling with your parents or siblings, but a lot rougher.

This play is meant to help them learn important skills they will need to survive, like fighting off wolves from other packs, hunting, and bonding with each other.

Wolves communicate with each other in many ways. They use their urine to mark their territory and tell other wolves what is theirs and so they can find their way home. They make noises like howling, barking, and whimpering that other wolves can hear from up to 10 miles away!

They also communicate with body language. When they are playful, they will bow down and wag their tail just like your dog! If they are feeling angry, threatened, or defensive, they will snarl and growl to let others know they are prepared to fight.

Wolves are top predators in the wild. With sharp teeth, big heavy bodies, and their pack mates, there is not much that can take them down. Even a bear or a mountain lion doesn't stand a chance against a whole pack of wolves!

The greatest threat to wolves are humans. People have hunted wolves nearly to extinction in some places in the world. Now, there are some laws to protect them, but many are still hunted in places where there are higher numbers of wolves.

They are also at risk of losing their habitats as humans spread out and develop the wild lands that wolves usually live on.

Wolf Vocabulary

Learn More All About Wolves

Check out this amazing video all about wolves:

A video documentary about the truth of the lives of wild wolves and their pack.

Wolf Questions & Answers

Answer 1: Wolves were hunted and killed almost to the point of extinction in the United States. In fact, the red wolf was extinct, except for a few that lived in reserves. Today, wolves are returning to forests and mountain areas in the U.S.

Answer 2: That depends on the dog, but wolves are as big, or bigger than most dogs. Male wolves weigh between 70 and 110 pounds, while females weigh 60 to 80 pounds.

Answer 3: Yes wolves hunt in their family groups known as packs.

Answer 4: No, wolves do not hibernate.They are active all year around.

Answer 5: The gray wolf will need to eat at least 2.5 pounds of meat to survive and at least 7 pounds to enable them to reproduce pubs. Wolves can go days without food so when prey comes along they will devour what they can. A large grey wolf can eat up to 22 pounds during one meal.

Answer 6: There are two different species of wolves in North American - The Gray Wolf and the Red Wolf.

Answer 7: Yes the gray wolf is the bigger of the two.

Answer 7: Wolves are very fast over short distances, they can run at a whopping 35 mph. A wolf can travel long distances, up to 100 miles in a day, but when doing so they average about 5 mph.

Answer 8: Generally 4 to 6 pubs in a litter.

Answer 9: Wolves only breed once per year between the months January and March.

Answer 10: A wolf in the wild can live on average 8 - 10 years but a wolf has a very difficult life from the very start. They have to survive harsh winters, starvation, and unfortunately hunters.

Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Wolves info? Take the FREE & fun Wolves quiz and download FREE Wolves worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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Are you fascinated by wolves? Are you also a little frightened of them? For thousands of years, humans have loved, feared and even hated wolves. By learning more about them, we can learn to appreciate them, rather than fear them.

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Sea lions are mammals that live mostly in Pacific waters. They are a type of seal. The sea lion got its name because most males have manes, just like the male lions that live on land. Male sea lions also roar to defend the females in their groups. There are five species, or kinds, of sea lion: the California, northern, southern, Australian, and New Zealand. The California sea lion is known for its intelligence and memory. It is the trained seal that is popular in zoo and marine shows.

Most species of sea lions live in the Pacific Ocean, from the Bering Sea to southern South America. Some are found in Tierra del Fuego and on the Falkland Islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean, and others live around Australia and New Zealand. When not in the open water, sea lions are often found on isolated rocky islands, in quiet bays, and on coastal beaches.

Sea lions range in color from golden brown to dark brown but often look darker when wet. They have a blunt snout, a small tail, excellent eyesight, and a coat of short, coarse hair. They also have small external (outside) ears. With fur seals, they make up the group of eared seals. Sea lions can reach 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) in length and weigh up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms). Males are much larger than females.

Sea lions eat fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. Some even eat penguins. The sea lion is a bit like a walrus -both animals can turn their hind flippers forward under the body when on land to move about on all four limbs. When threatened, the sea lion will slash at an enemy with its canine teeth, hurl its body at the intruder, or dive and swim away.

Sea lions mate and bear young on land. Breeding groups consist of one male and 3-20 females. Males may go without food for the entire breeding season while they stake their claim on a given breeding ground. After about a year, a female gives birth to a single pup with a smooth, silky coat. Babies swim when they are about two weeks old.

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Sea lions are mammals that live mostly in Pacific waters. They are a type of seal. The sea lion got its name because most males have manes, just like the male lions that live on land. Male sea lions also roar to defend the females in their groups.

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Of all the bears, giant pandas are probably the most loved. These slow, peaceful animals have rounded faces and almost look like they're smiling. Pandas live in the mountains and forests of China. Chinese people have loved them for thousands of years.

There are only 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild. They are the most endangered animal in the world. Pandas eat mostly bamboo, which grows slowly. If the bamboo runs out, the pandas starve. There are many people in China. It is crowded. Pandas are running out of room to live. But, scientists are helping the pandas.

Fun Facts about Giant Pandas for Kids

Giant pandas don't hibernate or live in dens. They live in trees or caves.

Chinese emperors kept pandas as pets. Ancient Chinese thought giant pandas could keep bad spirits away. They thought pandas were magical.

Giant pandas eat mostly bamboo, instead of meat. Bamboo is a small, woody plant or tree. Pandas have strong jaws for chewing this tough food. Sometimes pandas eat small mammals, lizards or bugs.

Pandas spend up to 12 hours each day eating bamboo. They can eat 80 pounds of bamboo in one day.

Giant pandas have thick fur to keep them warm.

Panda moms usually have only one baby at a time. Sometimes they have twins. Taking care of baby pandas is hard work. They are helpless. They are blind for almost two months.

Giant Panda Vocabulary

Learn More All About Giant Pandas

Check out this cute playful video all about giant pandas:

A news clip of a baby panda's first encounter with snow at the San Diego Zoo.

Giant Panda Q&A

Question: Do giant pandas roar like other bears?

Answer: Giant pandas make a bleating sound like a sheep or goat. Sometimes they growl or huff, but they don't usually have loud roars.

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Question: Do panda bears stay in one place?

Answer: Panda bears in the wild move from place to place looking for food.

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Question: Can pandas do kung fu?

Answer: No, pandas aren't really kung fu masters, but they are very flexible. They like to wrestle and roll around. They can even do somersaults.

Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Giant Pandas info? Take the FREE & fun all about Giant Pandas quiz and download FREE Giant Pandas worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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Of all the bears, giant pandas are probably the most loved. These slow, peaceful animals have rounded faces and almost look like they're smiling. Pandas live in the mountains and forests of China. Chinese people have loved them for thousands of years. There are only 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild.

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Explore our wide variety of animal facts and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom.

Fun Flamingo Facts for Kids

Check out our range of fun flamingo facts for kids. Learn where the 6 species of flamingos live in the world, why flamingos have pink feathers, how flamingos filter their food to eat, and much more.

Read on and enjoy a variety of interesting information about flamingos.

Flamingos are a type of wading bird that live in areas of large shallow lakes, lagoons, mangrove swamps, tidal flats, and sandy islands.

The word "flamingo" comes from the Spanish word "flamenco" which came from the earlier Latin word "flamma" meaning flame or fire.

There are six species of flamingo in the world. Two are found in the Old World and four species live in the New World - Americas.

The most widespread flamingo is the Greater flamingo found in areas of Africa, Southern Europe and South, Southwest Asia. The Lesser flamingo is the most numerous and lives in the Great Rift Valley of Africa through to Northwest India.

The four species in the New World include the Chilean flamingo, found in temperate South American areas, the Andean Flamingo and James's flamingo found in the high Andes mountains in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina and the American flamingo of the Caribbean islands, Belize and Galapagos islands.

The Greater flamingo is the largest species, at up to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall and weighing up to 3.5 kg (8 lbs). The Lesser flamingo is just 90 cm (3 ft) tall, weighing 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs).

In the wild flamingos live 20 - 30 years and sometimes over 50 years in captivity.

Flamingo legs can be longer than their entire body. The backward bending "knee" of a flamingo's leg is actually its ankle, the knee is out of sight further up the leg.

Quite often flamingos will stand on one leg, with the other tucked under the body. Its not fully understood why they do this but it is believed to conserve body heat.

The flamingo is a filter-feeder, holding its curved beak upside down in the water it sucks in the muddy water and pushes the mud and silt out the side while tiny hair-like filters along the beak called lamellae sieve food from the water.

The pink to reddish color of a flamingo's feathers comes from carotenoids (the pigment that also makes carrots orange) in their diet of plankton, brine shrimp and blue-green algae.

Flamingos are social birds, they live in colonies of sometimes thousands, this helps in avoiding predators, maximizing food intake, and is better for nesting.

Flamingo colonies split into breeding groups of up to 50 birds, who then perform a synchronized ritual 'dance' whereby they stand together stretching their necks upwards, uttering calls while waving their heads and then flapping their wings.

The flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas.

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Fun Flamingo Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Flamingos

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Explore our wide variety of animal facts and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom. Fun Flamingo Facts for Kids Check out our range of fun flamingo facts for kids. Learn where the 6 species of flamingos live in the world, why flamingos have pink feathers, how flamingos filter their food to eat, and much more.

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Gray wolves have roamed North America for at least half a million years. Their habitat once included most of the continental × continental MATTHEW MICAH WRIGHT-GETTY IMAGES having to do with the portion of the U.S. that is attached to the North American continent (adjective) Hawaii is not part of the continental United States. United States. But during the 1800s and early 1900s, wolves were hunted to near extinction. By the 1960s, the U.S. wolf population was limited to a handful of creatures in small corners of the northern Midwest.

Then, in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) became law. It protects animals at risk of becoming extinct. Gray wolves were one of the first animals placed on the endangered-species list. Killing them was illegal. And the U.S. government worked to promote their conservation × conservation SCIEPRO/GETTY IMAGES the preservation and protection of something (noun) Despite efforts at conservation, the blue whale remains an endangered species. . In a famous example of this effort, starting in 1995, 31 wolves were moved from Canada to Yellowstone National Park. By 2015, more than 500 gray wolves were living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE/AP

Today, the continental U.S. is home to more than 6,000 gray wolves. On January 4, 2021, the U.S. government removed gray wolves from the endangered-species list. Usually, an animal's delisting would be cause for celebration. But some conservationists say the predators still need protection.

A Difference of Opinion

"Wolves are controversial," Adrian Treves told TIME for Kids. He's a wolf expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "People can't agree about their protected status or whether they're actually safe and secure."

In some parts of the country, wolves are thriving. More than a thousand of them can be found just in Michigan and Wisconsin. But overall, their range is still a fraction of what it was. Wolves used to live across most of the U.S. Now they're found in fewer than a dozen states.

KEITH SZAFRANSKI-GETTY IMAGES

Some experts say the goal of the ESA should be to protect an animal until it has reclaimed its original range. Others argue that as long as a species is not at risk of extinction, it doesn't belong on the endangered-species list. And ranchers with land near wolf habitats say that if the predator's population continues to grow, more of their livestock will be killed by wolves.

David Bernhardt was secretary of the interior when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its plan to delist the gray wolf, in October 2020. "The gray wolf has exceeded all conservation goals for recovery," he says. According to Bernhardt, the wolf "is neither a threatened nor [an] endangered species."

THE JACK/GETTY IMAGES

But Jason Rylander, of the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife, worries that without protection, the wolf population will crash again: "We have to ask, 'Is the work of recovery really done for this species?' In our view, it's not. There are still too many places where the population hasn't come back."

TIER UND NATURFOTOGRAFIE J UND C SOHNS/GETTY IMAGES

What's Next?

Environmental groups are suing the U.S. government over the decision to delist the wolf. Rylander hopes that no matter what, people and wolves can peacefully coexist. His group is promoting ways to make that happen, like using portable wire fences to keep wolves away from grazing livestock. For now, protection of nearly all wolves is up to the states. In November 2020, Colorado voters approved a measure that would focus on the wolves within its borders.

DAVID TIPLING-UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES

Gray Wolf Facts

The gray wolf is a fierce predator. It has long teeth and powerful jaws, and can chase prey at more than 35 miles per hour. A typical male weighs about 100 pounds and is more than six feet long. (That includes its bushy tail, which is one or two feet long.)

Wolves live in packs of up to 30 adults and pups. They communicate with one another using facial expressions and the positions of their bodies and tails. Howling helps members of a pack stay in touch.

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Gray wolves have roamed North America for at least half a million years. Their habitat once included most of the continental United States. But during the 1800s and early 1900s, wolves were hunted to near extinction. By the 1960s, the...

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The lesser panda lives in high mountain forests in China, Myanmar, and Nepal. It is also called the red, or common, panda. It has thick reddish brown fur and a long, bushy tail like a raccoon's. The lesser panda only grows to about 20 to 26 inches (50 to 65 centimeters) long, not including the tail. It weighs about 6 to 10 pounds (3 to 4.5 kilograms). Its face is white, with a red-brown stripe running from each eye to the corners of the mouth.

Lesser pandas travel in pairs or small family groups. They eat bamboo and other plants, fruit, and sometimes small animals. They feed on the ground at night. During the day they sleep in trees.

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The lesser panda lives in high mountain forests in China, Myanmar, and Nepal. It is also called the red, or common, panda. It has thick reddish brown fur and a long, bushy tail like a raccoon's. The lesser panda only grows to about 20 to 26 inches (50 to 65 centimeters) long, not including the tail.