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NOVA scienceNOW | How Smart Are Dolphins? | Season 5 | Episode 4 | PBS

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These brainy marine mammals can "read," plan ahead, and communicate in astounding ways.

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Find out how dolphins “speak” to each other.

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https://www.pbs.org/video/nova-sciencenow-how-smart-are-dolphins/

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Find out how dolphins “speak” to each other.

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Find amazing facts about animals, science, history and geography, along with fun competitions, games and more. Visit National Geographic Kids today!

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Watch for free your favorite PBS KIDS shows like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Odd Squad, and Sesame Street.

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Cetaceanhabitat.org focuses on the habitat needs of whales, dolphins and porpoises and the creation and management of marine protected areas for cetaceans; it contains a directory of all MPAs and sanctuaries worldwide that feature or include cetacean habitat. The site also contains the latest news on campaigns, proposals and developments relating to marine habitat conservation.

Follow the links below for more information on:

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Cetacean Habitat - Marine Protected Areas

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Cetaceanhabitat.org focuses on the habitat needs of whales, dolphins and porpoises and the creation and management of marine protected areas for cetaceans; it contains a directory of all MPAs and sanctuaries worldwide that feature or include cetacean habitat. The site also contains the latest news on campaigns, proposals and developments relating to marine habitat conservation.

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THEY "HEAR" WITH THEIR JAW.

Snakes don't have external ears to hear sound waves in the air. Instead, bones in their lower jaw pick up vibrations in the ground or water. The vibes trigger signals in the snakes' brains, which are received as messages. "Juicy mouse coming closer!"

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Snakes are masters of disguise, skilled hunters, and champion eaters. Here are eight awesome things you may not have known about these carnivorous reptiles.

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Brought back from the brink of extinction, over a million of these reptiles survive today. Now the main threat to alligators is habitat destruction, caused by such human activities as draining and developing wetlands.

American alligators live in the wild in the southeastern United States. You're most likely to spot them in Florida and Louisiana, where they live in rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, bayous, and marshes. These reptiles are kind of clumsy on land, but they're built for life in the water. Great swimmers, they are equipped with webbed feet and strong tails that propel them through the water.

An average male American alligator is 10 to 15 feet (three to five meters) long. Half of its length is its massive, strong tail. An alligator can weigh as much as half a ton (1,000 pounds), but an average male weighs between 500 and 600 pounds (227 to 272 kilograms). Females are usually smaller than males.

As big and ferocious as the female alligator may look, she is a gentle mother. A mother alligator makes a nest on shore, where she lays her eggs. Then she guards her eggs until they're ready to hatch. At that point the babies start to make noises, and their mother hears her little ones' peeps as they break out of the eggs. She gently carries them-in her mouth-to the water nearby.

Newly hatched young are only about six to eight inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long, and very vulnerable. Their mother protects them from predators, which include raccoons, bobcats, birds, and even other alligators. The young alligators stay with their mother for up to two years. After that, they're able to fend for themselves.

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American alligators once faced extinction. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service placed them on the endangered species list in 1967. Fortunately, the legal protection worked. Just 20 years later, American alligators were taken off the list. Brought back from the brink of extinction, over a million of these reptiles survive today.

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Dolphins are aquatic mammals which live in most seas around the world. Like most mammals they are viviparous and breathe through their lungs. They are also very intelligent animals. Come meet this inc

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https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000144-0a43-d3cb-a96c-7b4f045e0000

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https://www.kidzone.ws/lw/snakes/facts08.htm

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Brought back from the brink of extinction, over a million of these reptiles survive today. Now the main threat to alligators is habitat destruction, caused by such human activities as draining and developing wetlands.

American alligators live in the wild in the southeastern United States. You're most likely to spot them in Florida and Louisiana, where they live in rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, bayous, and marshes. These reptiles are kind of clumsy on land, but they're built for life in the water. Great swimmers, they are equipped with webbed feet and strong tails that propel them through the water.

An average male American alligator is 10 to 15 feet (three to five meters) long. Half of its length is its massive, strong tail. An alligator can weigh as much as half a ton (1,000 pounds), but an average male weighs between 500 and 600 pounds (227 to 272 kilograms). Females are usually smaller than males.

As big and ferocious as the female alligator may look, she is a gentle mother. A mother alligator makes a nest on shore, where she lays her eggs. Then she guards her eggs until they're ready to hatch. At that point the babies start to make noises, and their mother hears her little ones' peeps as they break out of the eggs. She gently carries them-in her mouth-to the water nearby.

Newly hatched young are only about six to eight inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long, and very vulnerable. Their mother protects them from predators, which include raccoons, bobcats, birds, and even other alligators. The young alligators stay with their mother for up to two years. After that, they're able to fend for themselves.

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American alligators once faced extinction. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service placed them on the endangered species list in 1967. Fortunately, the legal protection worked. Just 20 years later, American alligators were taken off the list. Brought back from the brink of extinction, over a million of these reptiles survive today.

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Dolphin Facts
This is an easy to understand video about dolphins. They are highly intelligent and curious mammals. They are found globally, mostly in shallow seas of the continental shelves and are carnivores. They mostly eat fish and squid.
How many teeth do they have?
Some dolphins have 8 teeth and some are found with 250. Bottlenose dolphins have 72-104 teeth (approx.). They only get one set of teeth for their whole life. They do not use their teeth to chew their food. They only catch their food with the help of teeth and then swallow it whole at once.
Do they drink water?
No, they do not because they live in saltwater. They get their required amount of water from the fishes they eat. They choose the type of fish they are going to eat depending on the amount of calories and water they need.
Can they see Colors?
They can see colors in the shade of grey and blue-green spectrum.
Can they see above the water?
Yes they can. When they use their vision to look at objects under the water, they produce an oily substance which forms a layer of protection. They can also see very well at night like cats and dogs.
Do they have hair?
They are mammals so they must have hair. But they only have hair at the time of their birth. This hair is found on the top of the rostrum and falls out within two weeks.
Are Dolphins fish?
No, they are mammals.
Name the smallest dolphin.
In terms of length, New Zealand Dolphin and Vaquita are smallest and in terms of weight, Finless Porpoise is the lightest.
How do they sleep?
They only let one half of their brain sleep at time. They have to be conscious to continue breathing. If they went into a deep sleep, they would stop breathing.

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Learn something new by watching our fun Dolphin facts for kids video! Kids will enjoy learning about dolphins and other topics with our fun science videos!

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https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000144-0a42-d3cb-a96c-7b4fd8d90000

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https://www.livescience.com/27845-snakes.html

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Are you in search or cool fun facts about our world, space, bugs, animals, dinosaurs, and much more? Then look no further! Here's a fun and exciting new series about some of the best topics ever! Learn basic facts, discover things you didn't know and find out the answers to your burning questions.

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https://dolphins.org/kids_dolphin_facts

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https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/nature/super-snakes/

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https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/0000014c-56c2-d234-affd-fec29cbf0000

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Wondering About the Tazzy Tiger | Wild Kratts Videos | PBS KIDS

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The Wild Kratts crew examines some of the last-known footage of the Tasmanian tiger.

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https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/00000154-b71c-d4cc-a9dd-f7be30970000

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es
garycally@gmail.com
Avatar of Gary Petersen
Gary Petersen
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Watch for free your favorite PBS KIDS shows like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Odd Squad, and Sesame Street.

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https://www.ducksters.com/animals/dolphin.php

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A female tiger gives birth to a litter of three or four cubs, who she will care for until they are a year-and-a-half old. These cubs quadruple in size during their first month!

The powerful predator generally hunts alone, able to bring down prey such as deer and antelope. Tigers wait until dark to hunt. The tiger sprints to an unsuspecting animal, usually pulling it off its feet with its teeth and claws. If the prey animal is large, the tiger bites its throat to kill it; smaller prey is usually killed when the tiger breaks its neck. Tigers have been known to eat up to 80 pounds of meat in one night, but more often they consume about 12 pounds during a meal. It may take days for a tiger to finish eating its kill. The cat eats until it's full, and then covers the carcass with leaves and dirt. The tiger comes back to feed some more.

Tigers live far apart from each other. A tiger knows if it is in another tiger's territory based on the trees around him. Each tiger marks the trees in its area with urine and special scratches.

Unlike most members of the cat family, tigers seem to enjoy water and swim well.

Some tigers live where it gets very cold-in India and parts of southeast Asia. The whole species is endangered throughout its range.

Tigers have been overhunted for their fur as well as for other body parts that many people use in traditional medicines. Tigers' habitat has also dwindled seriously as humans have developed land for uses such as farming and logging. However, in the Siberian region of Russia, there's hope that these big cats are making a comeback.

Because of their size, strength, and predatory skills, tigers are considered one of the "big cats." Lions, cheetahs, jaguars, and cougars are also part of this grouping.

Tiger stripes are special to each individual, and their tails help them to keep their balance. The big cats share all but 4.4% of their DNA with domestic cats.

Take the big cat quiz to see how much you know about these fierce felines. Then, just for fun, see which wild cat you're most like with our personality quiz.

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Easily recognized by its coat of reddish-orange with dark stripes, the tiger is the largest wild cat in the world. The big cat's tail is three feet long. On average the big cat weighs 450 pounds, about the same as eight ten-year-old kids.

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https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/videos/

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https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000164-a4cf-d66d-a177-ecffaea50000

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Tigers and Lions and Large Cats

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Bengal Tiger Video
Bengal Tiger Video

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Entertain yourself viewing from the really best unique and really easy to understand American Alligator Facts easy science for kids video:
Information about this American Alligator Facts Video

Watch this good video and you'll learn a lot of fun facts about the American alligator. With this video, you will be able to know what the scientific name for an American alligator is, how they are found in South East United States and how a lot of them are found in Florida. You will also be able to learn how there are only 2 species of alligator in the world and how the other one is found in China. The video will share more facts like how long they can get, how the largest alligator recorded was 19 feet 2 inches, and show a real live alligator to point out some of their fascinating features and body parts.

Watch this useful American Alligator facts for kids video and considerably improve your kids' inner interest to learn science facts about American Alligator Facts.

This American Alligator Facts video is fantastic for children, from those kids partaking in early learning programs for pre-Kindergarten kids, to fifth grade, clearly also preschool kids and children who are schooled from home.

Well then, enrich your youngster's understanding with our available totally FREE educational videos for kids, one-by-one recommended by our senior assistant editor. These videos are an immense stack of science for kids videos available to you on our science kids website. See a lot more remarkable and educational yet enjoyable easy facts for kids on our EasySCIENCEforKids website about numerous more subjects of interest, and let your children take pleasure in doing our lots of ABSOLUTELY FREE worksheets, quizzes and kids's games.

Appreciated our selected American Alligator Facts video? Pore over expanded content about American Alligators.

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American Alligator Facts Video for Kids -

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

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Elephant

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Baby Elephants
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📎 10 top elephant facts! | Animals | National Geographic Kids
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Elephant Communication
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Elephant Tales
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Article on Elephants
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Dolphins for Kids
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📎 Giraffe for kids: Learn all about the tallest animal on earth.
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Hotels love bees
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Saving Our Wolves

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/tiger

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https://kids.kiddle.co/Shark

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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Physical Description

The critically endangered Chinese alligator differs from its American counterpart in subtle ways. It's smaller, the head is more robust and its snout is slightly upturned. The eyelids of the Chinese alligator have a bony plate that is missing in the American alligator. The American alligator also lacks the bony belly plates, or osteoderms, of the Chinese alligator.

Chinese alligators usually grow to about 5 feet (1.5 meters). The largest Chinese alligator measured in recent times was 7 feet and 1 inch--about half the size of the largest living American alligators. Some may weigh up to 85 pounds (38.5 kilograms); however, most weigh less than 50 pounds (23 kilograms).

Native Habitat

The Chinese alligator is the only member of the eight species in the Alligatoridae family to exist outside of the Americas. In historical times, the Chinese alligator was found in the extensive lakes and marshlands of the middle-lower Yangtze River region and along the river from Shanghai to Jianling City in the Hubei Province. Today it is limited to the lower Yangtze, primarily in the Anhui and Zhejiang provinces in eastern China.

Chinese alligators are found in slow-moving freshwater rivers and streams, including lakes, ponds and swamps. Marshlands, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, river backwater canals, rice paddies and irrigation networks provide suitable habitat.

Communication

Young vocalize to bring the group together and maintain its cohesion, while adults respond to juvenile distress calls. Bellowing occurs among males and females during the breeding season.

Food/Eating Habits

The Chinese alligator is an opportunistic feeder. Its diet mostly includes snails, crustaceans, insects and fish, but young waterfowl and rodents will be taken if available. Dentition includes blunt teeth adapted well to crushing shelled animals.

At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, Chinese alligators are fed small rats, mice and fish.

Reproduction and Development

The mating system is polygamous, as a male may breed with more than one female. Both sexes may react very aggressively to one another, especially in first encounter situations. Social life begins before hatching, as nest mates communicate egg to egg and with parents who open the egg chamber when synchronized hatching begins. Nest mates may spend weeks to years together in the protection of the mother.

Females mature at about four to five years. Mating occurs in early summer, with the females building nests about two to three weeks later and laying up to four-dozen eggs; fewer than two-dozen is common. Hatchlings generally emerge in September. Females provide parental care, including assisting the hatching process and carrying the newly hatched young from the nests, which are located on land, to the water.

Sleep Habits

This species digs extensive earthen tunnels with multiple chambers, entrances and pools. Largely nocturnal because of human persecution, they stay in their tunnels much of the day when humans are in the vicinity as well as during cool weather and winter months.

Each year in April, the alligators emerge from their winter burrows and find sunny spots in which to bask. As summer begins, they switch to more nocturnal feeding habits to avoid the heat and humans while they begin their annual mating rituals.

Chinese alligators can live up to 70 years in human care. They can reproduce into their 50s.

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The critically endangered Chinese alligator is one of the few alligators outside of the Americas. It is native to slow-moving, freshwater areas of the lower Yangtze River in China where it eats snails, crustaceans, insects, fish, young waterfowl and rodents.

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https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000144-0a1e-d3cb-a96c-7b1febd20000

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We’ve been digging and digging, but we can’t find that page anywhere in our burrows.

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https://wildaid.org/programs/tigers/?gclid=CjwKCAjwq-TmBRBdEiwAaO1en5isi5ZgYODCTVklMo8HzK3s3iaa1kfoRFF6vvMZcT-ezXH-1ijQrBoCbEEQAvD_BwE

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https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/great-white-shark/#great-white-shark-swimming-blue.jpg

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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The 8 Main Differences Between Alligators and Crocodiles

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Many people struggle to tell these two reptiles apart, but it isn't that difficult when you know what to look for. What is the difference between alligators and crocodiles? Well, there are essentially 8 main ways to tell them apart...

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Thought to be some of the smartest animals on Earth, bottlenose dolphins send messages to one another in many different ways. They squeak, squawk and use body language—leaping as high as 20 feet in the air, snapping their jaws, slapping their tails on the surface of the water, blowing bubbles and ev…

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Watch to discover interesting facts about animals from all over the world.

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https://defenders.org/tiger/basic-facts

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National Geographic TV Shows, Specials & Documentaries

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Watch full episodes, specials and documentaries with National Geographic TV channel online.

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https://oceana.org/marine-life/sharks-rays?gclid=CjwKCAjwq-TmBRBdEiwAaO1en22cfQfNRWBXpBfB5qNGOsGxITj5zjo6kbD1xoELTR9GfqxWMlspWRoC7AkQAvD_BwE

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Only two species of these sneaky predators still cruise the rivers, lakes and swamps of the world.

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Learn how dolphins eat, sleep, and live together. Bottlenose dolphins and orcas travel the ocean in pods.

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Elephant facts

1) There are threedifferent species of elephant - the African Savannah elephant, the African Forest elephant and the Asian elephant. Elephants are known for their large ears, tusks made of ivory and their trunks.

2) Elephants are the world's largest land animal! Male African elephants can reach 3m tall and weigh between 4,000 -7,500kg. Asian elephants are slightly smaller, reaching 2.7m tall and weighing 3,000- 6,000kg.

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3) There's an easy way to tell the African elephants apart from their Asian cousins - their ears! African elephants have large ears shaped like the continent of Africa! Asian elephants' ears are smaller and shaped like India. Cool, huh?

4) You can tell a lot about an elephant by looking at their tusks! Elephant tusks never stop growing, so enormous tusks can be a sign of an old elephant. Both male and female African elephants grow tusks, but only male Asian elephants grow them. A tusk-less adult elephant is likely to be a female Asian elephant.

5) Until recently, African Forest elephants were thought to be a subspecies of the African elephant, but new research discovered that they are actually a separate species entirely. These elephants live in the tropical forests of Africa's Congo Basin. They have straighter tusks and more rounded ears than Savannah elephants.

6) These magnificent mammals spend between 12 to 18 hours eating grass, plants and fruit every single day! They use their long trunks to smell their food and lift it up into their mouth - yum!

7) All that eating means one thing, gang, an awful lot of poo! Each elephant creates about one tonne of poo per week, which keeps the soil fertile and disperses tree seeds. Elephants also dig waterholes and create footpaths, literally changing the landscape around them!

8) In Mount Elgon National Park in , a group of elephants use their tusks to mine for salt in underground caves! They feel their way around with their trunks and eat the salts by breaking them off with their tusks.

9) Elephants have created their very own sunscreen! After a river or swamp bath, they'll throw mud and sand up and over themselves to protect their skin from the hot, burning sun. Clever!

10) Sadly, elephants are in trouble. Many are killed by humans for their ivory tusks, because they've come into conflict with communities or simply for sport. There are far fewer Asian elephants than there are African elephants. Asian elephants also face threats from tourist attractions where people pay to ride on their backs or watch them paint pictures using their trunks.

Check out more articles about awesome elephants! Read our interview with Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch to find out how she's helping elephants, and learn how one young boy is taking action to save these incredible animals.

What did you think of our elephant facts? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!

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Elephant facts | Animals | National Geographic Kids

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Discover awesome elephant facts with Nat Geo Kids. You'll discover different elephant species, learn where they live and more...

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/b/bengal-tiger/

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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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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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National Geographic TV Shows, Specials & Documentaries

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Watch full episodes, specials and documentaries with National Geographic TV channel online.

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ReadWorks | Award-Winning, EdTech Nonprofit Organization

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ReadWorks is an edtech nonprofit organization that is committed to helping to solve America's reading comprehension crisis.

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/tiger/#MOBrr_tiger.png

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Life Cycle of a Frog

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Emperor penguins spend their entire lives on Antarctic ice and in its waters. They survive-breeding, raising young, and eating-by relying on a number of clever adaptations.

These flightless birds breed in the winter. After a courtship of several weeks, a female emperor penguin lays one single egg then leaves! Each penguin egg's father balances it on his feet and covers it with his brood pouch, a very warm layer of feathered skin designed to keep the egg cozy. There the males stand, for about 65 days, through icy temperatures, cruel winds, and blinding storms.

Finally, after about two months, the females return from the sea, bringing food they regurgitate, or bring up, to feed the now hatched chicks. The males eagerly leave for their own fishing session at sea, and the mothers take over care of the chicks for a while.

As the young penguins grow, adults leave them in groups of chicks called crèches while they leave to fish. There is a reason for the timing of emperor penguins' hatching. By December, when the Antarctic weather has warmed somewhat, the ice the penguins occupy begins to break up, bringing open waters closer to the nesting sites. Now the chicks are old enough to take to the seas and fish for their own food.

Check out the book Penguins vs. Puffins for more about these amazing birds!

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Emperor penguins spend their entire lives on Antarctic ice and in its waters. They survive-breeding, raising young, and eating-by relying on a number of clever adaptations. These flightless birds breed in the winter. After a courtship of several weeks, a female emperor penguin lays one single egg then leaves!

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Discover The Great White Shark Habitat Map | SEEtheWILD

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A simplified map that helps you learn about the Great White Shark Habitat across all the oceans, including prime breeding grounds.

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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Tigers and Lions and Large Cats

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Siberian Tiger Video 
https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000144-0a43-d3cb-a96c-7b4f045e0000
Bengal Tiger Video
Bengal Tiger Video 
https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000144-0a42-d3cb-a96c-7b4fd8d90000
📎 What do Tigers Eat? - Lesson for Kids - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
What do Tigers Eat? - Lesson for Kids - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
What do Tigers Eat? - Lesson for Kids - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
You may have seen a tiger up close at the zoo, but most people never see a tiger in the wild. Tigers are the largest members of the cat family, but all sub-species are endangered, meaning there aren't many tigers left.
study.com

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Bears are large, powerful mammals related to dogs and raccoons. The biggest bears are the world's largest animals that live on land and eat meat. There are several species,...

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National Geographic | Disney Australia & New Zealand - Disney Australia

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National Geographic invites you to live curious through movies that will inspire you to find out more about the people, places and events of our world.

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This page contains giraffe facts for kids (and adults). With their distinctive long necks and legs, giraffes are the tallest land animals in the world. They grace the African savannah with their unique beauty and peaceful, social demeanor. Let us explore the height, appetite, and life of this gentle giant. Read on for more interesting facts about giraffes...

Facts About Giraffes

Where Do Giraffes Live?

Giraffes are native to Africa, and are found between Chad and South Africa. They live wherever acacia trees are in abundance, and spend much of their time feasting on the leaves of this tree. Giraffes eat about 100 lbs of greens every day.

Giraffes use their 21-inch long tongues to wrap around the leaves, pulling them from the tree. Because the leaves contain so much water, giraffes only need to drink water from the watering hole once every several days. This is a good thing, because when the giraffe stoops to drink water, they put themselves in a compromising position with their spread-out legs, making them a target for predators such as the crocodile.

How Tall Are Giraffes?

Giraffes range in size from 16-18 feet tall. They weigh between 1,600lbs and 3,000lbs, with the males weighing almost 1,000lbs more than the females. Their necks and legs are both around six feet long, the height of a tall man. With their long legs, they are able to run up to 35 miles per hour. In fact, the name giraffe means "fast walker."

Ossicones: Giraffe Horns

On top of their heads are two horns, called ossicones, which are made of cartilage. One way you can tell the difference between a female and male giraffe (besides their size) is that the female's ossicones will be covered with hair, while the male's ossicones are bare. The males use their ossicones to spar with one another; they also fight with each other by "necking" when they swing their heads at each other and tangle their necks together.

Giraffe Markings

No two giraffes have the same markings, although those found in the same region will have a similar appearance. With their leopard-like markings and the small hump on their backs, giraffes used to be called camel-leopards, which is why they are of the species Camelopardalis. Their coloring varies from tan to yellow to white, with reddish to chestnut-brown spots.

Family Life

Giraffes are not territorial, although they live in groups (called a "tower") of 12-15 giraffes, with an older male (bull) leading them. The females (cows) carry one baby at a time for 15 months before giving birth. When the calf is born to the standing mother, it falls nearly five feet to the ground- ouch! Recovering quickly, they are up and walking within the first hour, running after ten hours. These "babies" are nearly six feet tall at birth, weighing 100-150lbs.

Those first weeks are a dangerous time for the new calf and its mother. She keeps her baby away from the tower in a nursery group with other calves, shielding him from predators. Only about half of newborn giraffes survive, though. At three to six years, they reach maturity, and they can live as long as 25 years.

Giraffe Adaptations

Giraffes have several adaptations, here are five of the most interesting:

1. The giraffe has special valves to protect its brain and keep it from blacking out when it lowers its head to drink; they both constrict and release blood flow.

2. Their height and excellent vision enable them to communicate with each other over long distances and to anticipate predators.

3. Their strong legs are a great defense against their primary predator, the lion. They have been known to shatter the skull of a lion with just one kick!

4. The giraffe has thick, sticky saliva that protects it from the thorny branches of the acacia tree.

5. The giraffe's uniquely patterned spots provide a camouflage in the grassland environment.

The Rothschild Giraffe

One of the tallest subspecies of giraffes, the Rothschild Giraffe (named after Lord Walter Rothschild), stands nearly 20 feet tall and weighs up to 2500 pounds. Rothschild Giraffes are primarily found in one of two wildlife refuges in the Lake Baringo region of Kenya, which is why they are referred to as the Baringo Giraffe. However, they are also seen in the eastern part of Uganda.

Rothschild giraffes live in a variety of habitats, including wooded areas and along the Sahara Desert.

Unfortunately, they are in danger of extinction. Due to the extreme poaching habits of hunters in Kenya, there are only 670 left in the wild today.

The Rothschild giraffe has several distinctive features that separate it from the other species. To begin, they can have up to five horns, instead of the customary two. An additional horn can be found in the center of their head with two more behind it. Also, their markings are different from other subspecies of giraffes; they are similar to that of a leopard, in beautiful orange and brown markings. They have dark patches on a white background. These markings stop at the top of their legs, turning into increasingly spread out speckles that end in pure white at the knee or below. Finally, the males and females live separately unless they are mating.

Giraffe Facts For Kids

1. There are nine subspecies of giraffes.

2. The giraffe and okapi are the only two members of the Giraffidae family.

3. The giraffe is a ruminant animal. This means they regurgitate their food, chewing it over and over again, like a cow. They also have four chambers in their stomach, like the cow.

4. Giraffes can drink 10 gallons of water at a time.

5. In order to pump blood through their long, large bodies, giraffes have an equally large heart. It weighs 22-24lbs and beats 170 times per minute.

6. The giraffe moves at two rates: an amble (about 10 mph) and the gallop (up to 35mph). Their front and back legs on one side move together, followed by the front and back legs on the other side. When they gallop, their back legs will pass in front of the front legs.

7. The giraffe's tongue is a blue-black color.

8. A giraffe's lungs can hold 12 gallons of air.

9. Giraffes only sleep for 20 minutes to 2 hours every day.

10. Giraffes can't swim.

Discover More with Active Wild

We hope that you have enjoyed these giraffe facts for kids. You can discover more amazing African animals on this page: African Animals List with Pictures and Facts

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Giraffe Facts For Kids: Information & Pictures from Active Wild

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Giraffe information & facts for kids. Learn about this graceful African animal. Where do giraffes live? How tall are they? The Rothschild giraffe & more.

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Red pandas can be easily identified by their unique ruddy coat color, which acts like camouflage within the canopy of fir trees where branches are covered with clumps of reddish-brown moss and white lichens.

They have large, round heads and short snouts with big, pointed ears. Their faces are white with reddish-brown "tear" marks that extend from the eyes to the corner of the mouth. These markings could have evolved to help keep the sun out of their eyes. Their tails are marked with alternating red and buff rings.

Red pandas have a soft, dense woolly undercoat covered by long, coarse guard hairs. Long, bushy tails help these arboreal animals maintain balance and protect them from harsh cold and winds. Dense fur completely covers their feet which have five, widely separated toes and semi-retractable claws.

Red pandas scent-mark territories using anal glands and urine, as well as scent glands located between their footpads. These scent glands on the bottom of red pandas' feet exude a colorless liquid that is odorless to humans. The red panda tests odors using the underside of its tongue, which has a cone-like structure for collecting liquid and bringing it close to a gland inside its mouth. It is the only carnivore with this adaptation.

Red pandas are skilled climbers, using trees for shelter, to escape predators and to sunbathe in the winter. Their ankles are extremely flexible, and the fibula and tibia are attached in such a way as to allow the fibula to rotate about its axis. These features make it possible for red pandas to adeptly climb headfirst down tree trunks.

In contrast with other carnivores their size, red pandas have extremely robust dentition. They also have a simple carnivore stomach, despite their predominantly leaf-based diet. Red pandas share the giant panda's pseudo-thumb, a modified wrist bone used to grasp bamboo when feeding.

Red pandas are the only living member of the Ailuridae family, and their taxonomic position has long been a subject of scientific debate. They were first described as members of the raccoon family ( Procyonidae) - a controversial classification - in 1825, because of ecological characteristics and morphological similarities of the head, dentition and ringed tail. Later, due to some agreements in DNA, they were assigned to the bear family ( Ursidae).

Most recent genetic research, however, places red pandas in their own, independent family: Ailuridae. Molecular phylogenetic studies show that red pandas are an ancient species in the order Carnivora (superfamily Musteloidea) and are probably most closely related to the group that includes skunks, raccoons and weasels.

While originally thought to be two subspecies, new genetic studies suggest that there are two distinct species of red panda: Ailurus fulgens fulgens and Ailurus fulgens styani (also known as Ailurus fulgens refulgens). The latter tends to be larger and deeper red in color than the former.

Adult red pandas typically weigh between 8 and 17 pounds (3.6 and 7.7 kilograms) and are 22 to 24.6 inches (56 to 62.5 centimeters) long, plus a tail of 14.6 to 18.6 inches (37 to 47.2 centimeters).

Red pandas live in high-altitude, temperate forests with bamboo understories in the Himalayas and other high mountains. They range from northern Myanmar (Burma) to the west Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. They are also found in suitable habitat in Nepal, India and Tibet. Ailurus fulgens fulgens lives predominantly in Nepal and can also be found in India and Bhutan. Ailurus fulgens styani (or Ailurus fulgens refulgens) is primarily found in China and Myanmar.

Red pandas may live as long as 23 years. They show symptoms of age at around 12 to 14 years old. While females do not breed after age 12, males continue to be reproductively capable.

Red pandas are generally quiet, but subtle vocalizations-such as squeals, twitters and huff-quacks-can be heard at close proximity. They may also hiss or grunt, and young cubs use a whistle, or high-pitched bleat, to signal distress. Red pandas will climb trees and rocks to escape predators, such as leopards and jackals.

Bamboo constitutes about 95% of the red panda's diet. Unlike giant pandas that feed on nearly every above-ground portion of bamboo (including the culm, or woody stem), red pandas feed selectively on the most nutritious leaf tips and, when available, tender shoots.

Like giant pandas, red pandas grasp plant stems using their forepaws and shear selected leaves off with their mouths. Because red pandas are obligate bamboo eaters, they are on a tight energy budget for much of the year. They may also forage for roots, succulent grasses, fruits, insects and grubs, and are known to occasionally kill and eat birds and small mammals.

At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, red pandas eat bamboo, bamboo shoots (when in season) and leafeater biscuits. They are receive enrichment treats, such as apples, grapes, bananas, blueberries and other produce.

In human care, red pandas can be active at any time of day but are primarily crepuscular, or most active at dawn and dusk. On average, they spend about 45 percent of the day awake and tend to be more active in cooler weather, especially during the winter mating season.

In significantly cold temperatures, red pandas can become dormant, lowering their metabolic rate and raising it every few hours as they wake up to look for food.

This adaptation allows red pandas to spend nearly as little energy as sloths, which is very beneficial considering the low nutrition content of their diet. They also exhibit temperature-regulating behaviors, such as curling into a tight ball to conserve body heat and energy expenditure in the cold. Conversely, when temperatures are warm, red pandas stretch out on branches and pant to lower their body temperature.

Red pandas are solitary except during the breeding season. In human care, most breeding pairs live together year-round. In the wild, the home range of one animal is about 1 square mile.

In the Northern Hemisphere, red pandas breed from January through March. In the Southern Hemisphere, breeding season extends from June through August. The rapid change in photoperiod, or day length, after the winter solstice initiates this breeding season.

Mating occurs on the ground, and gestation appears to include a period of delayed implantation, which may be as short as 93 days or as long as 156 days. Reproduction expends a great deal of energy, so it is believed that a long gestation period may be the result of a slow metabolic rate. Late spring births also coincide with the emergence of the most tender and digestible bamboo shoots and leaves.

Females create a nest in tree holes, hollow stumps, tree roots or bamboo thickets and line the nest with moss, leaves and other soft plant material. Litters typically consist of two cubs born between May and July in the Northern Hemisphere.

Red pandas are born completely covered in fur to protect them from the cold environment. Newborns of the species Ailurus fulgens fulgens weigh 3-4 ounces (about 90-110 grams). The offspring stay with the mother for about one year, which is about when they are full-grown. Red pandas reach sexual maturity at around 18 months of age.

Red pandas are endangered and are legally protected in India, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Myanmar. Their primary threats are habitat loss and degradation, human interference and poaching.

Researchers believe that the total population of red pandas has declined by 40 percent over the past two decades. It is probable that this decline will continue in the coming years. Red pandas are present in some protected areas throughout their range, including parks in Myanmar, Bhutan, India, Nepal and China. Despite regulations, livestock grazing, hunting and logging still occur throughout many of these protected areas.

Habitat loss is primarily attributed to logging, grazing livestock, demand for firewood, human encroachment and farming. The decrease in suitable habitat for red pandas has coincided with the increase in human populations throughout Asia; with human encroachment comes livestock, agriculture and dogs, all of which produce different threats to this species.

Herds of livestock can compete with red pandas for available bamboo leaves and degrade their habitat. Clearing land to make way for crops reduces available food and shelter. And domestic dogs can hunt or transmit disease, such as canine distemper, to red pandas. Additionally, fragmentation resulting from habitat loss has resulted in inbreeding, as red panda populations become increasingly isolated.

The illegal pet trade has reportedly been on the rise throughout Asia. However, poaching and the illegal trade of red panda pelts, meat and other products has decreased.

These threats to red pandas are compounded by climate change and natural disasters, inadequate enforcement of laws and regulations, and limited investment in red panda conservation by local governments. Red pandas have bred with some reliability in zoos throughout North America, Europe and Asia. As they decline in the wild, growing and maintaining self-sustaining populations in zoos is a high priority as a hedge against extinction and to learn more about species biology.

Part of the difficulty in conserving red pandas relates to their unique habitat. These animals require a specific set of circumstances to optimize survival, including proximity to water sources, appropriate forest cover and altitude, and sufficient bamboo. As human encroachment continues to grow, these ideal habitats become increasingly more difficult to find. Bamboo grows unreliably in degraded habitats, which adds additional stress to the situation.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has been at the forefront of red panda conservation, with more than 100 surviving cubs born since 1962.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has prioritized four major categories of action for conserving red pandas: protect against habitat loss, reduce habitat degradation, reduce deaths of red pandas (through poaching and removing man-made threats) and improve awareness.

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Always free of charge, the Smithsonian's National Zoo is one of Washington D.C.'s, and the Smithsonian's, most popular tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors from all over the world each year. The Zoo instills a lifelong commitment to conservation through engaging experiences with animals and the people working to save them.

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

Fun Alligator Facts for Kids

Check out our range of fun alligator facts for kids. Learn about alligator's powerful bite, how much they weigh, what they eat and much more. Read on and enjoy a variety of interesting information about alligators.

Alligators are reptiles.

Alligators have been living on Earth for millions of years and are sometimes described as 'living fossils'.

There are two different species of alligator, the American alligator and the Chinese alligator.

American alligators live in south-eastern areas of the United States such as Florida and Louisiana.

Chinese alligators are found in the Yangtze River but they are critically endangered and only a few remain in the wild.

Like other reptiles, alligators are cold-blooded.

Alligators can weigh over 450 kg (1000 lb).

Alligators have a powerful bite but the muscles that open the jaw are relatively weak. An adult human could hold the jaws of an alligator shut with their bare hands.

Alligators eat a range of different animals such as fish, birds, turtles and even deer.

Alligator eggs become male or female depending on the temperature, male in warmer temperatures and female in cooler temperatures.

Alligators are less likely to attack humans than crocodiles.

Like crocodiles, alligators are part of the order 'Crocodylia'.

Check out some interesting alligator and crocodile differences.

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Explore our wide variety of animal facts and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom. Fun Alligator Facts for Kids Check out our range of fun alligator facts for kids. Learn about alligator's powerful bite, how much they weigh, what they eat and much more.

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Giraffes grow about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in their first year of life. A newborn giraffe is about 6 feet (1.9 meters) tall at birth and weighs about 150 pounds (68 kilograms). Many young giraffes, called calves, die from lion attacks during their first year of life. Once a giraffe reaches adulthood it…

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For a long time the image most people had of a gorilla encounter included chest pounding, roaring, charging, and big, bared teeth. But researchers studying gorillas reveal a very different picture of mountain gorillas. The animals are peaceful, gentle, social, and mainly vegetarian creatures. The occasional ferocious-looking, impressive displays are generally from a male gorilla protecting his family group from a threat.

A typical group is led by the biggest and strongest mature male gorilla-often the guy doing any chest pounding or charging. He's called a silverback because the hair on a male's back turns from black to silvery gray as he matures. This happens when he is between 11 and 13 years old. A silverback's group normally includes a subadult male or two and a few females and their young. Mountain gorillas wander around a home range of up to 15 square miles (39 square kilometers).

Mountain gorillas spend much of their time eating. Their food includes a variety of plants, along with a few insects and worms. At night the animals make a nest to sleep in. Many lightweight gorillas nest in trees, making beds of bent branches. The heavier individuals may nest in grasses on the ground. Babies snuggle with their mothers for the night.

Life for mountain gorillas isn't all peaceful. They are endangered, threatened by civil war in a small area of Africa where they live. Hunters kill them for food or trophies. Their forests are chopped down for farmland, fuel, and housing. But many dedicated scientists, park rangers, and other concerned people are working hard to protect mountain gorillas, their forests, and their way of life in the mountains.

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Youngsters tumble, climb, and run playing follow the leader. Another group plays a rowdy game of king of the mountain. Several adults watch the action, relaxing nearby. Is this a playground scene at school? No, guess again. It's a lush mountain forest high in the Virunga mountains of Africa, and the playmates are young mountain gorillas under the watchful eyes of their mothers.

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When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk at a time. Then it curls its trunk under, sticks the tip of its trunk into its mouth, and blows. Out comes the water, right down the elephant's throat.

Since African elephants live where the sun is usually blazing hot, they use their trunks to help them keep cool. First they squirt a trunkful of cool water over their bodies. Then they often follow that with a sprinkling of dust to create a protective layer of dirt on their skin. Elephants pick up and spray dust the same way they do water-with their trunks.

Elephants also use their trunks as snorkels when they wade in deep water. An elephant's trunk is controlled by many muscles. Two fingerlike parts on the tip of the trunk allow the elephant to perform delicate maneuvers such as picking a berry from the ground or plucking a single leaf off a tree. Elephants can also use its trunk to grasp an entire tree branch and pull it down to its mouth and to yank up clumps of grasses and shove the greenery into their mouths.

When an elephant gets a whiff of something interesting, it sniffs the air with its trunk raised up like a submarine periscope. If threatened, an elephant will also use its trunk to make loud trumpeting noises as a warning.

Elephants are social creatures. They sometimes hug by wrapping their trunks together in displays of greeting and affection. Elephants also use their trunks to help lift or nudge an elephant calf over an obstacle, to rescue a fellow elephant stuck in mud, or to gently raise a newborn elephant to its feet. And just as a human baby sucks its thumb, an elephant calf often sucks its trunk for comfort. One elephant can eat 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of food in one day.

People hunt elephants mainly for their ivory tusks. Adult females and young travel in herds, while adult males generally travel alone or in groups of their own.

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When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk at a time. Then it curls its trunk under, sticks the tip of its trunk into its mouth, and blows. Out comes the water, right down the elephant's throat.