Wildlife Encounters: Earth Heroes!

On Monday we had a visit with Derek from Wildlife Encounters! He came to talk to all of second grade about animals who help shape the earth and make it such a wonderful place to live. 

The first animal he brought out was Sid, who is a Moluccan Cockatoo with a LOT to say! Cockatoos and other birds help to shape the earth by planting the seeds they eat. After they eat, cockatoos fly about avoiding their predators, and they drop seeds along the way. You know what they say--what goes in must come out!

Derek also taught us a rhyme to help us learn about which animals are predators and which are prey:

Eyes on the side, I like to hide

Eyes in front, I like to hunt

Next we met an animal who definitely likes to hunt! Derek brought out a Small American Alligator. While he isn't very big yet, this alligator could grow to be 19 ft long someday and already has about 700-900 lbs of pressure in his jaw alone! While they may seem terrifying to us, they actually do quite a bit to help our environment. They feed on invasive species, which can cause a lot of damage to wetlands by eating the vegetation, and they also tunnel deep depressions that provide reservoirs during droughts. These "gator holes" can be a source of lifesaving water for fish, birds, turtles and other creatures.

did you know that Alligators and Crocodiles have very similar DNA to birds?

The next animal Derek shared with us was a Coatimundi, which is native to South America. The Coatimundi is an omnivore (eats both plants and animals) and it is diurnal (awake in the daylight). This animals helps the environment because it too spreads seeds like the cockatoo, and it also digs up the dirt looking for bugs and insects which makes it easier for the seeds to grow (fun fact: 1/3 of living creatures on earth live in the 6-10 inches of soil that cover it!)

The next animal Derek shared with us was a Bennett's Wallaby named Savanna. Wallabies are a type of kangaroo that live in the grasslands of Australia. They are grazers, which means they have very sharp teeth for eating grass so they only eat the blades without disturbing the roots, allowing the grass to grow back. They too spread seeds like the cockatoo and coatimundi and they actually plant their seeds in the ground by jumping on it and pushing it into the soil! All types of kangaroos live in groups called "mobs" which means lots and lots of planting happens in one space :)

After Savanna hopped back into her pouch, Derek had an audience volunteer help him show us some Masdagascar Giant Hissing Cockroaches. While you may not want to find these in your house, they are a great help to the plants and soil outside. They eat decaying plants and animals, break them down, and leave the soil rich with nutrients.

The final animal we were introduced to was a Chinchilla named Sir Poops A Lot!! Native to the Andes Mountain Range, these animals are their own farmers! They have the ability to grow their own food! Living in a volcanic habitat, their food source is often wiped out by lava flow. To rebuild their home, chinchillas hop down the mountains, eat plants, hop back up the mountain, poop (up to 300 times a day!) and use their large back feet to "plant" the discarded seeds in the piles. The roots of the plants that grow are strong enough to break up volcanic rock to turn it into soil, so these animals play a big part in helping areas hit by volcanoes come back to life.  Pretty impressive for little balls of fluff!

After the show, Derek let us pet Sir Poops A Lot and the cockroaches, and all of the giraffes took turns petting them both! Thank you to Wildlife Encounters for another wonderful animal experience, we can't wait to see you again in the spring! 

Wildlife Encounters: Plant Helpers

Last Thursday, the entire second grade was treated to an encore presentation from Wildlife Encounters. Again, this wonderful organization brought several animals to SMS, this time with a focus on how animals contribute to the plants of our ecosystem.

The first animal we were introduced to was an amphibian. The White Tree Frog is responsible for eating insects that would otherwise harm plants. Found in Australia, the White Tree Frog, actually isn't white at all! It can be found in shades of back, brown, or even purple!

Once the frog was placed back in its container, Kirby introduced us to a familiar animal: the Six-Banded Armadillo! In the fall, we met a three-banded armadillo, but unlike that interesting animal, Tatu and other six-banded armadillos cannot role up into a ball (they have too much flubber on their bellies!). Tatu also has the important job of pest control. Searching for termites and worms, he gives the soil a good mixing while digging for his food.

Once Tatu was placed safely back into his cage, Kirby and Kat brought out another familiar critter: a Mini Lop Bunny named Iris. This cuddly, sweet animal originates from Holland and is a seed disperser. She eats the seeds of fruits and vegetables, hops away, and then poops the seed out in a new location.

After Iris went back in her cage, we were introduced to a second grade favorite: The North American Porcupine. Hollywood was a crowd-pleaser from the start and was happy to show off his ability to snatch peanuts for a delicious snack! Porcupines are great climbers and are often found in trees. Porcupines have extremely poor vision and are very slow moving, which would cause them to be quite defenseless without their quills (although fisher cats have quickly discovered that porcupines have no quills on their bellies!). Porcupines are strictly herbivores and are also seed disperses and are responsible for the spreading of many tree seeds. 

While we were sad to say goodbye to Hollywood, we enjoyed meeting the next animal: Grumpy Gus, the Argus Monitor Lizard. This Australian animal is another animal responsible for insect control. Its large throat pouch, loud hissing sound, and ability to stand on its back legs makes it appear big and scary to its predators. While we didn't get to see him standing on his back legs, we were able to hear his hissing noises when we listened carefully.

The final animal we were introduced to, which holds a special place in my heart, was a Chinchilla! Native to the Andes Mountain Range, these animals are their own farmers! They have the ability to grow their own food! Living in a volcanic habitat, their food source is often wiped out by lava flow. To rebuild their home, chinchillas hop down the mountains, eat plants, hop back up the mountain, poop (up to 50 times a day!) and use their large back feed to "plant" the discarded seeds. Pretty impressive for little balls of fluff!

after the presentation was complete and we had met all of Kirby and Kat's animal friends, we were allowed to use a "two-finger touch" to pet the argus monitor lizard and the chinchilla! So fun! Thank you again to Wildlife Encounters for sharing your animals and your knowledge with us! 

Wildlife Encounters

Today, all of second grade got a visit from Wildlife Encounters! They shared animals with us that help our Earth breathe and grow. We talked about all the things we need to do to help the plants in our gardens grow, such as turning the soil, adding fertilizer, planting seeds, protecting plants from pests, and turning the soil again. 

The first animal Krista brought out was a Tegu named Monster. The Tegu lives in the rain forest in South America and finds food near or in the water, so he burrows in the ground by the water to make his home, which helps the earth breathe. He fertilizes soil because he eats mussels with bone crunching jaw, and his sandblaster-like stomach helps him to break down the shells much faster than they would through decomposing, and he puts the nutrients back into the soil.

The second animal Krista shared with us was the  Hog-Nose Snake. They are an endangered species that mixes soil by burrowing in the ground to find worms and bugs, brings air into the soil and also add fertilizer to the soil as they digest their food.

Krista then brought out a Blue and Gold Macaw named Sophie, who plants seeds by eating them and quickly digesting them as she flies. Fruits want to be eaten by birds because birds digest them so quickly, the seeds don't get damaged. That is why they cover their seeds with yummy flesh so birds want to eat them!

Then Krista brought out a Hedgehog named Rafiki (which means friend in Swahili!) Rafiki is a friend to pets because she eats pesky bugs and insects that try to eat the plants. In Africa, many people put small shelters in their gardens to encourage the hedgehogs to stay there and keep the bugs away from their crops!

Ms. Riley got to hold Rafiki while the giraffes got to pet her!

Ping the Woylie is an animal native to Australia, they are part of the kangaroo family! Krista brought Ping to share with us because they too eat pests that destroy plants, but the pests they eat are fungus! Unfortunately, Woylies are also critically endangered, so places like Wildlife Encounters and conservation zoos are working to protect them. 

The last animal Krista showed us was Athena the Three Banded Armadillo. Armadillos live in warmer climates, and they protect themselves from their predators by rolling into a ball of their hard armor. Armadillos like Athena help the earth by bringing more oxygen to the soil as she looks for bugs and worms to eat with her long nose and sharp claws. The soil is also good for armadillos as it helps them to regulate their body temperature in the very hot climates they live in. 

After we got to pet a few of the  animals, we went back to the classroom to draw pictures of our favorite animals that we saw and we labeled the parts of the animals' bodies and wrote about how they help the earth to add to our science folders. 

Thank you so much to Krista from Wildlife Encounters for sharing so much with us today! We loved seeing all of the animals you brought along, and we learned so much about what animals to do shape and grow our planet :) 

Wildlife Encounters: Animal Planters!

This week, Wildlife Encounters paid the second graders another visit, this time with animals that help plants grow! While many of the animals we saw back in the fall were also helpful to plants and their soil, we learned about some new animals who also do their part to keep the Earth green. 

The first animals we got to see were Masdagascar Giant Hissing Cockroaches. While you may not want to find these in your house, they are a great help to the plants and soil outside. They eat decaying plants and animals, break them down, and leave the soil rich with nutrients. 

Even though Kaya the Wallaby eats plants, she helps them grow by only eating the parts of the plan that can easily grow back without damaging the rest of the plant. She also helps  to spread and plant the seeds from the plants she eats when they leave her body and she steps on them to push them into the ground and spread them over long distances. 

She also seemed very interested in eating our lunch! 

Noah is a Green Winged Macaw who loves three things: berries, nuts and Alicia Keys. While the latter does not do much to help the planet, Noah also helps plants grow by spreading the seeds of the plants he eats! 

OJ the Albino Corn Snake helps plants by protecting them from their predators. While OJ does not eat corn himself, he does enjoy the mice who do. Farmers rely on these types of animals to protect their crops and help them continue to grow. 

It was also pretty cool to see a very special audience volunteer get to hold him!

Next, we got to meet a Giant Cane Toad, which helps to protect a very important plant to second graders--sugar cane! The toad protects the plant by eating bugs that fly around it. It also secrets poison from behind its eyes to protect itself from its prey which also gets on the cane plants, so animals and insects that try to eat the plant get sick or pass away.  

Lastly, we got to meet Fauna the Brown Skunk. While Fauna has had her spray glands removed, we still learned to warning signs to know when a skunk is feeling threatened enough to spray. First, skunks will thump their feet on the ground to ward predators off. Then, they will wag their tails at a predator. Finally, they will stick their tail straight up in the air, at which point you will only have seconds to get at lease 15 feet away! Skunks do not like to spray, as it hurts their body, so they will only do so when they are feeling seriously threatened. Skunks help plants by eating only the parts of plants that will grow back, as well as the insects that destroy plants such as beetles.  

Thank you very much to our friends at Wildlife Encounters for another amazing and informative visit! And thank you to all of the animals working hard to keep our Earth green :)