August 13

Guinea Pigs

"Guinea Pig"

vantagepointfl / Pixabay

Do you want to own a guinea pig? If you are interested in owning one, here are some things to know.

First, you need a cage big enough for them to roam. You also need a bowl for food and a bottle for the water. Guinea pigs eat some human food like cabbage and lettuce. They mainly eat hay and guinea pig pellets. Some guinea pigs like a shelter or a mini house. They like to hide under this when they are scared. Loud noises and sudden movements scare them. When they are scared they also make loud squealing noises.

Next, make sure to build a friendship with your guinea pig. They are very smart animals and remember the sound of your voice. If you are able to get two they prefer to be with a friend than alone. They sometimes get lonely when alone. They like to be held and pet every day. There is a special carrier for guinea pigs when you want to hold them.

Last, their cages need to be cleaned every other day. This means that you need to change their wood shavings, water, and food. A fresh clean home would make a happy guinea pig.

I hope you learned a lot about guinea pigs!

 

Image credit:
No machine-readable author provided. EdNeave~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

January 14

Meet a Coywolf

The first-ever coywolf appeared in 1919 in Southern Ontario. The coywolf family is a mix of western coyotes and eastern wolves. They are all canid meaning that they are part of a dog family. An average coywolf can reach up to 5 feet in length and 35 to 45 pounds. Right now I will estimate that coywolves are about 10 to 20 pounds. What I will also say is that Coywolves have a thick coat that can be yellowish.

Coywolf pups

Coywolf pups Weight about 55pounds.Coywolves are up to times the size of regular coyotes, with bigger jaws and more muscle to match. Also, coywolves are a little bigger than coywolf pups. Coywolfs pups are born from mid-march to mid-may. Their eyes and ears close shut for ten days to two weeks. The pups can only drink their mom’s milk at that time. Before the pups are born the pack will make a den for the pups in large groups.

Video credit: YouTube

January 14

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

The Roanoke colony disappeared.

You may not know about the lost colony on the island of Roanoke and that’s why I made this blog post. I hope you enjoy it! First off in August of the year 1587 the English make a permanent settlement with 90 men, 20 women, and 10 kids on the island. It was along the North Carolina coast, on Roanoke island, is where this mystery happened.

The colonist were living near the Seatan Indians and the indians have had a mean encounter with whites in early years and killed one man from the colony. John White was the leader of the colonist. They were running low on supplies and struggling to survive. The English were in the middle of a war and couldn’t send supplies to the colony so the colonist told John to go. In 1588 John sailed to England but ran into trouble and couldn’t return to the colony right away. After 3 years he sailed back to the island and finds the settlement gone! He only finds one clue– the word “Croatoan” carved into a post.

The disappearance helped the next group of settlers make their colony in the same area 17 years later. People have found some evidence for some theories about what happened with the colony:

  1. Hostile Spanish may came from the south and captured them
  2. They may have turned native, as there was a tribe close by just inland.
  3. They may have made a boat and tried to sail but sunk.

What do you think happened to the colony? Here’s a video with more information on Roanoke.

 

January 13

How maple syrup is made

"maple syrup"

Yodyodyo / Pixabay

You may like maple syrup on your waffles but do you know where it is from? Does it come from unicorns? Does it come from Atlantis? Does it come from trees? Well close enough. It comes from the Maple tree. Did you know that maple syrup was discovered by native people boiling sap thinking it was water. Syrup comes from trees but you can’t just stick a straw in a tree and start drinking.

A maple tree is what starts the magic. People collect a water with a little bit of sugar called sap. Sap is more water then sugar, sap has 1% to 4% sugar. I bet that sap will taste as plain as milk, which means it is NOT syrup. I am sure the last time you ate syrup it tasted sugary. People who make maple syrup drill a hole in the maple tree, then sap will start to pour out, then you boil it. You may ask why you boil the sap? It is because you are getting the water part out of the sap by making the water evaporate so mostly sugar is left. That’s how it’s made! You might ask why you don’t boil all the way. Here is the answer: if you boil it all the way, it turns into maple sugar to make maple candies and it tastes like (you guessed it!) maple syrup. Sounds good, right? Well this is the conclusion of this post. I hope you use this information wisely.

January 13

Can Animals get Sunburned?

You might think animals can get sunburned, and yes they can but they also can’t. The reason why some of the animals can’t is because some animals use sunscreen–not Coppertone but other things found in nature. Elephants use mud for sunscreen and seals use sand for sunscreen.

An elephant covers itself in mud so it doesn’t get sunburned.

Some animals don’t need sunscreen because they can’t get sunburned. That doesn’t happen to all animals though. It only happens to the animals that have really thick skin like otters or whales. If animals don’t put their sunscreen on then they will get sunburned. lf it’s a really hot day, pigs  on a farm might roll in mud so they won’t get sunburned.

Some animals like dogs and cats don’t have any sunscreen so they can get sunburned really easily. Next time it’s sunny make sure your dog or cat isn’t in the sun because he could get sunburned.

January 8

Origins of Roller Coasters

The first rollercoasters originated with Russian sleds.

Did you know that modern roller coasters originated from Russian ice slides? These slides were constructed in the 18th century they featured sleds or wheeled carts being sent down a series of hills and loops made of snow reinforced by wood posts.the originally slides were very dangerous because riders would be pushed down a 70-foot drop at a 50 degree angle with only a measly string holding them from falling.

Later as technology evolved the slides featured a track similar to that of a railroad, with primarily wheeled carts the early modern roller coaster was born in this ara such as les Montagnes and mauch chunk these coasters were much safer.In the 20 century coasters changed to being made of steel allowing for greater acceleration and for the ability to invert riders. Today roller coasters are are enjoyed across the globe!

A very tall modern rollercoaster.

January 8

Nazca Lines

There are weird lines and decorations called Nazca Lines that scientist are trying to find out who did it. Read this article to learn about them.

This is one of the most popular Nazca line drawings.

About the lines

Did you know that the Nazca lines are actually 2-6 in. deep but 2-7 miles in length! Also they were created in Peru over 2,000 years ago in the 200 BC. They can be seen only by flying over them.They were carved and are 200 miles away from south Lima. They were also found in the 1940s.  

sacrifices!

There are also more decorations of the people of Nazca. They would have sacrifice ceremonies!!!  scientist don’t know how they killed them but we know what they did with them.

After they kept their skulls and removed their intestines and sewed their lips with cactus spines. Also they drilled through their skulls and put a rope through their hole in their skull and hung them.But do you still wonder what happened with their body? Well they keep them for status but they replace their head with a jar and call all of their skulls battle trophies. They still don’t know that the skulls are from the same people that they know.

One last fact is that scientist think that the lines were drawn randomly creating pictures and then the carvings carried a water supply.

Hope you liked my article about the Nazca lines and other decorations.

Here is a video to learn more.
January 8

Bermuda triangle

The Bermuda triangle is a very mysterious place because planes, ships, and things just disappear. The Bermuda triangle is also known as Devil’s Triangle or Hurricane Alley. The Bermuda Triangle is located in the western part of the North Atlantic. Many ships and aircrafts have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. The three corners of the triangle are Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. In reality the Bermuda Triangle is not really a triangle.

Flight 19 was lost in the Bermuda Triangle in 1949. The Bermuda Triangle devoured a DC-3 carrying 27 people.  A C-124 globemaster carrying 53 people in 1951 was also lost. Bermuda Triangle does not exist according to the Navy. Some people think the reasons ships and aircrafts have disappeared is because of an electric fog. Others things seaweed in the Sargasso sinks the ships. In conclusion the Bermuda Triangle is a very mysterious place.

The Bermuda Triangle is an imaginary triangle between Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 8

The Ancient City of Pompeii

 

The ancient city of Pompeii in Italy.

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city that was buried under meters of ash from a volcano called Vesuvius.  Pompeii is no longer a place where you can live because it’s too fragile. Pompeii is located in Pompeii, in the Province of Naples Campania, Italy.

Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near the bay just erupted on October 24, 79 AD. More than 2,000 people died of the heat, ash, and fumes.

Artifacts from the ancient city including a person who was buried by ash.

The shape of Pompeii’s victims were captured. The eruption was so bad it lasted 24 hours after the eruption the ancient roman city of Pompeii was lost for centuries. Pompeii was rediscovered by Demenico Fontana. He was digging a channel underground when he discovered the city.

Today a third of the city is still buried. People cannot live in Pompeii because it is way too fragile, but today still lies Pompeii, Province of Naples Campiana, Italy.        

January 7

Pumpkin Boat Racers

Right now you might be thinking what the heck is a pumpkin boat. I was thinking the same until I found out? People carve giant pumpkins into boats and then race them. Pumpkin boats were started in Windsor, Nova Scotia. It is known for having great big pumpkins so it was perfect for having races using them.

The prize is $500 for the first place. Tony Wood won last year’s 2018 race. Rick Swanson got a Guinness World Record by traveling 25 miles in a pumpkin boat. The most common age of racers is 20-30 and sometimes children with an adult. The race happens every October unless something goes wrong. People use the paddles for steering and traveling in the pumpkin boats.

         

January 7

Strange Animals

Image result for mutated animals"

I’m going to tell you about some strange animals. The first thing I will tell you about are mutations. Some animals like goats can have six legs. Cats can sometimes have only one eye but they die almost immediately after being born.

Other things just look weird like the Blobfish. Some animals are bred like ligers or mules. Most animals that are bred are bred with animals in their own species. Animals need to have a lot in common to be bred together. Donkeys have a lot in common with horses and produce mules. So lions with tigers have a lot in common and make ligers. Dogs have many other creatures like them, such as wolves.

Last but not least there is photoshopped animals. It’s cool to see what people think look cool but sometimes people just like to make things look goofy that’s all I’m going to to tell you.

January 7

Sapsuckers

Have you ever gone camping and saw a woodpecker drinking sap from a tree? Well, that bird is called a sapsucker, and they make holes in the tree to get the good thick sap coming out of the tree. If you thought that it would hurt the tree because of the holes, you are wrong.

A sapsucker bird.

Sapsuckers live in both conifer and hardwood forests. The very good thing is that they are not endangered animals as they have a big population. They live in Canada and eastern Alaska because as you know Canada has a lot of maple trees, so there is a lot of sap for them.

Sapsuckers are beautiful colors, they have a yellow tummy and a red head  and a grey back. They look like woodpeckers but they make a very different sound because they are more high pitched.

Sapsucker birds, some that you would have never guessed they are true: kingdom- Animalia tribe- dendropicini Genus- sphyrapicus. Now that you now more about sapsuckers maybe that next time that you go camping you won’t get mixed up with a woodpecker and a sapsucker!

January 7

The Emu, a Very Large Bird

Do you want to know about a bird that is the second largest? It is called an “emu”. I will tell about their eggs.

An emu egg is much larger than a chicken egg.

An emu egg is almost like an ostrich egg. But its color is a beautiful teal color (sometimes darker in color). An emu egg can fit 12 chicken eggs. The egg’s size is 13 cm times 19 cm and weight between 450 and 650 g. An emu can lay 20 to 50 eggs in a season. One emu egg can make an omelet big enough to feed four to six adults. Roosting males lose up to a third of their body weight while making eggs. The male emu incubate the eggs for about seven weeks without drinking, feeding, defecating, or leaving the nest.

An adult emu and it chick.

Some other interesting facts about an emu is it’s a flightless bird. This means it cannot fly. Emu have puny wings. Puny wings make them flightless. Emu chicks are black and white and stripy. It’s like a zebra stripe. Emu has a pouch in its throat that it uses to make booming grunting sounds to communicate during mating season. Emus are the only birds that have calf muscles. Emus grow up to 2 m tall. 

 So this is the emus fact and emus egg.

January 6

Unusual Animals

I am going to talk about animals. If you look at the title, then you’ll know they will be unusual. So the first one is the blobfish. It was elected for the ugliest animal in the world! Do you think it’s ugly? I think a little. It lives in deep water around southeastern Australia and Tasmania!

The unusual blobfish. It looks a little like a human face.

Next is the Aye-Aye. The Aye-Aye is a scary animal. At least I think it is. It lives in Madagascar and if you see him, RUN! Well that’s what I would do. It’s eyes are BIG and scary. It’s part of the lima family. It lives in trees.

The aye aye is one little scary creature!

Last but not least, is the Axolotls! Axolotls are easy to handle. They do not bite. They are not dangerous either. This thing is so cute I wish that they lived here in San Diego. But if you live in Mexico city your in luck because the Axolotls lives in the lake complex of Xochimilco (SO-chee-MILL-Koh) near Mexico City.

This cute axolotis looks like an alien.

Were you suprised these unusual animals are real? I hoped you enjoyed learning about these unusual animals! Check out the video below. It has ten more unusual animals.