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 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 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.

May 8

Invasive Species Take Over

Turtle

A red eared slider are invading rivers and lakes.

Creative Commons License Nicholas LabyrinthX via Compfight

Imagine having a new roommate move in with you, that you knew nothing about and just starts invading your home. How would that make you feel? Would that make you feel uncomfortable? Well, that is what an invasive species can be like. Invasive species are animals or plants from another region of the world, that don’t belong in their new environment. They can be introduced to an area by ship ballast water, accidental release, and most often by people. Invasive species can lead to the extinction of native plants and animals; destroy ecosystems and permanently change habitats. Three invasive species that have invaded other habitats are known to be the European Starling, Red-Eared Slider, and the Feral Pig.

Starling on the lough shore. Caroline Johnston via Compfight

The European Starling, invited or not? The European Starling is a bird that invaded North America in the late 1800s. A man known as Eugene Scheiffelin released sixty European starlings into New York’s Central Park because he hoped to beautify the city. Also, many European settlers freed starlings from birdcages to fill their new gardens with birdsong from home. The Starlings homeland is Eurasia, North Africa. Starlings are known as alien invaders because they come from another region, and invaders because they are taking over. In cities, starlings spread diseases by fouling on cars, balconies, handrails, and playground equipment with their droppings. In spring, they chase away shyer birds like; bluebirds and swallows out of their nesting holes. They eat the eggs and then lay their own.  In Autumn, starlings fly in huge flocks and swarm farmlands, eating up all the grains, corn, and ripe fruits. Today starlings are called dirty, noisy, and disease-spreading pests.

young wild boar

A wild pig.

Cloudtail the Snow Leopard via Compfight

The Red-Eared slider is a cute little water turtle but is also known to be a bully. Their home waters are in the Mississippi River in the United States.  In the 1970s, turtle farmers have raised red-eared sliders for international pet sales. These turtles have invaded areas like Southeast Asia, Islands in the Caribbean Sea, France, and Israel. Softhearted owners release their sliders into the wild when they outgrow their tanks. When released into nature, these turtles gobble up water plants, dragonfly larvae, crayfish, frogs, toads, salamanders, and small fish.  They bully water-birds off egg-filled nests and then spread out their reptile legs, neck, and tail to absorb the warm rays of the sun. Sliders weigh more than adult waterbirds, so they press the bird eggs underwater and drown them. In France and California, red-eared sliders threaten endangered native turtles by outcompeting them for food and by staking out the best basking spots.  

Hawaii, can it be the paradise lost land for the Feral pig? The first pigs trotted off Polynesian ships onto the Hawaiian Islands in about 400 A.D. In 1778, Captain James Cook released a pair of European pigs onto the Islands. Now large hybrid wild pigs are the most serious invasive species on the Hawaiian Islands. The homeland for the feral pigs is Eurasia, North Africa. Invading feral pigs, along with other mosquitoes, and parasites show no respect for glorious Hawaii. Feral pigs scarf down anything from snails, grain, nesting seabirds and their eggs. They eat fruiting or flowering plants and spread seeds in their poop. The pigs make a hole by digging entire trees but eat only the roots. These pigs have definitely made themselves at home in the Hawaiian Islands.

In conclusion, are all invasive species bad? No one can really confirm that invasive species are all good or all bad. Some species are clearly harmful, while others may have benefits. For example, the feral pig might eat anything and everything in sight but can also spread seeds in their poop. By the feral pig doing this, it can help the habitat with growing more vegetation. Another example is the European starling which can be a little harmful to its habitat because it can easily spread diseases. So the next time, you see an animal nearby;  you should ask yourself where did it really come from.

                 

May 8

Weird creatures

You look around you. Suddenly you see a weird looking lumpy blob. What could it be? It’s a blob fish! These are nasty looking creatures who live in water up to 1,200 meters deep ( 3,900 feet )! They live off the coast of: Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. Blob fish tend to be 30 centimeters or a foot long.

Aye-Aye 1

The weird aye-aye!

Have you ever heard of the aye – aye? These are strange creatures that don’t look like they are related to chimpanzees, apes, and humans but are related to them. Aye-ayes use echolocation to find their prey. They are the only primates that do this. They live on the island of Madagascar. They have an average lifespan of 20 years and their head and body length is 14 to 17 inches and their tail length is 22 to 24 inches.

This weird creature is most likely the biggest crab you will ever hear about. This is the Japanese spider crab. These crabs obviously live in Japan as stated in their name. The spider crab can reach a length as long as 18 feet. They can also be up to 42 pounds in weight. They can be found in water as deep as 1,970 feet!
In my opinion, this is the craziest shrimp ever. These are the mantis shrimp. There are more than 450 kinds of mantis shrimp. The largest mantis shrimp ever caught was 18 inches long most are 15 inches. These shrimp are extremely aggressive. They can be known as thumb splinters. In captivity, some of the larger species of mantis shrimp can break through aquarium glass in a single strike!   

These next animals look like bats and flying squirrels. This animal is the sunda colugo. They are lemurs that can glide. These are one of only two species of lemurs that can glide. These creatures can glide up to 100 meters in 10-meter elevation. These animals can be up to 27 inches long. These lemurs weigh up to 2.9 pounds. These animals are located in these places: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia.

In Conclusion, these animals are small and large, weird and weirdest. These animals are all around us most of the time you just don’t notice. You see animals every day but these animals everyday. These animals can be weird and freaky or they can be beautiful and cool. What do you think would you like to be a creepy weird animal?

January 22

All animal shelters should have a no kill policy!

Somewhere, sometime today an animal is or will be suffering in a shelter. You can help, you can make a difference. All animal hospitals should have a no kill policy because it hurts animals,breaks human hearts and human and pet friendships.

What if your pets still have a chance.

What if you had a ten year old cat that had a bad disease and you just didn’t know it. You took it to the animal shelter to put it down to die. If that animal shelter had a no kill policy then the people working there would have cured the disease and you could bring your beloved pet home safe and sound.

 100 cats and dogs die from shelters each 1000 people that die regularly. Someone dies every 15 seconds. That means 1 animal dies every 150 seconds.  If those shelters had a no kill policy that would change the fact that 100 cats and dogs are being killed from shelters. The shelters could find a disease or a new type of illness and make a pill. That pill could save another animals life along with the other animals diagnosed with that disease. You could make more memories with your pet for a couple more years.

Your pet needs you to survive and not only that but you are like your pets best friend.

Probably more than that. You are like your pets mom or dad. Your pet wants to have a tight bond with you. You should take care of your pet like your parents took or take care of you. Your pet needs a person to take care of them and a good friend. I think pet hospitals are a better place to put struggling animals down.

 All animal shelters should have a no kill policy. We need to give animals back the world they lost, their hope and their faith for a better life. They need a world where they don’t have to worry about being killed by shelters.You

can travel the extra few miles to the pet hospital to save an animals life so make your nearest pet shelter have a no kill policy.

Gata

look at this sad animal and what shelters are doing to him. Are you really going to let
this happen to animals across the world?!!

May 21

Coyotes, the wild dogs

Coyote (Parc Nature Bois-de-Liesse)Coyotes live in Rose Canyon, our local canyon in San Diego. I picked coyotes because they’re amazing creatures. Coyotes are wild animals..  I’m going to tell you about coyotes and what they eat, what they look like, and what they eat.

A coyote has white and brown fur. It has sharp ears and  looks like a dog and it has a tail. If you think a coyote looks like dog, it is a dog. That’s because they are a member of the dog family but it’s not a dog.

snarl

Coyotes live in grasslands, deserts, and cold climates.Coyotes lives all in North America so that doesn’t mean you can find a coyote in Egypt or China. So a coyote lives in a nature park, San Diego, Canada, and all over south America.

Do you know what a coyote eats?  They eats birds, mice, voles, lizards, insects, garbage, and almost anything. What I mean of almost anything I mean like a mouse, deer, and even birds. Coyotes hunt in packs and whenever they kill their prey they howl and howl and howl and how they kill their prey they pounce on them and bite them. Do you want to know if coyotes hunt in packs? Yes they do. They first chase the prey then they surround it and attack it.

I hope you enjoyed my post about coyotes and what they eat, where it lives, and how it looks like. My opinion on coyotes are they are interesting animals. They are interesting animals because they have a population that’s not going down which means they are NOT an animal that are about to be extinct.

Here is a link that has information about coyotes: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/coyote/

Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Emmanuel Huybrechts via Compfight

Creative Commons License Photo Credit: matt knoth via Compfight

November 9

Our favorite animals

A beautiful cheetah

I’m Haley and my favorite animal is a cheetah. Cheetahs are the fastest land animals on earth! They use their long tails to help them steer. They have long legs to help them run fast. Instead of roaring cheetahs actually say “yip”. Cheetahs can have 1 to 5 babies. Cheetahs and other big cats have the dad stay with the babies and the moms hunt. I like cheetahs because they are fast and cute.

I’m Devon and my favorite animal is a monkey. Monkeys are animals that are usually found in the forest. They swing and play all day in tells it is time to go to sleep. Monkeys eat fruit and vegetables that mean that they are herbivores. Although monkeys are not even the slightest from being extinct lots of them are getting eaten. Chimpanzees eat monkeys. It is sad to me that they are getting eaten. I hope I inspired you to help save monkeys by starting saving program. You can also help by recycling and saving water.

Lightmatter guenon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Falense (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

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