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Thursday, June 16, 2016
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Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina and Mirounga angustirostris)
There are two species animals for kids of elephant seal. They are the sole members of the genus ‘Mirounga’ of the family ‘Phocidae’ or ‘true seals’. The Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) and the Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) were both hunted nearly to extinction by the end of the nineteenth century, however, numbers have since recovered.
The Northern elephant seal, somewhat smaller than its southern relative, ranges over the Pacific coast of the U.S. and Mexico, while the Southern Elephant Seal is found in the southern hemisphere on islands such as South Georgia, Macquarie Island and on the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina in the Peninsula Valdés which is the fourth largest elephant seal colony in the world and the only growing population.
Elephant Seal Characteristics
The Elephant seal gets its name for being very large and having a nose with a small trunk-like proboscis. Males, also called bulls, use these trunks to fight for breeding rights. The elephant seals can barely move on land because of their heavy weight however, flippers make these creatures swift and powerful swimmers, but they are not strong enough to lift their body off the ground. Large fishes, squid and an occasional penguin fall prey to elephant seals, who have few, if any predators. Beach parties of hundreds of seals sunbathe on the shores together.
The Elephant seals nose is used in producing extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. The largest known bull elephant seal was 6.7 metres in length and weighed 3400 kilograms (about four tons). Therefore the Elephant seal is one of the largest members of the order Carnivora.
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Elephant seals are shielded from cold by their blubber, much more than by fur. The skin on top of this blubber and its hair molts. It has to be re-grown by blood vessels reaching through the blubber. When this process is occurring, the seal is susceptible to the cold, and must rest and molt on land, in a safe place called a ‘haul-out’. The type of molt which an elephant seal undergoes is a catastrophic molt. While this is taking place, the bulls actually cease fighting with one another.
Elephant Seal Habitat and Diet
The elephant seal is almost entirely aquatic, coming ashore primarily to breed. Its range is mostly in warm waters. Elephant seals presumably feed in deep water and eat squid, and fish, including small sharks and rays. They can fast as long as 3 months.
Elephant Seal Behaviour
The elephant seal is a powerful swimmer and well adapted to an aquatic life. The seals may be solitary at sea, but become very social on the beach. Even during nonbreeding times of the year, they will lie close together on the sand. The males arrive at rookery sites in early December and remain throughout the breeding season without going to sea to feed. Because they move slowly and awkwardly on land, the males cannot defend large territories or large numbers of females. Unlike other seals, which may have harems averaging 40 cows, a dominant bull elephant seal may have only a dozen cows within his territory.
Elephant seals spend an unusual amount of time in the ocean, up to 80% of their lives. Elephant seals can hold their breath for over 80 minutes, longer than any other non-cetacean mammal. Furthermore, elephant seals are incredible divers as well, with an ability to dive to 1500 metres beneath the oceans surface. The average depth of their dives is about 300 to 600 metres, as they search for their favourite food.
Elephant Seal Reproduction
The female Elephant seals arrive at the rookeries (breeding grounds) in late December. Elephant seals give birth within a week, usually to a single pup. Gestation lasts about 350 days. The greatest threat to the young pups is the heavy-bodied adult males, which totally ignore the presence of the pups and sometimes crush them. Female Elephant seals will bite and sometimes kill pups that are not their own.
Elephant Seal Life Span
Female Elephant seals have an average life expectancy of about 20 years, and can give birth starting at the age of 3 – 4. Males reach maturity at 5 years, but generally do not achieve alpha status until the age of 8, with the prime breeding years being between ages 9 and 12. The average life expectancy of a male elephant seal is 14 years.
Elephant Seal Conservation Status
During the nineteenth century, Elephant seals were hunted to near extinction and the entire population of Northern elephant seals was reduced to a small herd of less than 100 individuals on Isla de Guadalupe. The protection of this species during the twentieth century resulted in a gradual recovery, and the population spread north to other islands and some mainland beaches. The current population has been estimated at over 150,000.
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Crabs are crustaceans and related to lobsters and shrimps. There are almost 5,000 different species of crabs, about 4,500 are true crabs, plus around 500 are hermit crabs (hermit crabs do not have a very hard shell and use other animals old shells for protection). However, crabs have evolved so that they can walk or run sideways, as well as burrow and swim. The body of a crab is covered by a chitinous shell called a carapace. For more information you can click here animals for kids
A crabs abdomen has become fairly reduced and is tucked under the body. This reduction is greatest among the ‘true crabs’, which lack the flaplike tail of the hermit crabs and their allies; instead, the abdomen serves as a brood pouch for the eggs. A crabs segmented body has several pairs of appendages, of which usually five pairs serve as walking legs and two as sensory antennae.
The pincers of a crab, called chelae, are located on the front legs and are used for fighting, display and feeding. Crabs can possess fairly complicated nervous systems and are considered to be more advanced. Crabs can live in more extreme areas because of their ability to adapt well to the changing environment.
Crabs can see fairly well with their compound eyes. Their sense of smell and taste are also more advanced which helps them to find food and mates easier. Reproductive and social behaviour sometimes include complex mating rituals and communication techniques such as drumming or waving the pincers.
Crabs tend to be aggressive towards one another and the males often fight to gain access to the females.
Below is a list of different species of crabs from different parts of the world. Click on an individual species to find out more about it:
Crab Species Scientific Name
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Chickens (Gallus domesticus) animals for kids are domestic birds that cannot fly. There are over 150 different breeds of chicken that come in various colours, patterns and sizes. The chicken is believed to have descended from the wild Indian and south-east Asian Red Junglefowl which is biologically classified as the same species.
With a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other bird. Chickens provide two sources of food frequently consumed by humans: their meat, also known as chicken, and eggs which they lay.
Chickens have a great usefulness to humans. Chickens can be kept as pets, for breeding, egg laying and a food product. There are many different breeds that come in a variety of colours.
A female chicken is called a ‘hen’.
A male chicken is called a ‘rooster’.
Young chickens are called ‘chicks’ or ‘poults’.
A group of chickens is called a ‘flock’.
Roosters can usually be differentiated from hens by their striking plumage, marked by long flowing tails and bright pointed feathers on their necks. The rooster is larger and more brightly coloured than the hen, he also has a larger comb on top of his head.
Roosters make a very loud crowing sound usually very early in the morning but they can crow anytime of the day. Their loud shrill is a territorial sign to other roosters. They can also be quite aggressive birds. Hens lay eggs that range in colour from white to pale brown and other pale colours depending on the breed. See more: emperor penguin facts for kids
Chicken Diet
Chickens have a varied diet. Chickens are omnivores and will feed on small seeds, herbs and leaves, grubs, insects and even small mammals like mice, if they can catch them. Domestic chickens are typically fed commercially prepared feed that includes a protein source as well as grains. Chickens often scratch at the soil to get at adult insects and larva or seed. Chickens have a well-developed gizzard (a part of the stomach that contains tiny stones) that grinds up their food.
Flightless Birds
Although chickens are flightless birds, they do have a tendency to attempt flight. Chickens do this by runing and flapping their wings. Unfortunately, they are not capable of staying air bourne. Chickens sometimes can fly for very short distances such as over fences. Chickens will sometimes attempt flight simply to explore their surroundings, however, they will especially fly in an attempt to flee when they perceive danger or pursued by a predator.
Chicken Behaviour
Chickens are gregarious birds and live together as a flock. Chickens have a communal approach to the incubation of eggs and raising of young. Individual chickens in a flock will dominate others, establishing a ‘pecking order’, with dominant individuals having priority for access to food and nesting locations. Removing hens or roosters from a flock causes a temporary disruption to this social order until a new pecking order is established.
Chicken Reproduction
When a rooster finds food he may call the other chickens to eat it first. He does this by clucking in a high pitch as well as picking up and dropping the food. This is part of chicken courting ritual. When a hen becomes familiar coming to his ‘call’ the rooster may mate with the hen and fertilize her egg.
Broody Hens
Fact of life, sometimes a hen will stop laying eggs to concentrate on the incubation of her eggs. This state is commonly known as ‘going broody’. A broody hen will sit fast on her nest and will protest if disturbed or removed. She will rarely leave the nest to eat, drink or dust-bathe. All the time she is sitting in the nest she will regularly turn the eggs keeping them at a constant temperature and humidity.
At the end of the incubation period, which is an average of 21 days, the eggs (if fertilized) will hatch and the broody hen will take care of her young. Since individual eggs do not all hatch at exactly the same time (the chicken can only lay one egg approximately every 25 hours), the hen will usually stay on the nest for about two days after the first egg hatches. During this time, the newly-hatched chicks live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching. The hen can hear the chicks peeping inside the eggs, and will gently cluck to encourage them to break out of their shells. If the eggs are not fertilized and do not hatch, the hen will eventually grow tired of being broody and leave the nest.
Modern egg-laying breeds rarely go broody and those that do often stop part-way through the incubation cycle. Some breeds, such as the Cochin, Cornish and Silkie, regularly go broody and make excellent mothers.
Chicken Life Span
The life span of a chicken varies between 5 – 7 years although there have been cases of chickens living 20 years or so.
Chicken Predators
Besides humans, lots of animals eat chickens as well. The chickens predators include: skunks, owls, raccoons, hawks, snakes, opossums, bobcats and foxes.
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The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) animals for kids is a common sight on rocky and sandy beaches and saltwater lagoons on Galapagos. It has a bright red bill which it uses as an oyster shell opener. The American Oystercatcher has black and white plumage, the top part of its body and its wings are black, the underparts white.
American Oystercatchers feed on crustaceans and molluscs and are also able to open crab shells with their strong beaks.
These handsome looking countershaded waders use their bright beak to stab a bivalve between the shells of many moluscs and slice the strong adductor muscles to get at the meat inside.
The American Oystercatcher has a loud shrill call and is frequently both seen and heard around the shoreline.
American Oystercatchers patrol the beaches for food and are somewhat approachable, they actually come close to the tourists. Chicks are often seen trying to get their own food when just a few weeks old. This behaviour is typical of shore birds who are less dependant on their parents than sea birds. Check out emperor penguin facts for kids for photos
Although American Oystercatcher populations are low, the species is not protected under the Endangered Species Act.
American Oystercatchers are listed as a species of concern in several states because of low and declining populations, and threats to coastal habitats.
Threats include development and recreational use of nesting beaches.
Oystercatcher species list:
Magellanic Oystercatcher, H. leucopodus
Blackish Oystercatcher, H. ater
American Black Oystercatcher, H. bachmani
American Oystercatcher, H. palliatus
Canarian Black Oystercatcher, H. meadewaldoi †
African Black Oystercatcher, H. moquini
Eurasian Oystercatcher, H. ostralegus
Pied Oystercatcher, H. longirostris
South Island Pied Oystercatcher, H. finschi
Chatham Island Oystercatcher, H. chathamensis
Variable Oystercatcher, H. unicolor
Sooty Oystercatcher, H. fuliginosus
Many people who know pigs animals for kids compare them to dogs because they are friendly, loyal and intelligent. Pigs are naturally very clean and avoid, if at all possible, soiling their living areas. When given the chance to live away from factory farms, pigs will spend hours playing, lying in the sun and exploring their surroundings with their powerful sense of smell. Pigs are very clever animals.
The pig was domesticated approximately 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. Pigs are found across Europe, the Middle East and extend into Asia as far as Indonesia and Japan.
The distinction between wild and domestic animals is slight and domestic pigs have become feral (A feral animal or plant is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to its wild state.) in many parts of the world (for example, New Zealand) and caused substantial environmental damage.
Pigs are one of the oldest forms of livestock, pigs were domesticated earlier than cows. Nowadays, pigs are farmed for their meet called ‘pork’, although some keep them as pets.
Pigs are known to be intelligent animals and have been found to be more trainable than dogs or cats. Asian pot-bellied pigs, a smaller subspecies of the domestic pig, have made popular house pets in many countries.
Regular domestic farmyard pigs have also been known to be kept indoors, however, due to their large size and destructive tendencies, they typically need to be moved into an outdoor pen as they grow older. Most pigs also have an extreme fear of being picked up, however, they will usually calm down once placed back on the floor.
There are 14 different breeds of pig within the United Kingdom and many more other different breeds throughout the world. UK breeds are divided into two groups, ‘Traditional pigs’ and ‘Modern pigs’.
Traditional pigs include: Berkshire, Hampshire, Large Black, Large White, Middle White, Tamworth Pigs, Wessex Saddleback, Chester White, Gloucester Old Spots, Oxford Sandy and Black, British Lop and the Welsh pig.
The Modern pigs include: The Duroc Pig and the Landrace Pig. Click here to learn more about emperor penguin facts for kids
Interesting Facts About Pigs
- A group of pigs is called a herd
- Pigs walk on only two of their toes on each feet. Pigs look like they are walking on tip toe..
- Pigs do not have sweat glands and white pigs burn easily in the sun, hence having to roll in mud to keep cool..
- Pigs are not dirty animals – they tend to soil a particular part of their pen, away from eating and sleeping areas..
- Scientists believe that pigs are one of the most intelligent animals, ranking close behind apes and dolphins.
- Pigs are distantly related to the hippopotamus family.
- The word ‘barbecue’ comes from the French who called their Caribbean pork feasts ‘de barbe et queue’, which means ‘from beard to tail’.
- Wild or domestic pigs can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
- There are approximately 840 million hogs on farms throughout the world.
- China has long had the world’s largest population of domestic pigs.
- The average sow gives birth to 8 to 12 pigs at a time.
- Duroc pigs are a popular breed because they produce large litters and gain weight rapidly.
- Cincinnati, Ohio was such a major pork processing centre by 1863 that is was widely known as ‘porkapolis’.
- Pigs do not need to be rounded up. A good yell will bring them running.
- A pigs squeal can reach up to 115 decibels, 3 decibels higher than the sound of a supersonic Concorde.
- Improved genetics and better feeding practices have resulted in a market hog 50% leaner than it was in the 1960’s.
- An average pig eats five pounds of feed each day, or a ton of food every year.
- The largest pig on record was a Poland-China hog named ‘Big Bill’. He weighed a portly 2,552 lbs and was so large that he dragged his belly on the ground. He had a shoulder height of 5 feet and a length of 9 feet.
- The smallest breed of pig is the Mini Maialino. Pigs of this breed average only 20 pounds at maturity.
- The largest litter of piglets ever farrowed was 37 by a sow on a farm in Australia. 36 piglets were born alive and 33 total survived.
- The largest piglet ever farrowed was a stillborn 5lb 4oz male. Average weight for a piglet is 3 lbs.
The animals for kids commonly known as sea pigs are in fact a type of sea cucumber. Sea cucumbers are echinoderms, a group of marine animals that includes sea urchins and starfish.
Sea pigs are found in all the world’s oceans. In some areas, they comprise more than 95% of the total weight of animals on the deep-sea floor. Despite their abundance, most people will never see a sea pig, as they live in the coldest and deepest parts of the ocean.
It’s a shame, because these little piggies are both cute and play an essential role in the ocean ecosystem.
1. “Sea Pig” is a pretty accurate description. Sea pigs earned their moniker from their puffy legs and plump, oval-shaped pinkish bodies.
2. They fit in the palm of your hand. Sea pigs tend to be about 4-6 inches long.
3. Sea pigs live in the deepest part of the ocean. Sea pigs are found in the deepest abyssal depths of the world’s oceans, as far as 3.7 miles under the ocean surface.
4. Scientists have known about sea pigs for more than 100 years. They were first described by Swedish zoologist Hjalmar Théel in 1882. Théel described about 65 new species discovered by the British research ship HMS Challengerduring her round-the-world expedition of 1872-1876.
5. They get around by walking on the seafloor. Sea pigs have five to seven pairs of enlarged tube feet. These “walking legs” are hydraulically operated appendages that can be inflated and deflated to move around.
6. Those aren’t antennae — they’re also feet. Although they look like antennae, the structures on the top of the sea pig’s head are actually feet. These upper papillae are modified tube feet, like the animal’s “walking legs.” They may help propel the sea pig along the ocean, or they may have a sensory function, helping it detect the chemical trail of a tasty meal. Click here to learn more about emperor penguin facts for kids
7. Sea pigs scour mud for delicious scum. Sea pigs are deposit or detrital feeders, eating bits of decaying plant and animal material found in deep sea mud. Their mouths are surrounded by a ring of feeding tentacles that they use to sift through the mud and grab onto food. Sea pigs are especially fond of food that has recently fallen from the ocean’s surface, like a whale corpse.
8. They can sometimes be found in large gatherings. Sea pigs often occur in aggregations of many hundreds of individuals. It’s not because they enjoy each other’s company. It’s believed sea pigs tend to gather where food resources are abundant. Thus, many hundreds of sea pigs will be attracted to a dead whale carcass on the seafloor and gather at the spot to feast.
9. In these large gatherings, sea pigs will often all face in the same direction. It might look eerie — hundreds of sea pigs coating the seafloor, all orienting in the same direction. But there’s a good reason for it. Sea pigs usually face into the prevailing current, presumably so they can detect decaying goo and find the best feeding sites, according to the Echinoblog.
10. Sea pigs host several weird parasites. Sea pig parasites include small snails and crustaceans that bore holes in their host’s bodies and feed on them internally. Check out fun facts about dogs for photos.
Plant facts, with swine flu now in at least 22 countries and the World Health Organization announcing that you may be able to get sick from eating pork from infected animals, pigs appear to be on people’s minds 24/7. Here are some facts about pigs that you might not catch on the nightly news:
Pigs snuggle close to one another and prefer to sleep nose to nose. They dream, much as humans do. In their natural surroundings, pigs spend hours playing, sunbathing, and exploring. People who run animal sanctuaries for farmed animals often report that pigs, like humans, enjoy listening to music, playing with soccer balls, and getting massages.
Pigs communicate constantly with one another; more than 20 vocalizations have been identified that pigs use in different situations, from wooing mates to saying, “I’m hungry!”
Newborn piglets learn to run to their mothers’ voices and to recognize their own names. Mother pigs sing to their young while nursing.
According to Professor Donald Broom of the Cambridge University Veterinary School, “[Pigs] have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly [more so than human] 3-year-olds.”
Pigs appear to have a good sense of direction and have found their way home over great distances. Adult pigs can run at speeds of up to 11 miles an hour.
Professor Stanley Curtis of Penn State University has found that pigs can play joystick-controlled video games and are “capable of abstract representation.” Dr. Curtis believes that “there is much more going on in terms of thinking and observing by these pigs than we would ever have guessed.” See more another topic fun facts about dogs
Pigs do not “eat like pigs” or “pig out.” They prefer to eat slowly and savor their food.
Suzanne Held, who studies the cognitive abilities of farmed animals at the University of Bristol’s Centre of Behavioural Biology, says that pigs are “really good at remembering where food is located, because in their natural environment food is patchily distributed and it pays to revisit profitable food patches.”
Pigs are clean animals. If given sufficient space, they will be careful not to soil the area where they sleep or eat. Pigs don’t “sweat like pigs”; they are actually unable to sweat. They like to bathe in water or mud to keep cool, and they actually prefer water to mud. One woman developed a shower for her pigs, and they learned to turn it on and off by themselves.
In his book The Whole Hog, biologist and Johannesburg Zoo director Lyall Watson writes, “I know of no other animals [who] are more consistently curious, more willing to explore new experiences, more ready to meet the world with open mouthed enthusiasm. Pigs, I have discovered, are incurable optimists and get a big kick out of just being.”
These are just a few of the many reasons not to eat pigs. Click here to learn more about animals for kids
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