Koalas

In science class we just finished our animal behavior unit. Each student chose an animal and did a project on it. We chose the koala. This fascinating animal is a mammal, specifically a marsupial. Koalas usually survive 10 years in the wild, in captivity however they live to almost double that time. A couple interesting facts about koalas is that, they sleep 18-20 hours a day and the other 4-6 hours they spend eating! We both believe that many people would love to live like a koala! Koalas only eat eucalyptus leaves, and because of this they have to live in or near eucalyptus trees. Another fact is that the koala's closest relative is the wombat.

Koalas have many different behaviors to support their interesting lifestyle. One example would be, because the Koala is a marsupial the baby is only inside its mother's stomach for 35 days before being born. When they are born they are helpless, blind, deaf and can barely hold their own body weight. They quickly have to maneuver their way to their mother's pouch and start eating right away. A couple other behaviors the koala demonstrates are, the koala has a special gland on it's chest that provides a scent. It will rub this gland on trees marking its territory. The male koala also has a pair of larger thicker vocal cords to make low pitched mating calls. We both hope you enjoyed learning about koalas as much as we did! By Tenny and Cat

The Fossa

The fossa is a fearsome carnivore which lives in the large forests of Madagascar. The fossa can live up to 20 years in the wild. It leaves its mother at one year old and starts a family when it is four years old. The fossa is the top predator of Madagascar which means it has no natural predators. Its main prey is lemurs but “it will eat anything with a heartbeat.” The fossa has long sharp claws and sharp teeth to penetrate the skin of their prey. Its long tail is almost the length of its body and helps it balance when it jumps from branch to branch. The fossa’s big eyes help it see in the night and day. The fossa is mostly nocturnal except during mating season when it is mostly diurnal. The fossa’s territory can be up to one square mile and the fossa will patrol the border and walk up to 16 miles a day.

The fossa is solitary until mating season. The fossa's mating season is September through December. When mating season starts the female fossa gives off a strong scent to attract the male. She may also meow. The male fossa yowls and growls to compete for a mate on the ground while the female watches from the trees above. The male might even roar if necessary. The gestation period is about 3 months. A baby fossa is born blind and it takes several weeks before it can see. A baby fossa purrs when nursing or when they are near their mother. By Jesse and Henry W.

     

Rattlesnakes

The most interesting behavior a rattlesnake exhibits is the one that makes it one of the most feared snake in the world. The setting, sunset In the Sonoran desert on a rocky outcropping there lies a seemingly unimportant coil of rope, or so a lone coyote thinks…. As he approaches he hears a sound that strikes fear into its heart, the rattle of a rattlesnake! The rattlesnake rears up its head like a cobra mesmerized by a flute, the coyote has stopped dead in his tracks. He weighs his options: leave the snakes territory and go the night without rest, or fight the snake for the cozy rocks. He starts to edge forward, the rattler puffs up its body and the rattle becomes louder. The coyote freezes then as quick as his decision he bolts off never to be seen again.

Here are some interesting facts about the rattlesnake: adult rattlesnakes can go up to two whole weeks without food but younger rattlesnakes can go up to one week; the rattlesnakes scales are made of the same material (keratin) as our fingernails; some rattlesnakes can live up to 10 to 20 years, depending on its species; when the rattlesnake is in danger it will shake its tail 50 times each second to warn predators to stay away; the rattlesnake usually lives in dry areas but they can live in swamps or mountains; some of the rattlesnakes predators are bobcats, King snakes, and eagles; and some of its prey are lizards, Prairie dogs, and locusts. By Jake and Elijah

The Blue Sea Slug

There are some fascinating things about the blue sea slug. One thing is that the blue sea slug eats the Portuguese Man O’ war and takes its stinging cells from it and later deploys them to kill its prey and sometimes predators. Secondly, what helps it not get eaten is it can counter shade. On its belly there is a tan color to blend in with the sky, which makes predators from below not see them as well. And on its back is a blue color which blends in with the ocean depths so predators from above can’t see them as well. I think the blue sea slug is the most amazing creature in the world.

Blue sea slugs are interesting carnivores. Their predators are fish and birds which find them difficult to see because they are blue in the blue ocean. Its scientific name is Glaucus atlanticus. They weigh up to 3.3 lbs. They are found in reefs and deep oceans of the Pacific, Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. By Tim and Ed

Here is a small blue sea slug eating a big blue button jellyfish.

Seahorses

Seahorses are a type of fish. They are very small and they are usually found in tropical waters, all over the world. Their lifespan is one to five years. Before mating, the seahorses dance around with their mate and make a noise that sounds like somebody smacking their lips together. The male holds the baby seahorses in its pouch until they are ready to hatch. To avoid being eaten, seahorses use camouflage and blend in with its surroundings so that the predator doesn't recognize the seahorse. Seahorses are a really good predator because they have really long mouths to slurp up their prey.

They don't even have to chew because they don't have any teeth, so they just swallow their food whole. Seahorse predators are: tunas, rays, crabs, and striped anglerfish. Seahorses are carnivores because they eat: plankton and tiny crustaceans. I loved doing this project so much, because I liked finding the photos matching the subject of the page and finding the information on a couple websites. I really liked the animal behavior unit because it was really interesting and fun to learn. By Bella R.

Meerkats

Meerkats live in Southwestern Africa and the Kalahari Desert. The meerkat can go a long time without water. They eat the roots and fruit of some kinds of plants. Mostly they eat animals such as centipedes, scorpions, lizards and also birds. The Meerkats energy role is an omnivore. The water the meerkat needs to survive they get from eating roots and tasima melons. The animal behavior of the meerkat is when the meerkat is digging and it gets sand in its eye and when it blinks it acts as a window wiper for its eye!

In the wild, meerkats can live up to be 8-10 years old. Also when meerkats are up high they can see far away. The meerkat that is on guard is alerting all the other meerkats when a predator is nearby. When the meerkat alerts the others it howls and screeches and all the meerkats know to run and hide in their dens. What enables the meerkat to avoid being eaten is its speed and agility. A few of the meerkats predators are...Foxes, Jackals, Hyenas, Hawks and Eagles. Thanks for looking at are blog post! By Haleigh and Greta

African Elephants

For my project I did African elephants. African elephants are herbivores. They eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark. They can eat up to 600 pounds a day. African elephants are mammals. African elephants live in the savannas, forests, beaches, mountains and deserts. All the places they live are very hot. Sometimes it is difficult to find food because it is so dry. They can live up to 70 years in the wild. They belong to the Eliphantidae family. African elephants live in groups made up of females and babies. They have very strong family bonds. A older wiser female leads the group. All of the females teach the babies almost everything the babies need to learn. When the males get to 12 years old they leave the group. Sometimes they live alone or sometimes they live in small groups of young males.

The females teach the babies almost everything they know. African elephants can call to each other with a sort of growl. Another African elephant can sense this by laying its trunk on the ground. Another behavior that they do is when a predator is nearby all the older females circle around the babies so nothing can penetrate their circle. African elephants could be extinct in 20 years if we don't do anything to stop poachers, pollution, habitat loss and global warmingThe amount of African elephants dropped from 1.2 million to 600,000 from 1979-1989. The biggest reason that elephants are dying is because of poachers. 1 tusk is worth $1,000. Over 38,000 of them are poached in one year. By Julia W.

The Blue-Ringed Octopus

The most dangerous cephalopods in the world but yet only golf ball sized, the blue-ringed octopus! These mollusks are found in shallow ocean water in Australia and some parts of Asia. They are carnivores so their diet includes shrimp, crab, small fish, and some other mollusks. Having poison that can kill a human is definitely an advantage to being a predator. So their strategy to catching prey is to inject their poison into the prey by biting it. After that the prey becomes paralyzed.

When the female blue-ringed octopus is carrying her eggs she shows her bright blue circles on her arms and mantle, that warns the predators to stay away from her. The purpose of this behavior is to pass her genes on to the next generation by making sure her babies don't get eaten by predators. Some interesting facts about the Blue-Ringed Octopus are: When they are excited or disturbed they change color to show their bright blue circles. A female who is carrying eggs holds the eggs in her webbed skin between her arms and carries them until they hatch. While other octopuses lay their eggs on the sea floor and look after them until they hatch. I hope you are very interested in this creature after reading this. If you want to know a little more here is a link to a great video By Bella P.

WARTHOGS

Africa is home to the most awesome creature, the warthog. Warthogs live in most places in Africa. These creatures are mammals. Warthogs are herbivores, eating roots, bulbs and grasses. One of the animal behaviors they demonstrate is when they are digging for roots and bulbs. What they do is take their shovel like noses and dig through the dirt to find food. They also use their hooves to help dig.

Warthogs live in groups called sounders. Males are always the leader of the sounders. But warthogs are not always so friendly with each other. During the mating season when males battle to impress a female (also called courtship behavior) the "warts" act like cushions on the warthog's face. Warthogs have two sets of tusks.The bottom tusks are very sharp, unlike the top ones. The bottom ones are the ones they use to fight off/stab predators if they harm the warthog or the warthog's young. By Violet

Sea Dragons

I learned a lot about sea dragons during this project. Here are some basic facts about sea dragons. Sea dragons live on the southern and western coast of Australia and are protected because scuba divers take them and keep them as pets mad if this keeps happening, before we know it the sea dragons are going to be gone. Sea dragons already have enough predators to still be alive, but not enough to be kept as pets. Sea dragons are carnivores, and they eat larval fish, mysids ( which is a type of crustacean ) and zooplankton. There was one fact that really stood out to me during this unit was instead of a female carrying eggs, the male carries them and the females go live solitary lives. The female gives the eggs to the male, by placing them on his tail. Then the eggs stay there until they hatch.

I thought that the two different kinds of sea dragons were amazing. The weedy is bright with pretty colors while the leafy is yellow or brown but has really cool appendages. It was really cool learning that the sea dragons sucked up zooplankton through its mouth which was like a vacuum vacuuming up the zooplankton. I thought it was a lot of fun researching this animal and its behaviors. by Cece

The Blue Footed Booby

The blue footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a bird that lives on the western coasts of Central and South America. The booby spends most of its time in tropical and subtropical waters in the Galapagos Islands. The booby tends to feed on fish like anchovies and sardines because it's a carnivore. It flies up then dives from 80 feet (24 meters) into the water. This allows them to reach low areas of water to catch fish with its beak. Another thing about the booby is that they have deep blue feet. The female booby is attracted to the male with the bluest feet. These traits will be passed on to their children!

To attract a female, the booby has to stomp its feet, moves his head up, and spreads it's wings. The bluer the feet, the more attractive he is to a female. This is called courtship behavior. The blue footed booby’s lifespan is seventeen years. The booby part originates from the Spanish word bobo, which means stupid or dumb because like other seabirds, they are clumsy on land. Its predators are humans and other seabirds because the humans do illegal fishing (decrease of the population) and other species of animals that can steal their shelter and food (decrease of territory). by Ian and Sakaria

The Gila Monster

We learned about a reptile called the Gila Monster (Hee-la-mon-ster). It's scientific name is Heloderma suspectum. It is black with pink or orange stripes and can grow up to two feet long. It is one of the only types of venomous lizards along with its cousin the Mexican Beaded Lizard. It lives in deserts in the south-western United States and northern Mexico. A wild Gila monster is a solitary animal. When left alone, it lives about 20-30 years and spends around 22 hours a day hiding underground in burrows. They come out the most in the spring when it is mating season. They don't come out much because they can store fat in their tail, so they don't need to eat much.

The Gila Monster does not have many predators. Their predators are coyotes, birds of prey and humans. They will use their venom and their claws to protect themselves. Male Gila Monsters will attack each other for mates by turning to and fro, whoever gets on top of the other wins the mate. Gila monsters hunt by sneaking up on their prey (frogs, insects, birds, eggs and small rodents). They have a forked tongue and bad eyesight so they use their tongue to sense prey. They lunge and bite very hard because when they bite, their powerful jaws chew the venom in through capillary action along the grooves of their teeth. Their spit mixed with their venom can cause immense pain. Their spit has also been used for an antidote for two kinds of diabetes. Nobody has ever died from a Gila Monster bite so no need to be afraid. By Finley and Russell.

The Peacock

The Peacock is an amazing animal with many interesting facts, I hope you learn a lot about the peacock! The peacock is an omnivore. It's diet consists of grain, flowers parts, small reptiles, mammals, berries, figs, leaves and seeds. The range of the peacock is Sri Lanka, India and Africa. Peacocks usually sleep in forests in trees at night. The peacock’s predators are lions and tigers. Peacocks are great flyers and have sharp claws and a beak to help them catch/gather their food.

Have you ever wondered what the peacock’s beautiful and colorful feathers are really for? There for attracting females during mating season. The males strut with their plumage behind them and they have a distinctive call that the females recognize. Most female peacocks have around 10 eggs after each birth. The females care for them without a male. Peacocks are really amazing animals and have many fascinating behaviors. by Maeve

This is a Peacock’s plumage spread out!

The Giant Australian Cuttlefish

For one of our units we studied animal behaviors and we made our own books. I got the cuttlefish. I learned that the cuttlefish can do so many different things like change color, shape and even momentarily blind a predator with ink. The cuttlefish can change its color by stretching out tiny cells in its skin that each have its own color. The cuttlefish will catch its prey by sticking out a tube like structure which will then pull in its prey and the cuttlefish will have a tasty snack. But if you're wondering “why does the Cuttlefish have cuttle in its name?” That's because in the top part of the cuttlefish's body it has a bone called the cuttlebone which helps the cuttlefish float.

Cuttlefish will live 2-3 years in the wild. But if you ever want to see the cuttlefish in the wild you will have to go to the coastlines of Australia. There during the mating season of the cuttlefish you may see hundreds of cuttlefish within a day. A few of the cuttlefish’s predators are dolphins, humans, birds and sometimes other cuttlefish. So that's basically a summary of what I learned during this unit, and I hope that you learned something too! by Nathan