As part of our animal adaptation science unit, Beverly Critcher from Wildlife Experience brought wild animals to Mrs. Yollis' class for careful
scientific observation.
Wildlife Experience is a non-profit wildlife education organization that brings native and exotic animals to schools and teaches children about the importance of our natural world. Here is Ms. C., the owner of Wildlife Experiences.
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Mrs. C. talked about animal adaptations.
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Here are a few photos and facts about the animals brought into our classroom.
Here is a fabulous animal adaptation post from the great Mr. Mannell. He gives permission for you to use his photos for school related projects!
Fact: Human hands have an opposable thumb. The thumb can work with the other four fingers to grasp and pick up items.
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Not all animals have that ability. Here the students tried to tie a bow using only their four fingers. No thumbs allowed! What did you notice?
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Meet Awesome, the Opossum
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Share some facts about her in the comment section and I'll add them there! Does she have an opposable thumb?
She is a marsupial.
What is a marsupial?
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What are some physical or behavior adaptation of the opossum?
Meet Sally the salamander!
(amphibian)
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We got to touch her skin. What did you notice about the amphibian?
What is an amphibian?
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NICHOLAS: The tiger salamander is one of five types of amphibians, and in my opinion it is the cutest. It is an amphibian because it can breathe in water and land. Did you know that they are 7-14 inches long? That is about the size of a standard ruler?
The biggest salamander in the world is the giant Chinese salamander which can grow to six feet long.That is taller than you, Mrs. Yollis! Did you know that the axolotl salamander can grow its limbs back just like starfish and lizards?
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| Sally likes to hide under her log. |
TEETH!
Teeth tell a lot about what an animal eats.
canines
incisors
molars
What is the difference?
Interesting fact:
Some animals eat plants, some eat meat, and some eat both!
herbivore: eats plants
carnivore: eats meat
omnivore: eats both plants and meat
What do these types of teeth do for an animal?
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| Human teeth: Nice smile Mr. Bones! |
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| Porcupine teeth |
SAMANTHA: I also liked learning about the animal's jaws. I saw that the skunk's jaw was pretty small compared to the rest.
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| Bobcat teeth |
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| Bobcat teeth |
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| Turtle jaws |
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What kind of a skull is this?
Meet a ball python
(reptile)
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ALLISON: Ball pythons like to live in small warm-blooded mammal holes where they can find their prey. The like to live where there are not a lot of trees. They are from Africa.
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Meet a fennec fox from Africa.
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| Add caption |
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Photo of a baby fennec fox
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Notice how those ears develop! How does this physical adaptation help this mammal?
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Aashi: Fennec foxes are the smallest foxes, but they have the largest ears.
SAMANTHA: The fennec fox can be 23-27 inches long. Most foxes can weigh up to 8 to 11 pounds!
Students, many of you took written or visual notes. Share your knowledge in the comment section and I'll add your facts to this post!
Use World Book Online as well.
Posts
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI think the animals that Mrs. C has been bringing to class are incredible! I was specially fascinated by how the possum can release an odorous gas which knocks out the possum, so that he can play dead to protect himself from carnivores. The salamander felt like cold, slimy, smooth rubber and the fennec fox was adorable! It was very small even though it was an adult. Mrs. C also brought in a ball python. They are found in jungles and their pattern really blends in with their natural habitat. This snake can make the bottom portion of his jaw expand for prey!
My favorite animal was the ball python because its pattern is amazing and I like that they can expand their jaw.
From,
Darius
Dear Mrs.Yollis,
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting way to learn about animals! The fennec fox is very cute. It looks timid in the photos. Was it shy or curious?
I also liked the photos of Sally the Salamander. What type of salamander is Sally? I tried to figure it out myself by looking at Amphibiaweb.org but I am not sure. Can you help me?
Sincerely,
Kim (Nate's mom)
Dear Mrs. Yollis and class.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite animal we have seen in class is the ball python. I like the pattern of its skin. Ball pythons like to live in small warm-blooded mammal holes where they can find their prey. The like to live where there are not a lot of trees. They are from Africa.
Ball pythons are kept as pets because they can be very gentle and often do not bite. The oldest one as a pet lived to be more than 48 years old! It would be nice to have a python as a pet because I could take it everywhere on my arm. It would be kind of weird because they eat rats and mice. I love all animals except rodents!
Sincerely,
Allison
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteHi there! I'm a Fennec fox named Fanny.
I live in the continent, Africa. Do you think you know what type of land I live on? (Rainforests, deserts, wet lands etc.)
I am an omnivore, so I have all sorts of teeth in my mouth.
Fennec foxes are the smallest foxes, but they have the largest ears. I think that is pretty weird. I have never heard of Moose, the fox in the photos above, but I think I'll want to be friends with him.
Right now I'm just strolling on my four firm precious paws. Our paws help us run very very fast, obviously.
Sincerely,
Fanny the Fennec Fox (Aashi)
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite animal was the fennec fox because of it's sharp ears. The fennec fox can be 23-27 inches long. Most foxes can weigh up to 8 to 11 pounds! I also liked learning about the animal's jaws. I saw that the skunk's jaw was pretty small compared to the rest.
Your student,
Samantha
Dear Mrs. Yollis
ReplyDeleteI am going to tell all about the tiger salamander. Why, you ask. It is 1 of 5 types of amphibians and in my opinion it is the cutest. It is an amphibian because it can breathe in water and land. Did you know that they are 7-14 inches long , which is about the size of a standard ruler? The biggest salamander in the world is the giant Chinese salamander which can grow to 6 feet long.That is taller than you, Mrs. Yollis! Did you know that the axolotl salamander can grow its limbs back just like starfish and lizards? Of all the salamanders, my favorite is the giant Chinese salamander. What is your favorite salamander?
Love,
Nick
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteThe fennec is the smallest fox in the world but he has very big ears.I really like when Mrs.C was presenting all of the animals. My favorite animal was the fennec.
Have you all ready seen a fennec in the desert?
From,
Theo
Dea Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post about your wildlife experience. I started to write a short reply but ending with something much longer. Here is the link...
http://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2014/06/05/adaptation-and-the-wildlife-experience/
Ross Mannell
Teacher (retired), N.S.W., Australia
Hello Mrs. Yollis and Class!
ReplyDeleteI am Oceanus the Opossum! Today, I have some facts that I would like to share with you!
I have fifty razor teeth in my mouth to bite on my prey or predators, so if you ever see me and you want to threaten me or something, think twice! When I see a predator like a coyote, first, I run far away. All of you know that a coyote is bigger and faster than me, so if I kept on running, I'll end up as an opossum omelet. I turn to them and show my teeth to scare them away. That won't work, so that's why I do something that you might know of playing dead. When I am in that state, it's called a catatonic state! That's because a chemical is released from my brain, but I can't remember what it's called. This state is only temporary, don't think I'll sleep for the rest of my life! Then the coyote would think, "Ugh! I don't want a dead opossum for dinner! I want something fresh out of the nature. Not a rotten animal!" The predator gets fooled and it goes to find another animal.
In the wild, my relatives grow up to seven inches long... Can you imagine that? I'm tiny compared to that coyote that got fooled. Anyway, I am an omnivore. Does anybody know what that means? If you don't, it mean that I eat all kinds of food. You may have heard of carnivores and herbivores. A carnivore is an animal that only eats meat, while a herbivore only eats plants. I'm both. I eat meat and plants, just as it says on this post! If you are a carnivore, you have a certain type of teeth, and the herbivore is the same, but I'll tell you about that later.
My lifespan is about three years in the wild. Yes, that isn't long compared to the human lifespan, about in the range of eighty to one hundred years old, I believe. That's why I have to make the most out of MY life. ;-D
As I was talking about before about that teeth, some animals have some kinds of teeth, and some have another. If you are a carnivore, you will have the all of the kinds of teeth, but you only use your canine teeth and the molars. As you may have seen on dogs, the big, long, and pointy teeth in the front when they pant and drool. The molars are the teeth in the back of your mouth. If you are a herbivore, you have all the kinds of teeth too, but you only use your incisor teeth and your molars. The incisors are you front teeth. The different kinds of teeth have different meanings, and the molars are used for grinding up the food. The canine teeth are used for ripping up meat, and the incisors are for tearing plants off of the bush or tree.
Oh no! I see a coyote! I need to go in the cycle again! See you later!
Sincerely,