Wildlife Experience!

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.

Mrs. C. talked about animal adaptations. 

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. 

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? 

Meet Awesome, the Opossum

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? 

What are some physical or behavior adaptation of the opossum?

Meet Sally the salamander!

(amphibian)

 We got to touch her skin. What did you notice about the amphibian? 

What is an amphibian? 

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?

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?

Human teeth: Nice smile Mr. Bones!

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.

Bobcat teeth

Bobcat teeth

Turtle jaws 

 

What kind of a skull is this?  

Meet a ball python

(reptile)

DARIUS:  The ball python is 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! 


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.

Meet a fennec fox from Africa. 

Add caption

Photo of a baby fennec fox

Notice how those ears develop! How does this physical adaptation help this mammal? 

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.

Learn About a Fennec Fox and Desert Tortoise!

Walk with us on the wild side and learn about two more crawling creatures!

What did else did you learn about the fennec fox and the California desert tortoise?

What have you enjoyed most about our Wildlife Experiences so far?