Science: Meet a Hedgehog and a Snake

Written by Mrs. Yollis, Elie, Nolan, Rose, Brianna, Dylan B., and Josh

As part of our animal adaptation science unit, Beverly Critcher from Wildlife Experience
brought two wild animals to Mrs. Yollis' class for careful scientific observation. She brought a hedgehog and a gopher snake.

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.

Before we met the animals, we learned about a food chain. 
What is a food chain? 

A food chain is basically the circle of life. It always starts with a plant, which means herbivores (plant eaters) are on the bottom of the food chain. Then a predator comes and eats that herbivore and gets all the energy. Then another animal comes and eats that animal and gets all the energy. Soon, we have an animal that no other animal eats. That animal is the top of the food chain. An animal that eats another animal is called a carnivore. Animals that eat plants and meat are called omnivores.

When animals die, they decompose and make the soil nutritious, or better. That is the circle of life. A food chain can be formed in any habitat of the world. For instance, there are food chains in the oceans, savannas, and rainforests.    

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Hedgehog

After the lesson on food chains, it was time to meet a hedgehog! Tucker, the hedgehog, is a cute fellow. Hedgehogs and porcupines have quills that can really hurt. Tucker is three years old. Out in the wild, hedgehogs usually live for up to three years. In captivity, a hedgehog can live up to seven years. Of course, that is very rare, but it is possible.

Here is a photo of some baby hedgehogs. Aren't they cute!

 See this short video of Tucker! 

Hedgehogs are mammals, but also considered as rodents. They are also insectivores. That means they eat a lot of bugs!

Hedgehogs have really cool adaptations. First of all, they use their quills (physical adaptation) to protect themselves. When the predator runs into the hedgehog, the predator gets the quills stuck into their face. The hedgehog backs up to make the quills go into the body even further. Ouch! But don't worry, the quills are made of the same thing as your hair and your nails, which is keratin. It grows back, just like you!

When a hedgehog sees a predator coming, it curls up into a ball. That is called a behavioral adaptation. 

Can you guess which African animal is afraid of the porcupine? It is a big animal, a big type of cat. Do you know it yet? You might be surprised, but it is a lion! Can you believe that a big lion would be scared of such a tiny creature? When a lion gets quills in his face, they hurt. Look at this photo of Mr. Shareski's dog. How can you tell that Clementine was interested in a porcupine?

Photo by Mr. Shareski

Are hedgehogs and porcupines born with quills? YES, they are. They are soft, but they turn hard and become stiff and dangerous.

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Gopher Snake

Next Miss C brought out a reptile. We know that reptiles are cold-blooded, are vertebrates, and hatch from eggs. The reptile she brought was a gopher snake. Like all snakes, it has lungs, no eyelids, and smelled through his tongue. Watch it flick its forked tongue.

Some snakes are venomous like the rattlesnake, cobra, or black mamba. When looking for a meal, they wait, strike, and wait some more. When the animal dies, the snake opens his mouth and swallows the prey whole.

Constrictors are snakes that do not have poison. Some examples are king snakes, boas, and corn snakes. Constrictors squeeze their prey until it dies and then consume it.

Ms. C showed us a gopher snake. A gopher snake looks just like rattlesnakes, especially from a distance. It has a body pattern that looks like a rattlesnake's, and it hopes that confusion will keep you  away! It will shake the tail and the rustling will sound like a rattler. This behavioral adaptation might save its life. We got to touch the snake with two fingers. What did it feel like to you?

Photo by Mrs. Yollis 

Photo by Mrs. Yollis 

As snakes grow, they shed in one long piece.

Photo by Mrs. Yollis 

Lizards shed in pieces and then eat the skin. This behavioral adaptation helps get rid of evidence.  Lizards don't want predators to know they are around.

Gopher snakes live up to 30 years in captivity. This snake is perhaps 24 years old.

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Why is the snake called a gopher snake?

What does a gopher snake eat? 

Is it an herbivore, a carnivore, or an omnivore? 

What does a snake feel like?

Why is the hedgehog born with soft quills? 

Which animal was your favorite?

Research on Worldbook Online and share some new facts! 

Give 3-6 animal food chain. Start with a plant. 

More Wildlife Experiences!

As part of our animal adaptation science unit, Beverly Critcher fromWildlife 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. 

We met a hedgehog!

A tarantula 

A millipede

A skunk

A Bard Owl 

Many students took visual notes. Visual notes combine sketches as well as words or phrases. 

(click to enlarge)

Students, leave a comment with some facts and I'll add your contribution to the post! Feel free to use World Book Online

DO NOT COPY and PASTE! Instead, put your notes in your own words.

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.