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Welcome to the website that is designed especially for people who love animals. Here you can find out about all different animals. At the end, there is a quiz on the animals you had just read about. To learn more about animals visit. The National Geographic Website
Clara
Tigers (my favourite animal)
Tigers are amazing animals that have a unique orange bdy with black stripes. Each stripe is different depending on the tiger.It is a large striped¸ wild cat that lives in Aisa. The tiger is the largest member of the cat family.Mother tigers protect their cubs (babies) until they are about two years old.In those two years, she teaches them how to hunt. When they are old enough,they go and live alone.Tigers catch fish to eat. Unlike most cats, tigers like water. They swim in it and find food there.Siberian tigers and the largest cats in the world. Some weigh as much as fourteen first graders put all together! Picture of tiger
Dolphins
An intelligent water mammel with a long snout,related to whales but smaller. Bigger cousins to the porpoise. There are many types of dolphins. They have between 100 - 160 teeth to catch the food but not to chew, they swallow their food whole! Dolphins are really friendly and travel in groups called pods. They have been heard of rescuing humans in trouble! They don't have ears like us, instead they have inner ears which allow them to hear relly well! They hear sound which are so high and low that we can't hear. The main foods that they eat are: fish, squid, jellyfish,crabs and clams but different dolphins eat different things.When it is first born, it is called a calf and its mother pushes it up to the surface of the water until it is strong enough to do it on its own.They start off from about 100cm but can grow up to 4 metres! Dolphins talk through body languages and noises. They uses clicks, whistles and squeaks. Each has its own ehistle so they can be recognised by others! Dolphins can swim up to 40km an hour if being chased. Usually, they can swim between 10 and 15 kilometers. Most live up to the age of 25, but some special ones like the Orcas (Killer Whales) can live up to 80! Picture of dolphin
Lions
Lions live in all parts of Africa and one forest in India. The have very big teeth. Large front teeth help a lion kill prey for food. He uses his rouh tongue to clean his fur. Only the male lion has a furry mane on his head and neck.Most big cats can roar, but lions roar more than other kinds do. Roaring helps them tell other lions to keep out of their territory, where the live or hunt. Or else! A female lion is called a lioness. They carry their cubs gently in their mouths.Cubs are the baby lions. Spots on the cubs help hide them from enemies. The spots will dissapear when the cub has fully grown up. Lions live together in families called prides. The lionesses take care of all the cubs together, even if they are not their own. Female lions are also the ones who do all the hunting. The males usually just lie down. Picture of Lion
Leopards
Leopards live in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Aisa. A leopard rests in a tree on a hot day. At night, it comes down to hunt for some food. It will drag its prey up a tree and eat it there so other animals cannot steal it. Leopards usually live alone or travel in small groups. They spend alot of time in trees. Even the cubs but they sometimes fall off the trees while learning to climb! An adult leopard crouches to sip some water. Then it may hunt for food.These cats are good hunters. They can move very quickly. Spots on their fur blend in with trees and grass and help camoflage them when they stalk prey. Picture of Leopard
Jaguars
Jaguars are not just one colour. Even though one is black and the other is spotted, thay are both Jaguars.If you look very carefully you can see some spots on the dark one. The light-coloured Jaguar looks a lot like a leopard. The Jaguars spots have black dots in the middle. A Leapard's spots do not. It is a large wildcat. They can be found in sounthwestern United States, Mexico and South and Central America.Picture of Jaguars
Mountain Lions
Mountain lions live in parts of North America and south through Chile. They have a small head, long legs, and a strong body. They are now mostly extint. This kind of cats have other names too. Sometimes they are called a cougar, a puma, or a panther. Mountain lions are very shy and they avoid most other animals. To stay cool, mountain lions lie in a pool of water. They can also find shade from the sun in a cave. They often live in hot, dry places. Sometimes baby mountain lions, called kittens, stay in caves while their mother hunts for food for them. They sharpen their claws on a piece of wood. Have you ever seen a pet cat do the same thing? When they are running, they can jump from rock to rock for more that 10 metres! When they are young, the kittens have spots on their back for camoflauge so they can hide from bigger and stronger animals that want to eat them for lunch! Picture of a Mountain Lion
Cheetahs
Cheetahs live in parts of Africa and the Middle East. They catch their food by stalking it (following it) out of view until the right moment and chase after it. They would probably catch a gazelle or impala. If the animal seems frightened, the cheetahs "freeze," or stand very still. Then they move ahead again. A mother cheetah hides her cubs in high grass or under a bush while she hunts. Cheetahs hunt in open grasslands. Unlike most other big cats, they stalk during the day. When it runs after his prey,the cheetahs body stretches out. Over a short distance, cheetahs run faster than any other animal that lives on land. They can move as fast as a car travels on a highway. Because the cheetahs are not as large or as strong as other big cats, they depend on speed to catch their prey. Picture of Cheetah
Snow Leopards
Snow Leopards live in high-mountain areas of Central Aisa. The cubs love to play with one another in the snow. Snow Leopards live in the mountains, where it snows alot. Thick hairs on their paws helps them walk on top of the deep snow. In summer, snow leopards follow their prey higher in the mountains. Their grey-coloured fur helps them blend in with the rocks. These cats can leap long distances when they are chasing their prey. Snow cubs like to snuggle together. They have thick, wooly fur to keep them warm in the winter. Mother snow leopards put some of their own fur in their dens to help keep the babies warm. Picture of Snow Leopard
Donkeys
Donkeys are friendly. They are useful, too. Donkeys are sometimes called 'beasts of burden' because they can carry heavy loads and people. But not all owners treat their donkeys well. Special homes for donkeys that have been badly treated are called sanctuaries. These rescue centres provide needy donkeys with food, a cosy stable, a field to run in and lots of loving care. Most donkeys have a grey coat. Some have white but these donkeys are very rare! Donkeys may not be big, but they are very strong. They can plod along for miles carrying heaving loads. People first tamed them thousands of years ago.Ancient Egyptians even used donkeys to carry stones when they built the pyramids! People in many countries still rely on donkey-power. But sadly, donkeys are often forced to carry loads that are too heavy for them. Their hooves keep growing all their lives. If they get too big, they can casue hoof problems.People have to trim them if they are not worn by walking on the rough ground. Picture of donkey
Pandas
Giant Pandas
The beuatiful black and white mammals are one of the worlds rarest animals. They live in mountain forests of China and prefer to live alone. They mostly eat babmboo and spend their days munching on babmboo shoots and leaves. Their eyes are cat like and have five clawed like fingers and a wrist bone that moves like a thumb. They don't roar and they can't walk on their back legs. Baby Pandas are tiny when born and weigh less than an apple! The cubs stay with their Mum for up two two years, then they go off to live on their own. Picture of Panda
Red Pandas
Red pandas are realatives of the Giant Panda. They can be found in mountain forests in Nepal, Burma and China. They are also called Lesser Pandas and are about the size of a pet cat. Their fur is bright rusty red and they have a long, bushy, ringed tail. They also eat bamboo but, unlike the Giant Panda, they are not true veggies and will eat eggs and small animals. Red Pandas live in pairs or small family groups. Mum gives up to four babies which stay with her for up to a year. Sadly, these pandas too are endangered from hunters and the destruction of their forests. Picture of Red Panda
Koala Bears
They may look like teddies and are often called Koala Bears, but koalas are actually not bears at all! Koalas are marsupials, which means they are puched mammels like the kangaroos. Their closest realative is the wombat. They live in eucalyptus trees and eat the leaves, but they are very fussy eaters and will only eat from certain types of eucalyptus trees. These leaves contain strong smelling oils that seem to act like an insect repellent, keeping the koalas free from bugs. However it also makes them smell like very strong cough drops! Koalas are found in the wild forests of Eatstern Australia. Their soft, wooly fur can be grey of brown with white patches. Their thick fur protects them from the hot and cold. It also keeps them warm during rainstorms, a bit like a koala coat! Koalas' ears are large and furry and their noses look like big, leather buttons. Baby koalas are called joeys. They are born the size of a jelly bean, they are blind and hairless. The baby crawl in to its mothers pouch where it feeds from on her milk. After six months, the joey climbs on to to Mum's back and she teaches it how to eat leaves. Koalas store food in cheek pouches. They rest and sleep for up to 18 hours. They can jump from tree to tree. They have their own built-in cushion - the fur on their bottom is extra thick so that they can rest comfortably on trees! Koalas are nocturnal, so they are active at night. Picture of koalas |
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