Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Going on a Safari

 There are two types of elephant, the Asian elephant and the African elephant (although sometimes the African Elephant is split into two species, the African Forest Elephant and the African Bush Elephant).
 Elephants are the largest land-living mammal in the world.
 An elephant can use its tusks to dig for ground water. An adult elephant needs to drink around 210 litres of water a day.
 Female elephants spend their entire lives living in large groups called herds. Male elephant leave their herds at about 13 years old and live fairly solitary lives from this point.
 The roar of a lion can be heard from 8 kilometers (5.0 miles) away.
 In the wild, lions rest for around 20 hours a day (wow, I want to be a lion some days :) ) 
 Elephants can swim – they use their trunk to breathe like a snorkel in deep water.


 Lions in the wild live for around 12 years.
 Lions are the second largest big cat species in the world (behind tigers).
 iraffes have bluish-purple tongues which are tough and covered in bristly hair to help them with eating the thorny Acacia trees.

 A female giraffe gives birth while standing up. The calf drops approximately 6 feet to the ground, but it is not hurt from the fall. Giraffes are ruminants. This means that they have more than one stomach. In fact, giraffes have four stomachs, the extra stomachs assisting with digesting food.
 The distinctive spots that cover a giraffe’s fur act as a good camouflage to protect the giraffe from predators. When the giraffe stands in front of trees and bushes the light and dark coloring of its fur blends in with the shadows and sunlight.

 Drinking is one of the most dangerous times for a giraffe. While it is getting a drink it cannot keep a look out for predators and is vulnerable to attack.
 Male giraffes sometimes fight with their necks over female giraffes. This is called “necking”. The two giraffes stand side by side and one giraffe swings his head and neck, hitting his head against the other giraffe. Sometimes one giraffe is hit to the ground during a combat.
 A giraffe's habitat is usually found in African savannas, grasslands or open woodlands.

 Although a giraffe’s neck is 1.5 – 1.8 metres, it contains the same number of vertebrae at a human neck.


 Every zebra has a unique pattern of black and white stripes.
 Gorillas are endangered animals. Their habitat is destroyed when people use the land for farming and the trees for fuel. Gorillas are also killed by poachers and sometimes get caught in poacher’s snares meant for other animals.
 Zebras have excellent eyesight and hearing.
 A gorilla can live for 40 – 50 years.
 Cheetahs cannot climb trees and have poor night vision.
 Zebras stand up while sleeping.
 The ears of a zebra show its mood.
 Cheetahs are the only big cat that cannot roar. The can purr though and usually purr most loudly when they are grooming or sitting near other cheetahs.
 Rylon- I think it must help having your tongue out to write letters. :)
 Skyler
 Dylan
 The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. They can reach a top speed of around 113 km per hour.
 Zebra are part of the equidae family along with horse and donkeys.
 Zebras run from side to side to being chased by a predator.
 Brock is working hard on his letters.
 Learning how to count and place them in order.
 Garrett brought this amazing show and tell of a rattle snake skin. (it even had the rattle)  So cool!  Thanks Garrett for sharing.
 We discovered a lot of cool animals on our safari.
 People in Africa love making music, dancing and finding ways to share their community.
 We went on a pretend safari and discovered all sorts of animals.
 The drum, played either by hand or by using sticks, is an important musical instrument in African culture. They use drums as a means of communication, in fact, much of their history and culture have been passed on for generations through music. Music is a part of their daily life; it is used to convey news, to teach, to tell a story and for religious purposes.
 Most people in Africa have never seen a violin, a piano. The variety of musical instruments is as diverse as their culture. They make musical instruments out of any material that can produce sound. These include finger bells, flutes, horns, musical bow, thumb piano, and trumpets. 
 There are fewer people with Internet access in the entire continent of Africa than in New York City alone.
 A leopard’s tail is just about as long as its entire body. This helps it with balance and enables it to make sharp turns quickly.
 We learned the children in Africa love to find ways to produce music, even with sticks.
 Africa is the poorest and most underdeveloped of all of the continents, despite its wealth of natural resources. The average poor person in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to live on just $.70 a day
  Four of the five fastest land animals reside in Africa: the cheetah, the wildebeest, the lion, and the Thomson’s gazelle. All of these animals can run at speeds above 50 miles per hour, with the cheetah reaching a top speed of about 70 miles per hour.

 The longest river in the world, the Nile (4,132 miles), is located in Africa.
 Well over one thousand languages are spoken by the people of Africa. Some estimates put this number closer to two thousand.
 We made calendars for the new year.
 We played a matching animal game.
 Hallie- Lizzie and Skyler
 The shortest people in the world, the pygmies, live in Africa.
 Africa's population is estimated to double from approximately one billion people in 2011 to two billion people by 2045. The African continent has the second largest population in the world, at about one billion people.
 The average male lion weighs around 180 kg (400 lb) while the average female lion weighs around 130 kg (290 lb).
 My kiddos here love playing super hero!
 Lions can reach speeds of up to 81 kph (50 mph) but only in short bursts because of a lack of stamina.
We learned which animals live in Africa and which ones do not.  My cute Amber McDonald

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