Donkeys come from Africa and the Middle East, where they were tamed more than 5,000 years ago. These slow animals are used today as work animals in poor countries. They carry materials, plow fields and draw up water. Donkeys are related to horses and zebras but they have much longer ears than either one.
They’re also usually smaller than horses. Donkeys carry people as well as materials. If a place seems unsafe, they dig in their heels and they won’t move. China has more donkeys than any other country in most of the world. In the U.S., donkeys are kept as pets or to breed mules. A mule is a cross between a donkey and a horse. Mules are very strong, but bigger than a donkey. A boy donkey is called a jack. A girl donkey is called a jenny. Donkeys make a loud braying noise that goes on for several seconds. Donkeys are sometimes called burros. There are wild donkeys in Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Mississippi. Ashleigh
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Depending on the habitat they are trying to blend into, their bodies can be tan, green, red, or yellow, and the patterns can be shaped like jagged lines, ovals, diamonds, or circles. Most animals chew their food before they swallow, not for boa constrictors, they swallow there food whole. They do it because they have no teeth. Boas are found in tropical Central and South America.
Like their anaconda cousins, they are excellent swimmers, but prefer to stay on dry land, living primarily in hollow logs and abandoned mammal burrows. Smaller than anacondas, boas can grow up to 13 feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds. Their jaws are lined with small, hooked teeth for grabbing and holding prey while they wrap their muscular bodies around their victim, squeezing until it suffocates. Boas will eat almost anything they can catch, including birds, monkeys, and wild pigs. Their jaws can stretch wide to swallow large prey whole. Female boas have eggs inside their bodies and give birth up to 60 live babies. Boas are about 2 feet long when they are born and grow continually throughout their 25 to 30-year lifespan. The largest boa constrictor ever found measured 18 feet. Ashleigh A Barn owl is a medium-sized raptor that is active at night. They have a white heart-shaped face and white chest with small brown spots. Their face collects sounds in the same way as human ears do. These pale feathered owls live mostly all around the world.
The back of a barn owl is tawny, marked with black and white spots. The male and female have similar, but females are larger, darker and more spotted than males. They are non-territorial. Adults live in home ranges which overlap each other and each one covering around 5,000 hectares. In order to live and breed, a barn owl pair needs to eat approximately 5,000 prey items a year. They do not bite or chew their food. They often swallow it whole. They have very long legs, toes and talons to help them to catch prey hidden under long grass. Their large eyes are very sensitive too. They can immediately spot a mouse moving in a very gloomy barn. Their feathers are super soft and help them to hunt silently. But they are not waterproof and can get soaked if it rains. A Barn Owl is has the size of a small cat but weighs only a pound. They usually form monogamous pairs but cases of bigamy, one male pairing with two females occurs occasionally. Barn Owls screech, not hoot. They can fly almost silently. They can hear the slightest sound made by their rodent prey hidden in deep vegetation. It is common for Barn Owl chicks in the nest to feed each other. They eat small mammals, especially rodents. They also eat birds, reptiles and insects. Ashleigh Electric eels are not actually eels. Their actually closer to a carp fish or catfish. Electric eels got their name from the enormous electrical charge they have, to stun prey and predators. Their bodies have electric organs with about 6,000 little cells called electrocutes that store power like tiny batteries.
Their length is 3 to 9 feet. They have no scales. Their back is a greenish brown, and the belly is an orange yellow. They can electrify you if you touch them. They live in the murky streams and ponds of the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America, feeding mainly on fish, but also amphibians and even birds and small mammals. As air-breathers, they must often come to the surface. They also have poor eyesight. Electric eels can reach 44 in weight. They have long, snake like bodies and flattened heads. Electric eels have no bones. If they did, it would be hard to wave up and down like they do. Ashleigh Adult female sheep are called ewes. Adult male sheep are called rams. A group of sheep is known as a herd, flock or mob. Young sheep are called lambs.
Sheep have a field of vision of around 300 degrees, allowing them to see behind themselves without having to turn their head. Sheep are herbivores that mostly eat grass. Sheep like to stay close to other sheep in a herd. Farmers take care of sheep, though kill them for the meat. Even though you think they also kill them for the wool, some farmers don't. They easily shave it off with shears without harming it. If I was a farmer, and I had a sheep, I would shave its wool to make a blanket with, if I didn't have one, and let it free. Some people guide sheep to home and give people sheep for wool and meat. If one of the sheep go out of line, a sheep dog will chase it back in the line. Sheep have very good memories. They can remember at least 50 sheep and humans for years without forgetting. The meat of sheep is widely eaten by people across the world. Ashleigh The southern flying squirrel is found throughout the eastern U.S., from Maine south to Florida and west from Minnesota south to Texas. A flying squirrel's wingspread is two feet long. Flying squirrels Fore feet have 4 toes, the Hind feet have 5 toes, with sharp curved claws covered with hair. Flying squirrels can easily forage for food in the night, given their highly developed sense of smell.
They harvest fruits, nuts, fungi, and birds' eggs. Flying squirrel is a type of squirrel best known for its ability to "fly". There are about 50 different species of flying squirrel that can be found all around the world. Best known are North American and South American flying squirrel which inhabit north and south part of America and Canada. Flying squirrels are not endangered. Flying squirrel usually reaches 12 inches in length including the tail, and weighs between 4 and 6.5 ounces. There known as rodents. The giant Asian flying squirrel has been known to make gliding flights as far as 165 feet! There are many species of flying squirrel, differing in size and color. There are normally found in trees, though are hard to see because they are fast and small. Most flying squirrels live for 11 to 13 years. Their large eyes help them skillfully climb trees and avoid predators. Squirrels are born blind. Ashleigh You will find that seals have quite a spread when it comes to their distribution. Seals find the foods that they need in the water around them, which is why you will only find them where there is plenty of water. Some seals live where it is cold. Unlike seals that don't live in the artic, snow seals have fur to keep them warm. Many species of seals have no natural predators. This is due to where they live and what size they grow up to be.
There are 18 known species of seals. The Leopard Seal is the second largest of all seals out there. The Harp Seal is one that has lots of white fur on it. They also can feature areas of light brown and even some black. The Harbor Seal is fairly small when it is compared to the many other species of seals out there. The Gray Seal is one that many people have seen in pictures. It is found along the North Atlantic Ocean on both sides of it. The Northern Elephant Seal is smaller than those from other Elephant Seals in the Southern part of the world. The Southern Elephant Seal is the largest of all seals in the world. If you had to choose only one word to describe the Weddell Seal, it would like to be that they are cute. All of the Mediterranean Monk Seals have a watch patch on them. Ashleigh The Baltimore oriole is the state bird of Maryland. They mainly eat insects, berries and nectar, and are often seen sipping at hummingbird feeders. The black and bright orange Baltimore Orioles makes them the second beautiful backyard bird. They are exactly 7.53 inches long.
Their narrow bills help them catch insects. The oldest banded Baltimore Oriole in the wild lived for 11 years and 7 months, although they can also live up to 14 years in captivity. Baltimore Orioles got their name because of their bright orange and black colors. Sometimes if one eats a bug that is poisonous, the poison can directly kill orioles. The nest of a Baltimore Oriole looks like a stuffed sock that hangs at the very edge of a tree branch high in the air to keep predators away. It can take a female as long as 15 days to make the nest. It's nest is normally made out of animal fur, twine, wool, bark and other stuff. One of the Baltimore Orioles favorite things to eat is caterpillars. This is important because their appetite for caterpillars and other pests can help protect forests. Baltimore Orioles are attracted to the color orange. You would not see them in the winter, though if it is any other season, it is a good chance you will. Ashleigh Sea turtles are coldblooded reptiles that live in oceans. Even though sea turtles live in the ocean, they are related to land turtles. Sea turtles breathe through lungs and have a 3 or 4 chambered heart. A sea turtles shell can protect it from their enemies. Humans are the main predators of turtles, but fish, frogs, snakes, minks, otters and birds such as crows eat their eggs.
Sea turtles don't have teeth, though do have hard jaws which can leave a small bite mark. Sea turtles have paddle-like flippers. Their flippers are great for getting them through the water. They also breathe air, so a sea turtle must come to the water surface when it needs to breathe, which can leave them able to see from boats. There are seven species of sea turtles. Six of them (the hawksbill, green, flat back, loggerhead, Kemp's riley, and olive riley have shells made up of hard scuttles, while the aptly-named leatherback turtle has a shell that is as hard as leather. All sea turtles and all turtles lay eggs. Sea turtles hatch from eggs on shore and then spend several years out at sea. It may take 5 to 35 years for them to become a grown turtle, depending on the species. At this point, males and females migrate to breeding grounds, which are often near nesting areas. Males and females mate offshore, and females travel to nesting areas to lay their eggs. Ashleigh Geckos are cool-looking little lizards that live in hot places. Like all reptiles they can’t regulate their body temp so they rely on the sun to keep them warm. They live mostly in deserts rainforests and jungles. Geckos can be as small as 1 inch or as large as 1 foot long. Their tails are fat.
Geckos store food in their tails. If you grab a gecko by the tail, the tail will come off so the gecko can escape. There are over 1,000 kinds of geckos divided into two species. One species has that can’t blink. The other type has eyelids and can blink just like you. Scientists can tell by a gecko’s pupils if it is diurnal or nocturnal. Diurnal geckos, which are awake during the day, have round pupils. Nocturnal geckos have vertical pupils, like a cat’s. Geckos have millions of tiny, bristly hairs on their feet. These hairs let them to stick to surfaces like a wall or ceiling. They’re a little like Velcro. Geckos have excellent eyesight. Geckos are insectivores. That means they eat bugs! They love worms, mealworms, crickets and grasshoppers. If you shine a flashlight in a gecko’s ear, the light will come out the other ear. Cool, don’t you think? Geckos make chirping sounds to communicate. Ashleigh |
AuthorMy name is Ashleigh. This is where I post my blogs about animals. I am eight years old, and I am home schooled. Archives
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