Ostrich

The Ostrich, (Struthio camelus), is a large flightless bird native to Africa. It is the only living species of its family, Struthionidae and its genus, Struthio. Ostriches share the order Struthioniformes with the kiwis, emus, and other ratites. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at maximum speeds of about 60.6 mph, the top land speed of any bird.The diet of the Ostrich mainly consists of plant matter, though it also eats invertebrates. It lives in nomadic groups which contain between five and fifty birds. When threatened, the Ostrich will either hide itself by lying flat against the ground, or will run away. If cornered, it can attack with a kick from its powerful legs. Mating patterns differ by geographical region, but territorial males fight for a harem of two to seven females. These fights usually last just minutes, but they can easily cause death through slamming their heads into opponents. Ostriches usually weigh from 140–290 lb, with exceptional male Ostriches weighing up to 340 lb. The feathers of adult males are mostly black, with white primaries and a white tail. However, the tail of one subspecies is buff. Females and young males are greyish-brown and white. The head and neck of both male and female Ostriches is nearly bare, with a thin layer of down. The skin of the females neck and thighs is pinkish gray, while the male's is blue-gray, gray or pink dependent on subspecies.The long neck and legs keep their head 6 to 9 ft above the ground, and their eyes are said to be the largest of any land vertebrate – 2.0 in. in diameter. they can therefore perceive predators at a great distance. The eyes are shaded from sun light falling from above.Their skin varies in colour depending on the sub-species. The strong legs of the Ostrich are unfeathered and show bare skin, with the tarsometatarsus (the lowest upright part of the leg) being covered in scales – red in the male, black in the female. The bird has just two toes on each foot (most birds have four), with the nail on the larger, inner toe resembling a hoof. The outer toe has no nail. The reduced number of toes is an adaptation that appears to aid in running. Ostriches can run at over 43 mph for up to 30 minutes. The wings reach a span of about 6 ft 7 in. and are used to shade chicks. The feathers lack the tiny hooks that lock together the smooth external feathers of flying birds, and so are soft and fluffy and serve as insulation. They have 50-60 tail feathers, and their wings have 16 primary, four alular and 20-23 secondary feathers The Ostrich's sternum is flat, lacking the keel to which wing muscles attach in flying birds. The beak is flat and broad, with a rounded tip. Like all ratites, the Ostrich has no crop. They have three stomaches. Their palate differs from other ratites in that the sphenoid and palatal bones are unconnected. During the first year of life, chicks grow about 10 in per month. At one year of age, Ostriches weigh around 100 lb. Their lifespan is up to 40 or 45 years. Ostriches are diurnal, but may be active on moonlit nights. They are most active early and late in the day. The male ostrich territory is between 2 and 20 km² (0.77 and 7.7 sq mi).
With their acute eyesight and hearing, Ostriches can sense predators such as lions from far away. When being pursued by a predator, they have been known to reach speeds in excess of 43 mph, and can maintain a steady speed of 31 mph, which makes the Ostrich the world's fastest two-legged animal. When lying down and hiding from predators, the birds lay their heads and necks flat on the ground, making them appear as a mound of earth from a distance. This even works for the males, as they hold their wings and tail low so that the heat haze of the hot, dry air that often occurs in their habitat aids in making them appear as a nondescript dark lump.
When threatened, Ostriches run away, but they can cause serious injury and death with kicks from their powerful legs. Their legs can only kick forward.Contrary to popular belief, Ostriches do not bury their heads in sand. This myth likely began with Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79), who wrote that Ostriches "imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed."They mainly feed on seeds, shrubs, grass, fruit and flowers; occasionally they also eat insects such as locusts. Lacking teeth, they swallow pebbles that act as gastroliths to grind food in the gizzard. An adult Ostrich carries about 2.2 lb of stones in its stomach. When eating, they will fill their gullet with food, which is in turn passed down their esophagus in the form of a ball called a bolus. The bolus may be as much as 210 ml (7.1 US fl oz). After passing through the neck (there is no crop) the food enters the gizzard and is worked on by the aforementioned pebbles. The gizzard can hold as much as 1,300 g (46 oz). Ostriches can go without drinking for several days, using metabolic water and moisture in ingested plants,but they enjoy liquid water and frequently take baths where it is available.Ostriches can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. In much of their habitat, temperatures vary as much as 40 °C (72 °F) between night and day. Their temperature control mechanism relies on action by the bird, which uses its wings to cover the naked skin of the upper legs and flanks to conserve heat, or leaves these areas bare to release heat. And their tails look like the're jut huge fluff. : D 

Flamigo

Flamingos often stand on one leg, the other tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behavior is not fully understood. Some suggest that the flamingo, like some other animals, has the ability to have half of its body go into a state of sleep, and when one side is rested, the flamingo will swap legs and then let the other half sleep, but this has not been proven. Recent research has indicated that standing on one leg may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.Young flamingos hatch with grey plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and beta carotene obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly coloured and thus a more desirable mate; a white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished. Captive flamingos are a notable exception; many turn a pale pink as they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild. This is changing as more zoos begin to add prawns and other supplements to the diets of their flamingos.Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp and blue-green algae. Their beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from carotenoid proteins in their diet of animal and plant plankton. These proteins are broken down into pigments by liver enzymes.The source of this varies by species, and affects the saturation of color. Flamingos whose sole diet is blue-green algae are darker in color compared to those who get it second hand (e.g. from animals that have digested blue-green aglae). Zoo-fed flamingos, who often lack the color enhancer in their diet, may be given food with the additive canthaxanthin.Flamingos are very social birds that live in colonies that can number in the thousands. These large colonies are believed to serve three purposes for the flamingos; predator avoidance, maximizing food intake and exploiting scarce suitable nesting sites. The most basic and stable social unit of flamingos are pair bonds which are made up of one male and one female. The bond between them tends to be strong, however in larger colonies, where there are more mates to choose from, mate changes will occur. In pair bonds, both the male and the female contribute to building the nest for their egg and defending it. Before breeding, flamingo colonies split into breeding groups of around 15-50 birds. Both males and females in these groups perform synchronized ritual displays. These displays serve to both stimulate synchronous nesting and establish pair formation for birds that do not already have mates. A flamingo group stands together and display to each other by rasing neck, followed by calling with head-flagging and then wing flapping. The

displays do not seem to be directed towards an individual but instead occur randomly.Flamingo pair bonds establish and defend nesting territories. They locate a suitable spot on the mudflat to build a nest, which is usually chosen by the female. It is during nest building that copulation usually occurs. Nest building can also be interrupted by another couple trying to steal the nesting site. Flamingos will viciously defend their nesting sites and young. After the chicks hatch, the only parental expense is feeding.Flamingos produce a crop milk, like pigeons and doves, due to the action of a hormone called prolactin (see Columbidae). It contains more fat and less protein than the latter does, and it is produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract, not just the crop. Both parents nurse their chick, and young flamingos feed on this milk, which also contains red and white blood cells. In the first six days, the adults and chicks stay in the nesting sites. At around seven to twelve days the chicks begin to move and explore their surroundings. After two weeks, the chicks join groups called "microcrèches" and their parent soon leave them in these groups. Later, many microcrèches come together to form crèches which contain thousands of chicks. Chicks that do not stay in their crèches are vulnerable to predators.Many people don’t realize how much Flamingos fly or their abilities. They can take off rapidly and fly up to 35 miles per hour. They can also fly hundreds of miles a day between different locations in order to find adequate amounts of food for them to survive on. Most of this flight time takes place at night though which is why many of us never see them.Flamingos tend to live a long life in the wild though with an average of 25 to 30 years. In captivity some of them have lived up to 50 years. They aren’t really in danger of extinction at this time but some conservation efforts are in place. This is based on research that shows introduction of bacteria into the water has killed of large numbers of them in certain areas.Adult flamingos range from 3.3 to 4.6 feet tall and weigh 3.3 to 9 pounds depending on their species. Wingspans range from 3.3 to 5 feet. There are 5 species of flamingo.

The webbing between their toes helps them stand in soft mud and when swimming when the water is deeper than wading depth.During the day flamingos preen using their bills and spreading oil from a gland near the base of their tail through their feathers. They spend 15 to 30% of the day preening.Flamingos live in groups called colonies. They won’t nest unless there are other flamingos around. Both male and female flamingos mound up mud for a nest for their 1 egg and take turns incubating it. When chicks hatch, their down is gray or white. Once the chick is ready to leave the nest it joins a crèche like penguins.The five species are the lessser flamingo, the greater flamingo, the chilean flamingo, the caribean flamingo, and the James' flamingo. They can be pink or orange. :-)(http://www.naturehaven.com/Flamingo/flamingo.html)

Hippos

Hippos spend most of their days wallowing in the water or the mud, with the other members of their pod. The water serves to keep their body temperature down, and to keep their skin from drying out. With the exception of eating, most of hippopotamuses' lives occur in the water.Hippos leave the water at dusk and travel inland, sometimes up to 5 miles, to graze on short grass, their main source of food. They spend four to five hours grazing and can consume 150 lb of grass each night. Like almost any herbivore, they will consume many other plants if presented with them, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. Hippos have (rarely) been filmed eating carrion, usually close to the water. There are other reports of meat-eating, and even cannibalism and predation.The stomach anatomy of a hippo is not suited to carnivory, and meat-eating is likely caused by aberrant behavior or nutritional stress.The diet of hippos consists mostly of terrestrial grasses, even though they spend most of their time in the water.Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land they walk across, both by keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over prolonged periods hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels.Adult hippos cannot swim and are not buoyant. When in deep water, they usually propel themselves by leaps, pushing off from the bottom. They move at speeds up to 8 km/h (5 mph) in water. Young hippos are buoyant and usually move by swimming, propelling themselves with kicks of their hind legs. Adult hippos typically resurface to breathe every three to five minutes. The young have to breathe every two to three minutes. The process of surfacing and breathing is automatic, and even a hippo sleeping underwater will rise and breathe without waking. A hippo closes its nostrils when it submerges,The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers and lakes where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups of 5 to 30 females and young. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud; reproduction and childbirth both occur in water. They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While hippopotamuses rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos are not territorial on land.Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around 60 million years ago.The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, nearly hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is the third-largest land mammal by weight (between 1½ and 3 tonnes), behind the white rhinoceros (1½ to 3½ tons) and the three species of elephant (3 to 9 tons). The hippopotamus is one of the largest four legged mammals.Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 19 mph over short distances. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world and is often regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.  They are still threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth.Hippopotamuses are among the largest living mammals; only elephants and some whales are heavier. They can live in the water or on land. Their specific gravity allows them to sink and walk or run along the bottom of a river. Hippos are considered megafauna, but unlike all other African megafauna, hippos have adapted for a semi-aquatic life in freshwater lakes and rivers.Because of their enormous size, hippopotamuses are difficult to weigh in the wild. Most estimates of the weight come from culling operations that were carried out in the 1960s. The average weights for adult males ranged between 1,500–1,800 kg (3,300–4,000 lb). Females are smaller than their male counterparts, with average weights measuring between 1,300–1,500 kg (2,900–3,300 lb). Older males can get much larger, reaching at least 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) and occasionally weighing 4,500 kg (9,900 lb).Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives; females reach a maximum weight at around age 25.Hippos measure 3.3 to 5.2 meters (11 to 17 ft) long, including a tail of about 56 centimeters (22 in) in length and average about 1.5 meters (5 ft) tall at the shoulder. The range of hippopotamus sizes overlaps with the range of the White Rhinoceros; use of different metrics makes it unclear which is the largest land animal after elephants. Even though they are bulky animals, hippopotamuses can run faster than a human on land. Estimates of their running speed vary from 18 mph, 25 mph, or even 30 mph. The hippo can maintain these higher speeds for only a few hundred meters.A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years.Donna the Hippo, 57, is the oldest living hippo in captivity. The oldest hippo ever recorded was called Tanga; she lived in Munich, Germany, and died in 1995 at the age of 61.The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are placed high on the roof of the skull. This allows them to be in the water with most of their body submerged in the waters and mud of tropical rivers to stay cool and prevent sunburn. Their skeletal structure is graviportal, adapted to carrying the animals' enormous weight. Hippopotamuses have small legs (relative to other megafauna) because the water in which they live reduces the weight burden. Unlike most other semi-aquatic animals, the hippopotamus has very little hair.

Their skin secretes a natural sunscreen substance which is red-colored. The secretion is sometimes referred to as "blood sweat," but is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion is initially colorless and turns red-orange within minutes, eventually becoming brown. Two distinct pigments have been identified in the secretions, one red (hipposudoric acid) and one orange (norhipposudoric acid). The two pigments are highly acidic compounds. Both pigments inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria; as well, the light absorption of both pigments peaks in the ultraviolet range, creating a sunscreen effect. All hippos, even those with different diets, secrete the pigments, so it does not appear that food is the source of the pigments. Instead, the animals may synthesize the pigments from precursors such as the amino acid tyrosine.Hippopotamuses are by nature very aggressive animals, especially when young calves are present. Frequent targets of their aggression include crocodiles, which often inhabit the same river habitat as hippos. Nile crocodiles, lions, and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos. Hippos are very aggressive towards humans, whom they commonly attack whether in boats or on land with no apparent provocation. They are widely considered to be one of the most dangerous large animals in Africa.Hippos rarely kill each other, even in territorial challenges. Usually a territorial bull and a challenging bachelor will stop fighting when it is clear that one hippo is stronger. When hippos become overpopulated, or when a habitat starts to shrink, bulls will sometimes attempt to kill infants, but this behavior is not common under normal conditions.Some incidents of hippo cannibalism have been documented, but it is believed to be the behavior of distressed or sick hippos, and not healthy behavior. And they are fat

Books

Matilda by Roald Dahl, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Brighton Rock by Graham Greene,  The Good Companions by J.B. Priestley, Animal Farm by George Cowell, Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens,  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Pride and Prejudise by Jane Austin, Tess of th D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, Gone to Earth by Mary Webb, Kim by Rudyard Kipling, The Invisable Man by H. G. Wells, The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway, The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Tuned in series by Kats Veteram, Princess Diary by Judith Kranz, Dork Diaries by Rachel Renée Russell, The Secret Garden By Martha Hailey Dubose and Frances Hodgson Burnett, Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli, Loser by Jerry Spinelli, all Warrriors by Erin Hunter, Oh Yikes and Oh Yuck by Joy Masoff, Mischevios MEG by Astid Lindgren, No Talking by Andrew Clements, Vampire Kisses By?, Willow Pond by? Umbrella Summer, Polka Dot Girl by?,

Pandas

The giant panda, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning "black and white cat-foot") is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared feed.The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China. Due to farming, deforestation and other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species.A 2007 report shows 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000.Some reports also show that the number of pandas in the wild is on the rise. The giant panda has a black-and-white coat. Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.8 meters (4 to 6 ft) long and around 75 centimeters (2 ft 6 in) tall at the shoulder.Males can weigh up to 150 kilograms (330 lb). Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males) can weigh up to 125 kilograms (280 lb).The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage in its shade-dappled snowy and rocky surroundings.^[19] The giant panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. The giant panda has large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo.The giant panda's paw has a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" is actually a modified sesamoid bone, which helps the giant panda to hold bamboo while eatingThe giant panda's tail, measuring 10 to 15 centimeters (4 to 6 in), is the second longest in the bear family. The longest belongs to the Sloth Bear.The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. The recorded age of the oldest captive giant panda, a female named Ming Ming, is 34.   more on pandas later :-)

MESSAGE

all my posts wil be of awesomely cute animal pics and facts frrom wikipedia. Hola Morgan, Mckenzie, Kathrane, Ashley, Jessica, Hannah, and every other kid in my class! :-)

Dik-diks

Dik-diks live in Africa and are naamed for the sound they make when they run. Dik-diks are herbivvore, so their diet mainly consists of foilage, shoots, fruit,acacia trees, and berries.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dik-dik ) Dik-diks receive necsessary amounts of water from their food for hydration, making drinking unnecessary,which is kind of awesome! They are also nocturnal, so they avoid the heat of the day and any unnecessary water loss. They have four stomachs so, like cows, eat their puke.Dik-diks are hunted primarily by monitor lizards, smaller cats such as the caracal, as well as lions,hynas, wild dogs and humans. The dik-dik's other main predators are leopards, cheetahs, jackals baboons, eagles,hawks and pythons. They are able to escape them with their excellent eyesight and ability to reach speeds u p to26 miles an hour. The Dik-dik lives in grasslands of southern Africa. Dik-diks seek habitats with plentiful supply of edible plants such as shrubs, but prefer foilage that is not so tall as to obstruct their sight lines. They live in open plains amongst other grass-eaters such as giiraffes , zebras, and other antelopes.Dik-diks may live in places as varied as dense forest or open plain, but they must have good cover and not too much tall grass or plants.The Dik-dik also uses the small plants for food, and to hide from predators. They will move when the grass grows too tall for them to see over. They usually live in pairs over a 12 acre territory. The territories are often in low, shrubby bushes along dry, rocky streambeds where there are plenty of hiding places. Dik-diks can blend in with their surroundings, because of their dusty colored fur. Dik-diks have a series of runways through and around the borders of their territories to block off other Dik-diks.Female dik-diks are somewhat larger than males. The males have horns, which are about 3. in or 7.5 cm., slanted backwards and longitudinally grooved. The hair on the crown forms an upright tuft that sometimes partially conceals the short, ringed horns of the male. The head of the dik-dik often seems disproportionate to the animal's small body. The upper body is grey-brown, while the lower parts of the body, including the legs, belly, crest, and flanks, are tan. A black spot below the inside corner of each eye contains a preorbital gland that produces a dark sticky secretion.

To prevent overheating while minimizing need for water, the dik-dik has evolved a particular cooling mechanism. Their elongated noses have bellow-like muscles by which blood is pumped. Airflow and subsequent evaporation cools this blood before it is recirculated to the body. However, this panting is only implemented in extreme conditions—dik-diks can tolerate temperatures of up to 104° Fahrenheit. Their nose holes are shaped like b's.Dik-diks stand 30–40 cm (approx. 12–16 inches) at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm (approx. 20-28 inches) long, weigh 3–6 kg (approx. 7-16 pounds) and can live for up to 10 years. Dik-diks are named for the alarm calls of the females, which make a dik-dik, or zik-zik sound. In addition to the female's alarm call, both the male and female make a shrill whistling sound. These calls often alert a variety of other animals to any disturbance in the area. MOSST OF THIS IS FROM WIKIPEDIA.COM :-) :-) :-)!!!