Rhino teeth and horns

We just learned a little about Otter Noses and Ears.

Even though rhinos have huge horns and big feet, it's interesting to know that they don't have any front teeth!

(from: wikipedia - rhinocerous)

Rhinos only eat plants, and they use their large back teeth to grind up the plants they eat.

Their horns aren't made up of bone like you might think, they're made of keratin,
the same type of thing our hair and fingernails are made of.
So their horn is like one huge really tough fingernail!

A group of rhinos is called a crash which makes sense!
They can also be called a herd.

Otter noses and ears

We just learned a little about Snails.

River otters love to swim when they're hunting for food or just playing.
They can stay underwater for 4 minutes!

When they're underwater, they have special skin flaps in their ears and noses
that shut tight to keep the water out.

That would be pretty nice to keep water out of your nose, wouldn't it?

(from: wikipedia - north american river otter)

Beaver Tails

We just learned about the Cheetah.

Beavers live in houses called dams that they build in the rivers out of mud and sticks.
They get the wood from chewing on it with their teeth,
which keep growing and growing for their whole life so they don't get worn out from all the wood chewing.

When a beaver is in danger they take their big flat tail and whack it loudly on the water as a warning to other beavers.

(from: wikipedia - north american beaver)

Cheetah

We just learned about the Wild Turkey Snood.

The cheetah is the fastest animal on land, it can run 75 miles per hour.
That's as fast as a car on the highway!

(from: wikipedia - cheetah)

The black lines on a cheetah's face that look like tears are actually used to help keep the sun out of the cheetah's eyes for hunting.

Polar bear skin

We just learned about Corgis.

Polar bears are the largest meat eating animal living on land.

Their fur is white of course, but their skin is black underneath, just like their nose!

(from: wikipedia - polar bear)

Corgis

We just learned a little about .

A corgi is a type of dog, and there are two types of corgis:

Cardigan Welsh Corgi (bigger, huskier, has a tail)

(From: Wikipedia - cardigan welsh corgi)

Pembroke Welsh Corgi (smaller, no tail)

(From: Wikipedia - pembroke welsh corgi)

The pembroke corgi is the more popular dog, most likely because the Queen of England has had several pet corgis through the years.

Old legends say that fairies used to ride corgis like horses, and that's why they have that white mark around their necks from where the saddle was.


(From: The Fairy Tale of Two Corgis)


(From: Custom Fairy Steed Corgi Dog Costume)

Deer

We just learned a little about Bald Eagles.

A male deer is called a buck, a female deer is a doe, and a baby deer is a fawn.



(From: Wikipedia - deer)

Male deer grow new antlers every year, and at the end of the season they fall off.

Humpback Whale - Baleen Plates

We just learned about the Lion's Mane

Let's learn about Humpback Whales!

Humpback whales don't have regular teeth like humans or other animals, they have something called baleen plates.

Baleen plates are kind of like the bristles on a brush. They grow down from the top of the whale's mouth, and are very close together.

(From: Wikipedia - baleen)

When a whale wants to eat, it gets a huge mouthful of water that is filled with things like krill, which look like very small bugs that live in the water.

(From: Wikipedia - humpback whale)

Then the whale closes it's mouth and pushes the water out through it's baleen plates.
The krill are too big to get pushed out, so the whale gets to eat them. Yum!


(From: Wikipedia - krill)

Lion's Mane

A lion's mane (only found on male lions) is used to make the lion look bigger and stronger to scare away other animals.

(From: Wikipedia - Lion)

You can tell how healthy a lion is by looking at it's mane. The thicker, fuller and darker the mane is, the healthier the lion.

Giraffe Horns

We just learned a little about what is Inside Bees

Let's learn about giraffes! The horns on a giraffe's head are called "ossicones".

A female giraffe's ossicones have fuzzy black hair, and a male's are usually bald.


(From: Wikipedia - Giraffe)

The males will use their ossicones when fighting (or "necking") with other giraffes.


(From: Wikipedia - Giraffe)