The Differences Between African and Asiatic Lions

by Ruben Becerril Gonzalez, age 10

When talking about lions, people are usually thinking of African lions. However, there are also lions roaming in Asia known as the Asiastic lions.

There are just a few differences between African and Asisatic lions. One difference is that Asiatic lions, which weigh between 300 and 500 pounds, are smaller than African lions. Another key difference between the two breeds is that Asiatic lions have less of a mane which allows people to easily spot their ears. Lastly, a unique difference between both types of lions is that Asiatic male lions do not usually sleep with the females of their pride, unless they are mating.

The Asiatic lions’ habitat once included vast areas in the Middle East, Turkey, Iran, and India. Now the only place they live in the wild is in the Gir forest located in Gujarat in North Western India. The reason for their decline can be attributed to poaching, hunting for sport and the deterioration of their environment. There are only around 600 Asiatic lions left in the wild. [Read More]

Leopards Are Large and Powerful "Supercats"

by Ian Kosharek , age 10

Leopards are a type of cat that live mainly in Africa, but they can also be found in China, Malaysia, and even Korea. There are more leopards in the wild than any other wild cat—that is why they are called supercats!

Leopards prefer to hunt at night, sitting in tree branches and waiting for their prey to come close. They are patient and let their prey get near in order to successfully attack. Leopards are pretty strong and can even lift prey as big as themselves.

Leopards enjoy eating animals of all sizes, from dung beetles, frogs, and birds, to monkeys and antelopes. Hyenas compete for similar foods, but leopards are selfish and do not like to lose their food to competitors. In order to keep their food safe they hide it in trees, which is known as caching. Some leopards are known as panthers. This name is only given to leopards that are born with black fur instead of their normal brown fur. Although leopards are the most common wild cat, they are quick and quiet so you may never know if one is following you! [Read More]

Gigantic Lace Lizards Find Home in Australian Cities

by Aloniab Gezae, age 8

Which reptile can climb on trees or, sometimes mistakenly, on people and also horses? Which reptile has a heavy tail but can swim and stay underwater for an hour? It is the gigantic lace lizard!

This gigantic lizard lives in the deserts of central Australia and is the largest lizard on the continent. The lace lizard tastes the air, using its tongue like a nose to find the smell of delicious small animals, using special cells on the top of its mouth. It eats small mammals, lizards, snakes, birds, rabbits, and eggs. However, the European rabbit is its favorite food.

The gigantic lace lizard weighs about 26 pounds and can grow up to be eight feet. This lizard's weapons include its serrated blade-like teeth, sharp hooked claws that help with climbing, and a heavy strong tail, strong enough to cause significant damage, especially if the lizard finds itself threatened. Its life span is roughly 30 years. [Read More]

Learn About the Vampire Squid

by Abigail Gezae, age 10

Vampire squids don’t actually share many resemblances to Dracula, and they aren’t after your blood. Instead, they are creatures that live deep in the ocean, around 2,000 to 3,000 ft.

Since the vampire squids live so deep in the water, scientists have to use drones to study them. They have very large eyes which are located on the side of their head, and are usually red or blue, depending on the light they reflect. Although they have the characteristics of other squids, they have 8 legs like an octopus and other cephalopods. One notable difference: vampire squids can not change color or use ink to protect themselves, which means they have to use different methods to stay safe.

Vampire squids can flip inside out, which is one way they ward off predators. The part of the ocean they live in is extremely dark, which makes it easier to go unnoticed by hungry predators as well. When the vampire squids flip inside out, they put their tentacles over their neck and head while cloaking themselves. The only visible thing on them is the spikes under their tentacles, which isn’t an appealing dinner. [Read More]

Invertebrates: The Boneless Group of Animals

by Aarosh Subedi age 10

Invertebrates are animals that do not have any backbones; they also have features unique to the specific species.

The species of invertebrates include jellyfish, lobsters, crabs, clams, sea stars, sea urchins, sponges, insects, spiders, worms, centipedes, and millipedes. Invertebrates and vertebrates share features like hemoglobin which makes your blood cells red, poison defense moves, strong eye vision, and gills. However, one feature that vertebrates don’t have but invertebrates do is called radial symmetry.

Other types of invertebrates are coral, which has cells that can sting you, and the sea anemone, which uses its tentacles to sting. The invertebrates that have armored shells and spines are called echinoderms. Other types of invertebrates are called arthropods and can be distinguished by a hard covering over their bodies called an exoskeleton. Bugs that are arthropods are spiders, insects, centipedes, millipedes, and the crustaceans like lobsters and crabs. More than 90 percent of animals in the world are invertebrates. [Read More]

The Iconic Australian Shingleback Skink

by Daniel Garduno Martinez, age 11

Think of an animal with armored scales, a blue tongue, and a mighty bite. This might sound like a crocodile or alligator that ate one too many ring-pops, but it is the shingleback skink; a small lizard that lives in the dry ecosystems of southern Australia.

The shingleback skink’s lifespan can be up to 40 years; its diet consists of berries, fruit, insects, and snails. Usually, skinks give birth to about 25 young at a time, however, the shingleback only gives birth to two or three baby lizards. These lizards, like humans, are nourished inside the womb developing larger and faster.

Although the shingleback skink is a toughly armored lizard, it prefers hiding in abandoned burrows, logs, and other objects. A backyard is a perfect home for the shingleback skink. Some nicknames for the shingleback skink are sleepy lizard, stumpy-tailed lizard, bog-eyed (bogie for short), and pine-cone lizard. [Read More]

The Grizzly Is North America’s Giant

by Moore Vang, age 14

The grizzly bear or the brown bear is one of the most dangerous bears in North America. It is gigantic, extremely powerful, and wildly unpredictable. Its fur is light brown with white-tipped hairs and it has a distinct shoulder hump. Interestingly, it can run as fast as a horse but only for short durations.

The scientific name of the grizzly bear is Ursus arctos and it can reach up to a weight of 1,000 pounds. Its subspecies, the Alaskan brown bear, also known as the Kodiak bear, can weigh twice as much as a grizzly bear.

The grizzly bear has long front claws that grow up to four inches. These bear are omnivorous, eating small mammals, fish, and insects—as well as different types of vegetation, including roots, leaves, fungi, and fruit. Shockingly, they can also catch massive prey, such as deer or moose. [Read More]

The Perilous Life of Baby Penguins

by Chelsea Zheng, age 10

Life for baby penguins can be challenging. These egg-shaped birds often have difficult childhoods as they face the cold tundras of Antarctica.

Female penguins typically lay one or two eggs. If two are laid, it is likely that one will not survive unless there is enough food to feed them both. By the time the second chick hatches, the first chick is already strong and the parents tend to the first baby more. This leaves the second chick unattended, which often results in death.

In the beginning stages of their life, they do not resemble their parents. Since baby penguins are still underdeveloped, they need extra warmth. Their feathers are not thick enough to keep them warm and so their parents must wrap around their chicks skin to skin to keep them warm. If not well taken care of, the chicks will die. [Read More]

Is That a Leaf or a Gecko?

by Aloniab Gezae, age 8

The leaf-tailed gecko is a fascinating reptile. It can only be found in the rainforests of Madagascar and can grow up to eight inches long. Since leaf-tailed geckos are extremely rare, their lifespan is still unknown to scientists.

The gecko’s body is small and flat which makes it easier for it to fit in tight spaces for protection. It also has a long and sticky tongue that helps it catch prey, such as insects, spiders, and other invertebrates. Since they do not have eyelids, these creatures also use their long tongue to help clean their eyes.

Each toe of the leaf tailed gecko has millions of tiny bristles that help it get a good grip on both big and small surfaces. Similarly, its strong and flat tail also has bristles, which these geckos often use as an extra foot to help with balance. [Read More]

Red Panda? More like Red Raccoon!

by Dalya Alquraishi age 10

The red panda is a cute and fuzzy animal that lives in China and the eastern Himalayas. It is commonly believed that these mammals are related to pandas, however red pandas are instead more closely related to raccoons.

Red pandas are known for their incredible climbing abilities; because of this, they developed a “fake” thumb. This thumb is an extended wrist that improves their climbing and handling of food. Red pandas are mainly recognized for their eye-catching fur color and cuteness. These pandas lick themselves clean and are similar in size to a house cat. Red pandas wrap their tails to keep warm when they are asleep. Besides the mating season, red pandas tend to live solitary lifestyles. Their lifespan in the wild can be up to 15 years and in captivity they can live up to 20 years. They eat small animals, insects, and bamboo.

Red pandas are an endangered species due to the deforestation of bamboo, and illegal hunting. Humans will poach them for their red fur which can be profitable. Red pandas are the main target for illegal pet trade due to the animal’s incredible cuteness. [Read More]

Learn About the World's Smallest Elephants

by Ashley Mercado, age 13

The Bornean elephant is the largest mammal on the huge island of Borneo. These elephants are also known as Borneo pygmy elephants because of their size.

Compared to other elephants, Bornean elephants have larger ears, straighter tusks, and are smaller in size. In fact, Borneo elephant tails sometimes touch the ground because they are so short. Bornean elephants are remnants of a domesticated herd from the 17th century. They were isolated about 300,000 years ago from other elephants in Asia and Sumatra; this caused them to evolve separately on the island of Borneo.

Bornean elephants are facing extinction due to deforestation and environmental destruction. Logging, agriculture, and palm oil plantations are to blame for this deforestation. Elephants are struggling to find enough food on the island of Borneo because only 40 percent of their habitat remains. Due to their size, these elephants require bigger areas to find food. The World Wildlife Fund has listed these elephants as endangered. Without addressing the deforestation problem, we are at risk of losing them forever. [Read More]

Can You Run Faster than an Ostrich?

by Joseph Zheng, age 8

The largest bird in the world cannot fly, but it can kill with just its feet. The ostrich can grow up to nearly 8 feet. Male ostriches make a big booming sound to warn other ostriches when danger is near. These large, flightless birds tend to live in dry, open areas as well as woodlands in the country of Africa.

Ostriches are really quick, their max running speed being 44 miles per hour. Ostriches have two toes; one toe is larger and very strong which they can use to kick animals for defense. This kick is strong enough that it can kill a lion!

A single ostrich egg is so big that it can fit 24 chicken eggs. They are family birds that like to share nests and they usually like to live in flocks. The nest of the ostrich is round and in a hole that they dig in the dirt. Ostriches eat grass, seeds, leaves, flowers, fruits and roots. [Read More]

Learn All About The Ouranosaurus

by Aarosh Subedi, age 10

The Ouranosaurus is a magnificent dinosaur that lived in parts of Western Africa. It is known for its back sail which resembles a boat sail.

The name Ouranosaurus is used to define a brave lizard in the Arabic language. This dinosaur mesaured 23 feet long and it weighed up to 4,900 to 8,800 pounds.

During the early Cretaceous period, which was 260 million years ago, this dinosaur lived in what is now Niger, Africa. The Ouranosaurus was an average type of dinosaur, it was a medium-sized Cretaceous ornithopod. [Read More]

The Scoop Behind Slow Moving Triceratops

by Joseph Zheng, age 8

What has three horns and looks like a rhinoceros? A triceratops!

Triceratops lived about 65 to 70 million years ago in North America, and were the last dinosaurs on Earth. Scientists believe that these dinosaurs lived in groups to survive; triceratops formed a circle around the young to protect them.

Did you know that a triceratops was more than six feet long? Triceratops weighed up to five tons and could reach up to 30 feet. They had a short, thick tail, and used their horns to protect themselves from predators like the T.Rex or other carnivores. They also used their horns to knock down trees in order to eat the leaves. [Read More]

Cómo las abejas hacen crecer las plantas

por Maya Maclin, 10 años

Polinizadores son muy importantes en nuestra Tierra. Te sorprendería lo mucho que ayudan las abejas y los polinizadores. ¿Sabías que necesitamos tanto a los polinizadores que las flores dependen en un 80 por ciento de la polinización?

¿Te preguntas de dónde vienen las flores? Mientras que el agua y los nutrientes del suelo los ayudan a crecer, ¡los polinizadores también ayudan! Es posible que no notes estos pequeños insectos, pero vienen y juegan un papel importante en la polinización. Si no hubiera polinizadores, la raza humana no estaría viva y la Tierra no tendría tantas flores hermosas como las que ves hoy.

¡Los polinizadores no solo polinizan las flores! También polinizan plantas y vegetales. Estas plantas incluyen arándanos, fresas, frambuesas y más. ¿Te gusta el té con miel? Bueno, ¡los polinizadores como las abejas son responsables de la producción de miel! [Read More]

What Brought About the Extinction of the Megalodons?

by Jason Medina Ruiz, age 11

Megalodons, an extinct species of mackerel shark, were the ocean’s biggest predator for millions of years. The appearance of great white sharks brought competition to the megalodons. It is a popular theory that great whites were the reason for the megalodon's extinction.

To know what megalodons ate, researchers looked for zinc in the sharks’ teeth. There are two types of zinc, or isotopes, zinc-66 and zinc-64. The isotopes on the teeth are used to understand what kind of food these creatures ate. Animals that have a diet of plants have more zinc-66 than carnivores, who have more zinc-64. Both these shark species evolved to have higher levels of zinc-64. The great white shark and the megalodon had the same diet, consisting of marine mammals, such as seals and whales.

The megalodon was the largest carnivore to ever exist and it grew to be 46 feet long. The megalodon probably went extinct from the changing ocean and a large drop in marine mammal population. The reason why and when they went extinct has not been fully answered. The species is believed to have gone extinct either about 2.6 million years ago or 3.5 million years ago, at the time great white sharks appeared. Competition with the great whites was suddenly fatal, but possibly not the only reason why megalodons disappeared. Continued research is being done to better understand the history of the megalodon and its eventual extinction. [Read More]

Rodent, not Rat

By Dilma Attidekou age 8

About more than half of the mammals on the earth are rodents. Rodents are small mammals that live all over the world, and there are many different kinds of them. All rodents have the same kind of jaw. Their teeth are used for grinding and gnawing food. If a rodent does not gnaw or grind its teeth, they will grow until the rodent isn’t able to eat anymore.

One small mouse-like rodent is a shrew. Shrews are very sensitive and shy. Their hearts beat about 1,200 times per minute—for comparison a human heart only beats around 80 times per minute. They are so sensitive that they can die of the shock by hard touch or loudness. Another type of rodent is the hedgehog. Hedgehogs rest during the day, and find food at night, eating food such as insects and frogs.

A different kind of rodent is a tenrec. Tenrecs are typically big-headed rodents, with pointy faces. They are found in The Comoros Islands and Madagascar. They have big wide mouths. Finally, there are moles. A mole mostly spends life in the darkness. They make tunnels and burrows to live in. They find food in their homes, such as earthworms and other invertebrates. [Read More]

Why You Should Stay Away From Nile Crocodiles

by Chelsea Zheng, age 10

Have you ever heard of the Nile crocodile? It is a big and dangerous creature, and hundreds of people are killed by it annually.

The Nile crocodile is an apex predator, which is defined as the top predator of any given region or ecosystem. These predators generally do not fear other predators; they are also particular about their prey, which primarily consists of birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles alike. When hunting for prey, the Nile crocodile always awaits the perfect opportunity to strike, which can take hours, days, and sometimes weeks at a time.

The Nile crocodile waits in freshwater bodies, such as lakes and rivers, for potential prey. In the water, the reptilian creature remains still, waiting for their target to come near. Luckily, they are able to successfully hold their breath for up to two hours. [Read More]

From Water to Land Back to Water Again: the Evolution of the Qikitania

by Giovanni Tecuatl Lopez, age 17

There are many speculations regarding evolution and how it took place. Many think of evolution as a linear timeline; but this is not always the case and such can be seen in creatures like the Qikitania and Tiktaalik.

The Qikitania Waeki was a fish resembling a giant eel. This eel-like fish roamed Earth around 375 million years ago. Its evolution allowed it to develop elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles in order to walk through mud flats. After analyzing their anatomy, scientists discovered that Qikitania Waeki did not continue walking on land. Instead, they began making their way back to the water.

Dr. Neil Shubin, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago, was one of the first to uncover fossils from the Tiktaalik, a related species known to be one of the first tetrapods or a four footed animal. As time went on, researchers found up to ten specimens of the Tiktaalik with a variety of ages. These specimens allowed scientists to determine the creature’s features along with the fact that they could grow up to nine feet long. The Tiktaalikk hunted fish using their long teeth shaped as fangs and they swallowed their prey whole. [Read More]

This Madagascar Chameleon May Be the World's Smallest

by Dani Garduno, age 10

There has been a modern-day discovery of a tiny chameleon species. This chameleon is named Brookesia nana. This interesting reptile species was discovered in 2012. Surprisingly, this nano-chameleon species is about the size of a human fingertip!

It was discovered by scientists in northern Madagascar. Unfortunately, this cute creature is an endangered species. The chameleon species is the size of sunflower seed and its small vertebrae have scientists questioning the limits of their body size. [read more]

Aprenda sobre los elefantes más pequeños del mundo

Por Ashley Mercado, 13 años

El elefante de Borneo es el mamífero más grande de la enorme isla de Borneo. Estos elefantes también son conocidos como elefantes pigmeos de Borneo debido a su tamaño.

En comparación con otros elefantes, los elefantes de Borneo tienen orejas más grandes, colmillos más rectos y son de menor tamaño. De hecho, las colas de los elefantes de Borneo a veces tocan el suelo porque son muy cortas. Los elefantes de Borneo son restos de una manada domesticada del siglo XVII. Fueron aislados hace unos 300.000 años de otros elefantes en Asia y Sumatra; esto hizo que evolucionaran por separado en la isla de Borneo.

Los elefantes de Borneo se enfrentan a la extinción debido a la de forestación y la destrucción del medio ambiente. La tala, la agricultura y las plantaciones de aceite de palma son las culpables de esta de forestación. Los elefantes luchan por encontrar suficiente comida en la isla de Borneo porque solo queda el 40 por ciento de su hábitat. Debido a su tamaño, estos elefantes requieren áreas más grandes para encontrar comida. El Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza ha catalogado a estos elefantes como en peligro de extinción. Si no abordamos el problema de la de forestación, corremos el riesgo de perderlos para siempre. [Read More]

The Ocean's Largest Omnivore

by Jonah Smith, age 13

Just off the Australian coast, in the Indian Ocean, tropical fish biologist Mark Meekan is looking for an animal that could be the world’s largest living omnivore. Meekan is from the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Perth, Australia, and he specializes in the study of whale sharks. After he spots one, he dives into the water with a hand spear and takes small samples of the shark's skin, which he uses to study characteristics like their diet. Although it sounds like these scientists are stabbing sharks with spears, they don’t hurt the sharks at all. In fact, they seem to like the attention.

Whale sharks (Rhincodon Typus) are the largest living fish species known to man, averaging about 12 meters in length. Not much is known about them because they reside deep in the ocean, but Meekan and scientists in his field are learning more.

Studying the skin tissues can reveal a lot about the animals’ biology and their behavior. Analyzing these samples, scientists found something unexpected: whale sharks are able to eat and digest algae. Whale sharks were long thought to be strict carnivores, but this new research suggests that they can also eat and digest plants. If these studies are true, this would make whale sharks the world’s largest living omnivores, putting the Kodiak brown bear in second place. [Read More]

World’s Smallest Sea Turtles Found Alive in Gulf of Mexico

by Jason Medina Ruiz, age 11

The world's smallest sea turtle, known as Kemp's ridley, lives in the Gulf of Mexico. In the past 75 years, the population has diminished to the point that they are now the most endangered sea turtle in the world. Recently, the sea turtle population has increased off the coast of Louisiana.

For the first time in 75 years, hatchlings were spotted in the Chandeleur Islands. When the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority found the turtles, they found 53 sea turtle crawls and spotted two live hatchlings headed towards the ocean. Scientists found this discovery exciting. The hatchlings usually hatch two months after the turtles lay their eggs. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle has been endangered in the United States since 1970 and today it finds itself on the critically endangered list, meaning there is a high risk that they will not survive in the wild.

Another sea turtle known as Loggerhead is also an endangered species and the sea turtle was first found nesting on Louisiana's Grand Isle in 2015. Scientists have found these loggerhead sea turtles nesting the islands that the Kemp's ridley sea turtles are also nesting on. Most of all the nesting of these endangered sea turtles happened in the Gulf of Mexico. [Read More]

How a Rare Asian Bird Found a Home in Nevada

by Camila Cruz, age 14

The Himalayan range in Asia is home to the largest and highest peaked mountains, including Mount Everest, where a rare bird species called the snowcock is found. Additionally, snowcock birds can be found in the Ruby Mountain range in the state of Nevada. Now, how did this rare bird species arrive from Asia to the United States?

It is quite interesting how these birds established a home for themselves on the mountains of Nevada. The Himalayan birds were considered to be good game for humans to hunt. As a result, the Nevada Fish and Game Commission brought a couple of birds from Pakistan and later took them to a farm in Nevada, where they thrived because the two places have similar climates. Over the course of 15 years, the birds were released into the wild, where they reproduced, found a stable home, and continued to grow their species.

The snowcock is a gray bird that weighs four to seven pounds and is about 22 to 30 inches in length. This species of birds create their nests on the ground close to rocks and grass in order to be protected from windy weather. Normally, they lay around four to six eggs. Shortly after hatching, hatchlings leave the nest to find their own food, looking for berries, grass, shoots, seeds and water. [Read More]

How Dinosaur Eggs Reveal Differences in Species

by Camila Cruz, age 15

Modern birds have many similarities to dinosaurs, from their feathers and feet to hollow bones and laying eggs. Recently, paleontologists found another feature dinosaurs shared that is their unique way of hatching, called tucking.

Paleontologists also recently discovered a 66-million-year-old fossil egg that shows how similar a theropod dinosaur embryo and a modern bird embryo would appear before hatching, in a curled position. The main difference between both eggs is that the dinosaurs did not have wings, they had little arms and claws.

Oviraptorosaurs walked the Earth about 126 million years ago and had many similarities to modern birds. The Oviraptorosaurs had hollow bones, three-toed limbs, beaks and feathers on their arms, but they could not fly. They used their feathers to warm up their eggs. [Read More]

Fun Facts About Beluga Whales

by Max Moreno, age 10

The beluga whale is one of the most intelligent whales. This whale is mostly known for its ability to smile and make faces. It can also perform tricks like making a bubble ring with its mouth, propelling backwards, and swimming up to 13 miles per hour.

The beluga whale can be found in the cold, shallow waters of the arctic seas. It can live up to 40 years and feeds on fish, crabs and other types of seafood. The beluga whale uses echolocation to find food underwater. Echolocation is a technique where animals make sounds that travels through the environment and bounce off objects to allow for detection of nearby surroundings. Belugas make clicking sounds under water as their form of echolocation.

When a beluga whale is born it is brown, but when it becomes an adult it turns white. This whale breathes air from a blowhole located on its head and can hold its breath for 15 minutes. The whale can grow up to around nine feet and can weigh about 1.5 tons. [Read More]

Bottlenose Dolphins; Friends of the Sea

by Joseph Zheng, age 8

Dolphins roam through warm ocean waters across the world. One species in particular is unique: the bottlenose dolphin.

Bottlenose dolphins are mammals and are a part of more than 30 different species of dolphins worldwide. The bottlenose communicates with other dolphins using clicks, squeals, and whistles. This is special because not all animals communicate like this. Bottlenose dolphins have a big seafood diet, such as fish, salmon, squid, and shrimp. They also hunt with other dolphins.

Bottlenoses are blue-gray and paler than Indian Ocean dolphins, which are significantly darker than bottlenoses. They weigh between 330.7 to 606.3 pounds and are between 1.9 to 3.9 meters long. Bottlenose dolphins live for many years, some as long as 30 years old! They only have one calf per mating season. [Read More]

The Secret Life of Pollinators

by Dilma Attidekou, age 8

A plant has a lot of needs in order for it to be healthy. These needs include water, sun, and soil. Insects like the yucca moths, bumblebees, and honeybees take the pollen and nectar from plants.

In order for insects to get nectar and pollen, they need to feed on the nectar inside a plant. The pollination, yucca plants, and pollen grains are some seeds from different plants that insects take. Female yucca moth impersonators take the yucca pollen from the yucca plant and bring it to their home. However, not all moths do this.

The inside of a flower can be pretty fascinating as it has a stigma, anthers, nectar, and pollen. That's how insects are able to feed on the nectar and pollen. When a bumblebee gets nectar, the flower closes and the bee has to push open the flower. Afterwards, the bee is able to get the nectar as the pollen comes up. [Read More]