Many Marvellous Facts about Mammals
Mammals are warm-blooded animals with hair on their bodies. They also give birth to live young. Well, most of them do, the duck billed platypus and 2 kinds of echidna are mammals but they lay eggs. Because the platypus and the echidna can do this they are called monotremes. What is an echidna? Glad you asked…..these are also known as Spiny Anteaters.
There are all sorts of mammals in the world including kangaroos, dogs, gorillas, and cats. Even the mighty king of the sea, the blue whale, is really a mammal. Let’s discover some more facts about some unusual mammals.
Tiger Tales
Have you heard someone say, “A Tiger cannot change his stripes”? It is certainly true. Tigers have striped fur, but even if someone would shave away their fur, they still have striped skin underneath. In the US there are about 7000 tigers being kept as pets. There were originally 8 different kinds of wild tigers, but 3 of them have become extinct in the last 60 years.
The Bali tiger became extinct in the 1940 and the Caspian tiger became extinct in the 1970s. The last Javan tiger died in the 1980s. The Siberian is the largest of all tigers in the world. These giant cats can be almost 10 feet long and weigh over 500 pounds. The saliva of a tiger works like an antiseptic and when they lick their cuts and scrapes it helps them heal faster. Each tiger has stripes that are as unique as our fingerprints. No two tigers ever have the same types of stripes.
Quick Bits to Feed Your Brain:
There is only one mammal that cannot jump. Can you think of which one it might be? Here is the name spelt backwards .... Tnahpele.
The smallest mammal is the Kitti’s hog- nosed bat, which weighs 1.4 grams.
Other than humans, one other mammal is able to recognize their reflection. Chalk one up for the chimpanzees.
The Elegant Elephant
Elephants have tough skin that is 1” thick in some places, but their skin is so sensitive that they can feel a fly when it lands on them. There are 2 types of elephants, African and Asian. The African elephants are bigger and have bigger ears and tusks. The call of an elephant can be heard from as far away as 5 miles.
Mischievous Meerkats
Meerkats are wonderful little mammals and many of you recognize them from the Disney movie, “The Lion King”. There is even a television show named for them, “Meerkat Manor”. These clever little creatures live in big groups in underground burrows and they memorize where thousands of these holes and tunnels are. This is necessary so that they can run for cover whenever needed. They even build special tunnels that are known as “boltholes”. These are tunnels with very wide entrances that will let lots of meerkats enter at once if something is chasing them.
Aren’t all mammals clever!
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
We have some great kid's animal dress-up costumes inside!
| Products available to buy at the Kids Window |
|
|
|
| 
