Naturalist Nancy Gibson, Host David Heil, and Field Reporter Peggy Knapp meet some fascinating anim als in season 11.


Primate parallels

What sets us apart from other primates? What does it mean to be human? Scientists who observe chimpanzees note similarities between the two species, including tool-making skills, similar sensory abilities, cooperative hunting, and the ability to learn and use words. Some scientists claim that chimpanzees actually select and consume certain medicinal herbs to feel better. Design a study of chimpanzees that a re searcher could do in the field to verify or negate that claim.


Smart students

Trainers teach dolphins by reinforcing desired behaviors with food, r ubdowns, verbal praise, splashes of water, and toys. This technique is called operant conditioning. List other things you think would positively reinforce behaviors in dolphins. To let the dolphins know when to perform a specific behavior, trainers cue th e animal with a visual, tactile, or auditory signal. Dolphins learn to discriminate between different signals. Have your teachers conditioned you to behave a certain way in school? Does your teacher signal you in some way before you complete a behavior? < p>

Tail droppers

Many lizards can shed their tails by contracting the tail muscles to create a break. When the break occurs, the surrounding muscles separate between the segmented muscle blocks. The dis carded tail keeps wiggling for a time, distracting the predator while the lizard escapes. Some lizards can then regenerate at least part of a new tail. Draw a cartoon lizard creatively using this adaptation. List the advantages of this adaptation.


Nature's helicopters

Hummingbirds move upward, downward, and sideways in a virtuoso performance of aerial acrobatics. These tiny birds can even fly backwa rd. By rotating their wings forward and back in a figure eight, they can hover in midair, feeding on nectar and insects. The whole wing rotates (like a human wrist does) and can beat 22 to 79 times per second. Try to flap your arms in a figure eight. How long can you continue flapping before you get tired? Time yourself. Look up the wing speeds of other birds. What factors should you take into consideration when comparing wing speeds?


Arctic adaptations

The polar bears coat serves a variety of purposes. It provides excellent camouflage for the bear in its Arctic habitat. Although the glossy fur looks white, it actually is made of transparent, hollow guard hairs. These act as solar collectors, conducting ultraviolet radiation to the black skin beneath. Woolly underhair and two to four inches of fat beneath the skin supply additional insulation. Along with the hollow guard hairs, the bears fat increa ses its buoyancy, allowing it to swim more easily through the bitterly cold Arctic waters. Scientists first discovered the furs unusual characteristics when they were having difficulty taking aerial photos of the polar bears because the animals blended i n so well with their surroundings. Suggest why infrared photography was also difficult. How do you think scientists finally solved this problem?


Aquatic preda tors

Otters usually eat fish. As aquatic predators at the top of the food chain, however, they also eat other things, depending on the time of year and the place. What do you think the American river otter eats? Fish dominates its diet but it als o consumes crayfish, amphibians (frogs and salamanders), and birds (ducks, grebes, and rails). Create an otter menu. Include creative descriptions of appetizers, main course, and dessertmuskrat mud pie, for example.


Disposable headgear

Reindeer are a part of the caribou family therefore both the males and females grow antlers. These antlers, which have a main shaft and one or more branches, do not stay permanently attached to the skull. During the reindeers seasonal growth, the furry skin on the antlers (called velvet) protects the growing antler while carrying blood vessels and nerves throughout it. The velvet eventually dries and falls off when the antler growth is completed. Antlers fall off after the mating season. What other animals grow antlers? What animals grow horns? Compare and contrast horns and antlers.


Miscast villain

Many writers have portrayed the wolf as a villain, but the wolf has not always had such an evil reputation. In Cheyenne society, the wolf held a place of honorit was considered a skillful hunter with courag e and endurance. Native American tales commonly refer to the wolf as a teacher to whom humans should pay close attention. List stories that depict wolves as cunning, relentless, or savage. What other animals have storytellers portrayed in a negative way? Rewrite a common fable or fairy tale to portray wolves in a heroic way. Create a mask of the wolf portrayed in your fable.


Lay eggs in standing water

Mosquito breeding sites can be found just about any place where water stands for a week or more after a rain. Females search for a moist vegetated depression that contains standing water in which they lay their eggs. Mosquitoes do not develop in moving water or in most lakes. Most common mosquitoes spend their whole lives within 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) of where they hatched but some can fly 32 kilometers (20 miles), depending on weather conditions. What areas around you would be attractive to mosquitoes for laying eggs? Obtain topographic maps of your area. Determine if the land near you is conducive to mosquito production and locate potential mosquito breeding sites on the maps. Find out what your city or town does to control the mosquito population.

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