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Let s Learn About Mammals Table of Contents Unit Page 1 What is a Mammal 4 2 Order Mammalia 9 3 Mammal Families 14 4 What Do Mammals Eat 19 5 Nocturnal Mammals 24 6 Defense 27 7 Mammals in Holes 32 8 Mammals that Fly 37 9 Primates 42 10 Crazy Kangaroos 47 11 Kings of the Jungle 50 12 Mammals of the Forest 55 13 Mammals on the Plaines 60 14 Mammals of the Desert 65 15 High Altitude Mammals 70 16 Polar Bears and Reindeer 73 17 Mammals in Rivers and Lakes 78 18 Sea Mammals 83 19 Those Lovable Seals 88 FINAL PROJECTS 93 3
UNIT ONE What is a Mammal? A mammal is a word used to describe a very big group of animals that live on planet Earth. Mammals have things in common, for example, they are all warm blooded animals, they all feed their babies milk, they all have a jaw that moves up and down, and they all have a backbone. Warm blooded means that the animal s body temperature is almost always the same. For example, you are a mammal and your body temperature should be about 98.6 degrees F. If your body temperature goes up, then you have a fever. A fever can be a sign of illness because it is very important for warm blooded animals to keep their body temperature the same. A calf drinks milk from the cow s udders. Feeding their babies with milk is another thing mammals have in common. This means that the babies do not have 4
to go look for food because their mother provides it for them. The milk is very nutritious and provides the babies everything they need to grow big and strong. Most mammals will have babies that are born fully formed, but some will lay eggs (like the duck-billed platypus). A jaw that moves up and down is another thing that mammals have in common and the lower jaw is attached right to the skull. They also have a backbone, or spine, that supports their body and houses nerves that connect to the brain. 5
Activity 1.1 Matching Vocabulary Vocabulary is another word for important words to remember! You probably already know all the important words below because you just read about them, but play along all the same. Directions: Match the vocabulary word on the left with the proper definition on the right. Put the correct letter on the blank. Vocabulary Words Definitions 1. Mammal A. Milk come out of these 2. Udders B. A mammal that lays eggs 3. Platypus C. Means to have a constant body temperature 4. Warm blooded D. Group of animals that have things in common 6
Activity 1.2 Alphabetical Order Alphabetical order means to look at a list of words and then organize the list of words into ABC order. Words that start with A go first, then B words, then C words and you keep going through the alphabet. Directions: Look at the first letter of each vocabulary word, then list the words in ABC order. Platypus Warm blooded Mammal Udders 1. 2. 3. 4. 7
Activity 1.3 Name the mammals Name the mammals you see on the page. 8
UNIT TWO Order Mammalia In order to understand all the different forms of life on the planet, scientists have to group animals that have things in common together. Since mammals have things in common, like we talked about in the last unit, they are all grouped together into a category, or class, called mammalia. The class mammalia contains ALL the mammals in the world, but they can be sorted into smaller groups called orders. For example, bears are in the class mammalia and the order carnivora. Mammals that look alike tend to be in the same order, so all bears are in the order carnivora. This Himalayan black bear (above) and the polar bear (next page) are more alike than they are different. Both are in the order carnivora. 9
There are 21 orders of mammals in all. Sorting out the animals into these smaller groups is very complicated, but it is an important part of learning about them. Mammals live all over the Earth. Camels live in the desert, buffalo live on the plains, giraffes live in Africa, polar bears live near the North Pole, and dolphins, whales, and other sea mammals live in the oceans. Some mammals, like mice, live everywhere! And we all know that dogs and cats live in homes with humans. Did you know that humans are mammals too? Yes, that is true. We have many things in common with other mammals. Our class is mammalia but our order is primate. 10
Activity 2.1 Fill in the Blank Find the correct word from the text above to complete the sentences. Use the words from the word bank. The class mammalia contains the mammals in the world, but they can be sorted into smaller groups called. Classifying is important so that scientist can learn new things about them. Humans are in the class and the order. Mammals that are in the same order are more than they are. alike mammalia primate orders all animals different 11
Activity 2.2 True or False? Put a T for true or a F for false in the blank next to the question. 1. Mammalia is an order of animal classification. 2. Animals in the same order are more alike than they are different. 3. No mammals live near the North Pole. 4. No mammals live in the water. 5. A dolphin is a sea mammal 6. Some mammals live everywhere. 7. There are 32 orders of mammals in all. 8. Sorting out the animals into these smaller groups is very complicated, but it is an important part of learning about them. A mountain goat rests in the rocks 12
Activity 2.3 A Nice Walk A noun is a person place or thing. Write two nouns that are mammals. An adjective is a word that describes things, like pretty or stinky. Write three adjectives. Any adjectives will do. An adverb is a word that ends in ly, like lovely or happily. Write two adverbs. Any adverbs will do. Now fill in the blanks in the story using the words you just wrote. Once upon a time a went walking in the (adjective) (noun) woods to find berries to eat. Pretty soon he came upon a who had a big basket of berries. He asked if (noun) (adverb) they could share, but was told in a/an voice, No! (adjective) Feeling, he left to go find his own berries! (adjective) (adverb) 13
UNIT THREE Mammal Families All baby mammals need nourishment and protection from their mothers until they are old enough to find their own food and protect themselves from danger. So, this means that at some point in their lives, all mammals live in a small group with others like them. Not all mammals stay that way though. There are two main ways in which mammals live; in family groups and as solitary animals. An example of a family group would be a herd of elephants or a pack of wolves. These groups do everything together. They eat together, raise young together, hunt together, and play together. There are a few very good things about having your family around all the time. One is that the more family members there are looking for food, the better the 14
chances of finding it. The other is protection. Can you imagine trying to take on 30 elephants? That would be hard for another animal, like a lion, to do. But one elephant alone would not be so well protected. The other type of family group is a solitary animal, like the male polar bear. He prefers to live alone and does not take part in raising young bear cubs. There are advantages of living alone too. The animals that live alone don t have to find as much food because the more animals in your family group; the more food that will be required. Even animals that normally live in groups have to live alone. Male lions will be kicked out of their family group once they are grown. They then have to go out and make their own family group or steal it away from another lion. Sometimes a wolf will be treated badly or run out of the group. This is not a good situation because it is very hard for a lone wolf to hunt food successfully. It takes a lot of wolves working together in a pack to get just one meal. 15
Activity 3.1 Which One? Which of these animals live in family groups? Circle the correct ones. 16
Activity 3.2 Multiple Choice Read the sentence and circle the best answer. 1. A animal only has to find food for itself. a. Family b. Solitary c. Mature 2. Sometimes a will be treated badly or run out of the group. a. Wolf b. Polar bear c. Black bear 3. Male will be kicked out of their family group once they are grown. a. Lions b. Horses c. Zebra 4. have a better chance of finding food by working together. a. Family groups b. Solitary animals c. Mature animals 17
Activity 3.3 Writing Write a few sentences about this picture of a wolf. What might be happening here?! 18
UNIT FOUR What Do Mammals Eat? Unlike humans, mammals cannot go to the store and pick what they feel like eating everyday. They have to eat what their habitat has to offer and what their stomachs can digest. For example, a cow eats a lot of grass and hay but a dog does not. Why? Because the cow has a special digestive system (stomach and intestines) that can get nutrition from grass. If a dog ate grass and nothing else, he would eventually die because his digestive system is made to eat meat. Animals can only get what their habitat provides. A habitat is the area in which an animal lives and not all habitats have the same food available. 19
For instance, a mammal that lives in the jungle will eat a lot of insects, but a mammal that lives in the ocean will eat a lot of fish. Some mammals can eat both plants and meat, like the bear. They like to eat a lot of fish and a lot of sweet things like berries (and honey!) too. Animals are grouped based on what they eat. An animal that eats only plants is called an herbivore. An animal that eats only meat is called a carnivore, and an animal that eats both is called an omnivore. Some animals that eat only plants are horses, cows, rabbits, deer, and bison. Some animals that only eat meat are wolves, coyotes, foxes, tigers, lions, polar bears, cheetahs, and leopards. Some animals that eat both plants and meat are bears (other than the polar bear), skunks, pigs, and raccoons. 20
Activity 4.1 Label the Eaters Tell whether each animal is an omnivore, herbivore, or carnivore 21
Activity 4.2 Animal Antics! Do the math problems. Match up the answers with the letters and place the correct letter on the blanks below. 5 u 6 n 9 e 3 s 4 t 18 o 15 h 20 w 7 l 16 v Put the decoded letters in the boxes above the problems! 40-20 = 14 7 = 9+9= 3 x 5 = 3 x 3 = 8 + 8 = 12 9 = 14 8 = 18 13 = 20 16 = 22
Activity 4.3 Mammal Poem Directions: Write a simple poem about mammals. Make each line start with the letters in the word mammal. For example if I wrote a simple poem about Dogs using this technique then I would write: Dogs are great fun. Only dogs can run. Guess who sleeps in the sun? So Dogs are great fun! Now you try using mammal for your word. M A M M A L 23
UNIT FIVE Nocturnal Mammals If you have ever visited the zoo in the middle of the day you will probably remember that you didn t get to see any wolves or lions. Why is that? Some animals like to be active only in the dark, these animals are called nocturnal. They spend their days sleeping and building up strength so they can hunt during the night when their prey, or the animals they hunt, are sleeping or off guard. Tigers, like all cats, have special night-time eyes to help them hunt in the dark. Many nocturnal mammals can see very well in the dark. They will have special eyes that are bigger, with pupils that open wider, than daytime animals. A pupil is the 24
black part of an eye and it acts like a camera lens by allowing in light. When it opens wider that means that more light is being let in. Most nocturnal eyes don t see in color either. It is very hard to see colors in the dark but it is much easier to see different shades of black and white. Being able to see better than the animals they hunt gives them a little bit of an advantage. It is not very easy to be a carnivore and they don t get something to eat everyday. 25
Activity 5.1 Mammal Games! Click the link on the Mammal Resource Page to find some games about mammals. When you are done come back to this page and write a few sentences about some things you ve learned about mammals from the games. 26
UNIT SIX Defense Every mammal on the planet needs to defend itself at one time or another and every animal has been given a way to do that. Some animals have very sharp teeth, sharp claws, or long legs to run away fast. Some have long pointed horns and some can climb the highest mountain on their tip toes so no one can follow them. Some are given incredible strength and some are given stripes to blend in with their surroundings. Some roll up into a ball to hide and some pretend they are already dead! Can you guess the mammals I am talking about? These ways of escaping or fighting back are all called defenses. Wolves and other canines (dog-like mammals), wolverines, and cats, (both big and small) have all been given sharp teeth and sharp claws to protect themselves. Horses, deer, elk, antelope, and gazelle have all been given fast legs to take them far away from danger. 27
Mountain goats and big horn sheep can climb high up onto rocky cliffs where no hunter can follow. Gorillas have super strength and sharp teeth to protect themselves and zebra have stripes that make them hard to see in the distance. The armadillo can roll itself up into a ball to hide under a hard shell and the possum pretends that it is dead to make the danger walk away in confusion. Humans have smart brains to help protect them from danger. 28
Activity 6.1 Matching Vocabulary Directions: Match the vocabulary word on the left with the proper definition on the right. Put the correct letter on the blank. Vocabulary Words Definitions 1. Defenses A. Zebra have these 2. Horns B. Gorillas use this 3. Strength C. How animals stay out of danger 4. Stripes D. These can ward off an attack 29
Activity 6.2 Alphabetical Order Alphabetical order means to look at a list of words and then organize the list of words into ABC order. Directions: Look at the first letter of each vocabulary word, then list the words in ABC order. Defenses Stripes Strength Horns 1. 2. 3. 4. 30
Activity 6.3 Drawing Learn to draw a mammal by using the step by step website on the Mammal Resource Page. Practice a little bit and then draw it in the space below. Remember to pick a mammal as your animal from the website! 31
UNIT SEVEN Mammals in Holes! I bet you can think of a few mammals that live in holes gophers and prairie dogs live in holes, rabbits make giant tunnel systems below the ground so they can live in family groups. Why do they do this? Well, for one thing it is their way to defend themselves. If a fox is out hunting prairie dogs and the prairie dog sees the fox coming, he will immediately run for his hole to hide in safety. Sometimes the fox will try and dig into the hole, but burrowing animals, those that live underground, know better and dig deep tunnels and always have another way out. 32
While most burrowing animals will come out for food and sunshine, the mole likes to stay put underground. The mole mainly eats earthworms, so being in the dirt all the time is like living at the grocery store! A mole peeking out of his hole A mole has very small eyes that may be completely covered. They have a poison in their saliva, or spit, which makes the worm unable to move. The mole will then take the worms down into his tunnel where there is a special storeroom for his food. Hmmm...sounds a little bit like a pantry to me! 33
Activity 7.1 Fill in the Blank Find the correct word from the text above to complete the sentences. Use the words from the word bank. make their homes underground. Some examples of these mammals are who like to live in large family groups and who mainly eat. Living underground offers these mammals a way to themselves from hunters. They can spot a fox, dive down the and be safe from harm s way. The mole even stores his underground in a special hole that is much like a human. food protect moles earthworms rabbits Burrowing mammals moles hole pantry 34
Activity 7.2 Short Answer How do moles make the worms unable to move? Where do they take the worms? Why do rabbits need large tunnels under ground? 35
Activity 7.3 Tales From Underground! A noun is a person place or thing. Write three nouns. An adjective is a word that describes things, like smelly or dirty. Write two adjectives. An verb is an action word like run, walk, or swim. Write three adverbs. Now fill in the blanks in the story using the words you just wrote. One day Mr. Mole was his way through the dirt (verb) looking for a. He bumped into Mr. rabbit who (adjective) (noun) was busy his own. Well, hello there Mr. (verb) (noun) Mole! Would you like to join me for? Mr. (noun) Mole was happy, Yes, I saw some worms over in the (adjective) next hole, lets and EAT! (verb) 36
UNIT EIGHT Mammals that Fly! Birds are not mammals but there is a mammal that can fly! Bats are mammals and they have wings and fly. In fact, bats break all the rules about mammals because even though they are nocturnal, they don t see very well at all. Have you ever heard of the expression As blind as a bat? That expression came from the bats not using their eyes to see, but instead use sonar, or special sound waves that bounce off objects, to tell where they are going. Even though bats don t look very much like other mammals we know that they are because they feed their young milk. Remember that was one of the things that made mammals so special? You ve probably heard stories about bats sucking people s blood, and that is a little bit true, but most bats eat fruits and insects like mosquitoes and moths. The vampire bat does bite the skin of other mammals like cows and horses in Central and South America, but rarely do they ever try to do that with a human. 37
Here is a picture of a cave ceiling covered with hanging bats. Why do bats hang upside down? We don t know for absolutely sure but it is a good guess that their feet are not strong enough to stand on all the time and they cannot push up and launch themselves into the air to fly. Hanging upside down and letting go to fly seems like a good way to get around the weak foot problem. 38
Activity 8.1 Multiple Choice Read the sentence and circle the best answer. 1. Bats hang upside down because they have a. Weak arms b. Weak wings c. Weak feet 2. Bats are the only flying a. Animal b. Mammal c. Vampire 3. Vampire bats live in central and a. North America b. South America c. Canada 4. Bats use to know where they are going. a. Radar b. Sonar c. Vision 5. Sonar uses waves which bounce off objects. a. Light b. Touch c. Sound 39
Activity 8.2 Word Problems Why do bats hang upside down? Where do Vampire bats live and why do they have that name? Draw a picture of a bat below. 40
Activity 8.3 Map It! The vampire bat lives in Chile and Argentina in South America. Using an atlas or a globe, find South America on a map and use it to label the countries below. below Then color Chile and Argentina red on this map. 41
UNIT NINE Primates When we use the word primate, even though humans are primates, we don t usually mean humans. We only mean gorillas, chimps, monkeys, lemurs, and orangutans. Two lemurs You ve probably seen gorillas and monkeys at the zoo or at least on TV and noticed that they have a lot of things in common with humans. In fact, the DNA of primates and the DNA of humans is a lot alike. Not exactly alike, but pretty close. DNA is a very small molecule in your body that makes you who you are. Everyone and everything on Earth has their own special DNA. 42
The primate group has mammals such as monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. They live in very complicated family groups with one giant male as the leader. A male gorilla is always in charge of the family group All primates take very good care of their babies and like humans, the babies of a mother chimp, gorilla, or orangutan, can stay with her for many years. Sometimes as many as eight years! Primates are the smartest mammals on Earth and over the years gorillas and chimps have been taught to do special things by scientists like talk in sign language. 43
Activity 9.1 Thinking Back Write a few sentences about how bats and primates are different. Try to remember all the things you just read. 44
Activity 9.2 Drawing Click the link on the Mammal Resource Page to learn how to draw a monkey. 45
Activity 9.3 Ode to a Gorilla Directions: Write a simple poem. Make each line start with the letters in the word gorilla. For example if I wrote a simple poem about Dogs using this technique then I would write: Dogs are great fun. Only dogs can run. Guess who sleeps in the sun? So Dogs are great fun! Now you try using gorilla for your word. G O R I L L A 46
UNIT TEN Crazy Kangaroos!! You don t have to look at kangaroos and other interesting mammals from the land of Australia to realize that they are different from all the other mammals we ve looked at so far. Of course, every mammal is unique and has special features, but the marsupials are even more so. Mammals in the marsupial group include kangaroos, koala bears, Tasmanian devils, wombats, and one species that lives in North America, the opossum. In order to be a marsupial the mammal must have a pouch for the very tiny babies to crawl into and grow big enough to leave the safety of the mother. Kangaroo baby in the pouch 47
This is a picture of a Tasmanian devil. The Tasmanian devil lives only on the Australian island of Tasmania. It is a carnivore and is nocturnal. The kangaroo is a funny looking animal with very large and powerful back legs. They use those legs to jump away from danger and even kick out to cause harm. They live in family groups and are herbivores. The koala bear isn t really a bear. In fact, it has very little in common with a bear! But it is a quite cute little creature with soft silver fur and large round ears. Koalas are herbivores that feed on the eucalyptus tree. One interesting fact is that Koala fingerprints are almost identical to human fingerprints! Even scientists can have a hard time telling them apart under a microscope! 48
Activity 10.1 Time Off! Click the link on the Mammal Resource Page to play some more mammal games! 49
UNIT ELEVEN Kings of the Jungle! Mammals live both in the high tree tops and the thick carpet of shrubs, trees, and vines on the floor of the jungle. The jungle also has some of the strangest animals there are! The sloth is one example. Known for being the slowest mammal ever, it can hang upside down sleeping for up to 18 hours a day. They are nocturnal omnivores. The tarsier is another nocturnal jungle mammal and is known for its very large eyes and hind legs. They eat insect most of the time and can even catch them straight from the air. 50
The jaguar is the top predator in the jungle and lives in Central and South America in the rainforests. It is a very powerful hunter and is a strict carnivore. It is one of the biggest cats on Earth and only the lion and the tiger are bigger. It looks very much like a cheetah but is more powerful and deadly. There is no other predator that hunts the jaguar besides humans. There are a few more interesting mammals living in the jungles like the anteater and the tapir. The anteater is known for its very long tongue which it uses to catch, you guessed it! Ants! The tapir is related to the horse and the rhino but the tapir has a very cool nose that neither the horse nor the rhino can come close to! The tapir s nose can almost act like fingers when pulling out and sorting leaves for eating. 51
Activity 11.1 Short Answer 1. Can you think of something that the anteater and the tapir have in common? Write it below. 2. What do you think a jaguar eats in the jungle? 3. Why do you think the anteater has such a long tongue? 52
Activity 11.2 Writing Now write a few sentences about which jungle animal is your favorite. You can even use an animal not talked about here. 53
Activity 11.3 Chart It! Think back and see if you can remember what each mammal talked about eats for food. Put your answers in the chart below. Animal What does it eat? Herbivore Omnivore Carnivore? Koala Wolf Bear Rabbit 54
UNIT 12 Mammals of the Forest! When you see which animals live in the forest you will probably recognize a lot of them. That is because the United States has a lot of forest mammals. In the Western Mountain States and Alaska there are moose which can weigh over 1000 pounds and stand as tall as 7 feet! Now that is some moose! Moose moms are very protective of their babies and will attack anything that they feel would put it in danger. Even people. Other mammals that live in the forest are squirrels, raccoons, porcupine, deer, badgers, rabbits, and foxes. 55
Some places in the Northern United States have wolves in their woods. Wolves are good for keeping the deer population under control. If there are no wolves then the only predator of these forest herbivores is a human. Black bears also live in the woods. These bears are not as big as the grizzly or the polar bears. They eat a lot of insects, berries, and leaves. Can you remember what type of diet that is called? Bear cubs are cute and playful, but like the moose mom, a bear mom will be very angry if you try to play with a cub. A baby black bear dangles from a tree in the woods 56
Activity 12.1 Matching Vocabulary Directions: Match the vocabulary word on the left with the proper definition on the right. Put the correct letter on the blank. Vocabulary Words Definitions 1. Moose A. lives in the Northern US 2. Black Bear B. Is a smaller wood living mammal 3. Wolf C. Smaller than the grizzly 4. Raccoon D. Can weigh over 1000 lbs 57
Activity 12.2 Map It! Remember that we said these wood mammals live in the Northern United States? Can you name some of the states that these wood mammals might live in? You might need to look it up on the internet if you can t think of anything. 58
Activity 12.3 Alphabetical Order Alphabetical order means to look at a list of words and then organize the list of words into ABC order. Directions: Look at the first letter of each vocabulary word, then list the words in ABC order. Bear Moose Raccoon Wolf 1. 2. 3. 4. 59
UNIT 13 Mammals on the Plaines The plains have a few different names like the savannah or the grasslands and they are known for being hot most of the year and having two seasons; wet and dry. The wet season is in the summer and the dry season is in the winter. The plains might not be a great place to live if you don t have air conditioning, but it is a wonderful place to see beautiful animals! Some of them include zebra, lions, giraffe, antelope, and elephants. These animals live on the plains of Africa in an area known as the tropical grasslands. 60
All herbivores in this group of mammals must move around a lot to find food (grass), this is called a migration. Some of these migrations can be thousands of miles so these animals have long legs to be able to make that walk. During a migration the animals travel in huge herds of thousands to help keep the lions and other predators away. Some of the other predators are leopards, cheetahs, jackals and hyenas, but the lion is the biggest and most powerful. A hyena Zebra all have a different pattern of stripes and the stripes help them blend in over long distances across the grasslands. This protects them from the lions and other big cats. There are other grasslands around the world but none of them have the beautiful mammals that the African grasslands do. 61
Activity 13.1 Short Answer Why do zebra have stripes? How to plant eating mammals get fresh grass? Which season is the wet season? 62
Activity 13.2 Matching Vocabulary Directions: Match the vocabulary word on the left with the proper definition on the right. Put the correct letter on the blank. Vocabulary Words Definitions 1. Giraffe A. A long, long walk for food 2. Lion B. A very tall animal 3. Migration C. A dry area where animals live 4. Savannah D. The biggest predator on the grasslands 63
Activity 13.3 Label the Animals Going from the left to right, name all the animals you ve learned about. 1. 2. 3. 4. 64
UNIT 14 Mammals of the Desert There are many deserts around the world and each one has mammals that use them as their home. The kangaroo rat, the camel, the jackrabbit, and the Arabian Oryx are just a few. The camel is probably the best known desert mammal. There are two types of camels, the one humped camel and the two humped camel. The one humped camel lives in the Arabian Desert and has been used by man for thousands of years as a way to cross the hot sand. A camel resting in the sand 65
Camels can go a very long time with no water and that makes them perfect for traveling in a place that has little or no water at all. In fact, a camel can go many months with no water and still be fine if it is not too hot out. Another interesting desert mammal is the Arabian Oryx. These cow-like creatures have a bright white coat and long pointed horns for protection. They live in large herds and travel over very long distances for rain and food. The Oryx is a nocturnal animal and rest during the day while it is hot, and looks for food and water during the cooler night. 66
Activity 14.1 Animal Fact Sheet Click the link on the Mammal Resource Page to find the answers to the questions below. What does the Arabian Oryx look like? What does the Arabian Oryx like to eat? Where do they live? 67
Activity 14.2 Write a Camel Poem! Directions: Write a simple poem about a camel. Make each line start with the letters in the word camel. For example if I wrote a simple poem about Dogs using this technique then I would write: Dogs are great fun. Only dogs can run. Guess who sleeps in the sun? So Dogs are great fun! Now you try using camel for your word. C A M E L 68
Activity 14.3 Creative Writing Write a few sentences about this picture of a camel. Remember all the cool stuff you ve learned about them in this unit. 69
UNIT 15 High Altitude Mammals A mountain goat is like ballerina high up on a mountain peak. They are a very sure-footed goat that is not afraid to jump from little rock to little rock, high up in the mountains. Mountain goats have special feet that spread apart to grip the rocks when they jump. Even baby mountain goats can jump without falling right after they are born. Mountain goats live in the Rocky Mountains of the United States and they can even be seen from the freeway when traveling through the mountains. It is very cold up there in the winter so mountain goats have really thick fur. Their coats are all white to blend 70
in with snow. There are not many predators that hunt mountain goats, but a cougar would be one of them. Male goats are called billies, female goats are called nannies, and baby goats are called kids. Another animal that lives up in the high altitude is the marmot. Marmots look a little bit like groundhogs. In Japan there is a monkey called the Japanese macaque that lives high in the mountains. They are also called the Snow Monkey because the mountains get very cold in the winter. Sometimes tourists will see these red-faced monkeys sitting in the natural hot springs to keep warm. 71
Activity 15.1 Explore Click lick the link on the Mammal Resource Page to find the answers to the questions below. Then take a look at the map below of the mountain goat s goat range in the US and Canada. Can you name three states state where the mountain goats would live in the US? a. b. c. 72
UNIT 16 Polar Bears and Reindeer! Polar bears live in one of the coldest parts of the planet. They have thick fur, white coats to blend in with snow, and are one of the world s largest carnivores. The big white bear is an excellent swimmer and hunts seals from floating ice in the winter. The polar bear can go months without eating in the summer when the ice melts and leaves them without a place to hunt. Polar bears do not hibernate, or sleep, during the winter like other bears. In fact, the winter is the best time for the bears to find food. Polar bears are generally solitary animals, especially the males, and do not gather together in family groups. 73
Another mammal species that prefers the cold northern lands is the reindeer or caribou. Reindeer are herd animals and live in groups of thousands during their migration when they travel more than 3000 miles to find better sources of food. Reindeer are herbivores and eat lichen, a kind of moss that grows on rocks, and some native grasses, and shrubbery that grows on the tundra. The tundra is located up by the polar regions and is the coldest area on Earth. There is very little in the way food up there, so the reindeer will eat what is available and move on when food runs out. The best known reindeer are, of course, Santa s reindeer up in the North Pole! These reindeer are used to pull a sleigh filled with toys on Christmas Eve. 74
Activity 16.1 Creative Writing Write a little story about what you would do if you ever met one of Santa s reindeer! Put your sentences below.. 75
Activity 16.2 Matching Vocabulary Directions: Match the vocabulary word on the left with the proper definition on the right. Put the correct letter on the blank. Vocabulary Words Definitions 1. Polar bear A. To live alone 2. Tundra B. the biggest carnivore on land 3. Reindeer C. A cold place with little food 4. Solitary D. A northern animal that migrates 76
Activity 16.3 Alphabetical Order Alphabetical order means to look at a list of words and then organize the list of words into ABC order. Directions: Look at the first letter of each vocabulary word, then list the words in ABC order. Polar Bear Solitary Reindeer Tundra 1. 2. 3. 4. 77
UNIT 17 Mammals in Rivers and Lakes All over the world mammals are living in rivers, lakes, and streams. Most of these mammals are excellent swimmers and some, like the beaver, build their homes IN the water! The most playful river mammal is the otter. These weasel looking animals love to chase each other through the water and dive for fish, turtles, crayfish, and crabs. Otters can be found in any part of the US where there is a clean supply of water and lots of its favorite foods. A river otter The beaver is also found in many US areas. Beavers chew through trees to make dams. They will live inside the dam and have an entrance to their home that is under the water. 78
Hippos are the biggest river mammals weighing in at 3 or 4 thousand pounds! When in the water they can sink to the river bottom and walk. Staying under water helps to keep them cool in the hot summer months. Baby hippos are very cute but adult hippos are very dangerous! They kill more people than any other wild animal in Africa. They are not carnivores but instead eat only plants so the killing can be due to fright or anger. It would not be safe to go into a river filled with hippos. A hippo under water 79
Activity 17.1 The Funny Little Otter Click the link on the Mammal Resource Page to find the answer to the question below. Do river otters live near you? 80
Activity 17.2 Ode to an Otter Directions: Write a simple poem about an otter. Make each line start with the letters in the word otter. O T T E R 81
Activity 17.3 Hippo Fun! Why do Hippos stay under water? How long can they stay under water? What are some reasons why hippos kill people? 82
UNIT 18 Sea Mammals! Mammals live in the oceans too! Whales, dolphins, manatees, and dugong are all sea mammals that breathe air with lungs but live under the water all the time. We know they are mammals because they nurse their young with milk and they are born live instead of hatching from eggs. Many sea mammals like to live in family groups but some of the larger species of whales are solitary, probably because they need so much food to survive. Dolphins are some of the most loved mammals of all because of their playfulness and intelligence. They are found all over the world and eat fish and squid as their main diet. Whales are also mammals. The Orca is actually a very large dolphin. They are famous because of Shamu and Sea World. Orcas are also carnivores and mainly eat seals but will eat other whales, sea lions, and walruses. 83
The manatee lives in the shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. They can weigh up to 1200 pounds and are about 10 feet in length. Generally speaking they swim slowly, about 3-5 mph, but can sprint at speeds up to 20 miles per hour if necessary. Unlike other sea mammals, they will typically eat only plants like mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and algae. They must eat a lot of it though, because they typically need about 100 pounds of food a day to survive. There is another thing that makes the manatee stand out from other sea mammals they like warm water. They cannot live in the cold seas of the Arctic and Antarctic. They prefer a temperature of about 60 degrees F, which is a perfect not too hot, and not too cold temperature. 84
Activity 18.1 Map It! The light blue on the map shows where the manatee and dugong live. Label the map with the following words. Use a globe or atlas for help if you need it. Florida Caribbean Sea United States Mexico Atlantic Ocean Canada Gulf of Mexico 85
Activity 18.2 Word Problems If a sea cow needs about a 100 pounds of food a day, how many pounds of food a day would a family of four sea cows need for 2 days? If a manatee weighs 1200 pounds and a dugong weighs 600 pounds, then how many more pounds does the manatee weight than the dugong? 86
Activity 18.3 Drawing Click the link on the Mammal Resource Page to learn how to draw a cute whale in 10 easy steps. You can put your picture below. 87
UNIT 19 Those Lovable Seals! The seal is like the dolphin; swift, graceful, and full of joy! They can come onto the land and ice to rest and sleep, but who would want to be slow and heavy on land when you could be a graceful dancer in the water! Seals can be divided into two kinds or categories; The earless seal or true seal and the eared seal. True earless seals include species such as the harbor seals, the common seals, the harp seals, and the leopard seals. The eared seals are sea lions. The difference between the true and eared seals, besides the presence or absence of ears, is their use of their forelimbs (or front flippers) for swimming. It would be hard to think of a cuter animal than the baby harp seal. The harp seals are born on the ice and drink milk from their mothers for about 12 days. The mother will then leave and never come back. The baby harp seal cannot swim until it is about 25 days old so it lays there on the ice, helpless. In order to conserve (or save) 88
energy the seal will lay very still until it is finally old enough to swim. Seals eat a variety of fish and small sea creatures such as squid. The leopard seal, which lives along the Antarctic coastline, will actually eat penguins! The leopard seal is the second largest seal, only the elephant seal is larger. They tend to be quite aggressive and have been known to attack humans and boats. The elephant seal can grow up to 16 feet in length and weigh more than 6000 pounds! Now that is a BIG seal! They can also hold their breath for more than an hour! Like the walrus, the elephant seal has a surprising skill they can move rather quickly over land and can even move faster than the average human when they are on the sand. A huge elephant seal 89
Activity 19.1 Compare and Contrast Think of all the things you just read about seals. Then list the ways in which seals are alike and not alike under the columns. How all seals are alike How all seals are different 1. 2. 3. 90
Activity 19.2 Multiple Choice Read the sentence and circle the best answer. 1. The seal eats penguins. a. Harp b. Leopard c. Elephant 2. The seal is the biggest true seal. a. Harp b. Elephant c. Leopard 3. The baby seal waits on the ice for 13 days after its mother leaves. a. Leopard b. Elephant c. Harp 4. The seals are called sea lions. a. Earless b. True c. Eared 91
Activity 19.3 Alphabetical Order Alphabetical order means to look at a list of words and then organize the list of words into ABC order. Directions: Look at the first letter of each vocabulary word, then list the words in ABC order. Earless Seal Leopard Seal Harp Seal Seal 1. 2. 3. 4. 92
UNIT 20 My Final Projects 1. Pick ONE mammal that you learned about and look up some more interesting facts about them. Then write a few sentences and draw a picture to go with it. My mammal: New fact that I learned: Here is a picture I drew of my mammal 93
2. If your city has a Zoo go spend the day there. Take the following chart along with you and fill it out as you look at each type of mammal. If you don t have a zoo look up each of the 4 types of animals below and fill in the information using the internet. Zoo Chart Name of Mammal Carnivore, Herbivore, or Omnivore Predators Prey Interesting fact A DESERT MAMMAL AN AQUATIC MAMMAL A FOREST MAMMAL A MOUNTAIN MAMMAL 94
3. Make a diorama of your animal in its natural habitat. See the example here: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/diorama/forest/ 4. Make a poster about Mammals. Choose one that you find interesting. Print out some pictures from the internet and paste them onto a poster board. Try to include several interesting and scientific facts like: Where it lives What it eats How it develops What kind of defense it uses to protect itself How long it can be expected to live The scientific name and what order it belongs to One more interesting thing about this mammal After you gather all your facts type your answers up on the computer and print them out. Arrange your answers on the poster board to make it look interesting. You could even make a video of yourself talking about your poster. 95
An example of a poster display is below: 96