The Desert Community

Listen to the Fox


Fox Video Podcast .wmv

Jacob and George chose the dessert habitat as our focus. Our animal is the
Fennec Fox.

The Fennec Fox eats dates, plant materials, jerboas, and other small rodents including birds, eggs, lizards, and insects such as migrating locust. They catch rodents with a mouse like leap. They’re omnivores
Fennec foxes live in arid regions of North Africa, the Sinai and Arabian Peninsula. Primarily found in sandy areas. They usually live in burrows.
Breeding once a year in January or February, males and females may pair for several breeding seasons. Litters of 2 to 5. Both parents defend. Only the mother can enter.
In the winter they hibernate inside their burrows.
Their fur helps them to be camouflaged in sandy brown or reddish cream to pale fawn color.
They can dig with amazing speed. When Fennec Foxes are pursued, to get away they seem to dive into the sand. When attacked Fennec Foxes jump into action . . . really! They can jump four times their body length which is 14 to 16 inches long. They are nocturnal. Fennec Foxes are instinctive. Oh, yes they are social [in groups].
They are very cunning and use their claws as attacks, with huge jumps in the desert.
The fennec fox has very large ears, sand-colored fur, white bellies, and long reddish tails with a black tip, black eyes, narrow pointed snout, and sharp curved claws on their feet with hair on the soles on their feet.

The Rainforest Community

The Howler Monkey
By Danielle and Sarah

Listen to the Monkey

Monkey Video Podcast .wmv


Our animal is the Howler Monkey that is found in the Rain forest of tropical Central and South America. Rain forests are tremendously rich in animal life. Some animals in the rain forest live in different levels of the trees and some on the forest floor. The howler monkeys range in size from 56 –92cm not including their tail. They have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years. They are folivores which means they eat canopy leaves, fruit, buds, flowers and nuts. When they have a fight over food, they don’t scratch or bite, they yell or slap. Females care for their young for about 12 months. They are equipped with a special voice box which enable it to vocally defend its small territory without physical confrontation.

Check out more animals from the Rain Forest by visiting the following ppt.

http://northport.k12.ny.us/~pulaski/carpenter/2005-2006/rainforest.pps

The Grasslands Community

African Elephants
By Cody, Tanner, and Chase

Listen to the Elephant


Elephant Video Podcast .wmv

In this story we will talk about the African Elephant and its environment. The African Elephant roams the grasslands of Africa. The average lifespan of the elephant is 70 years. Elephants can weigh between 5,000 to 14,000 lbs. Elephants are in the class of herbivores, and eat grasses, fruit, and bark. An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds of food in a single day.
Both male and female African elephants have tusks they use to dig for food and water and strip bark from trees. The trunk alone contains about 100,000 different muscles. Males use the tusks to battle one another, but the ivory has also attracted violence of a far more dangerous sort. The tusk of the elephant is very valuable to poachers. Elephants have been placed on the endangered species list because of this.

Having a baby elephant is a serious commitment. Elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal—almost 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh some 200 pounds and stand about 3 feet tall.
Female elephants (cows) live in family herds with their young, but adult males (bulls) tend to roam on their own. African elephants generally live wherever they can find enough food and water with minimal disturbance from people.

Elephant ears radiate heat to help keep these large animals cool, but sometimes the African heat is too much. Elephants are fond of water and enjoy showering by sucking water into their trunks and spraying it all over themselves. Afterwards, they often spray their skin with a protective coating of dust.
Check out our video!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid263790608/bclid269000829/bctid269000573
Source: http://www.nationalgeograpic.com