Pawsitively Hilarious Jokes #34

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Why are fish so smart?

They stay in schools!

Guess Our Fourth Adoptable Animal!

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How cute are these cubs? We’re introducing our latest set of plush wildlife adoption kits on September 9—including one of these fierce felines! It’s either a cougar, a snow leopard, or a tiger.

Can you guess which one? Post your answer in the comments!

Sea turtle

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Hi Earth Rangers! My name is Gerardo, and I’m 9 years old. I live in Nicaragua and am part of a really cool program called the Sea Turtle Protection Project. Me and lots of other kids in my community are learning about and helping to save an amazing creature who really makes a splash – the sea turtle!


We learned how there are seven different sea turtle species in the world: flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, and olive ridley. Sea turtles are reptiles that can be found throughout the world’s oceans, except for in the polar regions. Sea turtles are really big – they can grow from 2 feet to almost 6 feet in length, and weigh up to 1,400 pounds!
Some more cool facts about sea turtles: they can’t pull their head and legs inside their shells like many other turtles, but they do have many other amazing abilities, such as:
• Streamlined bodies that allow them to swim quickly
• A sense called “magnetoreception” that allows them to sense changes in the Earth’s magnetic field so they can navigate the ocean currents.
• The ability to hold their breath underwater for a looooooong time, sometimes as long as 7 hours!
As part of the Sea Turtle Protection Project, we’re also learning how sea turtles play a very important part in the ecosystem. In the oceans, sea turtles munch on sea grass just enough to keep it from overgrowing, which helps the animals that live there. Also, sea turtles lay their eggs on beaches and in sand dunes, and the eggshells they leave behind are great fertilizers for the plants on the beach. But what is really sad, is that, most sea turtle species are endangered or threatened because they face a lot of dangers out in the wild like climate change, plastic in the ocean, getting tangled up in fishing nets, and both animals and people eating their eggs.

But help is on the way! Our project takes place in the community of Salinas Grandes, where several species of sea turtles live. Aside from all of the cool stuff we’re learning about caring for and protecting the environment, we’re also participating in beach cleanups, protecting sea turtle nests, looking after sea turtle eggs in special nurseries, and releasing sea turtle hatchlings into the wild. Look how cute they are! And as an added bonus all this knowledge has helped me get good grades in the natural sciences subjects at school 

While you may not be able to come to Nicaragua, you can still join our team! Visit the Adoptions section in the Earth Rangers App or check out the Earth Rangers Shop to get your Sea Turtle Adoption Kit and help save the sea turtles!

Your friend,
Gerardo

Lynx

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Greetings, Earth Rangers! I’m Sandra Yaacoub, a researcher from Queen’s University. I’m working with a team in southwest Yukon. Here in the taiga (also known as the snow forest or boreal forest), we see a lot of wildlife, including lynxes!

Lynxes belong to the cat family. They’re known for their thick fur and tufted ears — and for their wide paws, which look like they’re wearing snowshoes! They live in the taiga biome across Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States, so their thick fur and “snowshoes” come in handy. These furry, fierce cats sleep in dens under fallen trees and tree stumps, bushes, and rock ledges.

The lynx is a “specialist predator,” which means it has a pretty limited diet. It prefers eating snowshoe hares, and lynx populations will actually fall or rise based on the hare population. When there aren’t any hares around, lynxes will include other animals in their diet, like ducks, moles, squirrels, and even larger animals like sheep and caribou. Lynxes are nocturnal and hunt at night — they wait in what are called “ambush beds,” which help them save energy in the cold weather. These amazing creatures use their sharp vision and hearing as they hunt, and they’re also excellent climbers and swimmers. One lynx was recorded swimming two miles across the Yukon River


Unfortunately, the lynxes’ habitat has been affected by spruce bark beetles, which have killed a lot of trees. By taking photos and ground measurements— and even monitoring the area from space! — my team and I have studied tree damage and the forest’s recovery in the region. We’re also hoping to share our findings with the local community, and we could really use your help!
Ready to make a difference? Visit the Adoptions section in the Earth Rangers App or check out the Earth Rangers Shop to get your Lynx Adoption Kit!

Grey wolf

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Hi, I’m Karl-Antoine Hogue and I’m a researcher with the University of Guelph. I’m working with The Land Guardians from the Van Tat Gwich’in community in Old Crow, Yukon. The boreal forest there is home to all kinds of animals, including grey wolves!


The grey wolf is the largest wild member of the dog family. It’s found in many habitats across the northern hemisphere, including forests, mountains, tundras, taigas, grasslands, and deserts. These creatures hunt together in packs and they communicate with each other by howling, growling, snarling, whining, yipping, whimpering, and barking. They really know how to express themselves! Wolves howl together in harmony, meaning that they all howl different notes. This creates the illusion that there are more wolves than there actually are, and tells other packs to stay out of their territory.


Grey wolves have keen senses of smell, hearing and vision, which they use to detect prey and one another. They also have long legs, which allow them to run fast — up to 38 mph (61 km/h). These traits come in handy when they’re hunting their favorite prey: moose, elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, caribou, muskox, and bison. What else helps these furry, fierce predators? Their super-strong teeth and jaws, which allow them to devour their prey. CHOMP!


Unfortunately, human development disturbs the ecosystem balance in habitats like the boreal forest, and that affects creatures like the grey wolf, moose, and caribou. My work with the Van Tat Gwich’in community will help us to protect these animals and their homes. But we could use your help!
Check out the Adoptions section in the Earth Rangers App or visit the Earth Rangers Shop to get your Grey Wolf Adoption Kit. Make a difference today!

Ottawa Valley Project: Flying Squirrel, Red Fox and Snowy Owl

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Hello, Earth Rangers! I’m Megan Quinn, and I’m a researcher with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. I’m working with a team in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, which is home to all different kinds of wildlife — including the snowy owl, the flying squirrel, and the red fox!

Photos by Mike Dembeck

Snowy owls have beautiful white and brown feathers that camouflage them against their snowy habitats. Their feathers form rings around their bright yellow eyes and help reflect sound to their ears. These birds of prey are almost three feet tall, with wingspans of almost four feet. They’re really good at judging distance, which allows them to swoop down and catch their prey. Unlike most owls, snowy owls are diurnal, which means they hunt during the day. While lemmings are their preferred prey, these birds will also eat arctic hares, ptarmigan, foxes, mice, and seabirds. Snowy owls swallow their smaller prey whole — GULP!

We have two species of flying squirrel here in the Ottawa Valley — the northern flying squirrel and the southern flying squirrel. These creatures have either reddish-brown or gray-brown fur, and they have large dark eyes and flat tails. Unlike most squirrels, Northern and Southern Flying Squirrels are nocturnal. Flying squirrels make their nests in holes in trees, and they’re omnivores, so they eat insects, bird eggs, mushrooms, flowers, fruits, and nuts. They have a furry membrane called a patagium that extends between their front and rear legs and helps them glide through the air. While they don’t exactly fly as their name suggests, these squirrels can glide up to 45 yards!

Photo by NCC staff
Photo by Nila Sivatheesan

Red foxes can be found in many different habitats around the world — they can even live in human environments. These animals have rusty red fur, pointy faces, and bushy tails. While they make their homes out in the open, they will dig burrows and go underground during bad weather. Red foxes are excellent hunters, as they have sharp senses of sight, hearing, and smell. During the winter, they prefer small animals like mice, squirrels, lemmings, and rabbits, and in the summer they also eat berries, earthworms, and insects. Red foxes are also great at communicating with one another, using body language and a range of barks and calls. And they’re strong swimmers and jumpers — red foxes can jump fences more than 6 feet high!

Photo Nila Sivatheesan

Unfortunately, the Ottawa Valley is home to a lot of plants that shouldn’t be there. These invasive species can choke out the native plants and harm the surrounding habitats. My team is working to remove those invasive species and encourage local communities to help us, so animals like the snowy owl, flying squirrel, and red fox have healthy habitats for years to come.

You can help, too  — check out the Adoptions section in the Earth Rangers App or visit the Earth Rangers Shop to get your snowy owl, flying squirrel, and red fox Adoption Kits. Make a difference today!

Cougar

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Hey there, Earth Rangers! My name is Ashley Sahulka, and I’m a Stewardship Coordinator with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). I’m working with a team of conservationists in the Cypress Uplands, a region in the southern part of Saskatchewan that includes a range of habitats—from grasslands to forests—in Cypress Hills. This area is home to more than 1,000 plant and animal species, and has one of the highest densities of cougars anywhere in Canada!

Cougars are large cats with tawny fur, a round head, and small ears. They hold the world record for being the animal with the most names — they have about 40 other names in English alone, including mountain lion, puma, and panther. These sleek cats live throughout North and South America, from the Yukon in Canada all the way down to the Andes Mountains in Patagonia. They make their homes in many different habitats, but they prefer areas with a lot of underbrush and rocky areas, which are good for hunting.

Cougars are carnivores, and they like to hunt alone for animals like deer, elk, rabbits, beavers, and raccoons. Their powerful jaws, big paws, and long retractable front claws make them fearsome predators. Plus, their large back legs give them great leaping abilities. Cougars can leap from the ground up to 18 feet high!


Many cougar habitats are threatened by human development. Fortunately, most of the Cypress Uplands are still intact, and it’s our job to keep it that way. By creating more protected areas and monitoring wildlife activity, my team is working hard to make sure cougars have a safe place to live. We’re also spreading awareness of the importance of this region as a home to cougars and so many other types of wildlife. We’d love your help!
You can support our work by visiting the Adoptions section in the Earth Rangers App or checking out the Earth Rangers Shop to get your Cougar Adoption Kit. Thank you for all you do to be an animal-saving hero!

Bumblebee

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Hi, Earth Rangers! My name is Sarah Bayliff and I work for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) as the BC Interior Program Manager. I’m currently in the Bunchgrass Hills Conservation Area, a vast landscape of native grasslands, forests, and wetlands south of Kamloops in British Columbia. I’m helping to protect this vital wildlife corridor, as well as the creatures that live there — including the bumblebee!

Bumblebees are round insects with black and yellow-orange fur that helps them to collect pollen and protects them from the cold. There are more than 250 species of bumblebee, the largest being the Bombus dahlbomii of Chile, which measures up to 1.6 inches long. Some people even call them “flying mice”!

Most bumblebees nest relatively small colonies with a single queen. Although they do collect nectar and store it as honey, they don’t produce honey in huge quantities like honeybees do – they make only as much as they need! Bumblebees are also exceptionally efficient pollinators, using a method called “buzz pollination” in which they grab flowers and vibrate rigorously to dislodge the pollen in large amounts. They gather nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers, as well as crop plants like tomatoes, eggplants, and squash.

With their large size and hairy coats, bumblebees can fly in much cooler temperatures than other bees. They can even warm themselves up by shivering their flight muscles! This allows them to pollinate plants in mountain habitats, coastal plains, and even arctic tundra. Compared to many other flying creatures, bumblebees can fly with incredible control. They can fly long distances, hover in mid-air, and aren’t bothered by strong winds or high altitudes. They’re also fast – a bumblebee can fly the length of a football field in 30 seconds!

Unfortunately, these amazing insects are threatened by habitat loss, disease, and toxic pesticides. Many species of bumblebee are at risk or endangered, including the yellow bumblebees and western bumblebees found at Bunchgrass Hills. That’s why we have to do all we can to protect them and their habitats. Fortunately, the Bunchgrass Hills Conservation Area offers healthy habitats for bumblebees and other wildlife, and I’m doing all I can to keep it that way.

Want to help out? You can sponsor my work by visiting the Adoptions section in the Earth Rangers App or check out the Earth Rangers Shop to get your Bumblebee Adoption Kit!

Beaver

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Hi again, Earth Rangers! In case you don’t remember me, my name is Sarah Bayliff. I work for the Nature Conservancy of Canada as the BC Interior Program Manager, and I am currently in the Bunchgrass Hills Conservation Area, a vast landscape of native grasslands, forests, and wetlands south of Kamloops in British Columbia. I’m helping to protect this vital wildlife corridor, as well as the creatures that live there — including bumblebees and beavers!

Beavers are the largest rodents in North America, and can be found across the United States, Canada, southern Alaska, and northern Mexico. These amazing creatures are semi-aquatic, meaning they live both on land (in forests) and in the water. Beavers are made for this lifestyle, with big, flat, paddle-shaped tails and large, webbed hind feet that act like swim fins. Beavers even have built-in goggles — their eyes are covered by a membrane that allows them to see underwater.

Beaver ears, noses, and mouths are made for the water, too. Their ears and nostrils seal while submerged, and their lips close behind their big front teeth so that they can continue to gnaw underwater. It’s important that beavers keep gnawing — their front teeth (called incisors) are constantly growing!

Beavers gnaw as they eat the leafy and woody plants that make up their diet, like cattails, water lilies, bark, twigs, and roots. But they also gnaw on sticks and twigs to make their dome-shaped burrows, or “lodges,” which protect them from predators. Beavers build these burrows in the banks of rivers and lakes, but when those aren’t available, they’ll build dams across streams and then making their lodges in the ponds that form. These famously busy creatures are clearly expert builders!

For hundreds of years, beavers were nearly extinct due to human trapping and habitat disturbance, but these creatures are slowly returning. That’s why we have to do all we can to protect them. Fortunately, the Bunchgrass Hills Conservation Area offers healthy habitats for beavers and other wildlife, and I’m doing all I can to keep it that way.

Want to help out? You can sponsor my work by visiting the Adoptions section in the Earth Rangers App or check out the Earth Rangers Shop to get your Beaver Adoption Kit!

Guess Our Third Adoptable Animal!

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Attention, puzzle enthusiasts! We’re rolling out a brand-new series of plush wildlife adoption kits on September 9—featuring an animal whose name is hidden in this word search!

Think you’ve solved it? Leave your guess in the comments!