Top Ten Reasons Earth Month is for the Animals

Earth Rangers

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April 25, 2015

Top Ten Reasons Earth Month is for the Animals

We are dedicating Earth Month to the animals because species around the world need our help! Many populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects are declining. What’s causing this incredible diversity of life to disappear? Here are ten of the biggest threats that are causing animal populations to decline.

Climate Change

Climate change is warming the polar bear’s Arctic home; melting sea ice and making it difficult for them to find food.

Deforestation

The giant panda’s forest home in China is disappearing as the trees are being cut down to make room for development projects.

Invasion of non-native species

Zebra mussels multiply so quickly and filter out such larger amounts of phytoplankton that they are outcompeting native species.

Ocean acidification

Shelled animals, like mussels, clams and starfish, have a harder time building their shells in more acidic water.

Pollution

Frogs have sensitive permeable skin, which means they easily absorb pollution from the water they live in causing their populations to decline.

Overfishing

The endangered Bluefin tuna’s populations have declined because of overfishing.

Hunting

Hunters target rhinos for their horns, which are sold illegally. This practice has devastated rhino populations.

Pet trade

Baby sea turtles are stolen out of the ocean by poachers, who sell them illegally as pets.

Habitat fragmentation

The forest habitat that tigers need to survive is increasingly being divided up by human development.

Earth Ranger Angelina and Her Super Amazing Work to Protect Animals

Earth Rangers

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April 13, 2015

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Earth Ranger Angelina and Her Super Amazing Work to Protect Animals

Angelina is 13 years old and love animals, nature and doing whatever she can to protect the planet. She loves spending time outdoors with her family and going on walks to see trees, plants and animals.

Angelina has completed Bring Back the Wild campaigns for the swift fox and the eastern wolf. With eight dogs in her family it’s no wonder Angelina wanted to help protect these canines.

To raise awareness for her campaigns, Angelina talked to her class and made announcements over the school PA system, she hosted a jerk chicken fundraiser at her dad’s work and put a coin jar in his office where people could drop off spare change, she sold chocolates to her neighbours, she asked her friends and family to donate and she asked her parents to spread the word to their friends too. Wow!

Angelina’s commitment to protecting animals does not end there. She has completed three Earth Rangers Missions, the Water Taste Challenge, the For the Birds Missions and the Homemade Holiday Mission. She also started a pop tab recycling program at her school and is trying to get better recycling options in her building, like having a recycling bin in the mail room.

“We need to take action and protect the planet because we only get one and every little gesture counts.”
Soon after Angelina completed her Bring Back the Wild campaigns, she attended an Earth Rangers community show at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. “I learned so much about what the Earth Rangers do and I knew I did the right thing by raising money. I also knew that I wanted to do something like they do one day.”
Angelina has even inspired some of her friends to start thinking about how they can make a difference for the planet.

Amazing work Angelina! Your efforts are making a big difference

Top Ten Cutest African Animal Babies

Earth Rangers

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April 11, 2015

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There are lots of amazing species that live at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, like the adorable animal babies featured in this top ten! Help protect these species by celebrating Earth Month is for the Animals!

1) Lion cub

lion cub and mom — Photo credit Marcus Newton

2) Giraffe calf

3) African wild dog pup

4) Elephant calf

5) Zebra foal

6) Leopard cub

7) Rhino calf

8) Ostrich chick

9) Cheetah cub

10) Impala calf

American Eels and Their Ladders

Earth Rangers

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March 25, 2015

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American eels (Anguilla rostrata) are a type of fish with a long body that looks like a snake. These amazing animals love to travel. They live in many different places throughout their lifecycle including both salt and freshwater habitats. In fact, these amazing eels have one of the most diverse uses of habitats of any fish species! American eels can even absorb oxygen through their skin as well as their gills, which allows them to travel briefly over wet grass or mud.

Their lifecycle begins in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean in a spot called the Sargasso Sea. From here, American eels move in through estuaries (habitats where fresh and saltwater meet) and into rivers and lakes. Their range is really big, extending as far north as Greenland and as far south as Brazil! When the eels are full grown, 5 years for males and up to 25 years for females, they return to the Sargasso Sea to spawn (leave their eggs). The eel’s lifecycle ends after spawning, similar to Pacific salmon. The next generation will then begin their long migratory journey.

Did you know…? American eels can cover their bodies with a mucous layer which makes them almost impossible to hold, that’s where we get the saying ‘slippery as an eel’!

In Ontario, American eels are considered endangered. They face many threats; one of the biggest is the construction of hydroelectric dams. These dams block American eels from swimming upstream as they try to migrate to their habitats. To help these slippery animals get over the dams, Ontario Power Generation uses a very creative solution.

Jumping the Dam

How do you get an eel over a dam? With a ladder of course! Thanks to a series of chutes that zigzag up the dam, eels can safely migrate over power plants. Eels that enter the Gulf of the St. Lawrence and migrate upstream through the St. Lawrence River have to cross two major hydroelectric dams. Since 1974, eels that make this journey get a little help thanks to a ladder operated by Ontario Power Generation. This ladder was really successful, so in 2002 three more ladders were added along the St. Lawrence River.

Eel Count

Ontario Power Generation monitors the ladders using electronic counting equipment, which sends an email to the operators at the power station when an eel uses the ladder. It’s like the eels are sending an email to say ‘hi’ to the Ontario Power Generation staff as they pass through! Thanks to this initiative, more eels can safely travel through their migratory path; in the last four years between 11,600 and 26,000 eels have used the eel ladder.

Eel ladder Ontario Power Generation — Eels coming out of the chute

If you were an eel, and could use any mode of transportation, how would you get over a dam? Paraglide, rocket skateboard, hot air balloon…. Leave your suggestion in the comments section below!

Top Ten Animals That Can Outrun You

Earth Rangers

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March 21, 2015

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The fastest human is Usain Bolt, whose speed is about 44 km per hour. The rest of us are a whole lot slower. How slow we are becomes pretty clear when you look at the top speeds of some of the fastest animals on land.

1) Cheetah, 93 km per hour

2) Lion, 80 km per hour

3) Wildebeest, 75 km per hour

4) Pronghorn antelop, 70 km per hour

5) Ostrich, 70 km per hour

6) African wild dog, 70 km per hour

7) Red kangaroo, 65 km per hour

8) Thomson’s gazelle, 65 km per hour

9) Zebra, 64 km per hour

10) Hyena, 60 km per hour

this is a test

Wild Wire Blog

Earth Rangers

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March 16, 2015

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Top Ten Coolest Animal Feet

Earth Rangers

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March 14, 2015

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Feet are wonderful, they help us stand, run, skip and are great for a tickle attack. But not everyone’s feet are the same, check out this top ten list to discover animals with some of the coolest feet!

1) American Coot

They have long toes wrapped in skin that help them to swim while still being able to walk on land.

2) Elephant

Their feet have ‘cushion pads’ which distribute the weight. They also use their feet to communicate, stomping the ground to send out vibrations.

3) Gecko

Their toes are covered in tiny microscopic hairs, which help them to stick to surfaces.

4) Ostrich

They are the only bird with two toes. This design helps them to run fast, reaching up to about 70 km an hour!

5) Lion

Like most members of the cat family, their paws have padding to help them walk quietly they also have retractable claws.

6) Bald eagle

They have powerful talons that they use to hunt prey like fish

7) Rhinoceros

They have surprisingly small feet for their weight, which can reach up to 8,000lbs.

8) Monkey

They have an opposable thumb and sensitive pads that allow them to grab onto things like a branch.

9) Crocodile

They have webbed feet to help them swim. Their toes also have sharp claws!

10) Penguin

They have so much blubber and warm feathers over their entire body that they need to have bare feet to allow heat to escape so they can regulate their body temperature.

Earth Ranger Alexa is Helping the Planet by Recycling Batteries

Earth Rangers

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March 9, 2015

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Earth Ranger Alexa is Helping the Planet by Recycling Batteries

Meet Alexa, a seven-year-old with a serious commitment to keeping our planet healthy for all living things.

battery recycling — Photo credit: Kate Everson Quinte West News

In fact, with help from her mom, Alexa collected 646 used batteries and took them to the local depot in her community to recycle them. You can find out more about Alexa’s Battery Blitz Mission here because her local paper did a story about her mission to keep batteries out of the landfill.

Alexa found out about Earth Rangers on TV and decided to join and take on projects to help the environment. “I became an Earth Ranger to help the earth, so that animals don’t become extinct. Everyone needs the opportunity to look at and see all of the amazing animals that we have.”

In addition to recycling batteries, Alexa and her family recycle everywhere – at home, at school and in their community. At Earth Rangers we know how important it is to recycle whenever possible and it is clear that Alexa understands why, “It’s important to protect the animals and the environment because if we don’t we won’t have anywhere to live.”

Thank you, Alexa, for making recycling a part of your everyday life. When we all contribute, we can make a huge difference for the health of our planet.

Top Ten Animals with Scary Looking Teeth

Earth Rangers

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February 28, 2015

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Top Ten Animals with Scary Looking Teeth

The animal dentist will see you now, time to open up and say ahhh! These amazing animals are also flashing their teeth, and some are pretty scaring looking.

1) Bat

2) Cebus monkey

3) Cheetah

4) Crocodile

5) Gorilla

6) Hippo

7) Hyena

8) Moray Eel

9) Shark

10) Wolf

Top Ten Underwater Animals with Spots

Earth Rangers

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February 21, 2015

104

What’s in fashion this season? According to these animals, it’s all about the spots. We love these brightly coloured spotted species of the sea, but what about you, what is your favourite pattern to wear? Spots, stripes, plaid… share your fashion tips in the comments section below.

Earth Rangers

Earth Rangers

Climate Change

Deforestation

Invasion of non-native species

Ocean acidification

Pollution

Overfishing

Hunting

Pet trade

Habitat fragmentation

Amazing work Angelina! Your efforts are making a big difference

1) Lion cub

2) Giraffe calf

3) African wild dog pup

4) Elephant calf

5) Zebra foal

6) Leopard cub

7) Rhino calf

8) Ostrich chick

9) Cheetah cub

10) Impala calf

Jumping the Dam

Eel Count

If you were an eel, and could use any mode of transportation, how would you get over a dam? Paraglide, rocket skateboard, hot air balloon…. Leave your suggestion in the comments section below!

1) Cheetah, 93 km per hour

2) Lion, 80 km per hour

3) Wildebeest, 75 km per hour

4) Pronghorn antelop, 70 km per hour

5) Ostrich, 70 km per hour

6) African wild dog, 70 km per hour

7) Red kangaroo, 65 km per hour

8) Thomson’s gazelle, 65 km per hour

9) Zebra, 64 km per hour

10) Hyena, 60 km per hour

1) American Coot

2) Elephant

3) Gecko

4) Ostrich

5) Lion

6) Bald eagle

7) Rhinoceros

8) Monkey

9) Crocodile

10) Penguin

1) Bat

2) Cebus monkey

3) Cheetah

4) Crocodile

5) Gorilla

6) Hippo

7) Hyena

8) Moray Eel

9) Shark

10) Wolf

1) Yellow boxfish

2) Blue spotted stingray

3) Clown triggerfish

4) Coral grouper

5) Spotted moray eel

6) Nudibranch

7) Red sea star

8) Spotted puffer

9) Spotted tunkfish

10) Thornback cowfish