homepage - Earth Rangers

The Arabian Oryx Revival Tour!

Earth Rangers

-

June 24, 2011

When you look at the beautiful Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx) does the word unicorn come to mind? Well, believe it or not, this animal has lead to the existence of unicorns! It may seem a little odd, but there is a reason for this nickname. When it is viewed from the side its two horns line up and look like one, thus a unicorn. Aside from possibly being a mystical creature this species is memorable for another reason, they are a conservation success story.

The dark days of near extinction

The Arabian Oryx can only be found on the Arabian Peninsula in an area known as Al Maha. Uncontrolled hunting across Arabia drove them to near extinction and in 1972 it was believed that the last wild Arabian Oryx was shot.

Bring back the Oryx

As the Arabian Oryx was disappearing the last few were captured and brought together with individuals from royal collections in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. From this stock a captive breeding and re-introduction program was launched. In 1982 the first Orxy was set free in Oman and its success showed that a captive animal could adapt to the wild. Through these conservation programs the Arabian Oryx has made a comeback and today there are 1,000 individuals in the wild.

Red List success story

According to the IUCN Red list, which tracks the conservation status of plants and animals, the Arabian Oryx revival has broken a record. The Arabian Oryx was once categorized as “Extinct in the Wild” as their populations bounced back they were moved to “Endangered” then they improved again and jumped to “Vulnerable”. This is the first time that a species once listed as “Extinct in the Wild” has improved in status by three full categories.

All about the Arabian Oryx

This large species of antelope is very regal-looking, so much so that they have been heavily featured in Arabic poetry and paintings.
The Arabian Oryx is especially adapted for living in extremely arid or dry environments. It has wide hooves that help them walk across sand and they can smell water from miles away!
They live in small herds of around 8-10
The Arabian Oryx feeds at dusk, finding tubers that are buried up to a half metre underground.

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/arabian_oryx_factsheet.pdf

http://www.iucn.org/knowledge/news/?7671/A-grain-of-hope-in-the-desert

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

There is a mushroom in Borneo named after Spongebob Squarepants

Earth Rangers

-

June 21, 2011

31

There is a mushroom in Borneo named after Spongebob Squarepants

Sing along time…“What lives in the rainforest, under a tree?… Spongiforma squarepantsii….”

There’s a new mushroom in town and it looks like a sea sponge; just like the underwater cartoon hero it’s named after. Spongiforma squarpantisii was discovered in the forests of Borneo, it is bright orange and according to researches it smells kinda fruity and musty.

spongiforma squarepantisii — Spongiforma squarepantisii. Photo Credit: Tom Bruns, Berkely

Mushrooms can be sponges?

Most mushrooms have the classic cap and stem look. With this design the cap keeps the reproductive spores from drying out and the stem lifts it off of the ground to protect it. Our mushroomy SpongeBob takes a different approach; it keeps its spores wet by…well being sponge like. It has big hollow holes, which allows it to absorb small amounts of moisture from the air, keeping it from drying out.

Nameless fungi kingdom.

There are lots of different funguses in the world, but only a small percentage of them have been identified. Researchers estimate that there are anywhere between 1.5 to 3 million fungi species but only 5% of them have been formally named. The fungi kingdom is pretty diverse, with mushrooms only making up a small part of this big group. These mysterious funguses play important roles in ecosystems and learning about them will help us better understand and protect the environment, in short GO TEAM FUNGI

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/sfsu-md061511.php

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

Top Ten Strangest Looking Fish

Earth Rangers

-

June 16, 2011

78

#2 Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

sea lamprey mouth and body drow male — Male sea lamprey

Where we live: Oceans and bodies of fresh water, even the Great Lakes where we are an invasive species!

Why we’re strange: Our mouths are permanently open and we use them to attach ourselves to other creatures, like fish. We don’t have a jaw, in fact, we don’t even have any bones – our skeleton is made of cartilage (the stuff your nose is made of).

#3 Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola)

Where we live: In temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.

Why we’re strange: : We may look shinny, but our skin is actually rough like sandpaper. When we are stressed, we can change our skin colour from light to dark. Weighing about 2200 pounds on average, we are the heaviest bony fish in the world. However, we can get even bigger! One of use reached 4927 pounds, which is heavier than 5 Siberian tigers.

#4 Oarfish or King of Herrings (Regalecus glesne)

Where we live: In oceans at depths of 200m to 1000m (almost 2x the length of the CN Tower).

Why we’re strange: We are the longest fish in the world. We usually grow about 8 meters, but some of us have grown as large as 17 meters. When we swim close to the surface, it is a spectacular sight. We are often mistaken for sea serpents and have been the cause of many myths.

#5 Hagfish (Myxinidae)

Where we live: Throughout the temperate oceans of the world, although we prefer colder waters.

Why we’re strange: Our skeleton is made of cartilage (like the Lamprey) and our eyes are hidden under our skin so we are nearly blind. We are most famous for our cocoon of slime, which is one of our defense mechanisms; if a predator tries to bite us, the slime will clog its gills. To get rid of the slime we just tie ourselves in a knot and move it down our body.

#6 Bandtail Sea-Robin (Prionotus Ophryas)

Where we live: Western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico to Venezuela.

Why we’re strange: We have a curved-in head and a broad snout. Our gill rakers act like fingers to sift through the debris on the sea floor and look for food.

#7 Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)

Where we live: North Atlantic Ocean around Greenland, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Canada. We like to swim in places that have rock bottoms.

Why we’re strange: You probably won’t be able to see our most interesting feature because it’s most likely stuck to something. We have a suction disc on the underside of our bodies, which allows us to stick to things like rocks and walls.

#8 Common Stargazer (Kathetostoma laeve)

Where we live: Around Australia and Tasmania especially in shallow estuaries and bays with sandy floors.

Why we’re strange: We spend most of our lives buried under the sand. When a fish swims by that we might want to eat, we lunge out of our hiding spot and catch them.

#9 Spearnose chimaera (Rhinochimaera atlantica)

Where we live: Close to the ocean floor at the bottom of continental slopes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Why we’re strange: We are light brown and have long snouts. From nose to tail, we measure about 140cm. You will know our eggs when you see them because they are hard and spiky.

#10 Diamond Lizardfish(Synodus synodus)

Where we live: We usually live in shallow water and reefs. Sometimes we venture out into deeper areas near Europe, the Gulf of Maine, Mexico, as well as the Northwest Atlantic.

Why we’re strange: We get our name from the shape of our body, which is round and long. Like all lizardfish, we have many sharp teeth, even on our tongue and the roof of our mouth.

Count down through some of the planet’s funkiest looking fish. When you’re done counting be sure to comment to tell us which one you think is the strangest fish of all.

#1 Bearded ghoul (Inimicus didactylus)

Where we live: Eastern Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, especially around China, Philippines, Northern Australia, and the Andaman Islands.

Why we’re strange: Our skin looks like it is covered in warts but it is actually just our skin glands. Using our fins we can walk along the sea floor. Bearded ghouls also like to hide under mud or in coral reefs, waiting for supper to swim by.

#2 Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

Male sea lamprey

Where we live: Oceans and bodies of fresh water, even the Great Lakes where we are an invasive species!

Why we’re strange: Our mouths are permanently open and we use them to attach ourselves to other creatures, like fish. We don’t have a jaw, in fact, we don’t even have any bones – our skeleton is made of cartilage (the stuff your nose is made of).

Smartest Birds in Class

Earth Rangers

-

June 15, 2011

31

Two of the smartest birds in the world are the Kea (Nestor notabilis), a New Zealand parrot, and the New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides). These birds regularly wow researchers with their intelligence and ability to solve problems. For example, both of these birds are highly skilled at using tools. The New Caledonia crow makes and uses things like sticks and pieces of leaves to get grubs from tree bark. The Kea, although not known for using tools in the wild, has proven its ability to use them in research studies.

parrot using tool — Parrot Kea uses a ball shaped tool at the Multi Access Box. Photo credit: Alice Auersperg

Testing a bird’s IQ

So how do you test the smarts of a bird? Researchers in the Cognitive Biology Department of the University of Vienna came up with a sneaky plan to challenge these feathery friends. Each bird was presented with a clear box that had a treat visible from the outside. The bird was offered four different methods to get to the treat. It could pull a string, pull a hook-shaped lever to open a window, insert a compact tool into a path or insert a rod-shaped stick into an opening. The tricky thing is that once a bird mastered a technique for getting the treat that path would no longer work. If the bird wanted to keep getting treats, it would have to figure out a different way to get to the food reward.

new caledonian crow using crow — New Caledonian crow "Uek" uses the window entrance at the Multi Access Box.. Photo credit: Alice Auersperg

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/uov-ctu061011.php

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

Greenland holds the second largest amount of ice in the world

Earth Rangers

-

June 2, 2011

10

Greenland holds the second largest amount of ice in the world

Greenland’s thousands of glaciers makes it an ideal place to spot the effects of climate change.

Researchers trek up into this icy world to study glaciers and learn how warming temperatures will affect our planet. Glaciers are always changing with the seasons, to measure these differences scientists use something called mass balance. Mass balance looks at how these chunks of ice grow as the snow falls and shrink as they float out to sea.

Tracking a glacier can be tricky especially when you are trying to see how these pieces of ice have changed over several years. Today scientists are relying on a view from up high thanks to seven orbiting satellites and airplanes. With ice thickness data that will soon be available from NASA scientists we will have an even better understanding of glaciers and climate change.

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/grnlndgrl.htm

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

Animal Saving Sam

Earth Rangers

-

June 1, 2011

58

Meet Sam, a very curious and caring four year old who loves to explore nature. His family describes him as a real scientist who will spend hours outside looking at bugs, flowers and collecting different leaves. He is fascinated with nature and the lives of animals, he even insists on only watching documentaries that have animals and nature in them.

Sam saw an Earth Rangers’ show at the Royal Ontario Museum where he watched a short film and got to see some live Animal Ambassadors. This young Earth Ranger was so excited by the show that he wanted to do something to help the grizzlies so he started a Bring Back the Wild™ campaign.

Ranger Deed

While up at the cottage Sam and his older sister volunteered at an annual street festival. With so many people around for the festival Sam decided it would be a great idea to have a lemonade stand to raise awareness for his Bring Back the Wild™ campaign. Sam excitedly sold lemonade, telling the visitors to his stand about how they were helping to protect the Grizzly bear and thanking them for their donation.

Words of Wisdom

Final thoughts from Sam the Super Ranger reminds us how important it is to protect the environment he says it best with “keep the earth clean so the animals don’t become extinct!”

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

Jenna the Artist

Earth Rangers

-

May 24, 2011

101

We stopped by to see the debut of Jenna’s art exhibit and were wowed by her creativity and passion for protecting animals. Here’s the exclusive interview from this young artist who tells us all about how she sold her paintings to help Bring Back the Wild™!

All About Jenna

super ranger, jenna, pine cone — Super Ranger Jenna

I have a big passion for animals and I like to imitate bird calls. My two favourite sports are baseball and soccer. When I grow up I want to be an engineer or an architect. I make lots of crafts! I use the things around me to inspire me about what I’m going to make. I try to use stuff that would get thrown away in my crafts. I made a dragon out of a coffee gift box my Mom got.

I heard about Earth Rangers at school. Then we went on a tour of the Earth Rangers building with my Mom and one of my brothers. We heard about great kids who have helped animals. That made me think I could do it too. I had a cool experience seeing a lemur Cosmo practice with his trainer.

Ranger Deed

Jenna's painting studio — Jenna’s painting studio

I decided to paint pictures of a bunch of animals and do an art show. I made a big fact board full of animal facts. I loved being the cashier and handing out my paintings. We had lots of activities for the kids like bubbles and side walk chalk. It was very exciting for me. I spent a lot of time explaining about the animals in my paintings. Some of them were elephants, lions, birds, cats and a lady bug. We had lemonade and my neighbour friend made cupcakes. I had lots of fun and at the end, I was tired but it was worth it!

Words of Wisdom

If you want to help Earth Rangers, think of your own hobbies and try to do something from your interest. I love painting so I painted some pictures. You have to organize it and plan ahead. You have to raise awareness about what you’re doing so you get a good turnout. It’s great to hand out buttons to show that they helped. It makes them feel good. I had a good feeling too!

You can help Jenna Bring Back the Wild™, visit her campaign page and show your support!

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

What Kind of Rhino are You?

Earth Rangers

-

May 18, 2011

54

Despite their names, Black and White rhinos are similar in colour. So how do you tell them apart? One of the best ways to figure out what kind of rhino you are looking at is to check out their lips. A Black rhinoceros has lips that are prehensile, which means they are designed to grab things, this feature comes in handy as they feed on leaves and twigs. Their cousins the White rhinoceros has square lips that are designed for grazing.

black rhino, Diceros bicornis — Black Rhino. Photo Credit: Lucky Mavrandonis

http://www.eol.org/pages/311501

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

Dolphin chirps are inspiring a new tsunami early warning system

Earth Rangers

-

May 12, 2011

55

Dolphin chirps are inspiring a new tsunami early warning system

Dolphins are social creatures and to keep the conversation going underwater they have adapted a form of communication that uses short chirps. These sounds are perfectly designed for traveling through the water and that’s why we are following their lead. Scientists are studying dolphin sounds and using this information to improve how we communicate in what is known as biomimicry or nature inspired design.

To warn people about a tsunami’s massive waves sensors are placed deep underwater. Getting information from a sensor about a big wave way out at sea to people on land can be tricky, not only does this message have to travel quickly over a long distance it also has to go through water. That’s why scientists have started talking like dolphins! An underwater modem for transmitting data has been developed that copies the way dolphins talk, it is currently being used as a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean. What other things do you think we could we learn from dolphins? Post your suggestions below.

http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/case-studies/case-studies/human-safety.html

http://www.asknature.org/strategy/98d95c82f86e1b1fb819e4fe3f8ed146

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.

Tree Loving Kangaroos

Earth Rangers

-

May 6, 2011

65

Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus goodfellowi) live deep in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. These hopping tree lovers have beautiful coats that are chestnut brown with long black stripes on their back! The females have a pouch for carrying their young, which are called joeys. These kangaroos have very strong arms and short legs, this helps them in the trees but makes them less bouncy then their relatives. They can only do two ‘kangaroo hops’ in a row so they get around by using little hopping steps. These adorable kangaroos come out at night to eat the leaves of trees, fruits and even cereals that they find at the edge of the forest.

Today the Goodfellow’s Tree kangaroo is endangered, its population has declined by at least 50% over the last 30 years. Deforestation has taken away this kangaroo’s home and today they rely heavily on protected areas, like national parks, to stay safe. You can help the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo by learning more about the environment and sharing your know-how with friends and family. You can also take action to live green and help to protect species at risk with your Bring Back the Wild™ campaign.

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dendrolagus_goodfellowi.html

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/6429/0

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.