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Is It Too Cold Out Today?

Have you ever walked outside on an icy cold winter’s day and forgotten to put your coat on? It was probably only a matter of seconds before you realized your mistake and quickly dashed back inside for warmth and a nice hot cup of cocoa! Animals that survive in the Arctic very rarely have this problem. They are adapted to survive long winters (up to 10 months) of snowfall, ice, periods of little sunlight and freezing cold temperatures that are sometimes well below – 30° Celsius! Let’s take a look at some of the ways Arctic wildlife are able to live in this harsh climate.

Throw on your coat … and shorten your ears?!

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about adaptations to the cold is of course having a thick fur coat. Most Arctic animals have a fur coat surrounding their body that usually thickens as winter approaches.

Arctic fox summer and winter coat
Arctic fox summer and winter coat
The Arctic fox, for example, has the warmest fur coat of any mammal on earth! In the summer months, you will find the Arctic fox with a thinner brown/grey coat which is quickly replaced by a thick white one as winter approaches – used for both keeping warm and camouflaging in the snow. The Muskoxen, a large Arctic animal, has a two-layered coat with a soft wool inner layer covered by a much longer outer layer of thick hair. This double layer traps heated air near their body to better keep warm and block out the wind. It’s kind of like us wearing a sweater and a thick fleece. Arctic wolves also produce a thick winter coat and have hairs on the pads of their feet for walking on cold, icy surfaces. What other body features do animals have that help them survive the cold? Well, body heat is lost the fastest from our extremities, or body parts that stick out, like our ears, arms and legs. To adapt to the cold and reduce heat loss, Arctic foxes and wolves have smaller ears and noses as well as shorter legs, helping them to keep warm in the cold windy climate of the Canadian Arctic.

muskoxen
Muskoxen

It’s a good time to fatten up!

Some animals in the Arctic can reach enormous sizes and survive the cold because of thick amounts of fat and blubber around their body. The fat acts like an insulator, trapping heat and keeping animals warm on land and in the North’s frigid and icy waters! Polar bears can weigh up to 600 kg and possess a thick layer of fat and blubber that they use for both warmth and energy, especially when sea ice has melted and they can no longer hunt for prey. Aquatic species also use a thick layer of fat to keep warm in the water, including hooded, ringed and bearded seals, as well as walrus that can have a layer of blubber over two inches thick! Female seals will also produce milk for their pups that is very high in fat to help their babies grow quickly and develop their own layers of blubber to survive the icy water.

walrus and bearded seals
Walrus and bearded seal

Getting around the snow and ice…

Snow and ice are characteristic features of life in the Arctic, which means to survive animals need specific physical characteristics to help them get around. Wolverines have large paws that act like snowshoes to keep them from sinking in deep snow. Arctic hare have long, thick claws to help them climb over piles of snow and dig dens for shelter from the cold and wind and protection from predators.

Living in the Arctic can be tricky, but these animals are adapted to these extreme conditions, allowing them to call this chilly place “home”! If you could use one of these animal adaptations to stay warm this winter which one would you choose? 1) Growing thicker hair, 2) Adding a layer of blubber, 3) Shortening your nose and ears or 4) Growing bigger paws to cross deep piles of snow?

wolverine and Arctic hare
Wolverine and Arctic Hare

Leave your answer in the comments section below!

 

researcher L Sciullo with polar bear
Luana Sciullo
 
 

This article was written by honorary Earth Ranger Luana. Luana Sciullo is a doctoral student in the Department of Biology at York University where she works with researchers at Environment Canada to investigate long-term shifts in Polar bear foraging ecology and body condition in relation to environmental change in Western Hudson Bay.

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Funny Talking Animals Video

At Earth Rangers, we ask some very serious questions. Can flamingos bust a move? What’s the top track on a zebra’s playlist? What happens when a baby rhino can’t find his mom? Will that tarsier ever let go of that stick? Find out the answers to these important questions in this video—and try not to laugh too hard!

If animals could talk, what do you think they’d say?  

Make Your Own Paper

Have you ever made your own paper? Using paper can’t get much more environmentally friendly than this. Plus, it’s really fun too! Take your Homemade Holiday Mission to the next level by getting your family together and use these instructions to make your own paper for your Homemade Holiday cards!

Here’s What You’ll Need

Special Notes:
– Used paper can include old paper, newspaper, used envelopes, even junk mail (just make sure the paper isn’t glossy).
– Use the cookies sheet to catch water and the cutting board for flattening.
– When looking for a cloth, make sure it isn’t a face cloth or bath towel as a textured material will stick to your paper.
– You can substitute any of these items if you come across something that you think would work better.

What to do…

Rip up your paper into small pieces. Put the pieces into your leak-proof plastic container with just enough warm water to cover all the pieces and let it soak for about 30 minutes.

TIP: Add some glitter to the mix if you want your paper to sparkle!

While you are waiting for your paper pieces to soak, it’s the perfect time to make your screen. Have an adult bend your wire hanger into a rectangle. Next stretch the old pantyhose over the wire frame.

TIP: You can use duct tape to secure the edges if needed.

Are the 30 minutes up? Great! Add a little bit more warm water to your container, toss in your marbles and close it tightly. The amount water you use depends on how many paper pieces you have and how thin you want your finished paper to be. You may need to do a little experimenting. With the help of an adult shake the container until the paper has broken down and the mixture has thickened. Once you’ve removed your marbles, your paper pulp is ready!


TIP: Want a faster way to make the paper pulp? Instead of using marbles and a container, put the soaked paper pieces and water into a kitchen blender! Always remember to ask an adult before using kitchen appliances.

Place your homemade screen over the cookie sheet and pour your paper pulp over the screen until it is covered evenly. Don’t worry if you have extra pulp, it means you can make another sheet!

TIP: If your pulp is too thick, put it back in the container, add more water and mix again.

Put a clean cloth over the pulp and place your cutting board on top. Now squeeze the cutting board and cookie sheet together as hard as you can. This will help you get rid of some of the extra water while flattening your paper at the same time. Drain the extra water. Remove the cutting board and press your sponge on the cloth to soak up more water. Absorb as much water as you can. The more water you absorb, the faster your paper will dry.

Flip your screen over so the cloth is facing downward and gently scratch the screen with your finger nails or the tip of a spoon. This will help the paper detach from the screen.

TIP: Feel free to replace your cloth before flipping the screen if you think it is too wet.

Carefully remove your screen and set your paper and cloth aside to dry. Once it’s completely dry, carefully peal off your paper. If you notice your paper isn’t as flat as you want it, put it between two books for a while.

When your paper is flattened to your liking, you have made your own paper!

Want to make something fun with your homemade paper? Accept your Homemade Holiday Mission to make homemade holiday cards out of materials from around your house.

Top Ten Weirdest Looking National Birds

Did you know that countries have national birds? Here’s our countdown of some of the weirdest looking national birds from all around the world. If you could pick your country’s national bird, which species would you choose? Leave a comment to share your suggestion.

1) Ecuador: Andean Condor

Male Andean Condor
2) Malaysia: Rhinoceros Hornbill

rhinocerous hornbill
3) New Zealand: Kiwi

Kiwi
4) Angola: Red crested Turaco

Red Crested Turaco

5) Trinidad and Tobago: Scarlet Ibis

Scarlet Ibis
6) Peru: Andean cock-of-the-rock

cock of the rock
7) Nepal: Lophophorus

Himalayan Monal
8) Kiribati: Magnificent Frigatebird

Magnificent Frigatebird

 

9) Guatemala: Quetzal

Resplendent Quetzal
10) Antigua and Barbuda: Frigate

Female Frigate

Top Ten Funny Halloween Animals

These animals are in the Halloween spirit year round thanks to their striking black and orange colouring. We’ve given them some fun captions to share what we think they’d have to say about Halloween! Can you think of any other animals that remind you of Halloween? Share your suggestions below.

1) Orange tarantula

“Check out my ghost costume, I spun it myself!” Tarantula

2) Cheetah

“Halloween is upon us… I can sense it”

Cheetah

3) Black-capped squirrel monkey

“I’m going to steal all of your Halloween candy!”

Black-capped squirrel monkey

4) Orangutan

“I’m not smiling again until it is Halloween”

Baby orangutan

5) Puffin

“Do you want some of my Halloween treats?”

Atlantic Puffin

6) Tiger

“You’re going as a tiger too! Costume party fail”

Sumatran Tiger

7) Toucan

“Think how much candy I can fit in this beak…”

toucan

8) Orange poison dart frog

“So… are we going trick or treating now?”

orange poison dart frog

9) Slug

“I’m going to visit twice as many houses this year, a whole two houses!”

Slug

10) Owl

“I’m on such a Halloween candy sugar buzz that I stopped blinking”

Owl close up
Photo credit: Flickr user Takoyaki_King

Team Sunflower!

Meet Elizabeth, Tia, Alannah and Shawnice – four friends working together to help protect animals and preserve the environment.

sunflower seed fundraiser

Elizabeth has been an active Earth Ranger for the past three years and raised funds to help protect polar bears through a Bring Back the Wild birthday party, garage sale, doing extra chores and even donating part of her allowance. Tia also hosted a birthday party for her Bring Back the Wild campaign for the polar bear.

fundraiser sighnThe girls were eager to do more so they started selling sunflower seedlings (baby sunflower plants) at their school’s Fun Fair. The sunflower sale was so popular that this year their friends Alannah and Shawnice joined the group to help with the planting of 150 seeds and care and selling of the seedlings. All of the proceeds from the plants sales were donated to Earth Rangers.

These friends are extremely committed to maintaining a healthy planet and participate in various activities like their school’s Eco Club, an annual spring clean-up in their community, recycling and helping to raise awareness for the environment through their Sunflower Fundraiser.

Elizabeth says, “It is important to protect all animals including insects, rodents, predators, spiders, amphibians and reptiles because they all play a part in keeping the ecosystem in balance.”

We couldn’t agree more. Thank you for sharing this amazing idea!

super ranger friends

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.

Happy World Smile Day

It’s World Smile Day! To celebrate we’ve brought together some of our favourite animals to see if they can make you smile. Do you have a toothy grin like a zebra, a sly smirk like an alpaca or a cheetah chuckle? Leave a comment to share which animal you look like when you smile.

Cheetah Chuckle

Cheetah Laughing

Red Panda SnarlSmiling Red Panda Bear

Sleepy Seal Smile

Sleeping Weddell Seal

Toothy Zebra Grin

Zebra smile

Sly Alpaca Smirk

Alpaca smile

Beaming Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee smile

“Hey There” Crocodile Grin

crocodile smile

Photobombing Ostrich Smile

ostrich smile

‘Laughing to Yourself’ Owl

Barn owl smile

Happiest Chameleon Smile

smiling chameleon

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 Fun Fox Facts

Foxes are fascinating animals, and that’s why we’re counting down our favourite fun facts about them! Which fox fact is your favourite? Leave us a comment to cast your vote.

1)  A group of foxes is called a skulk or leash

group of red foxes

2) Foxes have whiskers on their legs and face, which help them to navigate

fox whiskers

3) Grey foxes can retract their claws like cats do

Grey fox

4) A male is called a ‘dog fox’ while a female is called a ‘vixen’

male and female bat fox

5) Foxes are generally solitary animals; unlike wolves, they hunt on their own rather than in packs

Arctic fox

6) Foxes dig underground dens where they take care of their kits and hide from predators

red fox cubs and den

7) Their pupils are vertical, similar to a cat, helping them to see well at night

red fox stare

8) The tip of a red fox’s tail is white, whereas swift foxes have a black-tipped tail

red fox and swift fox

9) Foxes have excellent hearing. Red foxes can reportedly hear a watch ticking 40 yards away!

Red Fox

10) Foxes stink, their funny ‘musky’ smell comes from scent glands at the base of their tail

red fox smile mom and baby

Find out more about the swift fox and help protect them!

 

If you think animals are amazing, the Earth Rangers Podcast is for you!

Join Earth Ranger Emma as she travels the world on a quest to solve some of nature’s greatest mysteries! With top ten countdowns, animal guessing games and epic animal showdowns, this is a journey you won’t want to miss!

Asia’s Community Clean Up, Growing One Street at a Time

Meet four-year-old Asia. She may be young but she is extremely dedicated to keeping her community clean and inspiring others to do the same.

Asia and her mom pick up garbage in their neighbourhood each year. This year they made a short video which they shared with family and friends asking for help with their annual clean up.

Asia community clean up

To their surprise people from Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon responded saying they are going to pitch in by cleaning up the streets in their communities and a local environment group called NEAT has also put their support behind the cause.

We were so inspired by Asia’s story that we grabbed some gloves and bags and headed out to the street and spent a lunch hour picking up garbage too!

We think Asia’s commitment to the environment is amazing. An active animal and environmental enthusiast, not only does she pick up garbage to help keep the environment safe for animals, she also recycles and composts.

Keep up the great work Asia!

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.

Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Bobolinks

Have you ever heard of a bobolink? They are amazing animals that Earth Rangers like YOU are helping to protect! Check out these ten fast facts to learn more these little songbirds.

1. Bobolink is pronounced baa-baa-link, like baa baa black sheep!

baabaalink

 

2. They have a beautiful song.

song - musical notes

 

3. No other bird looks like a male bobolink…

Photo Credit: Larry Kirtley
Photo Credit: Larry Kirtley

 

4. not even the female!

Photo Credit: Flickr User HarmonyonPlanetEarth
Photo Credit: Flickr User HarmonyonPlanetEarth

 

5. Bobolinks measure 15-21 cm in length…

length - add arrow to show length

 

6. and weigh about the same as 8 quarters.

0F bobolink weight

 

7. Its scientific name is oryzivorus, meaning “rice eating”.

rice

 

8. Unlike many other birds, bobolinks build their nest on the ground.

0F bobolink nest

 

9. They fly about 20,000 km to get to their wintering grounds and back.

Bow Lake in Banff National Park, Canada.

 

10. That’s like flying half way around the world!

earth_small

Sign up to protect the bobolink!

Generously Supported By

Holcim

 

A Conservation Project With

 

CouchichingConservancy_Logo

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.