What’s up, Earth Rangers! I’ve been around the world, under the sea, on top of icebergs at both poles – but I’ve never been to Hollywood! This is new for me!

Join me as I try to bust some sneaky animal myths on everyone’s favorite quiz show: Fact or Fiction!

Black cats are bad luck, true or false? False! That’s just a mean myth. At least, in some places, people think black cats are really lucky! Maybe they are… Black cats are special because the gene that makes their fur black also helps them stay healthy and not get sick as often as other cats.

What about polar bears having black skin, even when they’re white? Is that fact or fiction? Do you know the answer? Well then you might do great on today’s gameshow: Fact or Fiction!

Today’s episode we join Emma and Fact or Fiction’s gameshow host Jeffrey McJeffrey on a special myth-busting show! Rather than one specific question, we’ll ask a whole bunch of them, like “Do snakes have legs?” or “Do wolves really howl at the moon”.

The catch? You need to figure out which is fact or fiction! Will Earth Ranger Emma’s skills be up for the test? What score will she get in this gameshow and… will she break any new records?! Why not fling ourselves in like snakes to find out?!

Whew! Fact or Fiction tries its best to throw trick questions, but an animal expert should see through it all, right? After all, animals appear in many stories and tall tales, but knowing the research can show us the real answers!

As an Earth Ranger, Emma has an edge over the competition. She’s a pro about animals! Plus, many of these questions have shown up in the Earth Ranger’s app, in our Creative Corner. You can test your skills in our quiz while listening to Emma’s answers:

Are there any answers that surprised you? Stumped you and you had to wait for the answer? Or are you like Emma, a super-ranger who can bust myths easy-peasy? Let’s see how well the Earth Rangers community could do in this gameshow if they’d been in Emma’s place!

Or… maybe we could do better? Do you know any animal myths that weren’t included in the gameshow or our creative corner? Share them to see if anyone could find the answer, or if you want to give a bit of trivia you can always show off your skills by revealing some fun facts about a cute, scary, weird, or rare animal. Don’t forget Emma is still out to investigate mysteries about the world, your question could be next!

Do you have a fun animal mystery you want us to explore?
Let us know in the comments in the Earth Rangers App!

Did you ever wonder why penguins forgot how to fly? I mean, they ARE birds, and they DO have wings – so at some point long, long, long ago – their ancestors could probably fly, right? They certainly didn’t SWIM to Antarctica after all.
So today, I’m exploring the mystery of flightless birds. What’s their whole deal??? Tune in to find out!

Where will we be looking for today’s question? Up? In the sky? In the tree branches? Deep under the sea? Or on ground level, among the grass and bushes? Yup! We’re back in the Down Under of Australia, the country of many mysteries!

What animal is said to be one of the only surviving dinosaurs, descendants of theropods? Birds! If you look up, you’ll likely see a bird flying through the sky, perched in a tree, or on a roof. These animals have mastered the skies, inspiring humans to make planes to join them. They’re strange, beautiful, delicate, and weird. So what kind of grounding conundrum are they facing?

THE QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Why are there birds that can’t fly?

Birds can be found in all shapes and sizes. There’s the tiny hummingbird, the soaring eagle, and the gigantic ostrich. Why can some fly, and others can’t? Is it because they’re too heavy? Have too small wings? Do they all need hollow bones to fly? Or is it something special? Vote on the answer you think is right! If you have any thoughts, share them in the comments below.

So… what’s the answer? Be sure to listen to know the full reason why! It might be a bit more complicated than you think…

A Special Muscle for some…

Ostriches and cassowary don’t have it, but the penguin does… what is it? The keel!

A Keel is a part of a bird’s breastbone, attached to their wings. It’s a super-important muscle for flight, so important that the keel is also used as a word for important “backbone” parts for planes and ships! Without a keel, birds like the cassowary, ostrich, kiwi, and rhea cannot fly. This group of flightless birds is called ratite.

Some ratites, like kakapo, may show “vestigial” keels – remains of this body part that disappeared from evolution. However, there’s one bird that still has it yet is just as grounded as us!

The slippery surfer!

Penguins – unlike other ratites DO have a keel. If they had bigger wings, they probably could fly! But with heavy bodies, their keel cannot support them. Instead, they focus on mastering swimming, and tobogganing across the ice! At least when they can’t fly like other birds, they’ve still got some fun special tricks. What do you think?

Do you have a fun animal mystery you want us to explore?
Let us know in the comments in the Earth Rangers App!