Questions Kids Ask About Animals

What’s the biggest animal?

The bigaest animal in the world is the blue whale.This huge sea creature can grow to more than 100 feet long-longer than four city stores ! It weighs over 150 ton-more than 26 elephants.

The giraffe is the tallest animal.It can grow to 18 feet tall-about the height of three men.

The elephant is the heaviest animal on land.Some elephants weigh 6 ton-more than 70 adults.

What’s the smallest animal?

The smallest land animal (not counting bugs) is the pygmy shrew.This tiny,mouselike creature is about two inches long!.

What’s the fastest animal?

If the animals had a race,which one would win?which one would come in last?you might be surprised to find out that a small bird is the speediest.They don’t call it a swift for nothing !.

The spine-tailed swift would win the race.It can fly at a speed of 106 miles an hour.For short distances, a cheetah can run faster than any other animal on land.It can go 50 miles an hour as fast as a car on a highway.Racehorses are specially raised to run races.They can run about 45 miles an hour.The ostrich is know for its speed.It can run as speed of up to 40 miles an hor.The speediest human sprinters run at a speed of 26 miles an hour for short distance.And the last slowest animal on earth is the snail.It would take a snail half a minute to slither across.

How do birds fly?

Birds fly by using their strong chest muscles to flap their wings up and down.This movement lifts them up because their bodies are so light.Then they use their feathers to help them steer and brke.Hummingbirds flap their wings so fast they can hover in one spot.They can even fly backward.

1.     When a bird takes off,it raises its wings,and its feathers open to let air through.

2.     Then it flaps its wings downward,and the feathers close and the feathers close and press against the air,lifting the bird.

Do animals build houses?

Many do! Using what nature provides,such as sticks,leaves,and grass,many animals build shelters for themselves and their families in the trees,on the ground,underground,or underwater.Squirrels build nests in empty holes in trees.they line them with soft leaves.Some wasps make paper nests from wood they have chewed.Stickleback fish raise their babies in nests they build from weeds,sticks,and roots.Muskrats live near water and make their burrows in the banks of streams.A hollow in a tree,Sticks piled in a dome lift the flap to see who made each clever home!.Weaver birds build beautiful hanging nests by using their breaks to weave grass and twigs together.Home sweet home for bunnies is in a burrow underground.Woodpeckers make holes in trees with their hard,strong breaks.They make their nests inside.And Beavers use mud and sticks to build a house,called a lodge.In a stream.Its front door is hidden underwater so that enemies can’t find a way inside.

Do animals talk to each other?

Yes,but they don’t use word.Animals have their own way of talking to each other,using sound,action,and even smells to communicate.

Honeybees do a dance to tell other bees where to find the best flowers for collecting nectar.They use the nectar to make honey.

Cats use their sense of smell as away to communicate.They rub against objects,such as furniture,to leave their scent so that other cats know they have been there.

When a dog is happy to see you,it jumps up and wags its tail from side to side.

Dolphins talk to each other using their own special language of grunts,whines,whistles,and clicks.

Prairie dogs kiss!.They press their noses together to see if they are from the some family.

It many seem that parrots talk,but what they really do is copy the sounds they hear us make.They don’t understand the words.The natural way for parrots to talk to each other is by squawking.

Do animals sleep?

Yes,but not all animals go to sleep the same way we do.A pet may curl up in bed with you,but just look at the different ways wild animals sleep !.

Big animals,such as elephants,have a difficult time getting up and down.So they just go to sleep standing up!.

Flamingos do an amazing balancing act while they sleep.They snooze standing on one leg! They tuck the other leg up under one of their wings.

Bats sleep hanging upside down.They wrap their wings around themselves like a cozy blanket.

And Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

Do animals have families?

Yes! Some have big families,and some have small ones.Like your family,animals feed their babies,protect them,and teach them to care for themselves,They just do these things a little  differently !.

It’s the father sea horse,not the mother,who carries sea horse babies before they are born.He carries the mother’s eggs in a pouch until they hatch.

Between 10 and 35 lions live together in a group called a pride.The fathers guard the family while the mothers hunt for food.

Small apes called gibbons live in small family groups with a mother,a father,and three or four babies.Father gibbons often take care of the babies once they are a year old.

Mother crocodiles protect their newly hatched babies by carrying them in their mouths !.

Human babies need the care of their family longer than animals do because they grow up much more slowly.A cat can walk when it is three weeks old.When did you learn to walk?

How do animals hide?

Some animals hide just by standing still! This is because the colors and patterns of their skins match and blend in with the things around them.Other animals hide by pretending to be something else,like leaves or twigs.

A lumpy,bumpy pattern on this moth makes it appear to be part of the tree trunk.

The insect looks like a leaf,but it’s really a praying mantis.

The chameleon can change from one color to another in minutes.The puff adder snake blends in with the color of the soil,helping it hide from its enemies.Green parrots are hard to spot in green trees.How many can you see?.The stripes on a tiger’s skin help it hide in long grass and clumps of bamboo.Snakes sometimes look like long vines or plants.Lizard will scuttle into a pile of leaves if they have time to hide,or stay still if they don’t !.And the black panther’s dark fur helps it to stay hidden in shadows.

How do animals stay warm in winter?

Animals can’t put on mittens and scarves when the weather turn cold,but some animals,like cats and dogs,grow thicker coats.Other just don’t go out.They satay inside their dens until springs.Still other solve the problem by eating enough to give themselves a warm layer of fat.

When it’s veri cold,seals grow an extra layer of fat,called blubber.It can be up to six inches thick! Then they huddle together with their blubbery friends,living quite happily in freezing ice and snow.Lemmings make tunnels under the snow,away from cold winter winds.Some birds that don’t fly south for the winter fluff up their feathers and sit close together in groups for warmth.Many birds prefer to leave the cold weather behind ! They fly off to warmer part of the world for the winter.And lemmings make tunnels under the snow,away from cold winter winds.