AN ADULT SNOWY OWL CAN EAT 1,600 LEMMINGS A YEAR. BECAUSE OF THIS, THEIR LOCAL NUMBERS RISE AND FALL WITH THAT OF THE LEMMING POPULATION.
NUTRITION
OWLS DO NOT BUILD NESTS LIKE OTHER BIRDS. INSTEAD, THE FEMALE SCRATCHES OUT A SHALLOW BOWL IN THE GROUND, TYPICALLY ON A SMALL HILL. WHILE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR PREDATORS, SHE LAYS ONE EGG APPROXIMATELY EVERY TWO DAYS.
EARLY STAGES
SNOWY OWLS FORM AN EXCLUSIVE PAIR BOND FOR ONE BREEDING SEASON, BUT DO NOT MATE FOR LIFE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE COURTSHIP AND PAIRING PROCESS BEGINS ANEW.
MATING
THEY’RE NOT NIGHT OWLS- THEIR ACTIVITY AND SLEEP ARE DETERMINED BY LOCATION, SUNLIGHT, AND PREY. THEY CAN HUNT DURING THE DAY, A USEFUL ABILITY IN AREAS WITH NO SUNSET WHERE THEY BREED.
BEHAVIOR
Bubo scandiacus
Snowy Owl
Bubo scandiacus
Snowy Owl
Apis mellifera
Honey Bee
LIVES IN LARGE FAMILY GROUPS CALLED COLONIES, EACH CONTAINING AN AVERAGE OF 60,000 INDIVIDUAL BEES.
FEMALE BEES IN THE HIVE (EXCEPT THE QUEEN) ARE CALLED WORKER BEES
THE BEEHIVE
BEES HAVE 5 EYES AND THEY FLY ABOUT 20 MPH
ANATOMY
BEES ARE CRITICAL FOR POLLINATING FOODS LIKE COFFEE, BERRIES, ONIONS, APPLES, AVOCADOS AND MORE. IF HONEY BEES DISAPPEAR, THESE FOODS WILL BECOME SCARCE. TRY TO IMAGINE YOUR MEALS WITHOUT THESE FRESH PRODUCTS.
IMPORTANCE
Without bees, the human diet would suffer tremendously. The diversity of foods available would diminish, and the cost of food would increase.
Poaching Ivory
there are only 400K living African elephants left. Poaching and the illegal ivory trade are responsible for the decrease in the elephant population
HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR DRIVING ELEPHANTS TOWARD EXTINCTION.
NUMBERING THREE TO FIVE MILLION IN THE LAST CENTURY, HUNTING REDUCED THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT POPULATIONS TO THEIR CURRENT LEVELS. IN THE 1980S, PEOPLE KILLED ABOUT 100,000 ELEPHANTS EACH YEAR, AND WE LOST UP TO 80% OF HERDS IN SOME REGIONS.
Poaching Ivory
Elephants are
“ecosystem engineers”. Their activities create and maintain habitats for other species.
THERE ARE ONLY 490K LIVING ELEPHANTS LEFT IN THE WORLD. EACH YEAR, AT LEAST 20,000 AFRICAN ELEPHANTS ARE ILLEGALLY KILLED FOR THEIR TUSKS. THROUGHOUT HISTORY IVORY HAS BEEN USED IN PRODUCTS FROM JEWELRY TO PIANO KEYS TO
PRICELESS RELIGIOUS ARTIFACTS.
NUMBERING THREE TO FIVE MILLION IN THE LAST CENTURY, HUNTING REDUCED THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT POPULATIONS TO THEIR CURRENT LEVELS.
IN THE 1980S, PEOPLE KILLED ABOUT 100,000 ELEPHANTS EACH YEAR, AND WE LOST UP TO 80% OF HERDS IN SOME REGIONS.
THE ELEPHANT'S TRUNK (WHICH IS BASICALLY THEIR NOSE) ALSO OPERATES AS AN ARM. THEY USE IT TO POUR WATER INTO THEIR MOUTHS, TO GRAB OBJECTS AND TO GROOM THEMSELVES. WHEN ELEPHANTS SWIM IN DEEP WATERS, THEY USE THEIR TRUNKS AS SNORKELS.
TRUNK
ELEPHANTS POSSESS THE LARGEST BRAINS OF ALL LAND ANIMALS, WEIGHING UP TO 6 KILOGRAMS. THEIR BRAIN SIZE IS NOT JUST FOR SHOW; ELEPHANTS ARE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT. MUCH OF AN ELEPHANT'S BEHAVIOR IS LEARNED RATHER THAN INSTINCTIVE.
THEY HAVE EXCELLENT MEMORIES- THEY CAN REMEMBER WATERING HOLES CREATED YEARS AGO, RECOGNIZE HUMANS THEY HAVE SEEN, AND WILL KNOW WHEN IT IS TIME FOR FRUIT HARVESTS.
BRAIN
Elephant
Loxodonta
THE ELEPHANT'S TRUNK (WHICH IS BASICALLY THEIR NOSE) ALSO OPERATES AS AN ARM; THEY USE IT TO POUR WATER INTO THEIR MOUTHS, TO GRAB OBJECTS OR GROOM THEMSELVES. WHEN ELEPHANTS SWIM IN DEEP WATERS, THEY USE THEIR TRUNKS AS SNORKELS.
TRUNK
ELEPHANTS POSSESS THE LARGEST BRAINS OF ALL LAND ANIMALS, WEIGHING UP TO 6 KILOGRAMS. THEIR BRAIN SIZE IS NOT JUST FOR SHOW; ELEPHANTS ARE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT. MUCH OF AN ELEPHANT'S BEHAVIOR IS LEARNED RATHER THAN INSTINCTIVE.
THEY ARE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT WITH SUPERIOR LEARNING ABILITIES AND THEY HAVE AN EXCELLENT MEMORY- THEY CAN REMEMBER WATERING HOLES CREATED YEARS AGO, RECOGNIZE HUMANS THEY HAVE SEEN, AND WILL KNOW WHEN IS THE TIME FOR FRUIT HARVESTS.
BRAIN
Loxodonta
Elephant
