2/10/15

For my science discovery this month I researched zebras. The scientific name for zebras is equus burchellii. Just like how every human has different finger prints every zebra has its own unique pattern of stripes. Zebras are closely related to donkeys and horses. Some scientists believe that zebras have black and white stripes for camouflage. Zebras are herbivorous and usually eat a variety of grasses, shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves and bark. Plains zebra are found on the savannahs from Sudan to northern Zimbabwe in eastern Africa. Grevy's zebras are now mostly restricted to parts of northern Kenya. Mountain zebras occur in southwestern Africa with cape mountain zebras in South Africa and Hartmann's mountain zebras in Namibia and Angola. Zebras are not solitary animals and live in large groups called harems. Zebras sleep standing up, and only when they are in groups that can warn them of danger. If they spot a predator, they will bark or whinny loudly to warn the others in the group. Mating season is year round (and based on species). Gestation lasts 12-13 months and a litter size is one foal. Zebra foals are born with brown and white stripes instead of black and white stripes. Mares generally keep all other zebras away for 2-3 days until her foal recognizes her by sight, voice and scent. The biggest threat to zebras is habitat loss (from ranching, farming and competition for water with livestock). Another huge threat to zebras that they're hunted for their skins.

2/10/15

For my science discovery this month I researched sea turtles. Sea turtles are reptiles and sometimes they're called marine turtles. There are seven different species of sea turtle. Its scientific name is Chelonioidea. The seven species of sea turtle that exist today have been around for 110 million years (since the time of dinosaurs). The sea turtles shell is called the carapace and is streamlined for swimming through the water. Sea turtles are unlike other turtles because they cannot retract there head and legs into their shells. Depending on the species their color varies between black, greenish, and yellow. Some common items sea turtles eat are jellyfish, seaweed, crabs, shrimp, sponges, mollusks, and algae. The mating season for sea turtles is March through October, depending on the species. Green sea turtles can stay underwater for as long as 5 hours. This is because their heart rate slows to conserve oxygen,(nine minutes may elapse between heart beats). Sea turtles are found in all warm temperature waters throughout the world. Sea turtles do not return to shore once they hatch (only females return to lay eggs). Sea turtles are solitary until mating season. They're endangered because of pollution (such as eating a piece of garbage that they think is food, but then they get sick or die). Sea turtles live up to an average of 80 years.