The Komodo Dragon

The Komodo Dragon is the King of the Lizard species. It is the biggest and heaviest living lizard in the world. They have long flat heads with rounded snouts, scaly skin, bowed legs and huge muscular tails. The yellow color of the Komodo Dragon's forked tongue reminds people of dragons from fairy tales!

Although most lizards are omnivores, the Komodo Dragon is a dedicated meat eater. They want meat and will use their long tongues to smell the air if a meal is nearby. The Komodo is not a picky eater, it will kill and eat wild pigs, deer, buffalo, even snake and fish that wash up on shore. Smaller dragons and humans have also been eaten by the Komodo Dragon.

The Komodo Dragon will follow a prey who has been bitten by his sharp teeth. Dragon saliva has over 50 different kinds of bacteria that will eat and kill the prey, and the Komodo Dragon will slowly follow his meal for miles. It can eat an amazing 80 percent of its body weight (that's 264 pounds!!!) in a single meal!!!

The Komodo Dragon is an ENDANGERED SPECIES. There are only 3,000 to 5,000 Komodo Dragons in the islands of Komodo, Gila Motang, Rinca and Flores. Here are some reasons why this gigantic lizard is endangered:

1. Few female dragons - There are only 350 female dragons who can lay eggs. Studies are being done to find out why the majority of new dragons being born are male.

2. Natural disasters - Volcanic activity, earthquakes and fire have all been causes of several deaths of the Komodo Dragon.

3. Poaching - Many years ago, the Komodo Dragon was killed "for fun" and for displaying on the walls of the hunters. Scientists were also responsible for having Komodo Dragons taken from their environment so that they could be studied.

4. Human disturbance - People disturb the natural habitat of the Komodo Dragons and hunt the smae food that dragons need to survive.

Komodo Dragon Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Varanus Komodoensis
Type: Reptile
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 10 feet
Weight: 330 pounds
Range: islands of Indonesia
Diet: meat, meat and more meat!

To solve a jigsaw puzzle of the Komodo Dragon, click on the image or here.

The Koala

Often called a "Koala Bear", Koalas aren't bears at all. They are marsupials, a group of animals with pouches like a kangaroo. In fact, a baby Koala is called a Joey, just like a baby kangaroo. The scientific name of the Koala's genus is Phascolarctos, from the Greek phaskolos meaning pouch, and arktos meaning bear. People referred to the Koala as a bear so that others who didn't know what a Koala looked like would have some vision of the animal.


Koalas do look like Teddy bears, all cute and cuddly. They have sharp claws on their hands and feet. Koalas' hands have five fingers each, including two thumbs, which let the Koala grip tree trunks as it clumbs up. They have ridged skin on the bottom of its feet to give them traction for climbing. Strong muscles help the Koala climb 150 feet to the tope of a tree, and allows it to jump from treetop to treetop.

The Koala eats only the leaves of the eucalyptus tree. The leaves are poisonous to most animals, but Koalas have special bacteria in their stomachs that allow them to digest the leaves. They sleep as much as 18-20 hours during the day and wake up at night to go up the trees to eat.

In the early 20th century, the Koala was hunted for its fur almost to extinction. With the public made more aware of the importance of the Koala as one of the symbols of Australia, the number of Koala have slowly increased. Today, they are put on the THREATENED SPECIES list. This does not mean that the Koala is safe from harm. There are always threats to the survival of the Koala:

1. Habitat loss - Koalas need a lot of space, about 100 trees per animal, and a healthy connected forest for food. A Koala will tavel long distances to look for food and for a mate. As the land gets smaller and smaller, the Koala's environment is threatened.

2. Presence of people and civilization - The most common reason for Koala deaths are from cars and dogs. As people take over the Koala's habitat, there will be more cars and more pets that may harm the Koala, even if by accident.

Koala Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Phascolarctos Cinereus
Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Height: 2 to 2.8 feet
Weight: 20 pounds
Range: Eastern Australia
Diet: Eucalytpus leaves

To make an origami of the Asian Tapir, click on the image or here.

The Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. Because it is protected, people who shoot or harm this national bird will be put in jail. The Bald Eagle is not really bald; it has very white feathers on its head, making it look like it has no hair/feathers at all! The term "bald" may have come from the Old English word, balde, which meant white.

The favorite food of the Bald Eagle is fish. And this bird is an expert fisher. A Bald Eagle has spiny scales and sharp talons on their toes for gripping the slippery fish straight from the water. A powerful beak, in the shape of a hook, helps the eagle eat its food. When there are few fish, the Bald Eagle will hunt rabbits, squirrels, other birds and young deer.

Bald Eagles have very sharp eyes and can see four to seven times better than humans! But the eagle's eyes can't move from side to side like we do; it has to turn turn its head to be able to look around. When a Bald Eagle loses a feather on one wing, it will also lose a feather on the other wing. Why? So that it won't lose its balance!

The Bald Eagle was put on the Endangered Species list a few years ago. But because of the effort put in by the US Government, the population of this bird has increased, putting its classification status as a VULNERABLE SPECIES. This doesn't mean that we have to stop our efforts in helping this bird survive. There are still things that can further endanger the Bald Eagle.

1. Hunting - The Bald Eagle was hunted for "fun", and to put their heads and bodies on display as trophies. With government protecting these birds, hunting has almost stopped, giving the Bald Eagles the chance to have more babies.

2. Pesticides - These chemicals, used by farmers to protect their crops from insects, pollute the air and the water. The fish in the water would eat the pesticide, and the eagle would eat the fish. Although the pesticide doesn't harm the adult eagle, it makes them unable to lay healthy eggs, or would produce very soft eggs, that the eagle couldn't sit on it to make it hatch.

3. Habitat destruction - Bald Eagles need lots of trees in their environment. When more and more people use more and more paper and cut down trees to make houses and other buildings, they are destroying the places where the Bald Eagle lives.

Bald Eagle Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Haliaeetus Leucocephalus
Type: Bird
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 34 to 43 inches
Wingspan: 6 to 8 feet
Weight: 6.5 to 14 pounds
Range: North America
Diet: Fish, rabbits, dead animals

To solve a scrambler puzzle of the Bald Eagle, click on the image or here.

The Polar Bear

The Polar Bear looks like a cute stuffed animal from afar, but we need to be careful of this wild animal. It is the largest carnivore on land, and shares the title of largest predator with the Kodiak Bear. The Polar Bear is also one of the fewest all-white animals on Earth. Only its eyes, nose and lips are black. Under all that thick, furry snowy-white fur, the Polar Bear's skin is also black; we just can't see it.


Polar Bears live in some of the coldest places on Earth: where there are snow and ice, Polar Bears are sure to be there. They are also strong swimmers; they use their large front paws, which are webbed like the fins we use on our feet when we snorkel. Although the Polar Bear lives in very very cold temperatures (sometimes as low as -30 degrees!), they have ways to stay warm:

1. Fur - The Polar Bear's thick fur is protected by an outer coat of guard hairs (longer, stiffer hair that grows through the fur of a mammal's coat). This second coat of hairs stick together when the Polar Bear gets wet, giving the animal a waterproof covering! Even the Polar Bear's huge paws are covered with its thick white fur to provide warmth and allows the Polar Bear to grip the ice and snow firmly.

2. Blubber - This is a very thick layer of fat that Polar Bears have to keep warm. The blubber is underneath their thick fur. Sometimes Polar Bears get too hot (with the combination of the blubber and fur) that they swim in the cold water to cool off! Blubber also provides a food reserve if the Polar Bears aren't able to hunt.

3. Winter Sleep -Although Polar Bears don't hibernate, they drift off into a deep sleep where their body functions slow down. This winter sleep helps them fight off the cold air around them.

Polar Bears' favorite food is the seal, especially its blubber. Polar Bears wait above the ice hole for a seal to come up for air, and then it strikes, biting and crushing the skull of the seal. Other foods the Polar Bear eats are walruses and small whales.

The Polar Bear is not classified as an Endangered Species. Yet. Its official classification is VULNERABLE SPECIES, a step before being Endangered. Scientists estimate that there are only 20,000 Polar Bears left in the world, and their number is decreasing. Some reasons for this decrease, and why they are being classified as a Vulnerable Species:

1. Global Warming - Ice sheets are melting and cold areas are becoming warmer. Polar Bears use the floating sheets of ice to travel from place to place and to hunt for food. If the number of ice sheets decrease, Polar Bears may be stuck in one place for too long a period of time, and there may not be enough food for all of them.

2. Shrinking Environment - The natural habitat of the Polar Bears seem to be getting smaller as more and more people look for places to live.

3. Hunting - People hunt the Polar Bear for several reasons. Fur for pants and footwear in cold places. People eat the bear's meat, and fat is used for food and as fuel for lighting and warming homes. Tendons are used for sewing clothes, and the gallbladder and heart of the Polar Bear are dried and powdered for medicines. The large teeth are also being used as lucky charms (talismans).

4. Pollution - Pesticides can easily poison the Polar Bear. Oil spills and gas spills, especially in the Arctic area, will pollute the environment of the Polar Bear and may kill them, reducing their already decreasing number.

Polar Bear Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Ursus Maritimus
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 7.5 to 8 feet
Weight: 900 to 1,600 pounds
Range: the Arctic, Russia, North America
Diet: Seal, walrus, whales

To solve a jigsaw puzzle of the Polar Bear, click on the image or here.

The Giant Panda

What's black and white and loved all over?.......the Giant Panda, a national treasure of China. Because it is a national treasure, it is protected by law. Scientists aren't exactly sure why the Panda is black and white, but they think that the black and white coloring provides camouflage against the snow and rocks of their environment. Some scientists also say that the different coloring also helps the Giant Pandas to see each other.


The Giant Panda's diet is 99% bamboo. And it eats a lot of bamboo, too! It eats for at least 12 hours per day and consumes up to 84 pounds of bamboo! In the wild, the Giant Panda also eats grass, shrubs, berries and small rats (if it can catch them).

When we see a Giant Panda in the zoo, it is either sleeping, or sitting down with its legs out in front. They look lazy, but they can easily climb trees and are good swimmers. Baby pandas are born white; they develop the unique coloring as they get older. Baby pandas are also blind, and cannot crawl until they reach 5 months.

The Giant Panda is an ENDANGERED SPECIES. There are only 1,600 Giant Pandas in the world. Some reasons why they are endangered:

1. Few babies - Female Giant Pandas give birth to one or two cubs and can take care of only one. In the wild, one of the cubs usually die. But in a zoo, zookeepers take care of the other twin and switches the cubs so that the Mother Panda is able to give both her babies care and milk.

2. Bamboo shortage - When bamboo plants grow, they flower and produce seeds. The seeds grow into plants big enough for the Giant Panda to eat. When the seeds produce the plant, the bamboo plant dies. The Panda will eat the kind of bamboo that grows in its environment. But the bamboo plants growing in the same area die at the same time, forcing the Giant Panda to look in other places.

3. Habitat destruction - As Pandas look for more places that grow bamboo, they compete with the world's growing population. More people means the need for more places to live, which means more forests are cut down to make space. As people cut more trees, the Giant Panda has less and less food to eat.

4. Hunting - Although the Giant Panda is not hunted, it can sometimes be hurt and killed by the traps that hunters set for other animals.

Giant Panda Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Ailuropoda Melanoleuca
Type: Mammal
Diet: Omnivore
Height: 4 to 5 feet
Weight: up to 300 pounds
Range: Southwestern China
Diet: Bamboo, grass, shrubs

To solve a jigsaw puzzle of the Giant Panda, click on the image or here.

The Asian Tapir

A mixture of animals, that's what a Tapir looks like. It has a round body (pig) and a long snout (anteater or elephant). It is closely related to the horse and the rhinoceros because each toe of the Tapir has its own separate hoof. The Asian Tapir, also known as the Malayan Tapir, is the largest Tapir among the four species of Tapirs in the world. In Thailand, P'som-sett is the name for the Tapir and means "the mixture is finished."

The Asian Tapir has unique coloring: the "saddle" from the shoulders to the top of the legs are white, and the rest is black except for the tips of the ears which is white. This pattern is for the Tapir's camouflage; animals that would hunt the Tapir think that it is a rock lying on the ground.

The Asian Tapir is a vegetarian, eating only different kinds of plants. Using its long nose like a hand/finger, the Tapir can get leaves from tree branches or pull grass from the ground The Asian Tapir has poor eyesight, so it relies mostly on its sense of smell and hearing to look for food. Small and compact, the Asian Tapir is at home in the water and dives in to cool off.

Baby Tapirs are born brown with beige stripes, no matter what species they are. At six months, the baby Tapir looks like a miniature adult. They reach their full size in 18 months and are considered adults at 2 to 4 years.

All four species of the Tapir are on the ENDANGERED SPECIES list. Some reasons why they are endangered:

1. Hunting - People hunt Tapirs for their meat and skin. A young Tapir captured can be sold for as much as $5,500.

2. Habitat destruction -People continue to be the real threat to the Tapirs' existence. Deforestatation for farming and other agricultural purposes and flooding caused by the damming of rivers for projects all put the Tapir's environment in danger.

Asian Tapir Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Ailuropoda Melanoleuca
Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Height: 2.5 to 3.5 feet
Weight: 500 to 800 pounds
Range: rainforests of Southeast Asia
Diet: leaves, grass

To make an origami of the Asian Tapir, click on the image or here.

The White Rhino

The word Rhinoceros comes from the Greek word rhino, meaning nose, and ceros, meaning horn. The White Rhino is light gray in color, not white. A story says that some early settlers in South Africa called the White Rhino wijde, Dutch for wide, referring to the wide lip of the White Rhino.


The Whito Rhinoceros is the world's largest land mammal after the elephant. They have large heads, wide chests, thick legs, poor eyesight and will charge when they are surprised. The White Rhino has a hump on the back of its neck to support its very big head. Rhinos chew on grass for most of the day, making it one of the largest pure grazers.

There are two horns on the White Rhinoceros; the front horn is the much larger one. Rhino horns grow as much as three inches a year and can grow up to 5 feet! Female rhinos use their horns to protect their babies, while male rhinos use their horns to fight off attackers.

A group of rhinos is called a "crash", a perfect word to describe these large animals that will charge when surprised. Rhinos look like they would win a battle with a tank, but their skin is really sensitive, especially to sunburns and biting insects. This is why they like to roll around in mud.

The White Rhinoceros is an ENDANGERED SPECIES. There are only 11,000 White Rhinoceroses in the wild. Some reasons why they are endangered:

1. Hunting - Poachers hunt the White Rhinoceros for its horn. People in Asia use the horns for medicinal use, while people in North Africa and the Middle East want the horn material to make knife handles.

2. Few babies - Although some rhinoceroses give birth while in the zoo under the watchful eyes of zookeepers, most female rhinos born in captivity have not reproduced. Studies are being made to solve this mystery.

3. Habitat destruction -The White Rhino lives in open grasslands and plains. As the people move into these places and develop them for homes and buildings, the White Rhino is left with smaller and smaller places to live.

White Rhino Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Ceratotherium Simum
Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Height: 11 tp 13.75 feet
Weight: 3,168 to 7,920 pounds
Range: Africa, India, Southeast Asia
Diet: Watergrass and leaves

To make this Toilet Paper Roll Rhino, click on the image or here.