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Mammal
Giant Panda
For a long time, scientists
weren’t sure if giant pandas
were bears or perhaps more
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closely related to raccoons.
Now we know that giant
pandas are indeed membersof the bear family, similar to
other bears in their general
looks and the way they walkand climb.
Bamboo is the most
important plant in a giant
panda's life. They spend at
least 1 hours each day
eating bamboo. !andas
grasp bamboo stalks with
their "#e "ngers and a
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special wrist bone. They use
their teeth to peel o$ the
tough outer layers of the stalk to re#eal the soft
inner tissue. They also eat
the lea#es.
%iant pandas are only about
the si&e of a stick of butter
at birth, and they're hairless
and helpless. The panda
mother gi#es great care to
her tiny cub, usually
cradling it in one paw and
holding it close to her chest.
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For se#eral days after birth,
the mother does not lea#e
the den, not e#en to eat ordrink
Birds
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(hat )akes a Bird*
Birds are the only animals
that ha#e feathers, which
are made of keratin, +ust like
your hair and "ngernails.
bird’s wings ha#e the
same bones as a human
arm, but they are arranged
di$erently. -ome of thebones in a bird’s skeleton
are hollow. This makes
the bird light enough to y. There are more than /,0
known types of birds.
They range in si&e from the
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bee hummingbird 2 3
inches long4 to the /5foot5
tall ostrich.
ll birds6
re #ertebrates 2which
means they ha#e
a backbone or spine4 re endothermic. lso
known as7warm5blooded,8endothermic animals
regulate their own bodytemperature which allowsthem to li#e in almost
e#ery climate on earth.
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9a#e feathers
:ay eggs with hard,waterproof shells. The
parent birds incubate the
eggs until they hatch, andcare for their young.
Amphibians
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(hat )akes an mphibian*
mphibians are animals
that li#e part of their li#es in
water and part on land.
They usually ha#e soft,
moist skin that is protected
by a slippery layer of mucus.
They also tend to li#e in
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moist places or near water
to keep their bodies from
drying out. There are threemain groups of amphibians6
caecilians; salamanders,
newts, and mudpuppies;and frogs and toads.
ll amphibians6
re #ertebrates 2which
means they ha#e
a backbone or spine4
re ectothermic. lso
known as 7cold5blooded,8ectothermic animals
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cannot regulate their own
body heat, so they depend
on warmth from sunlightto become warm and
acti#e. <f they get too hot,
they ha#e to "nd shade ora burrow to help them cool
down.
Breathe through their
skin.
%othrough metamorphosis.
=oung amphibians hatch
from eggs, but do not look
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like their parents. s they
de#elop, their body shape
changes.
Mammal
Koala
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>oalas are often called bears
because they look a little
like teddy bears, but they
are actually marsupials. :ike
other marsupials, the female
has a pouch where she
carries her baby, called a
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+oey, for se#eral months
after birth. (hen a +oey is
strong enough to cling to itsmother's back, it lea#es the
pouch but still sticks its
head in to nurse.
>oalas are known as picky
eaters. There are hundreds
of di$erent types of
eucalyptus, but koalas only
eat a few do&en kinds. nd
koalas won’t eat e#ery leaf
o$ of each branch. <n fact, at
the -an ?iego @oo, we
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o$er each koala A pounds
of fresh eucalyptus each
day, and each only eatsabout 1.A pounds of it. (e
gi#e them a lot to choose
from because they knowwhat's best
(hile koalas currently aren’t
listed as
an endangered species, 0
percent of koala habitat has
been lost to human homes
and businesses, drought,
and "res. That makes life
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hard for
ananimal that needs
eucalyptus forests tosur#i#e, like koalas do.
>oalas also are at risk when
close to human populationsand being killed by cars or
dogs. )any people are
working together to protectkoala habitat and help these
cuddly looking creatures
sur#i#e.