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7/26/2019 Factual Articles

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Mammal

Giant Panda

For a long time, scientists

werent 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.

birds wings ha#e the

same bones as a human

arm, but they are arranged

di$erently. -ome of thebones in a birds 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.


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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 wont eat e#ery leaf

o$ of each branch.


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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 arent

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.