- Objectives
- To introduce children to mammals.
- To have each child
able to define mammals by two or more characteristics.
- To expose
children to various mammal footprints.
- To have each child able
to identify at least two common, non-domestic mammals.
- To introduce
children to the names of animal offspring.
- Introduction
- What are mammals? (Warm-blooded, feed
the young on mother’s
milk, have backbones, have hair)
- Are there any mammals in
the room? (Yes, humans are mammals.)
- What are some ways we
can identify different mammals? (Color of hair/fur, size, habitat,
footprints, etc.)
- Program
- Show different masks and see who can identify
which ones.
- Go through the list of names of young (baby)
mammals.
- Names of young (baby) mammals
- Bunny - rabbit
- Calf - cattle, elephant, antelope,
rhino, hippo, whale, etc.
- Colt - male horse
- Cub - lion, bear, shark, fox
- Fawn - deer
- Filly - female horse
- Foal - horse, zebra, etc.
- Heifer - cow
- Joey - kangaroo, etc.
- Kid - goat
- Kit - fox, beaver, rabbit, cat
- Kitten, Kitty -
cats or other small mammals
- Lamb - sheep
- Leveret - hare
- Piglet, suckling - pig
- Pup - dog, seal, fox
- Whelp - dog, tiger, beasts
of prey
- Yearling - cattle, sheep, horse, etc.
- Etc.
- Fastest mammal - Cheetah - 70 mph
- Slowest mammal
- Domestic Pig - 11 mph
- Longest life span - Elephant and Hippotamus - 40
years
- Shortest life span - Opposum - 1 year
- Longest gestation period - Elephant (African) -
660 days
- Shortest gestation period - Opposum
- 13 days
- Facts about selected Mammals
- Camels
Live in Africa and Asia; 6-7 feet tall at shoulder; 550-1500
lbs.; can carry up to 330 lbs.; can race 10 mph for 100 mi./day; long
curly eyelashes to keep out the sand; large mouth 34 teeth; calves can
run soon after birth, but stay with mother for several years; hump weighs
about 80 lbs. mostly fat - can go days and weeks without water or food;
in zoos, eats 8 lbs./day, can drink 50 gallons of water in warm weather.
- Bobcats
Live in North America, mostly western in swamps, mounts, and
wooded area; keen sight and hearing, hunt at night; live in dens in hollow
trees, caves, under rocks; eats rabbits, birds, small rodents; babies
born in spring, leave mother in late summer; 30-45 inches long, 16-24
lbs.
- Elephants
Largest land animal; largest
teeth, largest ears of all animals; skin is 1-2" thick and
weighs a ton, but still bothered by mosquitoes; tusks grow 6-8
feet long,
weigh 50-100
pounds; up to 13 feet tall, 7
tons in weight; can go 25 mph, usually 10 mph; trunk can carry 660
lbs., or even small coin; breathes and smells through trunk; four
or five toes
on front paw, 3 on back legs; lives in Africa or India; pachyderms
means thick skinned; trunk weighs 330 lbs.; keen sense of smell,
up to a mile
away; good hearing and can communicate with other elephants up to 2
miles away; calves live with mother till 12 yrs, males live separately;
knock
down trees to get to leaves on top--eat 300 lbs. of vegetation each
day and 40 gallons of water.
- Giraffe
Tallest mammal -- 14-18 feet; legs 6 ft;
weight 2600 lbs; twigs, leaves, fruit and chews its cud; can
go without water for several weeks;
lives in Africa in woodlands; tongue is 21 inches; can close nostrils
completely to block sand; only 7 neck bones, same as human; 3 ft
long tail; two part split hoof; baby weighs 150 lbs. and is 6
ft.; sleep
standing up; gallop with hind legs coming in front of front
feet; lions are the
only mammals to attack adult giraffe, but a giraffe kick could kill
a lion; separate front legs and bend to drink.
- Gorilla
Largest ape with male 450 lbs., 6 feet;
shy and friendly, makes 20 different sounds; lives in central
Africa in rain forests near the
equator; eats leaves, bark, fruit (only eats meat in captivity; baby
is 3-5 lbs. and stays with mother 3-1/2 years, usually rides piggyback;
very intelligent and human like.
- Lion
Live in woodland and grassy plains, both cool
and hot near food supply of deer, antelope, zebra, and other
hoofed animals; lions and
tigers are largest in cat family 350-400 lbs, 3-1/2 feet high at shoulder,
9 feet long; males have manes to make them look bigger and to soften
blows during fights; 30 teeth with no chewing teeth, so swallows the
meat in chunks; clawed paws, with retractable claws to keep them sharp;
sociable live in groups of 30-35 called a pride; will travel distances
for food, but rest for 24 hours after big meal; cubs are 3 pounds,
blind and helpless at birth, drink milk until 2 months; 18-24
months can hunt
for themselves; if food is scarce, the mother eats and lets cub starve;
lion can eat 75 lbs of meat in a meal; good sense of smell, sight,
hearing to help stalk prey (which runs faster than it).
- Polar Bear
Lives on northern coast of Canada, Greenland,
Soviet Union, and Arctic Ocean; hunt seals and other animals,
sea birds, lemmings,
fish, berries and grasses; 8-11 feet long, 1000 lbs.; thick white fur
for warmth and camouflage; keen smell can smell food up to 10 miles
away or dens covered with snow and ice; live in dens in cold
weather; at birth
10 inches 1-1/2 pounds, stay with mom till 2 years; man is biggest
threat to polar bears.
- Wolves
Largest of dog family; preys on large hoofed
animals, deer, elk moose, but wolves avoid people; live anywhere,
but not usually rain forests
or desert; 75-100 lbs, 5-6 feet long, 2-1/2 feet at shoulder; excellent
vision, keen smell and hearing to find prey more than 1 mile away;
42 teeth with 2 inch fangs; flat back teeth can crush bone
to be swallowed;
eats up to 20 pounds of meat; can go for 2 weeks without food; live
in packs of 8 with hierarchy; live in dens, 1-11 pups weighing
1 lb at birth,
blind, deaf and helpless, but eat meat by 3 weeks, independent by
2 months; hunt in packs to surround animal; wolf is endangered
species in every
state but Alaska
- Zebra
Lives in Africa, 4-5 feet tall; chief foe
is the lion; eats grasses and other grazing, stay together in
herds, so their stripes confuse enemy;
tame and easy to train.
- Mammals in General
- vertebrate
(backbones)
- feed the young on mother's milk
- most zoo and circus
animals are now raised in captivity
- Blue whale is largest mammal
- live in water, land,
can fly
- smallest mammal is Kitti's hog-nosed bat of Thailand
which is size of bumble bee
- mammals give their young training
and protection
- mammals have hair (even whales, who have it before
birth)
- warm-blooded and keep a consistent temperature
- larger
more developed brains
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