What Do Fish Eat in Winter?

Katie from the United States wrote:
When it is winter and the water freezes what do fish eat??

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Katie,

That's a great question. In winter, especially when the surface water over a pond or lake freezes, fish swim deeper where water might not freeze. There they can find crustaceans (kruh-stay-shee-ans) which are small shrimp-like animals, smaller fish and other creatures to feed on. Of course, different fish need different food - so some might eat old vegetation laying at the bottom.

Also, when it gets colder fish slow down and don't use as much energy - so they don't need to eat as much food.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

Do Baby Pandas or Baby Monkeys Make Good Pets?

Riley from the United States wrote:
can you ever get a baby panda as a pet or a baby monkey ?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Riley,

No, all pandas, including babies, are endangered species - very rare - and owned by the Chinese government. Even those pandas seen in zoos around the world are still the official property of China. Also, they would be very difficult to care for because they need to feed on a special kind of bamboo that grows in the mountains of China.

Sometimes you see people with monkeys as pets, but this is not a good idea.
They are cute, especially babies, but when they grow older they need to be wild. Wild animals always are happier and do best when living in the wilderness where they come from.


Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

Where do giant pandas live?

Elizabeth from the United States wrote:
Where do giant pandas live?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Elizabeth.

Giant pandas live in a few isolated mountain ranges in the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu in south-central China. They live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 1,500 m and 3,000 m. Torrential rains, dense mists, and heavy cloud cover characterize these forests throughout much of the year. The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for several million years. It is a highly specialized animal, with unique adaptations.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

How much bamboo do pandas eat each day?

How much bamboo do pandas eat a day?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Marisca,

Bamboo is the giant panda's favorite food. Adult giant pandas will spend 10 to 16 hours a day finding and eating bamboo. They eat different parts of the plant depending on the time of year. In the summer and autumn, pandas munch mostly on leaves. Winter means a diet of tough stems. Spring provides tender, young bamboo shoots.

A giant panda’s digestive system is similar to that of a carnivore rather than an herbivore. Because bamboo does not provide much nutrition, a panda needs to eat a large amount of food. It may eat up to 20 kg of bamboo each day to get all the nutrients it needs.


Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

Marisca from South Africa wrote:

What Do Seals Eat?

Dasfgfve from United States wrote:
What do seals eat?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi There,

Seals eat mostly fish. They also like a few other things like crabs, shrimp and even octopus if they can catch them.

And we have great article about seals in Glossopedia. If you want to know more about them click on the picture below.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What Are the Blips on the Glossopedia Map?

Jess from United Kingdom wrote:
What are those little red blips on the map and why are they there ?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Jess,

Those little red blips were an idea our web designers had for showing you where that creature or subject is found on the map. And the size of the blips means how big an area that thing covers. If you change pictures on the bottom you will see that the blips change for each picture.

We have a different idea for this that we will be trying in the future.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

How Many Animals Are in the Rainforest?

Kenda from United States wrote:
About how many different kinds of animals visit the rain forest every year?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Kenda,

That's a very difficult question to answer. The best estimate scientists have is there are over half a million (500,000) known creatures in the rainforests of the world.

There are several hundreds of thousands of different animals - birds, mammals, insects, fishes, reptiles - that live in the rainforest. In fact, every year scientists discover many new species - most are small like insects, but once in a while they discover something bigger like a cat or bat.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

How do hibernating animals survive in winter?

Thivanks from Fiji wrote:
How do hybernating animals survive in winter?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Thivanka.

That's a great question, because it's kind of hard to imagine how hibernating animals survive the winter.

When animals hibernate, they sleep through the winter to avoid the cold weather and save energy. During the fall, animals that hibernate eat A LOT and gain lots of weight as fat. As winter approaches, the animals find a suitable place to hibernate. During hibernation they live off their body fat as they sleep for several day or weeks. The animals' breathing and heart beats slow down and usually their body temperatures drop to match the temperatures outside. Examples of hibernating animals are bears, frogs, bats, & raccoons.

To be more specific, the black bear is a good example of an animal that hibernates in winter. Black bears eat more than usual in the fall and can gain as much as 30 pounds per week. They also gather leaves, grass, and twigs to make warm beds. They use these beds to sleep on in dens, burrows, caves, hollowed-out trees, or rock crevices. While hibernating, their body temperatures can drop from a typical 99-101 degrees Fahrenheit to 88-95 degrees. A black bear's heartbeat also goes down from 60 to 90 times per minute to as few as 8 to 40 beats per minute. The black bear can go as long as 100 days without eating, drinking, urinating, or exercising while in the hibernation state.

Non-hibernating animals migrate or adapt to survive harsh, cold weather in winter.

I hope that information is helpful!

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

Is There a Definition for Vampires?

Jojo from Canada wrote:
Why don't you put in a definition for vampires?????

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Jojo!

That's a good suggestion - I'll pass your idea along to the website people.

In the meantime, here is a definition:

1) Vampire (bats) do drink blood, but they do not suck it from an animal.
Instead, they make a tiny cut and lap up the blood that drips out.

2) Vampires are mythical, or make-believe, creatures that appear in human form and emerge in darkness or low light. The modern fiction about vampires started in the 1800's and became very popular in 1897 with the book Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more about bats, including vampire bats, click here:

How Long Is The Amazon River?

Kristina from Albania wrote:
How long is the amazon river?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Kristina,

The Amazon River is 6280 km (3,302 miles) long.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

What Eats Red Pandas?

Aleixia from United States wrote:
What animal eats red pandas? Is there any at all?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Aleixia,

We know very little about red pandas in the wild and the other animals they interact with. There are a few animals that might try and catch a red panda for food - types of wild cats and possibly eagles. Baby red pandas could also be caught by snakes and hawks, but we know this for certain. Since red pandas spend most of their lives in the tree tops, any animals that would attack them would need to fly or be very skilled at hunting in the trees.

The red pandas' biggest enemy is humans. People kill the red panda for its beautiful fur. Many people in the areas where red pandas live believe having red panda fur will bring you good fortune. This is not true.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

Pandas

Haley from United States wrote:
Where do pandas live?


GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Haley,

There are two types of pandas - Giant pandas and Red pandas. Both types of pandas live in the mountain forests of southwest China. Red pandas also live in the mountain countries of the Himalayas - Nepal, Bhutan, India, Burma and Tibet.

For more about pandas look in Glossopedia by clicking on the two pictures below.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What Are Polar Bears Like?

Swaathy from Canada wrote:
What are some general and specific charecteristic of a polar bear?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Swaathy,

Here are some interesting FastFACTS about the polar bear.

1) The polar bear or the sea/ice bear are the world's largest land predators. They can be found in the Arctic, the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Denmark (Greenland), and Norway.
2) About 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears roam the Arctic.
3) All countries either banned hunting or established rules for how many polar bears could be hunted within it's own boundaries.
4) Male polar bears may grow over 3 meters (10 feet tall) and weigh over 635 kg (1400 lbs). Females reach 2 meters (7 ft) and weigh 295 kgs (650 lbs).
5) In the wild polar bears live up to age 25.
6) Polar bears have been known to swim over 162 kilometers (100 miles) at a stretch.
7) Humans are the polar bears' only predator.
8) Polar bear babies (cubs) weigh less than .5 kg (1 pound) when born - usually a mother bear has two cubs.

Hope those facts help.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

Where do wood apples grow?

Anagha from the United States wrote:
Where do wood apples grow?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Anagha,

The wood apple is a fruit cultivated mostly in Bangladesh. It is grown throughout the country. It is an edible fruit. Wood apple pulp is used for preparation of things like sherbet, chutney and pickles.


Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

When Will We Run Out of Oil?

Kristy from the United Kingdom wrote:
When will we run out of oil?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Kirsty,

Yes, eventually we will run out of oil if we continue to use it like we do today - to power our cars, warm our houses, make paints, and make plastics.
Oil (and coal and natural gas) is created by plants and animals that died millions of years ago. Buried in the earth under pressure and heat they combine to form fossil fuels - like oil. This process takes a very long time, millions of years, to form even a small amount of fossil fuel. The problem is we are using up this fossil fuel faster than it can be created.

Our solution is to conserve now the oil we have - using it wisely - and begin to search very hard for new ideas and resources to power of cars and airplanes, create plastics and all the other things we now use oil for.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

Where Do Fishes Live?

Jada from United States wrote:
where do fish live and what types of fish are there?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Jada,

Fish live in almost every place on earth you find water. The easy places are in saltwater or marine habitats like the oceans, and in freshwater such as ponds, lakes and rivers. They live in tropical places and in cold icy places like under the ice in Antarctica.

What kind lives there depends on the place - there are over 29,000 types of fishes that science has discovered and named, but every year more and more are discovered. For more about fishes look at the Glossopedia article about Fishes by clicking on the picture below.


Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What Kinds of Pandas Are There?

Hayley from New Zealand wrote:
What kind of pandas lives in the wild and also in the zoos as well as china's bushes and native environment?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Hayley,

Two kinds of pandas live in the wild forests of China and in zoos, they are the Giant Panda and the Red Panda. You can find out more about each in our Glossopedia by clicking on the links below.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What Do Plants Produce Which Is So Important to the Composition of the Atmosphere?

Zeenat from the United States wrote:
What do plants produce which is so important to the composition of the atmosphere?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Zeenat,

Plants produce two very important gases that compose the atmosphere - oxygen (during the daylight) and carbon dioxide (at night). The oxygen plants produce is very important and insures life on Earth can exist. That's why plants are often times called the "lungs of the Earth".

You can learn more about plants in Glossopedia by clicking on the picture below.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

How big are baby pandas when they are first born?

Taliyah from the Arctic Ocean wrote:
How big are baby pandas when they are first born?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Taliyah,

Baby pandas are very small when they are first born - like kittens - about as big as your fist. The mother panda carries the baby in her mouth and cradles it in her paw.

You can get a better idea of their size if you look at the pictures in our Glossopedia article about giant pandas. You can get to the article by clicking on the picture below.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

Does a platypus lay eggs for sure?

Tara from South Africa wrote:
Does a platypus lay eggs for sure?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Tara

YES! Definitely, a platypus lays eggs. In fact, the platypus is one of only two kinds of mammals in the world that lays eggs, the other, also lives in Australia and in New Guinea, is called an Echidna. Both the platypus and echidnas are egg-laying mammals scientists call Monotremes.



Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

I am wondering if you have any information on dinosaurs?

Erin from Australia wrote:
Hi.I am Erin and i am wondering if you have any information on dinosars? i am sorry if i didnt spell that right. Well, thank you for your help. I will maybe ask you agian sometime. lol lmao mwah bye cya?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Erin,

No, sorry we don't have an article on dinosaurs yet - but one is being created - we hope to have it up in a few months (in 2009).

We do have stories almost every week on our In The News section at http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/inthenews.aspx. This is a good place to check every week because scientists are finding new dinosaur bones all the time.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

How fast can a cheetah eat an antelope? And more

Aracely from the United States wrote:
How fast can a cheetah eat an antelope? Do you know how fast a cheetah can run? Can you tell me if human can run as fast as dog? How big is rhinoceros and a hippo?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Aracely,

Wow, you have a lot of questions! Let's start with cheetahs.

1) After catching an antelope the cheetah is out of breath and needs to rest maybe 15 to 30 minutes before eating. If nothing bothers her or him, the cheetah will eat for about 30-60 minutes. But they rarely eat the whole antelope themselves. Other animals like lions, hyenas, jackals and vultures clean up what the cheetah can't finish.
2) Cheetahs are the fastest land mammals. Cheetahs can run up to 113 kph.
3) No, humans can not run as fast as most dogs.
4) Rhinos average 2-3m long and weigh up to 3,600kg. (you can find more on
Glossopedia. Click on the picture below to explore Rhinos.)
)Hippos weigh about 1,200 to 1,800 kilograms.

Thanks for the great questions,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What country do koalas live in?

LaDerica from Australia wrote:
What country do koalas live in? And what state?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi LaDerica,

Koalas live only in the country of Australia. Inside Australia they are limited to living in the temperate Eucalyptus forests of the eastern states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. They also live in a small area around the Australian national capitol of Canberra. All other places where you can find koalas, they have been introduced by humans - like Kangaroo Island in South Australia.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

When did Hinduism first begin?

Pepper from Canada wrote:
When did Hinduism first begin?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Pepper,

Hinduism, the world is oldest religion - it goes back at least 5,000 years. No one know exactly when it began--it started before people recorded history. It has no human founder. Hinduism has four main denominations--Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

How can our solar system never end?

Talia from New Zealand wrote:

How can our solar system never end? It has to end at some time doesn't it?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Talia,

That is a great question that one no one knows the answer to. Scientists are trying to understand how big the universe is, where it started and where it could end, but we just don't know. Living here on Earth we are just a small part of the universe. It may take many hundreds of more years before any scientists discovers the answer to your question.

Maybe think about this: circles never end. Maybe our universe is like that?

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What energy does the sun bring?

Semaj from the United States wrote:
What energy does the sun bring?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Semaj,

The sun sends (radiates) off energy mostly in the form of heat and light and small stream of charged particles called gamma rays. As the energy leaves the hot sun surface and travels across the solar system to Earth it travels in constant waves - like on the surface of the ocean or a river. The waves enter Earth's atmosphere and slow down. They are critical to maintaining life on Earth.

You can find out more about our Sun by clicking on the picture below. It will take you to the Sun article in Glossopedia.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What role do rainforests play in maintaing the Earth's weather?

Salman from Saudi Arabia wrote:
What role do Rainforests play in maintaing the Earth's weather?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Salman,

Wow, that's a good question - rainforests are critical at helping maintain the Earth's weather, especially clean air and rainfall. The information is best found in our Glossopedia article on Tropical Rainforests. You can find it by clicking on the picture below. After looking at the article if you have a question not answered there please write us back.


Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

Who was the first person to discover food?

Dasha from Ireland wrote:
Who was the first person to discover food?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Dasha,

That's an interesting question. The first person to discover food would have been the first person on Earth - because they needed to eat. The first people probably ate what they found - like fruits, berries, bird eggs and things they could catch like fish. No one knows who that was. A grain like wheat called Emmer was probably the first food humans grew - about 19,000 years ago. We don't know the exact person who discovered how to grow Emmer.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

Why do hurricanes only come to the coast and not in the middle of the U.S.?

Hope from the United States wrote:
Why do hurricanes only come to the coast and not in the middle of the U.S.?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Hope,

That's a good question. Hurricanes need warm water for energy to keep spinning. They can only be create and survive when over the water. When a hurricane hits land it starts to lose speed and slows down until it is just strong wind and rain. If winds do spin fast over the land they create a different shape and usually don't have lots of rain - we call that a Tornado.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

What are the oldest living things (that are still alive today) in the world?

Shaskia John from South Africa wrote:
What are the oldest living things (that are still alive today) in the world?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Shaskia John,

The oldest living things still alive today are called Stromatolites (pronounced - stroh-MAT-toh-LITES). These are blue-green algae, little one-celled creatures, that live in the warm shallow ocean water along the west coast of Australia. They grow very slowly. The small mounds they for look a little like coral. Stromatolites are the most common thing scientists find amongst the Earth's oldest fossils from 3.5 million years ago.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

What is Global Warming?

Karan from India wrote:
What is global warming?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Karan,

That's a very important question. Global warming means: an increase in the average temperature near the Earth's surface (ocean and land). Some of things that may make the temperature rise are caused by natural events like gases from volcanoes and other events are caused by humans, such as exhaust from vehicles and cutting of large areas of forest. If this warming continues every year then it creates Climate Change. Many people use the term Global Warming and Climate Change to mean the same thing - but they are not exactly the same. Climate Change means any changes in the climate - not always warmer, it could be colder, and it could mean more rain or storms like typhoons. Climate change has been going on since the beginning of the Earth

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

What Kind of Animals Live In Temperate Forests?

Perla from Puerto Rico wrote:
what are the kind of animal that live in the temperate forest because my class is doing a project with it can you please help me?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Perla,

That's a good question, but it has many answers. The answer depends on which temperate forest you want to know about - there are temperate forests on every continent. In North America you might find black bears, deer, squirrels and cougars, but if you travel to China you find giant pandas, red pandas, Asiatic black bears, and golden monkeys. So it really depends on which temperate forest you are curious about. Write us back and maybe we can help more.


Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

Where Do Oranges Grow?

Anaga from the United States wrote:
where do oranges grow?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Anaga,

Oranges grow in most tropical and sub-tropical countries where the days are hot and the night do not freeze - places like Brazil, Central America, Mexico, Italy, Morocco, Israel, Australia, Kenya, USA (Florida and
California) and south China. The orange fruit originally came from Southeast Asia.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

How Old Is the Earth?

Ariana P. from the United States wrote:

when was earth born

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Ariana,

Scientists testing rocks believe that Earth, and the rest of the solar system, began to form about 4.5 billion years ago in a giant cloud of dust and gas. Over time, dust particles began to clump together. It probably took the clump that became Earth tens of millions of years to reach its current size. The young Earth had no water, no atmosphere, and no life-forms.

A little over 3.5 million years ago life started to appear on the new Earth.

You can read more about the Earth on Glossopedia:
http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=55&art_nm=Earth

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here:

How Long Has the Oldest Panda Lived?

Madison from the United States wrote:
How long has the longest panda lived?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Madison,

The oldest living panda in captivity, named Changchang, was 35 years old when it died at a zoo in Eastern China on May 23, 2002. Changchang had lived 5 years longer than most pandas in captivity, and would have been between 75-85 in human years.

Thanks for your question!
GLOBIO's Traveling Teacher

To learn more click here: