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: