Special Event - The Animal Man visits School

22 January 2007

The Animal Man came to visit us on Monday 22 January 2007. He brought four animals for us to see and talk about. A Barn Owl called Dusk, a Corn Snake called Mrs. Snuggles, a Chinchilla called Andy and a Tarantula called Incey Wincey.

We were very careful not to frighten the animals and only stroked them when Milton showed us the correct way. It was great fun meeting such unusual animals.

Tarantula
Tarantulas are commonly a little bit larger than house spiders. Nevertheless some people call them hairy and scary!! There are eight hundred different species of tarantulas on earth - although some are endangered. Usually tarantulas are found in warm countries such as: Australia, South America and South Africa. All tarantulas are poisonous and they use their fangs to inject the poison. Many tarantulas hearts are further down their body whereas the brain is near the chest. Females can resort to feeding on the males if they get very hungry.

by Erin Curran

Chinchilla
A chinchilla is a rodent. It is found in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Chile and Peru in South America. Most live on the mountain slopes and where it is rocky so they can take shelter. They spend most of their days in their burrows and feed at night. They feed on roots and coarse grasses. Most chinchillas are ten inches long, with large ears and bushy whiskers. They have stiff bushy tails and rather long hind legs. Chinchillas are heavily hunted because their fur is the softest in the world, therefore it is used to make fur coats and they are sold for thousands of pounds. They were nearly all wiped out, but they are now protected.

by Luisa Taroni

Snakes
Snakes are cold blooded animals who lay eggs and even eat others! It is said that snakes (serpents) have evolved from burrowing lizards or from a small group of marine lizards. Snakes are found worldwide except in very cold climates and on some islands. They have separate jaw bones connected by ligaments, these bones can move apart allowing prey much wider than the snake's head to be swallowed. Snakes cannot chew - they swallow their prey whole! The snakes digestive juices dissolve the bones and teeth. Snakes have no limbs, eyelids or ears.

by Grace Bentley