You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Zoobooks’ category.
There’s definitely plenty of wonder in these amazing entries from this month’s Kids Zooworks contest. The artist of each of these submissions, featured in Zoobooks Animal Wonders, did a great job representing some of the most unique and fascinating creatures on the planet. From jellyfish to chameleons, each one is an awesome drawing that shows how special every animal truly is. Which entry is your favorite?
It goes without saying that every animal on Earth is special. Whether it’s a neighborhood cat or dog, or the flying squirrel-like Colugo from Malaysia, every animal in nature has distinct traits and abilities that make it downright amazing. The many animal profiles in Zoobooks Animal Wonders show just a small amount of the countless wonderful and amazing creatures on our planet. Some look or behave in ways we might find strange, but more often than not these qualities are exactly what help an animal survive best on Earth.
Whether it’s how they act, eat, or interact with their habitat, animals around the world are endlessly different from one another. They all have unique ways of getting food, having babies, moving around, and defending themselves. Animals that you might see every day and normally take for granted may be an animal or species someone else finds very foreign and interesting. If you really look at the creatures around you, from bugs and fish to birds and mammals, you will quickly see they all have something beautiful about them. They are all animal wonders.
Take a look at some of the terrific winners from this month’s Kids Zooworks contest! These wonderful entries, featured in Zoobooks Polar Bears, really show each artist’s talent for drawing our Arctic friend the polar bear. They’re all definitely some imaginative and “cool” pictures. Do you have a favorite?
Whenever we have to venture out in really cold weather, humans are sure to layer on many layers of warm clothing. And there’s no way we can safely attempt swimming in extremely cold water without a wetsuit. Polar bears, on the other hand, have bodies especially adapted to living in the intense cold of the Arctic. During warmer weather, polar bears are sometimes even uncomfortable because they are so good at staying warm on their own.
Their heavy fur coat works similarly to the heavy winter clothing humans wear. The hairs that make up polar bear fur are hollow, however, so the sun’s rays can pass through and warm their skin. They also have a rubbery layer of fat, called blubber, just beneath the skin. The blubber shields the bear’s body from icy cold water. On some parts of the body, polar bears can have up to four inches of blubber!
Here are some of the wonderful winners of this month’s Kids Zooworks contest, featured in Zoobooks Koalas and Other Australian Animals. These talented artists really used their creativity to draw some of the most unique animals in the world. Each one is an inspiring look at one of these fascinating creatures. Which imaginative entry is your favorite?
Join Zoobooks in the “Land Down Under” with Zoobooks Koalas and Other Australian Mammals! Because it is an island continent far away from any other continents, the wildlife that developed in Australia is some of the most unique and interesting on the planet. Most famously, Australia is home to very unusual types of animals known as marsupials and montremes. Even if you are unsure what the word marsupial means, chances are you have heard of at least two world famous marsupial animals: koalas and kangaroos.
What makes marsupials different from most other mammals on earth is how they are reared. Koalas and other marsupials all have pouches on their bellies where they nurse and transport their young. In the earliest stages, these babies have not finished growing enough to live outside of their mother’s pouch. Many are only the size and weight of a nickel! In order to continue growing bigger, the young marsupial must stay inside its mother’s pouch for several months until it is strong enough walk and eat on its own. As native Australian marsupials, koalas and kangaroos also have very specialized ways of moving, eating, and behaving.
Monotremes are even more different. Found only in Australia, there are only two kinds of creatures that belong to this odd group of mammals: the duck-billed platypus and the echidna, or spiny anteater. Monotremes are the only mammals on Earth that give birth by laying small rubbery eggs similar to reptile eggs. In fact, it seems that platypus and echidnas closely resemble the ancient egg-laying reptiles from which all mammals living today descended. Because they are so different from many other animals, monotremes have very different behaviors and abilities.
That’s a lot of spider legs! The winners of this month’s Kids Zooworks contest, featured in Zoobooks Spiders, did a wonderful job using their talents to draw these pictures. They really inspire the imagination to think about spiders in a whole different way. Which creative submission is your favorite?
When the Saint Louis Zoo calls spiders spineless, it’s not being mean… it’s just telling the truth! Spiders, after all, belong to a fascinating group of animals without backbones: invertebrates. Spiders and insects are both known as arthropods. These creatures can do a lot of good in the world, such as break down waste and pollinate plants, but they often don’t get much recognition for it. However, thanks to the Monsanto Insectarium of the Saint Louis Zoo, visitors can watch in awe as spiders, insects, and many other types of bug invertebrates go about their daily lives doing so much for the environment.
Not very many exhibits in North America showcase only bugs. But with over 100 species of live insects and more than 20 exhibit areas, Monstanto Insectarium gives people an insight to spiders, insects, and more like never before! With “Not Home Alone,” the Insectarium makes discovering bugs a hands-on experience. Guests are able to peer under the lids and peek into the drawers of various discovery zones in a complete garden, front porch, and kitchen. Other exhibits let visitors watch butterflies flutter and bees pollinate flowers and plants. Admission to the Insectarium is free, so check it out online to plan your visit!
When people think of spiders, they often imagine small, creepy creatures that crawl along in the dark looking for something to bite with their long, poisonous fangs. Fortunately, readers of Zoobooks Spiders know that spiders are helpful, useful, and fascinating creatures that rarely do anything to harm humans. In fact, most spiders aren’t even poisonous to people, and they help protect plants by eating insects when there are too many of them.
Scientists have named about 30,000 species of spiders that come in all kinds of colors, shapes, and sizes. Each of these spiders is one of the two specific types of spiders: wandering spiders or web building spiders. Wandering spiders have thick legs built for walking longer distances, while web builders have thin legs that help them balance on the tiny threads of their webs.
Both types of spiders have many different methods of catching prey. Web builders creatively use their webs to make sticky funnels, lassos or nets that snare insects for dinner. Wandering spiders often catch their prey through a surprise attack. Some hide in secret burrows or jump from a long distance away. Other wandering spiders have even been known to catch their prey by fishing for it or spitting on it!
Here are some of the winners from this month’s Kids Zooworks contest, featured in Zoobooks Turtles. Our readers certainly did a great job using their imaginations and what they know about turtles to draw these creative pictures. We can see they have some truly inspiring talent, which made it hard to pick a favorite from all of these submissions. How about you? Do you have a favorite?
