Grasslands National Park and the Swift Fox

Earth Rangers

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May 6, 2015

Grasslands National Park and the Swift Fox

This year, Earth Rangers is taking action to help protect the swift fox! These speedy foxes are a threatened species, which is why they need all the help they can get. Earth Rangers aren’t the only friends of the swift fox; the folks at Parks Canada are also helping to protect this incredible animal.

A Swift Fox Home

Swift foxes love grasslands, especially areas with lots of diversity of both plants and animals. It is in these beautiful habitats that swift foxes make dens, raise their young and hunt. Parks Canada protects an area in Saskatchewan that gives the swift fox a safe place to call home; it’s called Grasslands National Park!

As the name suggests, Grasslands National Park has a lot of grass, but it’s not just one kind, the park actually has 70 different species of grasses and 50 species of wildflowers. That is some incredible diversity of life! Grasslands National Park is one of the only areas in Canada where this type of mixed-grass prairie ecosystem is protected, which makes it a pretty unique spot. Swift foxes like to live in Grasslands National Park because there are lots of short-grasses, rolling hills and prey, like small mammals, insects, and birds, for them to eat.

Helping Biodiversity Thrive

Parks Canada works hard to keep Grasslands National Park bustling with biodiversity through a bunch of land management strategies. For example, more grasses are planted in areas that were once used for farming. The single biggest threat to the swift fox is the loss of mixed-grass prairie to cropland so reclaiming grassland habitat is really important for their survival. Grasslands National Park has converted over 600 acres of land that was once used for farming back to native grasses. Prescribed burns are also used by the staff at Grasslands National Park to get rid of old growth and make room for new plants.

Bison Buddies

Parks Canada has help maintaining the park from the animals and plants because all of the species work together to create a balanced ecosystem. Swift foxes depend on other animals in the habitat to help them survive, and one of their good friends is the bison. Bison eat grass and leave behind dung, and both of these things help the swift fox. The dung attracts insects which are a food source for the foxes. The grasses that are grazed on by the bison are shorter, which swift foxes prefer to make their dens in because they can see better and keep an eye out for predators like coyotes.

Help protect the swift fox by starting a Bring Back the Wild campaign.

Parks Canada is proud to connect youth to Canada’s natural wonders and historical treasures. To learn more about Parks Canada’s species at risk work, click here.

Katie and Her Super Amazing Work to Protect Animals

Earth Rangers

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May 5, 2015

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Katie and Her Super Amazing Work to Protect Animals

Katie first learned about Earth Rangers at her Girl Guides of Canada Rally Day at Canada’s Wonderland. Earth Rangers was on-site to talk to kids and families about Earth Rangers programs and encourage kids to get involved and help protect animals and their homes.

With her sixth birthday approaching Katie decided to have an owl themed party. She fell in love with owls the previous summer at Mom & Me Girl Guide Camp when the sign for her sleeping quarters said, ‘Cinnamon Screech Owl/Orange Room’. After visiting the Earth Rangers website and learning that she could host a Bring Back the Wild Birthday Party to help protect the western screech owl, Katie signed up to become an Earth Ranger so she could help save one of her favourite animals.

Since she had started at a new school in the fall, Katie decided to invite all her new friends and asked them to make a donation to her campaign rather than give gifts. Katie’s friends and family helped her raise $125 for the western screech owl!

Katie loves being an Earth Ranger and in addition to her Bring Back the Wild campaign she also completed the Homemade Holiday Mission making 30 holiday and thank you cards which she gave out to friends and neighbours after singing Christmas carols with her Sparks group. Katie also completed the Water Taste Challenge with her Sparks group and reported that most of the girls chose tap water as the better tasting and most refreshing water!

Katie plans to work on the For the Birds Mission next as she will be building a bird house and would like a feeder to go with it. Katie and her family also plan to plant a garden for Monarch butterflies so these beautiful and important pollinators have a place to call home right in her own backyard.

Thank you Katie for everything you are doing to keep animals safe!

Top Ten Animal Jokes

Earth Rangers

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May 2, 2015

227

World Laughter Day is this Sunday, May 3rd, to help you celebrate here are ten jokes that are making the animal kingdom crack up with a serious case of the giggles! Got your own joke to tickle our funny bone? Share it in the comments section below!

1) Where do orcas hear music?

Answer: Orca-stras!

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2) What did the porcupine say to the cactus?

Answer: Is that you Mom?

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3) How do trees access the internet?

Answer: They log on

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4) What do you call a bear with no ears?

Answer: B!

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5) What kind of cat should you never play games with?

Answer: cheetah!

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6) Why did the owl say, “Tweet, tweet”?

Answer: Because she didn’t give a hoot!

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7) What kind of a key opens a banana?

Answer: A monkey!

8) Why can’t a leopard play hide-and-seek?

Answer: Because they are always spotted

9) How do bees get to school?

Answer: By school buzz!

10) What is a snake’s favorite subject?

Answer: Hiss-story

Top Ten Reasons Earth Month is for the Animals

Earth Rangers

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April 25, 2015

86

Top Ten Reasons Earth Month is for the Animals

We are dedicating Earth Month to the animals because species around the world need our help! Many populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects are declining. What’s causing this incredible diversity of life to disappear? Here are ten of the biggest threats that are causing animal populations to decline.

Climate Change

Climate change is warming the polar bear’s Arctic home; melting sea ice and making it difficult for them to find food.

Deforestation

The giant panda’s forest home in China is disappearing as the trees are being cut down to make room for development projects.

Invasion of non-native species

Zebra mussels multiply so quickly and filter out such larger amounts of phytoplankton that they are outcompeting native species.

Ocean acidification

Shelled animals, like mussels, clams and starfish, have a harder time building their shells in more acidic water.

Pollution

Frogs have sensitive permeable skin, which means they easily absorb pollution from the water they live in causing their populations to decline.

Overfishing

The endangered Bluefin tuna’s populations have declined because of overfishing.

Hunting

Hunters target rhinos for their horns, which are sold illegally. This practice has devastated rhino populations.

Pet trade

Baby sea turtles are stolen out of the ocean by poachers, who sell them illegally as pets.

Habitat fragmentation

The forest habitat that tigers need to survive is increasingly being divided up by human development.

Earth Ranger Angelina and Her Super Amazing Work to Protect Animals

Earth Rangers

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April 13, 2015

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Earth Ranger Angelina and Her Super Amazing Work to Protect Animals

Angelina is 13 years old and love animals, nature and doing whatever she can to protect the planet. She loves spending time outdoors with her family and going on walks to see trees, plants and animals.

Angelina has completed Bring Back the Wild campaigns for the swift fox and the eastern wolf. With eight dogs in her family it’s no wonder Angelina wanted to help protect these canines.

To raise awareness for her campaigns, Angelina talked to her class and made announcements over the school PA system, she hosted a jerk chicken fundraiser at her dad’s work and put a coin jar in his office where people could drop off spare change, she sold chocolates to her neighbours, she asked her friends and family to donate and she asked her parents to spread the word to their friends too. Wow!

Angelina’s commitment to protecting animals does not end there. She has completed three Earth Rangers Missions, the Water Taste Challenge, the For the Birds Missions and the Homemade Holiday Mission. She also started a pop tab recycling program at her school and is trying to get better recycling options in her building, like having a recycling bin in the mail room.

“We need to take action and protect the planet because we only get one and every little gesture counts.”
Soon after Angelina completed her Bring Back the Wild campaigns, she attended an Earth Rangers community show at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. “I learned so much about what the Earth Rangers do and I knew I did the right thing by raising money. I also knew that I wanted to do something like they do one day.”
Angelina has even inspired some of her friends to start thinking about how they can make a difference for the planet.

Amazing work Angelina! Your efforts are making a big difference

Top Ten Cutest African Animal Babies

Earth Rangers

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April 11, 2015

230

There are lots of amazing species that live at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, like the adorable animal babies featured in this top ten! Help protect these species by celebrating Earth Month is for the Animals!

1) Lion cub

lion cub and mom — Photo credit Marcus Newton

2) Giraffe calf

3) African wild dog pup

4) Elephant calf

5) Zebra foal

6) Leopard cub

7) Rhino calf

8) Ostrich chick

9) Cheetah cub

10) Impala calf

American Eels and Their Ladders

Earth Rangers

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March 25, 2015

132

American eels (Anguilla rostrata) are a type of fish with a long body that looks like a snake. These amazing animals love to travel. They live in many different places throughout their lifecycle including both salt and freshwater habitats. In fact, these amazing eels have one of the most diverse uses of habitats of any fish species! American eels can even absorb oxygen through their skin as well as their gills, which allows them to travel briefly over wet grass or mud.

Their lifecycle begins in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean in a spot called the Sargasso Sea. From here, American eels move in through estuaries (habitats where fresh and saltwater meet) and into rivers and lakes. Their range is really big, extending as far north as Greenland and as far south as Brazil! When the eels are full grown, 5 years for males and up to 25 years for females, they return to the Sargasso Sea to spawn (leave their eggs). The eel’s lifecycle ends after spawning, similar to Pacific salmon. The next generation will then begin their long migratory journey.

Did you know…? American eels can cover their bodies with a mucous layer which makes them almost impossible to hold, that’s where we get the saying ‘slippery as an eel’!

In Ontario, American eels are considered endangered. They face many threats; one of the biggest is the construction of hydroelectric dams. These dams block American eels from swimming upstream as they try to migrate to their habitats. To help these slippery animals get over the dams, Ontario Power Generation uses a very creative solution.

Jumping the Dam

How do you get an eel over a dam? With a ladder of course! Thanks to a series of chutes that zigzag up the dam, eels can safely migrate over power plants. Eels that enter the Gulf of the St. Lawrence and migrate upstream through the St. Lawrence River have to cross two major hydroelectric dams. Since 1974, eels that make this journey get a little help thanks to a ladder operated by Ontario Power Generation. This ladder was really successful, so in 2002 three more ladders were added along the St. Lawrence River.

Eel Count

Ontario Power Generation monitors the ladders using electronic counting equipment, which sends an email to the operators at the power station when an eel uses the ladder. It’s like the eels are sending an email to say ‘hi’ to the Ontario Power Generation staff as they pass through! Thanks to this initiative, more eels can safely travel through their migratory path; in the last four years between 11,600 and 26,000 eels have used the eel ladder.

Eel ladder Ontario Power Generation — Eels coming out of the chute

If you were an eel, and could use any mode of transportation, how would you get over a dam? Paraglide, rocket skateboard, hot air balloon…. Leave your suggestion in the comments section below!

Top Ten Animals That Can Outrun You

Earth Rangers

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March 21, 2015

108

The fastest human is Usain Bolt, whose speed is about 44 km per hour. The rest of us are a whole lot slower. How slow we are becomes pretty clear when you look at the top speeds of some of the fastest animals on land.

1) Cheetah, 93 km per hour

2) Lion, 80 km per hour

3) Wildebeest, 75 km per hour

4) Pronghorn antelop, 70 km per hour

5) Ostrich, 70 km per hour

6) African wild dog, 70 km per hour

7) Red kangaroo, 65 km per hour

8) Thomson’s gazelle, 65 km per hour

9) Zebra, 64 km per hour

10) Hyena, 60 km per hour

this is a test

Wild Wire Blog

Earth Rangers

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March 16, 2015

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Top Ten Coolest Animal Feet

Earth Rangers

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March 14, 2015

143

Feet are wonderful, they help us stand, run, skip and are great for a tickle attack. But not everyone’s feet are the same, check out this top ten list to discover animals with some of the coolest feet!

1) American Coot

They have long toes wrapped in skin that help them to swim while still being able to walk on land.

2) Elephant

Their feet have ‘cushion pads’ which distribute the weight. They also use their feet to communicate, stomping the ground to send out vibrations.

3) Gecko

Their toes are covered in tiny microscopic hairs, which help them to stick to surfaces.

4) Ostrich

They are the only bird with two toes. This design helps them to run fast, reaching up to about 70 km an hour!

5) Lion

Like most members of the cat family, their paws have padding to help them walk quietly they also have retractable claws.

6) Bald eagle

They have powerful talons that they use to hunt prey like fish

7) Rhinoceros

They have surprisingly small feet for their weight, which can reach up to 8,000lbs.

8) Monkey

They have an opposable thumb and sensitive pads that allow them to grab onto things like a branch.

9) Crocodile

They have webbed feet to help them swim. Their toes also have sharp claws!

10) Penguin

They have so much blubber and warm feathers over their entire body that they need to have bare feet to allow heat to escape so they can regulate their body temperature.