Hello up there! It's feeding time!

Feeding the giraffes at Riverbanks Zoo is a very interesting experience. This video is from a few weeks ago. It's very exciting when the giraffe walks over to get the food. It's so big, but it's so gentle.


When its tongue grabs the food, it feels very sticky. Their slimy saliva protects them from thorns or twigs they might eat. Their tongues are almost 18 inches long and dark purple. They need their long necks and long tongues to reach leaves high up in the trees.

Giraffes are found in the savanna of Africa, and can grow up to 18 feet tall. They are related to the Okapi. I've seen pictures of its relatives during the Ice Age, like this one, and they look like deer or elk.


They can run almost 30 mph, and have a deadly kick if they need to. Uganda Giraffes are endangered, but most species of giraffes aren't endangered right now. But if habitat loss continues, they will be.

Goodbye Forever, Aldabra Snail

Driving in the car today, I heard on the radio about the latest extinction. They said this small purplish snail was the first extinction officially due to global warming.

When I got home I looked it up. The Aldabra snail may not be the most popular animal. I couldn't find a picture of it. But it made it onto this postage stamp. That's pretty good.

Scientists say this is just the beginning. Global warming threatens a million species!
Polar bears are now threatened because of global warming.

Some penguins are threatened now too.

Click here for some EASY things you can do to stop global warming and help the animals.

Lemurs of Madagascar

Lemurs are fun animals to watch. How much do you know about them? Lemurs live only on the island of Madagascar. That's off the coast of Africa. They eat primarily fruit and nuts. They are hunted by fossa, but their real threat is habitat loss.

Lemurs are primates in a family called prosimians, which include bush babies and slow lorises. Several species of the lemur are endangered due to the habitat loss and hunting. The most endangered of the lemurs would be the aye aye.

We have ring-tailed lemurs and red-ruffed lemurs at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. I've posted a short video I took of them recently.

It's good to know that people are working to save the lemur. Check out this site, the Madagascar Fauna Group. And here's another interesting video about Madagascar with "nearly headless Nick."

Chimpanzees-- So Like Us

Seeing the chimpanzees was one of my favorite things at the North Carolina Zoo. They are our closest relatives. They make tools, have close families, and even fight wars. Here's some video for you to check out (we're still learning to post video here).

I read Jane Goodall's book, The Chimpanzees I Love. She has an amazing story to tell. She started studying chimps in Tanzania in 1960 and taught us all about them. Here also is a film clip that shows how chimps have been so misunderstood.

Chimps are endangered, and could be extinct in the wild within 15 years! What are we doing to our planet? Do you think chimpanzees are worth saving? Please spread the word and do something to help.

Candidates, zoos and travels

It's been a busy few weeks...I visited the North Carolina Zoo. It was HUGE! Great habitats for the animals. They have chimps, rhinos and polar bears. When I have time I'll post some video I took.

And I went to the Central Park Zoo in New York City! The zoo was small, but nice. Central Park was huge, and New York City was colossal!

And my You Tube question was on CNN during the debate last week. Maybe you saw it. They showed it in the very beginning. The candidates didn't answer it, but the guy on TV said he liked my enthusiasm. But I wished they answered it so more people could understand about endangered animals. Maybe I'll try the next debate.

My favorite animals at the Central Park Zoo were the red pandas! They are related to raccoons, not to the giant panda. Red Pandas are endangered-- only 2,500 left in the world!

Help Save the Gray Wolf

This story about the killing of an endangered Mexican Gray Wolf was in my e-mail. It's upsetting that the government shot a female wolf with pups.

And another e-mail says that they will start killing even more wolves in Idaho and Wyoming.

We're supposed to help endangered animals recover, not kill them.Will you take some action? It's so easy-- just sign here. Let me know!

I was on CNN!

It was quick, but I was on CNN! The video posted below was used in a story about the You Tube debates in Charleston. We were getting ready to go to the beach when we saw it on CNN. Check it out! I'm working on more videos about lemurs, meerkats, and the oceans.

More good news. When we were at the beach we saw a Piping Plover. They are endangered, and we have to do everything we can to protect their habitats.

My Question on You Tube for the Next President

Well this is my first try at You Tube. I decided to post a question to the presidential candiates for when they come to Charleston. I don't think endangered animals and the environment get enough attention so I hope they will use my question.

The original video was much better. I haven't figured You Tube out yet. Let me know if you know how to get better quality. And my parents made me cut my full name.

Will you vote for a president who cares about animals and the environment? I hope you will.

My tiger encounter

This isn't something you get to do every day...bottle feed a rare Golden Tabby Tiger!!!

I was very excited to hold a real tiger at Preservation Station at Myrtle Beach this week. My eyes grew wide when I saw them bringing the tiger out. I've seen tigers on TV and in zoos, but this was the first time I got to hold one.

Here I am holding the tiger with my sister. It is also kown as a Golden Bengal, and there are only about 24 of this kind of tiger left in the world.

A tiger's fur feels soft, but rough at the same time. It was amazing to look into its light green eyes. The only sound it made was slurping on its bottle. The whole thing only lasted a minute or two, but it was cool.

I love tigers. At Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia they have Siberian tigers. They are also endangered with only about 500 left in the world. Learn more about how to help save the tiger.

Animal Jokes

What has antlers and sucks blood?
A moose-quito.

What do Alexander the Great and Winnie the Pooh have in common?
They both have 'the' as their middle names.

What do you get if you cross a centipede and a parrot?
A walkie talkie.

Why are pigs bad drivers?
They HOG the road.

What do you call an elephant in the North Pole?
Lost.

Is this elephant lost...?

Manatee Alert!!!

There is a news alert for boaters to be extra careful of manatees!
Manatees are endangered. There are only about 3,200 left. They are mostly found near Florida and Georgia, but there have been some sightings near South Carolina. Their greatest dangers are motor boats and people net fishing. There are groups dedicated to saving the manatee. But for some reason President Bush doesn't seem to like manatees very much.



Manatees are very shy and slow moving mammals also known as sea cows. They are related to the elephant, and the extinct steller sea cow. I'll do a post on that soon.
I like watching manatees, and would love to see one in the wild. This newspaper says they are smarter than they look. But I don't know. Watch this video and tell me what you think!

Stop the Rhino Poaching!

Gangs of poachers are still killing lots of rhinos for their horns. That report from Traffic says that's how most rhinos die-- poachers in Zimbabwe and Congo hunting them down. Many scientists think the rhino will be extinct in the wild in about ten years if we don't do something!


Rhinos are so interesting because they look almost prehistoric. They were found in North America and Europe during the Ice Age. But the Wooly Rhino was hunted into extinction. Now there are only five species left in Asia and Africa. The Western Black Rhino went extinct summer 2006. The Sumatran Rhino is probably next for extinction since there are less than 300 left in the wild!

The World Wildlife Fund and Traffic and some other groups are working hard to save the rhino. They need your help. What will you think if rhinos go extinct because of poaching? Let me know what you will do to help.

Global Mourning

Global warming is bad for the environment, bad for habitats and animals everywhere, and bad for South Carolina.

So what are we doing about it in South Carolina? Well, we might be making global warming worse! How? By making a new electricity plant that uses coal.

And more pollution and global warming will make more animals go extinct-- like polar bears and walruses. And it will hurt the earth and the environment. And that's why I called this post global mourning. Many people think there are better choices.

You should give your opinion. What do you think?

To Bee or Not to Bee

I heard that Albert Einstein said, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left."

My dad said Einstein probably never really said that. Anyone know? But it's still interesting to think about how important bees are.

This story says bees are declining worldwide. Bees are disappearing from Montana and other states. And this story from England about disappearing bee colonies.