How do parrots talk? They can imitate human speech by passing air across the opening of their trachea using an organ called a syrinx. Parrots don’t talk in the wild. And when we say “talk”, they mimic human speech without necessarily understanding what they are saying. Some parrots have been taught to learn the names […]
#485 How do parrots talk? Read More »
Why can’t all animals be domesticated? There are six criteria needed for an animal to be domesticable. The first animals were domesticated about 15,000 years ago. Early people were hunter-gatherers, but they transitioned to agriculture about 10,000 years ago and most animals we use today were domesticated after that. The first animals to be domesticated
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Why do ostriches have two kneecaps? It (possibly) helps them to run faster. What does a kneecap do? The knee is basically a lever and the kneecap is the pivot point. In humans, the knee is the joint between the femur (thighbone) and the tibia (shinbone). The muscle on the front of the thigh bone
#480 Why do ostriches have two kneecaps? Read More »
What were the moa and what happened to them? The South Island Giant Moa was a 3.6 m tall bird that were hunted to extinction by 1445. The Moa were flightless birds that lived in New Zealand. They were very similar to ostriches, but about a meter taller. When they stretched their necks up, the
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How does a caterpillar become a butterfly? By dissolving itself and regrowing. Caterpillars start life as an egg. Female butterflies lay eggs on leaves. It varies by species, but a Monarch butterfly lays about 300 to 400 eggs over a two to five week period. Not all of these eggs will survive. Many of them
#437 How does a caterpillar become a butterfly? Read More »
Why do our stomachs grumble? Because the muscles in the stomach and small intestines are contracting and there is no food in there to muffle the sound. Our stomachs rumble a lot of the time, but we usually cannot hear it because the food in our stomachs and small intestines soak up the sound. The
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How do mammals keep warm in the winter? They have several different methods. Here are some of them. Many mammals stay warm by putting on more fat. Sea mammals have to cope with very cold ocean water and it is harder to stay warm in water than it is on land. If you are naked
#424 How do mammals keep warm in the winter? Read More »
Why do fish have scales? For protection, for camouflage, and to help them swim faster. There are four basic types of fish scale, but there are many subdivisions within each category. These are the main ones: Placoid scales. They are found on fish such as sharks and manta rays. They are very similar to teeth,
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How do fish breathe underwater? Fish use their gills to take oxygen out of the water. Why do we need oxygen? Most living beings need oxygen to create energy. All animals need to respire, which is the process of releasing energy by breaking down glucose. There are two ways to respire: aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic
#412 How do fish breathe underwater? Read More »
Why don’t cats knock things over? It turns out that cats have whiskers on their legs as well as their faces. When I’m making a line of dominos with my daughter, it is inevitable that either she or I will knock them all over. We both seem to have no sensory perception. And yet, my
#411 Why don’t cats knock things over? Read More »
