Send questions to:
erinaldo@mathandsciencecenter.org

Question:
Spring time in science means
studying living things. Fortun-
ately our planet Earth is home
to a great number of strange
and wonderful creatures that
we can study and learn more
about! So...what are some of
the strangest animals on
our planet?

Answer:
(Click on the names of the
insects to go to the National
Geographic website for more
information about each of
these animals.)

1.       The Praying Mantis -
This odd looking insect has
some very unique looking
forelegs. In fact, when it is at
rest, it literally looks like it is
praying. But the truth is that
the mantis uses these spine-
covered legs to lash out,
capture, hold, then devour
any unfortunate insect that
happens to be walking by!
The female praying mantis is
known for devouring her
husband (head first!) during
their mating ritual! Watch out
fellas!

2.       The Naked Mole Rat –
So this guy isn’t a mole and it
isn’t a rat. It is from the rodent
family (think mice, voles,
squirrels, gophers, and
beavers).  This strange
mammal lives underground
and has almost no hair!
Most rodents organize
themselves into families that
contain a mother, father and
children. What makes mole
rats very unusual, is the fact
that they organize themselves
into a strict society -- sort of
how ants and bees organize
themselves. First, there is the
queen, a large and intimidating
mole rat who breeds with a
few select male mole rats
Everyone else will either work
to care for the young, protect
the colony, or gather food.
They are almost completely
blind and have to find their
way around using whiskers
or tiny hairs on their bodies.

3.       The Horned Lizard –
While a spiny lizard may not
seem very unusual at first,
this lizard does something
that is very strange indeed
Living in desert climates, the
horned lizard has a unique
way of defending itself
against larger predators, like
coyotes.  When threatened,
the lizard squirts blood from
tiny blood vessels around its
eyes that rupture or burst
under pressure.  (Yuck!).
This isn’t your normal blood
either. Contained within the
lizard's blood is a chemical
that repels canines!

4.       Proboscis Monkey –
There are a great number of
different monkey species, but
none that value big noses like
the proboscis monkey! Most
animals on earth have a way to
attract mates. For this monkey,
the bigger nose a male has, the
better. Female proboscis
monkeys look for a male that
has the largest nose. The male
monkeys use this big nose to
make a loud call that alerts
other monkeys in their group of
danger!

(Clicking on the next links will
take you to
www.travelandleisure.com
websites regarding animals).
Read more...