MAMMALS R US

Hey,  we have been having lots of fun talking about the Animal kingdom for the whole school year.  Well, today we are going to talk about the final class called mammals.  Did you know that there were over 4000 species of mammals in the world?  There are mammals which live on land, in water and even fly.  We are  going to cover the five characteristics that all mammals share, the different types of mammals and my favorite mammal.  

The five characteristics that all mammals have are:  

1. All have hair or fur. - This hair or fur may cover part or all of the mammal's body. It is used to protect and keep the mammal warm. There are also mammals who have sensory hairs which are called whiskers. These whiskers help them to feel their surroundings and to sense danger.
2.  All females have mammary glands. - Mammary glands are the glands that help the females to produce milk to feed their babies.
3.  All are endothermic. - This means that they are all warm blooded animals.
4.  All are vertebrates. - This means that they all have back bones.
5.  All have body systems developed to help them survive. - Mammals can learn and remember better than any other type of animal and this makes them superior. They have a nervous system which has a brain, nerves and spinal cord. They all have four chambered hearts and blood vessels.

In what ways are Birds and Mammals Simalar?

1. They are both vertebrates and endothemic.
2.  Some mammals like bats have wings like birds.
3.  Some mammals like bats also have hollow bones which allow them to fly just like birds.
4.  Some mammals have beaklike mouths like birds.
5.  Some mammals lay and incubate eggs like birds.

  

What are Placental Mammals, Monotremes and Marsupials?

Well, you see mammals are divided into three groups based on how their babies develop.  The three groups are called Marsupials, monotremes and placental mammals.

Marsupials are what you would called pouched mammals.  Basically, they all have pouches which are sort of like a pocket on their bellies.  These pouches are used to carry, protect and feed their babies.  They give birth to very small immature babies and those babies grow and develop in the mother's pouch.  Examples of marsupials are kolas, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, wallabies and opossums. 



This adult Koala is a marsupial.



Monotremes are what you would call, egg laying mammals.  Although, the females lay eggs they are not birds.  Its eggs have a tough leathery shell just like the eggs of reptiles.  These are a very unusual or strange group of mammals.  The adults have beaklike mouths.  The females produce milk, but do not have nipples, but instead the milk come from mammary glands scattered all over her skin. Examples of monotremes are spiny anteaters and duckbilled platypus.



This adult Spiny Anteater is a monotremes

 We are all placental mammals.  What I mean is that humans are placental mammals.  The babies develop inside of the mother.  The babies are attached to the placenta, which is a saclike organ which provides the baby with oxygen and food from the mother's blood.  Placental mammals are mammals whose young are born very developed.  Examples of placental mammals are dogs, horses, cows, cats, monkeys and lets not forget humans.

This adult tiger is a placental mammal.

Let's Talk About The Little Babies

Placental  babies are born very developed.  They are fully developed inside the mother.  After the babies are born the mother will feed it with milk from its mammary glands. This milk will provide nutrients to help them to continue to grow and develop.

  

Baby Orangutan

Marsupials babies are born very underdeveloped and are about the size of a honeybee.  After the babies are born they crawl into the their mother's pouch and attached themselves to the nipple of the mother. There they will continue to grow and develop.

Baby Kangaroo in its mother's pouch

Monotremes babies are hatched from eggs laid by its mother.  After the babies are hatched, they feed by licking the milk from the mother's skin.  Some monetremes' mothers have pouches to protect and keep their babies safe.

Baby Platypus

My Favorite Mammal

Can you guess what my favorite mammal is?  Let me give you some hints.  He likes to eat a lot, he has his own TV show and has been in movies.  He is black and white and he knows Kung Fu, especially how to do the wishy washy finger.

 


If you said Po the Panda you were right. This is my favorite mammal.

 

This is a Giant Panda

The first time I saw a Panda up close, I was about four years old and went to visit  Zoo Atlanta.  I remember buying a stuffed panda, because I wanted to have my own soft and fluffy panda.  The Giant Panda is one of the most well known endangered animals.  It is almost entirely vegetarian unlike its carnivorous relatives, the bear.  It spends about 12 hours a day siting down and eating bamboo.  They eat about 40 pounds of bamboo each day.  They are really good climbers and can be easily recognized by the black patches around their eyes, ears and body.  Giant pandas have become endangered partly because of hunting, but mainly because their natural habitat of central China has been slowly destroyed.  Although scientist are trying to save the Giant Panda by capturing them and putting them into reserves to live, but is very hard to get them to have babies.  When baby pandas are born they are about 3 inches long and feed on their mother's milk until they are about nine months old.  Did you know that female pandas are called sows, and males are called boars?

Fun Facts About Mammals

Fastest mammal - The cheetah can run up to speeds of 60-70 miles per hour.

Slowest mammal – The sloth moves at less than 1 mile per hour. That is super slow.

Biggest mammal – The Blue Whale.

Biggest land mammal- The African Elephant.

Tallest mammal - The giraffe.

Smallest mammals - The pygmy shrew weighing .11 ounce.  It weighs less than half an ounce, this is super small.

Loudest mammal - The Blue Whale and the second loudest is the Howler Monkey.

Smallest newborns - Marsupials.

Smelliest mammal - The striped skunk

The only venomous mammals – The male duckbilled platypus and several species of shrews.

Fatest mammal - The blue whale has the thickest layer of blubber.

Run !!!!!  Hold your nose!!!!!!  Here comes the Striped Skunk.



Someone holding a shrew.  It is super small.  A finger is bigger than the shrew.



Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my post.  Come back to visit.  Adios mis amigos!!!!!

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