Page 3 - Kind News, May/June 2022, Teacher Guide

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Porcupine Quiz TO THE RESCUE

Porcupines shoot quills at their predators. Porcupines’ quills have superpowers.

FALSE: Quills fall off easily when touched, but porcupines TRUE: Well, kind of! Porcupines' quills have antibiotic
can’t shoot them. When they are scared, porcupines make properties. The quills are coated with a special material that
clicking noises and their quills stand straight up. They may helps prevent infections. Scientists think this might be because
shake their tails, sending loose quills flying towards nearby porcupines are clumsy and often fall from trees. The special
people and animals. If you see a scared porcupine, give quill-coating helps prevent them from getting too hurt if they
them plenty of space and leave them be. get poked with their own quills.

Porcupines are clumsy. Porcupines and hedgehogs are related.
TRUE: Porcupines love climbing trees, but sometimes FALSE: Even though they look similar, porcupines
they fall asleep on branches and tumble off. and hedgehogs are not closely related.

Critter Clues FROM PAGE 7
Our mystery critter is the pangolin. These insectivores live in grasslands and
rainforests of Asia and Africa. Although they are sometimes referred to as “scaly
anteaters,” they are more closely related to bears, cats, and dogs.
Pangolins are solitary and mostly active at night. Although many are ground-dwellers,
some species like the black-bellied pangolin can climb trees. They can eat up to 70 million
insects a year, snatching up ants and termites with their legendary tongues. Their tongues
can be up to 28 inches long — sometimes as long as their bodies! Pangolins are the only
mammals that have scales. Their scales, made of keratin, are a great defense against predators
— they are so tough that even predators like lions can’t bite through them. When threatened,
pangolins roll themselves up into a ball and release a stinky fluid from a gland near the base of their tails.
Pangolins are in trouble! All eight species are threatened because of their use in the illegal wildlife trade. Believed to be the
most highly trafficked non-human animal in the world, they are poached for both their meat and their scales. There is a false
but widespread belief that their scales have medicinal properties, which plays a major role in their poaching. The good news?
Conservationists in Asia and Africa are working to help these animals. Taiwan has made significant progress in this effort and
now has the highest pangolin population density in the world.
How can you help pangolins? Despite their high level of trafficking, many people don’t know they exist. You can raise
OPPOSITE PAGE: F9PHOTOS/BIGSTOCK. THIS PAGE: (CRITTER CLUES) FRENCHP/BIGSTOCK.
awareness by talking to kids and adults you know about pangolins and their plight, or by donating to organizations working to
save them. To learn more, visit savepangolins.org.

BOOK NOOK
Do You Know Where the Animals Live?
Discovering the Incredible Creatures All Around Us
Written by Peter Wohlleben | Recommended for ages 7-9
Through a mix of at-home activities, facts, stories, and pictures, kids will learn:

• How to spot animal homes and • How our actions impact animals and their • Facts about some of the wildest and
follow their movements ability to survive and thrive in nature most interesting creatures on Earth
This wonderful introduction to the animal kingdom features playful questions, fun quizzes, and activities that will help kids study
animals in their own backyards — and make the world a better place for them.
About the Author: German forest scientist Peter Wohlleben decided to become a conservationist at age 6.
He’s spent his life working around trees, but it’s animals that first stole his heart. Wohlleben recalls hatching a
chick on a heating pad as a child. Now, he combines his love for trees, animals, and education at his forest
academy in Germany’s Eifel Mountains, teaching children about the calls of ravens and to be curious and
respectful of all animals.

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