February 21, 2011

Heads Held High ~ Giraffes!

Hi Horse Pals ~

I love giraffes and had a lot of fun writing about them.  Hope you enjoy these fun facts!

Your Horse Pal, @raya

One of the most beautiful wild animals in the world is the Giraffe! It is the Logo for Toys R Us ... Geoffrey the Giraffe! Here are some fun facts about the Giraffe:

Fact #1 A giraffe eats about 140 pounds of food a day.

Giraffe-12
Fact #2 At one time it was believed that giraffes were mute but they do make sounds. A form of communication used by giraffes is called infrasound and cannot be heard by humans. Giraffes do grunt, snort and bellow.

Fact #3 The color of a giraffe's coat tends to become darker with age.

Fact #4 A giraffe's neck can measure up to 5 feet in length.

Fact #5 Just like humans, giraffes have seven vertebrae in their necks. Unlike humans, however, each vertebrae is about 5 inches (11 centimeters) long. The neck of an adult giraffe is about six feet long (1.8 meters), and is extremely muscular.

Giraffe-1
Fact #6 Adult males weigh 2420 to 4250 pounds, females 1540 to 2600 pounds. Males are 9 to 11 feet at the shoulder and 18 to 19 feet at the top of their horns. Females are about 2 feet shorter.

Fact #7 Besides being prehensile, a giraffe's tongue can be 18 inches long.

Fact #8 The Giraffe is the tallest living animal and can reach vegetation that other herbivores cannot. Giraffes eat foliage (broad leafed deciduous and evergreen), grass, shrubs and fruit, and don’t require a lot of water. Their favorite food is the acacia tree. A giraffe browses most of the day and at night they lie down to rest and ruminate.

Fact #9 When giraffes walk they move both right legs forward and then both left. When running they use the back legs first and they move on the outside of the front legs.

Giraffe
Fact #10! Baby giraffes are 6 feet tall and weigh an average of 150 pounds when they are born.

Feb 21, 2011 7:11:00 AM | ANIMAL ADVENTURES, HORSE PALS CLUB, HORSE PALS' ANIMAL STORIES

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HORSE PAL, DARBY SHARES THE SKYROS PONY :) Hi Horse Pals ~ Horse Pal, Darby sent this and we wanted to share it with all of you. Enjoy! Here is a pony that I recently found out about. I found a really good site that tells you horse breeds, and about the horses. It is http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/Horses.htm#R Anyway, they have a lot of breeds that I have never even heard of...like this pony, the Skyros Pony. It is a Greek pony found throughout Greece. It is a light riding and also a draft pony. It is ussually found in the colors white, dun, bay or gray. It also says that the breed is nearly extinct. It's so sad to see many great breeds like the Skyros pony become extinct... Thanks, Darby! If anyone else would like to share interesting horse facts, feel free to email us at [email protected] and we'll post them for you.
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Jumping For Joy ~ The Kangaroo Hi Horse Pals ~ I thought the kangaroo would be a fun animal to highlight, so here are some fun facts about the Kangaroo. Fact #1 The Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus) is the largest surviving marsupial anywhere in the world. Fewer in numbers, the Red Kangaroo occupies the arid and semi-arid centre of the country. A large male can be 6 ft 7 in tall and weigh 200 lbs. Fact #2 Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion. The comfortable hopping speed for the Red Kangaroo is about 13–16 mph, but speeds of up to 44 mph can be attained, over short distances, while it can sustain a speed of 25 mph for nearly 1 1/4 miles. This fast and energy-efficient method of travel has evolved because of the need to regularly cover large distances in search of food and water, rather than the need to escape predators. To move at slow speeds, it uses its tail to form a tripod with its two forelimbs it then raises its hind feet forward. Fact #3 Eastern Greys can jump as well as the big Reds: up to 29 feet in one bound, and can reach speeds of nearly 30 mph. Fact #4 Kangaroos are the only large animals that move by hopping. Fact #5 The large and strong tail is used for balance when hopping, and as a fifth limb when moving about on all four legs. Fact #6 All kangaroos are herbivores. The grazers or browsers eat only plant matter. Fact #7 Kangaroos can survive on very little water; sometimes going for many weeks without it - most of the moisture they need is gained from their food - grass, young shoots and leaves from certain trees. Fact #8 The Red Kangaroo has long distinctive ears, powerful back legs with long feet and a long thick muscular tail. Its front legs are smaller. The female has a pocket of skin called a pouch on the lower part of her stomach to carry her young. Fact #9 Kangaroos are sociable and move in groups of 10-12 up to 100. There is usually one dominant male in the group. He will fight outsiders and younger males trying to take over the group. Fact #10 When a kangaroo is born it is blind and has no fur. The 3/4 of an inch long Joey takes three minute to climb, without help, through the fur on its mother's belly into the her pouch. Once inside, the Joey clamps onto one of her four teats and sucks her milk. For the first four months it doesn't let go of the teat. Once it has a covering of fur the young Joey leaves the pouch for short exploring trips. The Joey stays out for longer periods returning only for milk, until it becomes independent. I hope you learned as much as I did!

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Araya and Avery are young equestrians and entrepreneurs with a passion for life!

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