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Hey iPad and iPhone users – have you checked out the new African Plains Pack on ZooWho? No, not Zoobooks, ZooWho! If you haven’t yet downloaded the free Zoobooks app for iPad and iPhone, don’t waste another minute!
ZooWho is the app that lets you take the jungle with you wherever you go. It’s a unique animal wildlife experience that offers interactive games, animal habitats to explore, fascinating facts, jungle sounds and more! And it’s free! Download ZooWho for iPhone or iPad today, or learn more at www.zoobooks.com/fun.
In light of the current Zoobooks Wild Horses issue, we’re very excited about El Paso Zoo’s new Przewalski’s Wild Horse exhibit! The Przewalski’s wild horse, commonly referred to as the Mongolian wild horse, was declared extinct by the World Conservation Union in 1970. In 1977, a breeding conservation program was established thanks to the dedication of zoos and other facilities where Przewalski’s horses survived. Now, more than 300 of these horses can be found in the wild in Mongolia, and the species’ status has been elevated from extinct to critically endangered.
The El Paso Zoo is dedicated to conservation education and to helping people connect with the last wild horses in the world, and take action to help them. In 2010, the Zoo joined a global effort to maintain a population of the Przewalski’s wild horse in North America. Now, visitors at the zoo can see the horse up close, and take part in maintaining its existence. Learn more about El Paso Zoo’s Przewalski’s wild horse conservation efforts.
In your Zoobooks Wild Horses issue, you read about all different kinds of zebras, including the Grevy’s zebra. You may remember that Grevy’s zebras are different from other zebras in size, weight, body and head shape, and stripe pattern. The Grevy’s zebra is 200 pounds heavier than the plains zebra, and about 5 to 10 inches taller, too.
Earlier this year, a Grevy’s zebra was born at the Bronx Zoo. Her unique brown stripes make her stand out from the crowd, and if she’s not busy galloping around them, she sticks by her parents. Check her out in the video below!
To learn more about this Grevy’s zebra, visit the Bronx Zoo online.
It’s amazing how much we can learn from ancient artifacts. Recovered drawings, jewelry, tools, and other objects from hundreds or thousands of years ago can tell us so much about how people around the world once lived, worked, and played. They can tell us a lot about animals, too.
In the current issue of Zoobooks Wild Horses, you can see an ancient piece of Scythian jewelry that gives us an idea of when wild horses were first trained for riding. Thanks to these types of artifacts, scientists can estimate that Mongolian wild horses were probably broken to saddle some 5,000 years ago.
What objects from today might someone discover in a few hundred years to reveal how we live, work, and play with horses today?
Most horses spend a good portion of the day outside. Have you ever wondered how they avoid those irritating bugs and flies? In the current issue of Zoobooks Wild Horses, you can find out!
If you ever catch a horse rolling around in the mud, chances are it’s not just being playful. In fact, rolling around in the mud or dust allows horses to get rid of pesky little insects and loose hair. And that’s not all — the dust and mud that sticks to horses when they get back on their fours actually protects them from the sun and insect bites. Forget sunscreen and bug spray — these animals know how to take care of themselves au naturel!
Learn more fun and interesting facts about horses in the Wild Horses issue of Zoobooks, available for order online. Or, subscribe now and receive Zoobooks Wild Horses as your first issue!
If you’ve read the current issue of Zoobooks, Wild Horses, then you’ve learned how to identify a Cape mountain zebra next to, say, a Hartmann’s mountain zebra or a Burchell’s zebra. Cape mountain zebras, like Hartmann’s mountain zebras, have broad black stripes all the way down to their hooves. They also have a “gridiron” pattern of parallel stripes on their rumps.
As we know, identifying one type of zebra out of a bunch is like trying to pick apart an optical illusion — not a simple task. So, where do you go if you want to see a Cape mountain zebra without having to examine zebra rumps up close? If you happen to be visiting South Africa, then the Mountain Zebra National Park is one place to start. Established in 1973 in Eastern Cape, this national park 
is now home to hundreds of Cape mountain zebras. In fact, it’s largely thanks to the Mountain Zebra National Park that Cape mountain zebras are still around; in the early 1900s, this zebra was very close to extinction. With the continued success of national parks around the world, there’s hope that one nearly-extinct species will one day be able to return again to the wild.
Two words to impress your kids and your friends from the latest Zoobooks Animal Babies (page 2):
Some animal babies, whether they are born or hatched, emerge highly developed. These babies require little or no care or training. They are precocial. Others still have a long development stage and need a lot of care from their parents. These babies are altricial.
Play a game that will cement the learning. One person names an animal and the next person labels it precocial or altricial. If you aren’t sure of the answer, do some research together to find out – that’s a great way to model learning, practice research and have fun together! Play the P-A game in the car, around the dinner table, with a crowd of kids or just two.
All manner of baby-transport equipment is available to us humans, from strollers to backpacks to slings. Animals are not only a lot more “equipment-challenged” when it comes to moving their babies around, but most don’t have opposable thumbs or even hands to make the job a little easier.
This is where mouths come in handy. We’ve all seen a house cat carry its baby in its mouth by the scruff of the neck–but did you know that in addition to all the felines, pandas and other bears move their young that way, too? Crocodiles, on the other hand, just open up their mouths and let all their babies crawl inside! The young crocs’ view of the world must be interesting through all of those pointed teeth.
Scorpions and primates find it easier to carry their little ones on their backs. (You can bet those babies learn to hang on real fast.) And marsupials, of course, may have it easiest of all with those built-in pouches–or do they? The long feet on an active kangaroo joey don’t look like they’d be very comfortable for Mom.
Baby elephants don’t get a free ride anywhere–they’re too big. And many animals, such as lizards, don’t have parents around to help out at all. But however animal babies get around, they likely won’t be traveling that way for long, because they won’t be babies for long. Check out your latest Zoobooks issue, Animal Babies, before everyone is all grown up!
Zoobooks Animal Babies and Zootles Butterflies (arriving in homes this month) both feature the life cycle of a butterfly, also known as metamorphosis. For younger children 2 to 6 years old, Zootles introduces butterfly metamorphosis in a full two pages. It follows the life of a swallowtail butterfly with fun facts that may amaze even you. For example, did you know that caterpillars shed their skin as they grow? Or that the caterpillar’s last skin forms the chrysalis that protects it while transforms into a butterfly?
In Zoobooks Animal Babies, for older kids 6 and up, the life cycle of the butterfly is part of a larger feature on the hatching and birth of many different kinds of animals. For older kids there are fascinating details that make metamorphosis sound like a science fiction movie plot – except it’s real: “Encased in the chrysalis, the caterpillar dissolves into a thick liquid. New life begins to take form, and eventually a butterfly breaks free of the chrysalis.”
To order Zoobooks Animal Babies or Zootles Butterflies go to www.zoobooks.com and click on the zoo store, or better yet subscribe!
Zoobooks Animal Babies, page 3
- The answer is on the left, from the latest Zoobooks Animal Babies that will be in homes next week.
- Many zoos, petting zoos, and museums have incubators where kids can watch eggs hatch. Try searching online using keywords “egg hatching exhibit” and add your town or city at the end. You may find incubators for snakes, amphibians or fish in addition to the more common chick hatching incubators. When you visit look for the “egg tooth”.
Want this Zoobooks? Go to www.zoobooks.com where you can order individual titles in our web store or, for the best deal, subscribe!
