On our hike to Las Grietas on Santa Cruz Island, we walked by an unusual-looking lake. It had a lot of algae floating in it, which looked kind of like large blobs of broccoli soup. Our guide, Bolivar, told us that it was a salt lake. This was the first time I saw a salt lake. In…
If you’ve traveled to Ecuador or are interested in it’s culture or cuisine, you’ve probably heard of horchata. Maybe you even tried this herbal tea during your travels in South America and you want to recreate the experience at home. Learn about Ecuador’s pink horchata tea: ingredients, recipe, health benefits, origins, and caffeine content. This…
An elephant is an elephant, right? There are actually 3 elephant species. And the two African elephant species differs noticeably from their Asian elephant counterpart. African vs Asian elephants differ in 14 ways. African elephants are larger, have a larger population, and reside on the African continent. Asian elephants have smaller bodies, smaller ears, and…
You are probably familiar with some of the camel’s special adaptations to live in an environment as harsh and unforgiving as the Sahara Desert, the Gobi Desert, the steppes of Mongolia, or even the Australian Outback. What about their eyes? How many eyelids does a camel have? All camels have 3 eyelids. Their 3rd eyelid is…
Birds are some of the most majestic creatures on earth and they come in varying sizes and shapes. Which are the biggest birds that fly? Here are the largest birds in the world by wingspan and weight. The largest flying bird in the world by wingspan is the wandering albatross. This enormous bird has a…
While exploring the Galapagos Islands we came across some Darwin’s cotton. I had never seen a cotton plant before (not much cotton is grown in Canada) the only cotton I was familiar with was what comes in plastic bags at the beauty counter in the pharmacy or grocery store. I was surprised to see how…
How do bears diets vary across species (grizzly, polar, brown, black, etc.) and regions? What do bears eat? Learn which bears are mostly carnivorous, which are mostly herbivorous, and what foods they favor. All bears are omnivores. While panda bears have a 99% herbivorous diet, polar bears are mostly carnivores. The other six species are…
Animal tails are for balance, climbing, and attracting females. Which land animal has the longest tail? In this post, you’ll learn about the longest tails: by overall length and by a ratio of their body length. The giraffe has the longest tail of all land animals, at 39 inches (1 meter). With a tail over…
Elephants can weigh +13,000 lb, the earth’s largest land animal. What do elephants eat that helps them grow so large? Learn about the diet of all three species, plus the volume of food and water they consume daily. Elephants are herbivores, so they spend their days looking for grass, roots, fruits, and other plant-based foods….
Elephants are popular at zoos and on safari. How long do elephants live? In this post, we’ll consider the lifespan of both Asian and African elephants in the wild and in captivity. African elephants live for 56-70 years in the wild but only live for an average of 17 years while in captivity. Asian elephants…