Gorillas live in central Africa.  They are herbivores, that means they eat plants.  Gorillas mostly eat fruits, leaves, and bamboo.  Gorillas have dark fur.  The closest relatives of gorillas are humans.  Just like us gorillas have fingerprints.  Gorillas are very smart, Koko a gorilla at the San Francisco Zoo can talk to zoo keepers using sign language.  Sometimes they don’t look too smart, they walk on their knuckles.  Gorillas live in families called troops.  Troops can be as small as five or as big as thirty.  Each troop is lead by a silverback, a male gorilla that can be six feet tall and weigh over four hundred pounds.  Their job is to keep the troop safe.  If threatened, he will scream, beat his chest, break branches, show his teeth, then he charges.  It is best to leave him alone, experts believe that gorillas could be the strongest animals on Earth.  The good new is gorillas want to be left alone.  The bad news is we’re not, the gorillas are endangered humans are over hunting and cutting forest which means gorillas could become extinct. – Taylor

I like butterflies.  Butterflies are beautiful, flying insects with large scaly wings.  Butterflies are very good fliers.  A butterfly starts its life as an egg laid on a leaf.  The caterpillar hatches from an egg and eats a lot of leaves and flowers. Then it turns into a chrysalis.  A beautiful, flying butterfly comes out of the chrysalis.  Butterflies sip nectar from flowers.  Butterflies are found all over the world.  – Ella

My animal is the bluebird.  Bluebirds live in farmlands and in woodlands.  Bluebirds eat bugs, berries and raisins.  It has feathers.  They build nests from twigs, grass and feathers.  They like to sing songs.  – Chloe

I’m writing about coyotes.  Coyotes live all around the U.S.A.  They live in a den.  They eat mice, rabbits, squirrels and other small animals.  Coyotes have fur that is usually gray and brown.  Coyotes can have one to nineteen pups.  They live 10 years in the wild.  They live in packs that have six related adults, yearlings and young.  Coyotes are nocturnal.  They make a high pitched howl, yip, yelps and barks.  Packs of coyotes can bring down prey as large as adult elk.  In a night’s hunt coyotes cover 2 ½ miles.  Cougars sometimes kill coyotes.  Sometimes coyotes eat cats and dogs.  We have coyotes living on our farm in Onekama. – Hanna

My animal is a penguin.  They are black and white.  They live in the Antarctic.  They eat fish, squid, and shrimp.  They slide on their bellies to move far away.  The penguins’ enemies are seals and whales.  The penguins hold their eggs between their feet. – Maddy

My animal is a wolf.  The wolf is at the top of the food chain.  Their main menu items are large hoofed animals like elk and deer.  They will also eat berries, fruit, and garbage.  There are 8 different kinds of wolves.  They are North Western, Mexican, Great Plains, Red, Eastern Timber, Arctic, Eurasian and Indian.  Wolves live mainly in North America and Eurasia.  Wolves are covered in fur. – Cody

Our Animal Project for

First Grade

Cheetahs are my favorite animal.  Most cheetahs live in Africa.  They have tan fur with black spots.  Grown-up cheetahs have over three thousand spots.  Cheetahs weigh about 120 pounds.  They can run as fast as 70 miles per hour.  Their claws always stick out.  Cheetahs have 4-5 babies at one time.  Baby cheetahs are called cubs.   Cubs stay with their mom for 1 ½ years before they can hunt alone.  Cheetahs eat meat.  They like to eat warthogs and rabbits. – Caden

I learned about orangutans.  They live to be 35 to 40 years old.  They are type of monkey.  Orangutans can grab objects like people can.  Orangutans have bodies covered with long red hair.  They have hands like people.  Some orangutans are as tall as me. They live in the tropical rainforest and live in trees.  They eat fruits, vegetables, flowers, and eggs.  Young orangutans sleep with their mothers at night to keep safe. – Alli

The king cobra lies in the deep forest of Asia.  They eat rats and lizards and other snakes.  Snakes have scales that protect the body from injury.  And snakes are not slimy.  Snakes keep growing until they die.  The king cobra growls when it gets mad. It is the longest venomous snake in the world.  The front of its body rears off the ground when threatened. – Aaron

Panda bears live in China in the mountains.  They are very large animals.  They can be six feet tall and weigh up to 270 pounds.  Pandas can live until they are 25 years old.  The fur on pandas is white and black.  Panda bears have very big heads, short tails, and round ears.  They also have short claws so they can climb trees.  Panda bears eat 15 kinds of bamboo and they eat 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day.  They are vegetarians.  They do not eat meat.  It is sad to think that panda bears may not be around much longer.  They are becoming extinct.  People need to help protect the panda’s habitat if we want them to survive.  Panda bears have black eyes.  They have a white belly.  They have black feet and back.  People can’t tell if a baby panda is a girl or a boy until they are four years old. – Colleen

My animal is a skunk.  His name is Jack.  Jack lives by my house.  Skunks can also live in the woods.  Skunks like to eat worms, grubs, and frogs.  They like to hunt for their food at night and sleep during the day.  Skunks have black and white fur.  They are mostly black with a white stripe down the middle of their back.  Skunks are very smelly.  If a predator gets too close, a skunk will lift its tail and spray a stinky oily liquid.  The stinky smell can last for days.  This is why you always want to stay away from skunks. - Luke

Directions for Report

Snapping turtles hatch from eggs.  Turtles like fresh water.  They live in muddy lakes, ponds, and rivers.  Turtles eat fish, insects, toads, and frogs.  Turtles have a shell.  Each turtle’s shell is different.  The shell protects them.  If you put pressure on their shell, then it would feel like pressure on a fingernail.  Turtles have a sharp beak with no teeth.  They are shy in the water.  On the land they are aggressive.  They have a harmful bite.  Turtles can live about 30 to 40 years and weigh about 40 to 50 pounds. – Emma

Anacondas are snakes.  They live in the swamp water of South America.  Andaconda eat pigs, deer, birds, and alligators.  Their skin has scales.  They can live up to 10 years.  Anacondas are 20 to 30 feet long.  Some are as long as a bus.  They can weigh up to 550 pounds – Dalron

Turtles are reptiles.  Reptiles depend on the sun for their body temperature.  The difference between a turtle and a tortoise is that turtles go in the water more and that tortoises go on land more.  Turtles live in lakes, ponds, and rivers.  Turtles also live in streams high in the mountains.  Turtles and tortoises eat just about anything.  Some turtles eat only fruits and vegetables.  Other turtles eat fish or any other animal they can catch.  All turtle and tortoise babies hatch from eggs.  The eggs are laid in nests in the ground.  Turtles and tortoises all have shells.  Turtles usually have low, flat shells to help them swim faster.  Tortoises usually have high domed shells.  Their shell is an important defense because they can hide in it.  Turtles come in all sizes.  A leatherback turtle is one of the biggest turtles in the world.  Alligator snapping turtles have very powerful jaws. – Jackson

A turtle has four legs.  A turtle has a head and a tail.  A turtle has a hard shell.  All turtles lay eggs on the land.  A turtle likes to eat grass and bugs.  Turtles can walk on land.  Turtles are reptiles.  A sea turtle can weigh over 2,000 pounds.  The biggest turtle is called a leatherback.  Turtles like to swim in water.  Turtles can live up to 80 years.  A leatherback can be as big as six to seven feel long – Justin

The animal I am writing about is a rabbit.  My rabbit’s name is Fuzzy Pickles.  Fuzzy Pickles lives at our farm.  Rabbits usually live in a burrow that they dig themselves.  Rabbits love their vegetables, oats, and hay.  Rabbits have fur for their hair.  My rabbit is a Jersey Wooly.  He is a buck that is what a boy rabbit is called. – Matthew

My animal is a cheetah.  They live in the grasslands of Africa.  Cheetahs are the fastest bound mammal.  Cheetahs have great eye sight and eat rabbits and antelope.  They are tan with black spots. - Nickolas