Gone Winter Wild!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week we learned about how insects, mammals, and plants have adapted to winter in ways to suit their habitat.

The insects are wicked awesome. Some insects freeze solid to protect themselves.
Some actually produce their own antifreeze! The antifreeze spreads around the insect's body making something like a snow proof shield. The antifreeze that insects make is not poisonous but the kind that is in cars is poisonous. Antifreeze is also a very good poison because it is very sweet. The antifreeze goes into a car to keep the car's engine from freezing. Unfortunately, it leaks from cars and dogs and cats come to lick it all up. Many dogs and cats die from the antifreeze.

Mammals have many other ways of protecting themselves from the cold. Some animals have very thick fur. For example, a buffalo has thick fur to protect it from the cold. The thick fur traps warm air inside and keeps the cold air out. This technique is used in varieties of different mammals.

We went to the zoo on Friday to see some real live animals out and to see their winter adaptions.We saw penguins and polar bears outside. Inside the tropical rain forest we saw tropical birds and fish. It was amazing, absolutely amazing!

Did you know that plants have ways to protect themselves too? Trees are very cool. They store up on food for the winter. Then it is finally wintertime. They tell all the leaves to shut down and stop giving the tree food. The tree forms a cork like substance that stops the food at the end of each leaf. The leaves all fall since they have no more use. In the winter, the tree eats its stored up food. All these adaptions are amazing!