Groups Troops and Herds
At a glance: Participants will discover why an animal may live with other animals to meet their basic needs
Time requirement Theme (7 hours) Animals that live in a group, troop or herd, live Group size and grade(s) with other animals to meet their basic needs. Group Size (11-12 students) Ages (6-7yrs old) Sub-themes Materials 1. We will identify the specific roles an Refer to each day to see materials listed. animal may fulfill within the group Goal(s) of animals they live with Explore the relationships animals have. 2. Animal senses play a crucial role in Objective(s) the fundamentals of living in an animal group 1. All campers will be able to identify animals that live in a group, troop or herd. 2. All campers will be able to understanding that animals live together for protection and energy conservation. 3. All campers will understand that animals may live in tight social settings to help each other find food. 4. All campers will be able to identify reasons why cooperation amongst a large number of species amongst a group is essential for their survival.
Groups, Troops and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 1 of 81 Monday:
Before Camp Begins
Pick-up attendance sheet from instructor room or from classroom. Pick-up first aid bag and radio. Remember, Education uses channel 4. Check attendance sheet for food allergies and special needs. Collect snacks needed for the day or week based on presence of food allergies. Set-up classroom for the day- if you have a Volunteen teacher’s aide, they can be in charge of setting up the circle with books and puzzles. Using your curriculum, gather supplies from curriculum box that you will need for the day. Check supplies for rest of week so you know you have enough supplies. If not enough supplies- contact Scott, Sarah or Meredith. Camper Arrivals
Greet parents and campers as they arrive. Encourage the children to find their nametag and camp t-shirt at their place around the circle If you have a Volunteen, have them entertain campers as they come in, reading a book, helping with puzzles, talking with campers, etc. This greatly decreases homesickness, especially in smaller children. If you have no Volunteen, make sure that you are encouraging the kids to play with puzzles and look at books as they arrive. Help them with each as needed. Collect contact and dismissal forms from parents. Hand parents camp itinerary for the week. Check with parents on food allergies or other camper needs. Make sure parents understand that we cannot guarantee that there are not any allergens in another child’s lunch but that we do not allow food-sharing between campers. Remind parents to bring a picture ID at pickup time All animals are subject to change for animal demos. Parent info on snack: One snack will be given each day. Juice will be given on Monday and empty bottles will be reused and refilled with water for the remainder of the week. You will check attendance sheet and dismissal form for allergies before handing out snack. Parents are welcome to provide their own, additional water bottle. End of Day
Greet parents at the classroom door. Check photo ID against dismissal form. Only instructors may release child to their parents. Only release child to those named on the dismissal form. When in doubt, radio Sarah, Scott, or Meredith for help/clarification. There is no pull-through/curb-side dismissal service available during spring break camp. Once all campers have left, radio Scott, Sarah and Meredith. If campers still remain in your room at 4:15, radio Scott, Sarah and Meredith. We will contact the parent and stay with the child until the parent arrives. Clean classroom and prepare for the next day.
Tuesday - Friday:
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Before Camp Begins
Pick-up first aid bag and radio. Remember, Education uses channel 4. Collect snacks needed for the day or week based on presence of food allergies. Set-up classroom for the day. Using your curriculum, gather supplies from curriculum box that you will need for the day. Check supplies for rest of week so you know you have enough supplies. If not enough supplies- contact Scott, Sarah or Meredith. During Camp
All animals are subject to change for animal demos. One snack will be given each day. You will distribute snack at your own discretion. Check attendance sheet and dismissal form for allergies before handing out snack. Reuse snack juice bottles as water bottles after snack. Label bottles with campers’ names. All compostable materials should be placed in a bucket and taken to the compost bin. You can bring your campers and talk about importance of composting.
End of Day
Greet parents at the classroom door. Check photo ID against dismissal form. Only instructors may release child to their parents. Only release child to those named on the dismissal form. Once all campers have left, radio Scott, Sarah and Meredith. If campers still remain in your room at 4:15, radio Scott, Sarah and Meredith. Clean classroom and prepare for the next day.
General Daily format
(Approximately 25 minutes for each into, animal demonstration, and craft, 1 hour for hike/break/snack)
8:45-9:00 Children arrive at the Zoo
9:00-9:25 Camp introduction
9:10-9:40 Topic introduction (Classroom/Out door activities)
9:40-10:50 Hike
10:55-11:30 Live Animal Demonstrations
11:30-11:45 Game
11:45- noon Lunch/Break/Bathroom
Noon- 12:30 Rest/Break
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12:30- 1:00 Introduction to afternoon topics
1:00-2:30 Hike/ Bathroom break/ Snack
2:30- 3:30 Animal Demonstration
3:00-3:30- Snack/Bathroom Break
3:30 - 4:00 Craft/Game
3:45- 4:15 Dismissal
Hike/Break/Snack, craft and animal demonstrations may not necessarily be in this order every week Parents will be able to pick up their child anytime between 3:45-4:15pm.Radio Scott, Sarah or Meredith, if you still have campers after 4:15 Be sure to take a bathroom break BEFORE hikes! Remember to carry first aid supplies and radio while out on Zoo grounds
Daily Summary
Monday-“Following the Leader”: Animals who live in a group interact with other animals of the same species to meet their essential basic needs. Complex groups have a special hierarchy of animals and establish specific leaders to take charge of the group. Communication amongst group members is very important for bonding, creating relationships and protecting one another.
Tuesday-“Safety in numbers”: Some animals may seek protection in large numbers and stick together. Animals who seek safety in numbers thrive on the support and comfort of living in a large group. They look to their herd, flock or group members to meet their basic needs of living
Wednesday-“Cooperation”: Cooperation among animals is important for species who develop a hierarchy among one another. Animals who live in large, populated communities may not need a specific leader to direct the entire herd, group or colony. There are many different forms of communication they use to coordinate travel, protection and foraging. Taking a close look at group animals helps to understand whether the group is forming gregariously or cooperating toward a functional living system.
Thursday-“Pairs”: Animal pair bonds cooperate to find food, seek shelter and protect their young. Animals who live in pair bonds create a close relationship with one other animal and often choose to have their young with this one other animal.
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Friday-“Surviving Solo”: Animals who live alone are equipped to handle the rough conditions of the environment they live in. Some solitary animals possess extraordinary adaptations such as large size and are quite simply too big for other animals to eat. Some solitary animals are extreme predators, who are not too keen on sharing food and space, therefore they live alone.
Day I
Following the Leader
Background information-
The animal groups we are talking about today have a specific leader who dictates most of the actions the group takes together. Elephants are a great example of an animal herd who may consist of 10-40 individuals and are led by a matriarch, a female leader who is in charge of the well being of the herd. Typically this type of leadership is acquired by wisdom, age and acquired respect from other animals in the group. Another animal who is led by one main leader is the western lowland gorilla. Gorillas live in a troop, which is a group of females and young males, and are led by a male leader who is called the silverback. This silverback takes on a vital role of looking out for his troop and he has the trust of all the members in his troop. Elephants and gorillas are just two species who depend on a leader to function as a group, of which all individuals benefit from one another. Individuals benefit by being in a group that increases their chances of finding food, water, shelter, protection and space to live.
There are many advantages of having a leader in a group of animals. No matter what the size of the group, having a leader puts less stress on the individuals and more decision making into the hands of the leader. Essentially, this creates less confrontation and struggle with decisions, within the group. If there were large groups of intelligent animals such as elephants without a leader, they would struggle to find food and seek protection within each other. Elephant babies would be more susceptible to predation from hyenas. The matriarch and other elders of the herd are in charge of protecting the young. One way they do this is by putting them in the middle of the herd members in times of harmful situations. In these moments, the leader fulfils their role by taking charge and communicating to the herd what they need to do. A matriarch or patriarch is a group leader that has grown to be trusted and respected by the members of its group. Over the time of being leader, it is crucial to lead the group properly and keep the trust of other members.
Asian elephants live in herds of females, young males and their related offspring. The matriarch of the herd is the lead communicator, who navigates and guides the group. This female may be one of the eldest, largest and possibly the brightest of the herd, taking charge of the groups daily activities. Matriarchs create a close bond to the members of her herd, and make a lifelong commitment to protecting her herd. The matriarch is the decision maker for her herd,
Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 5 of 81 dictating the groups actions because she is overseeing the overall well being of the group. Elephants inhabit large blocks of forest and grasslands, and the matriarch moves the herd around depending upon available water and food sources. Despite their massive weight and extreme height, they can walk silently through the forest because of a sensitive pad on the base of each foot. This pad is four inches of fatty tissue, supporting the foot when an elephant walks. Even though the herd can move silently, they are not invisible to predators. In a dangerous situation, the matriarch communicates to the group to create a group formation around the young calves, so they are protected by the larger elephants in the herd.
Although gorillas and elephants are two extremely different mammals, we can focus on the similar social structure both species take on. A gorilla troop can consist of 10 to 20 individuals, along with one lead male, the silverback. The dominant male is referred to as the silverback, the leader of his troop. He is responsible for migrating his troop throughout specific regions of the rainforest and being aware of where available resources are, around the forest. Finding food, water and staying away from predators are two important factors that pushes them through different parts of the forest throughout their daily routine. Most of the morning is spent searching for food. The afternoon is a time for play, grooming, napping and more foraging. As for sleeping patterns, gorillas typically enjoy 12-13 hours every night!
Similar to Gorillas, Bonobos are another primate who live in troops and are led by a strong leader. Although, different in comparison to gorillas, bonobos are led by a matriarch, a female leader. A female has offspring ever four to five years so she can allow herself her time and energy to bond with her young. Baby bonobos stay with mom 8-10 years before they are off on their own. The females of this species establish an exceptionally close bond with their sons. They create a lifelong relationship as mom and son. If the mother has a daughter, she will make the daughter find another group when she is old enough. Social behavior is often affected by others invading their space. They can be aggressive when it comes to another troop infringing on their food. Bonobos are highly intelligent, in fact, the most intelligent of all the primates. Sharing 98% of human DNA, bonobos are the closest living relative to humans. Scientists have discovered they can communicate with humans in several non verbal, verbal, tactile using their five senses in communication.
Communication is extremely important to the level of function between group members. Gorillas, elephants and bonobos communicate amongst one another for food, shelter, water, space and protection. Communication comes in many different forms, mainly from our sensory organs. Vision, smell, touch, taste and hearing all assist in communication among group members. A leader of a troop or herd communicates its group orders by vocalizing, touching, smelling and listening to other members of the group. Elephants, gorillas and bonobos are strongly connected through social interactions, and showing physical communication is very important. Bonobos and gorillas are primates and often communicate by showing affection grooming one another, holding or touching one another. Elephants are gifted with a trunk that has 10,000 muscles in it, enabling them to use this as a main communication adaptation. From Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 6 of 81 touching one another, vocalizing to one another or pushing objects around with their trunk, their trunk assists in their communication to one another. Primates such as bonobos and western lowland gorillas have strong visual communication with one another. These animals who live in large troops have to communicate continually and are constantly talking with one another to meet their needs or perform their daily activities. Troops have immediate family members and relatives living together in which they have close bonds. Part of developing these close bonds is by visual communication, watching one another or mimicking one another. Young babies watch and observe their parents or siblings to learn new behaviors, therefore visual communication is important to their development.
Daily Vocabulary
x Matriarch- a female leader, who holds power, wisdom and age. She may be the leader of a group troop or herd. x Patriarch- A male leader who holds power, wisdom and age. He may be the leader of a group, troop or a herd. x Social group- a group of animals who communicate and interact with each other, and depend on each other for survival x Primate- an animal that possess; large brain mass relative to body size, opposable thumbs and binocular vision x Species- A group of individuals, classified below the same genus, who share common characteristics and can reproduce, exchanging DNA and produce viable offspring. x Mammals- animals that produce live young, mother can produce milk to feed young, bodies are covered in hair and the animal is endothermic, meaning It can control its own body temperature internally. x Gorilla Troop- A group consisting of one male leader, several adult females, and several male and female young x Infra sound- a low frequency sound that can travel a long distance and is heard or felt through vibrations traveling in the ground. This frequency is so low, humans do not have the capability to hear it.
I. Welcome Campers and Parents (15 minutes)
A. For the first day of camp, as for every day, it is important to welcome all campers and parents as they walk in the door. As each camper arrives, encourage them to find their name tag and look at some puzzles and books that have been placed in the middle of the circle. We want them to feel comfortable and safe in this environment. Put a smile on, get excited and GET READY because some of these children will be coming to a camp for the very first time!!!!! x Welcome the campers by sitting next to them, helping to read a book, or solve a puzzle.
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x Help the campers put their lunch boxes in the closet for storage.
B. Attendance sheet: Put a mark by the name of each camper as they arrive.
C. Dismissal form: Before a parent dismisses their child to you for the day, you MUST have the dismissal form in your hands with all the proper information filled out.
D. Name tags: Each camper will have a name tag, right on top of their carpet square. They may need help finding their name tag as they walk in the door
*Teen tasks- Volunteens should be able to help set up the classroom and welcome the campers in the classroom. As campers arrive, they should be able to help out with putting lunches away, reading books to the campers and getting a camper settled in.
II. Introduction of instructor and campers
A. Introduce yourself again and ask the campers if they could tell everyone their name and one of their favorite animals.. B. After each camper has a turn, this is a good time to go over classroom rules. Making a camp contract can help the campers feel they are apart of a group and they need to work together to follow the rules. Using large chart paper, write down the main rules for the camp and the campers can put a thumb print at the bottom of it. Putting this up on the side of the classroom allows the campers to have a gentle, visual reminder of what is expected for their behavior while at camp. Needs o Chart paper o Finger paint o marker III. Introduction to the camp theme (5-10 minutes)
Each day this week, we will focus on specific animals and how they interact with other animals of the same species. We will discover the extraordinary benefits of living the way these animals do. For example: x We will learn how animals m a y cooperate with one another to find food, water, shelter, space and protection from predators. x Ask the campers, how does a large herd of elephants move in the same direction, and at the same time? Well, they are communicating with their senses and verbally to stay together, finding food, water and shelter together. x Why does a pack of wolves need to stay together? We can give the campers an example of a sports team who works together to score points. Some animals work together, but they each play a different role while helping one another out.
IV. Introduction to the daily morning topic (15 minutes) Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 8 of 81
Needs o Pictures on the public folder drive (use the TV in the classroom to project the computer image on the TV screen) A. This morning we are going to talk about animals who have to TALK to each other! Just like we like to talk to our friends, sisters, brothers, moms and dads, animals do the same thing! We may talk about what we want to eat for dinner, how tired we are, what the weather is like outside or just talk about our favorite things to do! Even though it seems odd, some animal groups communicate the same things to each other! We refer to these groups as highly developed family groups. With an established leader or leaders, a large group of animals must communicate efficiently to meet their basic needs and live the highest quality of life they can experience. Ask the campers the following questions and call on a couple campers to respond to each question: x Who makes up their family group? x Do they eat with their family or perform activities with their family? x Do their moms and dads watch them play outside? x Animals that live in large groups with others that can be related, perform many tasks throughout the day, with their families B. For the animals we will learn about this morning, their parents or other family members teach them how to eat, clean themselves, play, fight off predators, hunt for food, forage for food and learn social skills. Does this sound familiar to our campers? The campers can make a connection with animals who learn from their parents or family members, because as humans, we have to learn like this as well! For example, elephant babies will learn from members of the herd which leaves and grasses are safe to eat. They will also learn how to use their trunk by watching their mother and experimenting on their own. Our campers can relate to this because their mommy or daddy may have taught them how to catch a ball, or find the right foods to eat out of the kitchen cabinets! Ask the campers the following questions: x What is something your parent has taught you? x Have your parents taught you to tie your own shoes or brush your own hair? C. Today we will help the campers determine who makes up a group and what role they play. Listed below are some objectives we will accomplish by the end of the day today How many boys or girls are in the group together? How many mommies or daddies are in the group? Are there any grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, brothers or sisters in the group? What is the relation between everyone in the group or troop? Is there a main leader, or a group of leaders? D. This morning we are going to focus on elephants! Elephants live in large herds made up of related adults and offspring, led by a matriarch. In an elephant herd, there is one main leader called the matriarch. Well what is a matriarch? Introduce the word matriarch. Adult females live in a herd and are led by one main female leader. For
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example, the lead female has the responsibility to find her herd water, food, shelter and safety from predators. This female plays a leadership role for all the members of her herd. She is intelligent and has experience, knowing where to bring the herd. The matriarch is wise and has experienced more years of life than the young elephants and she can pass this information on to the young members of the herd. Some of the information she can pass on would be social communication skills, tactile communication skills, behavioral skills, foraging skills and self defense skills.
V. Activity Time – (20 minutes) We know that some animals live in a social group with their family just like us. One way to make a connection between an animal’s social group is to relate this group to a family group. With each member of the family a different age, different size, different sex (boy or girl), and different personalities, everyone brings their own role to the family! Let’s draw a picture!
A. Ask the campers to draw their family doing one of their favorite activities. After they are finished, share them with the class!
Needs o Paper o Crayons o Craft trays Instructions- 1. Hand out a piece of construction paper to each camper 2. Lay out crayons and pass out craft trays. 3. On one side of the paper, have the campers draw one of their favorite things to do with their family. This can be an activity they enjoy with their family that includes everyone and makes them happy while they are engaged in it. This can be something that may happen every day, such as having dinner together or a special event, like their birthday party. 4. On the other side, they should draw something their mom, dad, grandfather, grandmother or sibling taught them how to do (supervise and observe while campers are drawing, making sure all pictures are camp appropriate). 5. After everyone is finished, they can share one of their pictures with the rest of the campers if they would like.
*make a connection- Have the campers label each family member they draw, and ask them about each member? Are their mommy’s and daddy’s wise and smart, just like the elephant matriarch ? *
B. After drawing a picture of our family members, did we notice some of our family members have hair on their heads or hair on their bodies? Humans are considered mammals, just like elephants! Let’s go over some characteristics of mammals:
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x Hair on body x Mother can produce milk to feed young x Live young, young are not in an egg or shell! x Endothermic (we do not need the sun or the shade to warm and cool our bodies, our bodies can sweat or shiver and use our hairs on our bodies to keep us warm. C. Looking at a herd family: Who is in this family and how do they communicate? Needs o Pictures of animals that live in social groups (public folder) o Pictures of elephant body parts ( highlight senses) (public folder) How can animals actually talk to one another?! Utilizing specific forms of communication allows these animals to learn in a large social group. Using the five senses: x Smell (nose) x Hearing (ears) x Vision (eyes) x Taste (tongue and mouth) x Touch (body, hands, feet etc...)
By using all senses, elephants can take advantage of these adaptations and communicate even over long distances. One of the most unique ways elephants can communicate is infra sound! A type of communication that allows elephants to talk to each other from two miles away! Ask the campers if they think the elephants carry cell phones with them so they can talk to each other for two miles away. NO WAY, they can’t carry cell phones. Elephants can talk to one another through vibrations in the ground, they can hear these vibrations and feel them!
From a very young age, an elephant watches its mother and related older adult family members to learn behaviors. Learning what foods are safe to eat and how to use a trunk to put food or water in their mouth takes practice! Without communication these animals wouldn’t be able to function with a large group and meet their needs. They can learn and talk through many different forms of communication. Use the pictures to point out different body parts animals use to communicate. For example an elephant can do all of these things to communicate: x Using their eyes they can observe their mom, dad or elders in the herd. x Using their ears, they can hear vocalizations. Trumpeting, whispering, snorts and roaring are just a few of the many vocalizations an Asian elephant can make. x Using their ears and feet they can hear infra sound. x Using their feet they can feel Infra sound. Infra sound is a sound frequency below levels that humans can hear. The frequency is lower than human voice
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frequency. Elephants have the ability to communicate through a sound so low pitch, humans can’t hear. If a herd of elephants are heading for danger, the matriarch would be in charge of dictating taking a new direction. She can communicate through infra sound and the whole herd will hear her. They can communicate through infra sound from several miles away! x Using their legs, trunk and body they can touch and feel
*Take home point- The campers can relate to the family structure of elephants to their own family. The campers will be able to visualize a family of elephants by looking at the pictures and learning about how elephants communicate to one another. B y pointing to body parts in the pictures, campers will be able to visualize the body parts being used for communication.
VI. Elephant communication Race (10 minutes)
Needs o Bucket o ruler A. Game objective- To mimic infra sound, one person will drum on a bucket and the drum sequence will tell the herd what they need to do. The campers will be listening and feeling the bucket sounds and vibrations of the matriarch that will lead them to her. B. Game background- We are a herd of elephants moving through the forest!!Moving quietly, fast or slowly, we have to be listening to the matriarch. The matriarch will tell us how to move to steer us closer to food, or away from danger! Let’s see if the campers can be really good at listening and using their sense of hearing, vision and touch! C. Instructions: 1. The instructor or volunteen will be a matriarch of the herd of elephants. 2. Split the campers into young elephants and adult elephants 3. These elephants make up the rest of your herd and they will be using their sense of hearing and touch to move around the classroom 4. After going through the rules, put up the rules on the white board or chart paper, so the campers can visibly refer to these throughout the game. 5. Line the campers up at one end of the classroom. 6. The instructor or volunteen will beat on the bucket and be either in the next classroom or right outside the door, with the door ajar. 7. Go over the rules, make sure the campers understand each rule means. 8. If they hear the drumming, that is the warning call “banging noise=danger”, and they have to back up, instead of going forward.
Rules chart:
Matriarch Campers/(Young Elephants) Campers/(Adult Elephants) One bang One small steps One medium steps
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Two bangs Two small leaps two large steps Three bangs Three small steps three hops Drum-roll One step back One jump back
*Take home point- The campers should know what infra sound is and the game will help them understand the meaning. At the end of the game, the campers should understand elephants live in a matriarchal society, following a lead female elephant. Elephants can communicate over a vast distance through infra sound, with minimal visibility.
VII. Hike/Break/Snack (60 minutes) – Hike focus: Asian Elephant
A. Bathroom break B. Zoo Hike ~ Elephant House Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Water bottle for campers Elephant show/Elephant bath (11:00am&2:00pm offered every day) Asian Elephants . Found in South India to the rainforests of Borneo . These animals can weigh up to 11,000 pounds . Asian elephants live in herds of females, young males and their related offspring. . An elephant can consume up to 40 gallons of water per day (enough to fill a bathtub full of water), as well as eat several hundred pounds of food per day. . The Asian elephants posses an acute, highly sensitive one fingered trunk. Their ears are smaller in size, in comparison to the two fingered trunk and massive eared African elephant. . The female gestation period is typically 20-22 months long, resulting with one calf. . An elephant can consume up to 40 gallons of water per day (enough to fill a bathtub full of water), as well as eat several hundred pounds of food per day. . Sabu- male. . Mai Thai- shortest female, hair-less tail and hole in ear . Jati- furriest female . Schottzie- largest female C. Snack - During snack time, I t is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their
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own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing a appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith. Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles *Teen Task- Volunteens can get out the snack mats and help distribute snacks to the campers.
VIII. Activity- ‘Matriarch Says’ game- “Simon Says” (10 Minutes) - The Matriarch will be leading the game of other elephants.
A. In an elephant social group, the Matriarch is such an influential leader! Without the matriarch, the group would be unorganized and disoriented. She is looked upon for guidance to find food, shelter, water and space to live. Before playing this game, remind the campers the matriarch calls the shots for what the herd does. Matriarch says, just like ‘Simon Sa y s ’ is very appropriate because the herd will need to do what she says. Be silly- act like you have a trunk while you play!
IX. Live Animal Encounter (25 minutes)
Needs o Purell hand sanitizer o Demonstration animals Instructions- Go over the rules of “Animal Time”. 1. Please sit criss-cross applesauce 2. Please keep your hands in your lap 3. When you are told you can touch, that is the specific time to do so 4. After the instructor is finished talking, please raise your hand if you have a question Animal Encounters Lady Ross’s Turaco . Found in Africa . They live in pairs or family groups . Diet consists of fruits and they act as mini farmers because they eat fruits that have seeds in them, and they excrete the seeds
X.Lunch/Bathroom (25 minutes)
Needs o Purell hand sanitizer prior to eating lunch o Craft tray o Lunch
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A. Assist the campers in getting their lunches from the closet. Pass out craft trays to the campers to eat their lunch on. B. We want to be a ZERO land fill facility! After lunch, assist campers in putting their lunch waste into the proper bucket of recycling, compost or trash. For the first and second day of camp, have the campers wait until they are finished eating to put any trash/waste away. Once everyone is finished, draw their attention to the buckets for recycling/trash/compost. Use their lunches to give examples of what materials and waste will go into each bucket. You can also emphasize that the campers can do this at home too! On the third day, see if they can do this themselves, and remember what waste went where and WHY. C. Refer back to dismissal forms, and double check camper allergies. Campers may have mild to severe food allergies, and it is extremely important to be aware of these before snack and lunch. If you have a camper with allergies that you need to take extra precaution, make sure they have their own, clean food tray to eat on. Instructions Assist campers if they need help opening lunch items Supervise campers, ensure they are only eating their own lunch Gently encourage campers to eat their healthier lunch items first (ex: sandwich and fruits) Campers are to clean up their own food after eating. Put compost/recycling/trash into the proper receptacle. XI. Break (25 minutes) A. This is an important part of the day for campers to wind down and relax. A full day of camp can be exhausting, both physically and mentally for this age group. Therefore, encourage campers to be quiet or use inside voices, lie down in their own space and keep their hands to themselves. We can put on an age appropriate movie/documentary and turn the lights off, or read a story for quiet time.
*Teen Task- Volunteens can pass out the trays or assist campers with getting their correct lunch out of the closet. While the campers are finishing up lunch, the teen can assist campers to compost their food and know what food to put in the trash. While going to the rest rooms after lunch, Volunteens can help keep the campers entertained outside the restrooms.
XII. Introduction to afternoon topic- Focus on primate social groups (20 minutes)
Needs o Chart paper o Pictures of prosimians, apes and monkeys (public drive) A. This morning we talked about mammals who communicate with one another using their sense of smell, touch, vision, hearing and taste. We learned that elephants are mammals because they have hair on their bodies, live young, mom can feed baby with milk and they are endothermic. We talked about elephants who thrive on the support and social Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 15 of 81
interactions from their group and they use infa sound, a very unique and complex way of talking to one another. They create close relationships with others and they communicate to survive. This afternoon we will focus on animal groups that also have a specific leader, just like our elephants. We are going to talk about other types of mammals that are different in the way they move and how they use their sensory adaptations. x Ask the campers if they have heard of the word primate? Primates are social animals who live in social settings just like elephants. Primates are similar to elephants because they are mammals but they are also great communicators to one another! Primates are smart and have to learn behaviors like grooming, eating and playing from one another, just like elephants. Primates are mammals who possess specific shared traits. Primates are mammals, so this means they possess the mammal traits we talked about earlier! They also have three distinct traits that differentiate them from other types of mammals. Go over the three basic characteristics of a primate. Then, we can actually divide our primates by their physical differences!
Characteristics of a primate Hand Gesture/action 1. Binocular vision Make circles around your eyes, with your hands, like you are wearing binoculars 2. Large brain mass relative to body Point to your brain and then put out size your hands like you are holding something large above your head 2. Opposable thumbs Stick out both of your thumbs and wiggle them x While going through each characteristic, make hand motions and gestures to help them remember each one. x The campers should be doing the gestures with you! You can stand up while you do each one too, it may be even more exciting! x Repeat a few times, be exaggerative while you go through these, it may help the campers to remember! Generally, primates have been separated into apes, monkeys and prosimians. While explaining what a primate is, give a few examples of each category. For example, gorillas, bonobos, orangutan and gibbons are all apes. Some examples of prosimians would be bush baby, potto, slow loris, and lemurs. How are all of these animals truly different?
Monkey Ape Prosimian Lion tailed macaque Western lowland gorilla Potto
Crowned Geunon Sumatran orangutan Bush baby Japanese macaque Bonobo Slow loris
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Emperor Tamarin Siamang, buff cheek and Lemurs white handed gibbon Diana Monkey Slender Loris
x Go over the main differences between monkeys and apes, so the campers can understand the differences between the two. x Write the characteristics of monkeys/apes and primates on a white board or chart paper.
Monkeys Apes Have a tail(some have prehensile tails, some do No tail not) Longer arms with a slender body Thinner nose, more narrow Shorter and more broad nose
B. Gorillas are primates and they live in a troop. A troop is a group of gorillas ranging from 10-20 individuals. Just like we talked about earlier, some primates live in groups of many animals! Most the individuals in a troop are adult females and young or pre-adolescent males. Have the campers say “TROOP!, TROOP!, TROOP!, WE ARE A GROUP!”. (Say this while putting your arms out like you are gathering everyone in the room as your group) . This may help them to remember the word. Needs o Pictures of different primates to show what primates are o Pictures of gorillas vocalizing o Pictures of gorillas in a group o Pictures of gorillas moving o Pictures of a silverback male C. We will focus on gorillas for our introduction activity. Grooming, playing, touching and vocalizing, gorillas are constantly communicating and interacting with others of their troop. Another important way of communicating is visual communication. With binocular vision, they can see objects and animals clearly. Having eyes in the front of your head allows an animal to see directly in front of them. Can you imagine being a primate who had eyes on the side of their head while trying to move through the trees, they would crash into tree trunks all the time! Explain to the campers that without binocular vision, they wouldn’t be able to focus on one another and move through branches and trees as easily. Introduce the word silverback to the campers. A silverback is the male leader of a gorilla troop.
*Making a connection - Just like the elephants, gorillas have a leader who helps the troop find food, shelter, water and space to live. The campers can relate that just like the elephants,
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gorillas have a leader and they have similar jobs. Even though the elephants have a female leader and the gorillas have a male leader, they both live in social groups and listen to their leader. We will play a game for them to create a more concrete understanding of a silverback and what his role is.
D. Game: Gorilla Adventure Simulation (10 minutes) Needs o Sheet for “bed” o Large dice o Instructor cheat sheet for number rolled and what behavior correlates with that number o Room keys and radio Background information: The western lowland gorillas have a daily routine they embark on each morning. Each day is a new day of foraging and traveling within their territorial region. This board game will have twelve gorillas that are traveling as one troop. Starting out with waking up in the morning and traveling, to taking a mid-day break to relax and nap, this troop will need to make it through the rainforest to a new nesting location by night fall. This game will utilize the education building as the game board. The campers will have to go out to the discovery rainforest to make it to several destinations. Instructor cheat sheet has information on where all locations are. Instructions 1. Set out the sheet in one corner of the room 2. Select one camper to be the first silverback. They will be the camper who is rolling the dice and communicating to the rest of the group what they are going to be doing. You can roll the dice so each camper gets a turn being the silverback of the group 3. Each will be a gorilla in the troop, and they will all move together, but they work together to determine the future of their day. 4. The troop moves together, so whatever the silverback rolled, the troop has to follow their lead. The silverback can stand next to the instructor, like a line leader 5. The troop will be walking to discovery forest for some of their destinations
*Take home point- Each camper will be able to see how gorillas follow their silverback leader and meet their needs to stay happy and healthy every day. This game should help the campers to have fun while understanding gorillas are highly social and enjoy the interaction of other gorillas.
XII. Hike/Break/Snack ~ Gorilla world and Jungle Trails (60 minutes) Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 18 of 81
Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Water bottles for campers A. Bathroom break o Encourage campers to use the restroom and get a drink of water o Double check you have all campers’ personal belongings before leaving the restroom facilities B. Hike Activity: Throughout the hike, encourage campers to make an observation while viewing the Gorillas on exhibit. . What are animals were doing? Are they grooming, playing, eating, drinking, sleeping, running, walking? Gorilla World Western Lowland Gorilla . Western lowland gorillas are found in Democratic republic of Congo, Nigeria, Angola and are accustomed to a warm, humid climate . Incredibly, they are the world’s largest primate, often exceeding 400pounds. . They are found in groups of 10-20 gorillas, called a troop . The troop is led by a silverback and has adult female members, along with the young of the troop(boys or girls). Males will leave the troop once they reach 8-10 years old. . They move quadrupedally, in which they knuckle walk, distributing their body weight amongst their digits of their hands. . Their hair is fine, enabling them to live comfortably in a thick, humid forest habitat. . They thrive in tropical areas that supply ample amounts of vegetation. Jungle Trails Bonobos . Found in the Democratic Republic of Congo . Led by the females, they live in a matriarchal troop. . Bonobo babies will stay very close to the mother and family until 4 to 5 years of age, then females may leave to create their own troop. C. Snack - During snack time, It is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. There should be no sharing of snacks allowed. If you notice the camper is not bringing a appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith.
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*Teen Task-Teens can help set up for snack by passing out the snack trays and helping the campers get their water bottles.
Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp(no sharing) o Water bottles III.Live Animal Encounter (20 minutes)
Needs o Purell hand sanitizer o Demonstration animals Instructions- Go over the rules of ‘animal friend time’. 1. Please sit criss-cross applesauce 2. Please keep your hands in your lap 3. When you are told you can touch, that is the specific time to do so 4. After the instructor is finished talking, please raise your hand if you have any questions Animal demonstration Wyandotte Chicken . Found in Japan . Social with other chickens and able to pay attention to visual and verbal cues . Extremely vocal and social Ring Necked Dove . Originally from Africa, now domesticated and found in the united states . Ring necked doves tend to live in social groups or flocks. They also tend to be found in pairs or family groups. . Diet consists of nuts, seeds and fruits
IV.Craft Time- Elephant craft (20 minutes)
A. Pass out craft mats and supplies for the craft. Instructors may also assist the campers in making their craft if they are having trouble. Needs o Craft tray o Finger paint in a shallow dish (black and white mixed to make grey finger paint) o Multi colored Construction paper for elephant print background o News paper to lay down to prevent background paint from getting on the carpet o White paper for the hand print o Markers or crayons for drawing features on the elephant
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Instructions 1. lay down newspaper so it is covering the ground all around the campers 2. Hand each camper construction paper and a white piece of paper. 3. One by one, the campers can press their hand flat into the paint. Then press their hand onto the white paper. 4. Take the campers to the bathroom to wash their hands while their paint is drying. 5. Once this dries, cut out the hands. Glue the hands onto a piece of construction paper. 6. Once the paint is dry, turn the paper upside down so the handprint looks like an elephant. 7. Draw markings on the trunk, dots for the eyes and draw an elephant tail.
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Day II Safety in Numbers
Background information
Animals that seek safety in numbers typically demonstrate gregarious behaviors, meaning they may convene for certain behavioral reasons. Some animal species depend on this capability to live in a group, so they can increase their chances of staying protected. Physical protection from other animals in the group and staying in a mass of animals decreases the probability of getting eaten. When danger is near, a herd can pack tightly together, creating very little room for a predator to come between herd members. Some species such as the Jacob sheep may seek safety in numbers because the more individuals they surround themselves with, the more e y e s there are to see predators, such as lions or wolves. To understand why certain species stick together in groups, we need to understand their ecological role and trophic level. Most animals who stay together in herds fall into the second trophic level, a primary consumer tier of the food chain, in which these animals are eating plants. Environment, habitat and individual niche an animal possesses in its ecosystem, have direct affects on how a predator or prey animal defends themselves.
Most of our herd animals are in the middle of the food chain assuming a consumer role, eating an herbivore diet and are preyed upon by predators, which are secondary consumers. Primary consumers have a chance of being eaten by animals that are secondary consumers, animals higher on the food chain. If a primary consumer was stranded out from the herd, and came across a predator, there is an extremely high chance they will be attacked by the predator. If that animal was with the herd, the predator would target the herd in general and that individual has a higher chance of surviving by being tightly packed with other herd members. Secondary consumers are at the third trophic level, fitting into a different ecological role at the top of the food chain. Our secondary consumers are carnivores and omnivores, often preying upon primary consumers. While evaluating trophic levels, it is easy to see that herd member animals such as zebra, horses, flamingos, penguins, elephants, cattle, sheep, goats and some species of swine live with a smaller chance of being eaten by a predator, by staying in a group.
Feeding habits and migration patterns can also be attributed to animals that seek safety in numbers. For example, on the African savanna, there are multiple species of prey animals that migrate around one another, sharing the food and space the land has to offer. Wildebeest and zebra are two species that cue off one another, picking up on signs of danger from other animals, communicating and coexisting. Zebra and wildebeest are grazing animals, which means they will both use environmental cues to move around and find where food is available. Even though they are both grazing species, they share the land together, foraging on different parts of grasses, instead of competing and fighting over their shared food source. The opposite of grazers, are the browsers, who feed on leafy plant material and tend to be more selective. Giraffes are browsers
Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 22 of 81 and develop loose herds, selecting for acacia or other lush tree leaves. By foraging in large numbers, these animals can focus on eating, and stay safe from predators as opposed to foraging by themselves and being vulnerable to a predator while they are distracted by finding food. Being attentive to verbal or visual warning signals from the animals around them, make foraging in large groups a very beneficial adaptation. Having eyes on the side of their head also allows these primary consumers to eat with their heads down near the grasses, while looking at what is going on around them.
It is evident that animals need to communicate to benefit from being in a group and establish a cohesive herd. Learned behaviors from mothers to young are communicated to young by observation, vocalization, tactile communication and several other ways. It is very important to teach their young how to pick up the signals of danger, pick proper foods to eat and how to interact with other animals. From newborn to adolescent, it is important for an animal to learn the warning signs so they can stay out of danger or defend themselves if they have to. For example, a young deer may learn from its mother that ear flicking movements mean danger is near. Primary consumers will stay close or in range of their mother and may even stay protected within the proximity of the group. If an animal is in a group, only one or two group members may hear, see or smell a predator nearby and it is their duty to vocalize a danger call or move their body in a way that the animals in their group will immediately be aware of the predator nearby. Communication is not only important in defense but in mating, watching over young and finding food. In order to keep the group at a stable population size, communication between males and females is important for a steady reproductive rate in the group.
Animal adaptations are crucial to an animal’s survival and attribute to the classification of their trophic level. While observing animal adaptations of animals who seek safety in numbers, they have specific adaptations that assist in defense and protection for their survival against predators. Endurance, agility, speed and keen senses are all adaptations herd animals may possess. For example, zebra conserve energy by sticking together in a group, and looking out for the safety of the entire herd. Zebra do not have to react at the sight of a large predator as long as they have some distance in between. By using sensory adaptations such as hearing, touch, vision and smell, animals can stay safe by being aware of their surroundings.
Specific adaptations such as their zig-zag running patterns, horns, hooves and powerful muscular bodies are important. Running in a zig-zag pattern is confusing to follow for an animal that has eyes in front of their face. Animals with eyes in the front are used to moving in one direction, right in front of them. Animals with eyes on the side move in zig zag patterns to confuse predators and be able to see more around their peripherals. Herd animals are adept at taking the necessary precautions, so they can keep their distance from predators. Protection from predators is another reason for gathering and living in large groups. Camouflage is one of the most beneficial adaptations of both predator and prey alike. For prey animals, camouflage could be life-saving and for predators, camouflage could save their stomach from being empty.
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One unique form of camouflage, often confusing for other animals’ vision, is disruptive coloration. The zebra are herd species and an outstanding example of disruptive coloration camouflage due to their physical appearance. The black stripes on a solid white body pattern can create a “mass of stripes” image when zebras stand as a herd, instead of seeing defined individuals when the heard scatters. The striped body pattern on a zebra makes it hard for predators to make out individual body outlines, especially when a zebra herd scatters in all directions. When a lion attempts to break this large mass of zebra, she is confused by the herd running in different directions and is less likely to catch a single zebra because she is unable to run after one individual.
Daily Vocabulary
Gregarious –An animal congregating with others of the same species most commonly due to feeding strategies (i.e. grazers) or protection from predators. Oftentimes, ungulates, whom are gregarious animals, are grazers and they are able to increase their predator awareness by staying together in large groups while foraging. Animals may also be gregarious throughout the day, or specific parts of the year for mating or to seek protection in a large group of animals
Camouflage – Camouflage, also called cryptic coloration, can help an animal hide in its habitat while moving around or staying still. Camouflage can also create the outline of an animals body to disappear into others of the same species. Adaptation – A physical trait or behavior that helps an animal to survive in its environment Prey- Animal that is hunted and eaten by other animals. Prey animals are lower on the food chain. Predator- Animal that hunts other animals for food, and may be higher up on the food chain. Social animal – A group of animals who are highly interactive with other members of their groups, often migrating or living with their group, herd or flock Patriarchal – A male leader of a family or extended family, who dictates major decisions that affect the entire family. Counter shading- A specific type of camouflage where an animal’s color on their underside is lighter than the top of their body. This helps with camouflaging into dark waters while a predator is looking down at them in the water, and their body is light blending into the light from the sky when an animal is looking up at them in the water. Browser- A browser may have a prehensile upper lip, to grasp branches or leafy material that is chosen specifically. Browsers tend to be animals that live a solitary lifestyle and are more selective, eating leafy material.
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Grazer- An animal who may congregate with other animals, depending on migration patterns or food availability, to eat low quality forage, in high quantities. They typically eat the most accessible layer of grass, tree or shrub and can help the rejuvenation of the grasses by clipping and eating them
I. Welcome back, campers! (5 minutes)
A. Welcome all campers and parents as they enter the classroom. As the campers arrive, encourage them to find their name tag and take a seat. There will be puzzles and books the campers can engage in while the rest of the class is arriving. As each camper arrives, they can put their belongings inside the closet of the classroom or in a specified area given by the instructor. B. Assist the campers in finding their name tags on their individual carpet square. Read with a camper or help complete a puzzle while we wait for everyone to arrive. C. Tell the campers you are excited to see them again! Let’s go over our new friends’ names by going around and saying our names and one of the coolest things we saw the day before. D. Remind the class about our Zoo camp rules and briefly discuss them again. Refer back to the Zoo camp contract you made on the first day.
*Teen Task- Volunteens can help greet the campers and show them where to put their lunches and water bottles. Volunteens can also read or help make a puzzle with campers, while the rest of the group is arriving.
II. Introduction Activity – Taking a look at herd animals (15 minutes)
A. Today we will talk about animals who have evolved to live in a group of the same species. Whether these animals live in a flock, group or herd, they depend on each other for survival. They thrive off support from one another and take turns looking out for predators. Warning calls are an extremely important part of making calls to animals of the same species. Communication is important for a herd to survive because of defense calls that alarm animal to animal that benefits the whole bunch. Just like elephants and primates, the herd animals we are talking about today are mammals. Communication is important for finding food, taking care of the young, sick and the old, as well as migrating. For example, communication may be vocalizations or non-verbal (tactile communication). Tails flicks, high pitch or low pitch noises, leg kicks are a few alarming calls animals can use to warn one another. Help the campers make an analogy they can relate to by comparing to a fire alarm they may hear at school. A fire alarm is extremely loud and alerts people to get out of an area where there could be a fire! When the kids heard a fire alarm for a drill in school, what do they do? Would they leave the building? Do they know what to do when they hear the alarm?
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B. Be the Flamingo! Tell the campers they are flamingos about to walk across murky waters. They need to move together as a flock, and get across the waters quickly, before the crocodile comes too close! The instructor should demonstrate walking like a flamingo (pick up your knees and move quickly, bobbing your head up and down). After the campers get a chance to act like a flamingo, y o u can explain that the greater flamingo lives in many different parts of the world, from Europe and Africa to Asia. Even though flamingos are brightly colored and do not camouflage, they will take flight when danger is near. Flamingos are social, just as some of our other herd or group animals are. Flamingos are constantly talking to other members of their group. Directions 1. Have all the campers stand up and walk to one corner of the classroom (instructor will pick a corner) 2. Have the campers walk like flamingos from one corner to the opposite corner. They can move their arms like wings or even pretend to sleep on one foot. III. What does a prey animal look like? (10 minutes) Needs-pictures of animals with eyes in the front or eyes on the side o Pictures of giraffe o Pictures of big cats o Pictures of an ape o Pictures of a monkey o Polar bears o Pictures of rodents o Pictures of birds o Pictures of Bactrian camel o Pictures of takin o Picture of Flamingo o Pictures of goats o Prey vision prop o Stuffed animals for prey vision prop activity Ask the campers if they would see differently if they had eyes on the side of their heads. Our animals that seek safety in numbers have eyes on the sides of their head. They m a y have hooves, nails, claws or webbed feet. A. Prey animal vision activity- Have the campers put their heads down and try to see what it would be like, seeing things in their peripherals, on the sides, without having eyes on the side. Then, using the prey vision prop, the children can experience what it would be like to have e y e s on the side, instead of binocular vision. Directions 1. Have the campers sit in a line. They should sit so they are directly behind someone, looking at the back of another camper. Make two lines or one line depending on how many campers there are.
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2. Walk alongside the campers holding one of the stuffed animals in your hand. With the campers putting their heads down, see if they can tell what animal is in your hand (WITHOUT LOOKING UP OR PEEKING ) *Volunteen task- Volunteen can stand in front of the kids and be sure they do not peek or move their head. Keep the prop at their eye level so it will work properly * 3. Have the campers take turns using the prey vision prop to have a chance seeing what it is like to have eyes on the side and not right in front of your head! 4. Now you can walk alongside of them, keeping the animals above their ears, and see if they can see the stuffed animal clearly. B. Point out physical characteristics while looking at the pictures with the campers. Can the campers tell which animals have eyes on the side, which have eyes in the front? We can also try to name these animals! Call on the campers to see if they can help decide if the animal has eyes on the side or the front, and tell us what type of animal it is. x Have the campers say “Eyes in the front, ready to hunt. Eyes on the side, ready to hide.” They can repeat this several times, and have the kids put their hands around their eyes like binoculars when they say eyes in the front. Have them put their hands on the side of their face when they say eyes on the side. Then, they can cover their face when they say ready to hide. Review over these pictures by asking the campers what our phrase about eyes on the front or on the side was. Using the pictures of the animals with eyes in the front or on the side, go over the phrase again, “eyes in the front ready to hunt. Eyes on the side, ready to hide”. Have the campers race to say “eyes in the front ready to hunt”, or “eyes on the side, ready to hide”, while the instructor flips over the picture and shows them. You could use this review time as a fun game. C. Prairie dogs and Hawks Activity (20 minutes) Needs o Thick yarn or twine to define where the burrows are (this can be reused for each camp) o hawk name tags or hawk necklace Game background - This is a fun outdoor activity that relates the campers to being in a predator/prey relationship scenario. The campers will be able to understand how these prairie dogs help one another to stay away from predators and stay safe. This is an activity that can be played on the back yard of the Education Building. Prairie dogs and hawks game is a game for the campers to separate into prey and predator. You will start the game with one or two hawks and everyone else is a prairie dog. The prairie dog burrow will be the safe place for the prairie dogs. Make three to four burrows spread out around the room, so they do not become too crowded. Directions 1. Select two to three campers to be hawks. If there are less than 11 campers, only pick two hawks.
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2. Assign all other campers to be prairie dogs and they can start the game in a burrow (kneeling). 3. Lay out the burrow area so there is a decent amount of space a camper can run from one point to the other. 4. The game begins once one prairie dog leaves the burrow to find food. 5. Once the prairie dogs leave the nest, the hawks can begin to fly around the prairie dogs (have the campers flap their arms like wings!) 6. When the prairie dogs see the hawks hunting they will know its time to return to the burrow. They will run a risk of getting tagged when they are going back to the nest (if they are tagged they are ‘eaten’ by the hawk). 7. When the babies get to the nest, it is their duty to be still and quiet. If the hawk sees the babies moving or being loud, they can tag them! 8. Prairie dogs that had gotten tagged are to be hawks in the next round. Keep these rules in mind: Hawks can’t touch the prairie dogs in order to make them move Hawks can’t sit and wait to move off a burrow, they need to be moving continually Prairie dogs must leave the burrow if the hawks are not hunting Limit each round to a few minutes maximum
V. Zoo Hike/Break/Snack (60 minutes)
A. Bathroom break B. Zoo Hike Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Water bottles for campers Wildlife canyon Bactrian camel . Bactrian camels live in a patriarchal group of 6-30 individuals. A patriarchal group is a group of animals who have a male leader. . Living in harsh weather environments, being gregarious helps the Bactrian camel find food, water, shelter and protection. . They are found in China and Mongolia, regions that are extremely dry and susceptible to sand storms. . These creatures are built to withstand severe cold weather, but will shed their hair in clumps when temperatures rise. Przewalski Horse (pronounced sheh-val-skee) . This horse is a wild species, existing in Mongolia. . A typical living community consists of several females and one male. . They live in an environment of dry grasslands and desert.
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Emu . The emu is particularly fast reaching speeds up to 30 miles per hour! . Found in Australia . This is the second largest bird in the world and have powerful, long legs . Emus may travel in large migratory flocks while searching for food Takin . Herds are typically made up of adult females, young Takins (kids), and adolescent males. Adult males are known to live solitary lifestyles. As they encounter cooler weather, they break up into herds made up of 10-30 individuals. . They can find food easier when they head down from the mountains. During the spring, herds can be up to 300 Takins. . Their predators are wolves and bears.
Giraffe Ridge Masai Giraffe . Their home range is Tanzania and northern Kenya. This species uses safety in numbers, when they are in a large group, it is hard to pin point one giraffe from another. They blend in together and may even use disruptive coloration. . Trying to antagonize or fight a giraffe can be a dangerous situation; one quick blow from a giraffe can shatter the skull of a lion. To lions, or other African predators, they would be difficult and intimidating to tackle down. . While breaking down their food in digestion, they retain water moisture from leaves, therefore Giraffes can make it months without water. Ironically, their height assists several other species living on the savannah, in staying away from danger. A giraffe in distress can mean danger upon the horizon of the savannah. Giraffe feed- Offered at 11:30am & 1:30pm The Greater Flamingo . Found predominantly in the middle East, parts of Asia and Africa. These gregarious birds are the largest of the flamingo species. This impressive bird thrives in groups of thousands because they are highly social! They nest in large, dense colonies, ranging from 20,000 pairs all the way to 200,000 pairs. . They use series of non verbal and verbal communication to connect with others of the flock. . They usually lay one egg at a time
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. Can live from 20 to 30 years in the wild. . Their long bills allow them to suck up mud and water. Utilizing the lamellae in their mouths, they can filter out small crustaceans from the watery muck. How do flamingos keep their pink color? Their diet consists of crustaceans that have pink pigments in them, resulting in their feathers retaining the pink keratin color from their food. C. Snack - During snack time, It is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing a appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith. Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles VI. Live Animal Encounter (25 minutes) Needs o Purell hand sanitizer o Demonstration animals Instructions- Go over the rules of “Animal Time”. 1. Please sit criss-cross applesauce 2. Please keep your hands in your lap 3. When you are told you can touch, that is the specific time to do so 4. After the instructor is finished talking, please raise your hand if you have any questions Animal Encounters Greater flamingo- Refer to description above. *If you bring flamingos into the classroom, make sure to put table cloths down in the front of the room so they can walk on them for the sake of keeping the carpet clean. Blue and Gold Macaw . A Blue and Gold Macaw Possess a strong beak that can easily crack a nut. Their tongue has a bone inside of it, acting as a tool to consume fruits. They live in flocks of 10 to 30 individuals and are very social. Their lifespan can be up to 60 years in the wild. . Just like the elephant, these birds rely on social interaction during their day. They use their bright colors to communicate to other birds and stay together. . Similar to the elephants, they have a large spectrum of vocalizations they can produce Chinchilla
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. This animal can live in groups up to 100 or more chinchillas in the Andes Mountain range, in South America. . They have extremely dense fur, which can include having 60 hairs to one follicle. They live in arid regions, in which their fur is an extreme adaptation. They are herbivorous, nocturnal animals, using sense of smell to find their food at night.
VII. Lunch/Bathroom (25 minutes)
1. Assist the campers in getting their lunches from the closet. Pass out craft trays to the campers to eat their lunch on. 2. We want to be a ZERO land fill facility! After lunch, assist campers in putting their lunch waste into the proper bucket of recycling, compost or trash. For the first and second day of camp, have the campers wait until they are finished eating to put any trash/waste away. Once everyone is finished, draw their attention to the buckets for recycling/trash/compost. Use their lunches to give examples of what materials and waste will go into each bucket. You can also emphasize that the campers can do this at home too! On the third day, see if they can do this themselves, and remember what waste went where and WHY. 3. Refer back to dismissal forms, and double check camper allergies. Campers may have mild to severe food allergies, and it is extremely important to be aware of these before snack and lunch. If you have a camper with allergies that you need to take extra precaution, make sure they have their own, clean food tray to eat on. Needs o Purell hand sanitizer prior to eating lunch o Craft tray o Lunch Instructions 1. Assist campers if they need help opening lunch items 2. Supervise campers, ensure they are only eating their own lunch 3. Gently encourage campers to eat their healthier lunch items first (ex: sandwich and fruits) 4. Campers are to clean up their own food after eating. Put compost/recycling/trash into the proper receptacle. VIII. Bathroom/Break (25 Minutes) This is an important part of the day for campers to wind down and relax. A full day of camp can be exhausting, both physically and mentally for this age group. Therefore, encourage campers to be quiet or use inside voices, lie down in their own space and keep their hands to themselves. We can put on an age appropriate movie/documentary and turn the lights off, or read a story for quiet time. IX. Introduction to afternoon topic- Masters of Coloration ( 10-15 minutes)
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Needs o Animal pictures o Habitat cards A. Living with other animals is just like having a huge team with you, protecting and surrounding you all the time. Sticking together for defense is very helpful, but another main line of defense is an animals coloration or body pattern. Animals with fur, feathers or scales have the ability to utilize the patterns and colors on their bodies to aid them in defense. This increases a prey animals chance to be able to hide from predators, warn off predators or predators can stay well hidden from prey and have a better chance at hunting. Cryptic coloration is one of the most common ways we think of animals using camouflage, simply when an animal has a special pattern or colors that causes it to blend into its own habitat. Opposite of cryptic coloration, aposematism, or warning coloration, can alarm animals to stay away! Aposematism can also be a tell tale sign an animal may be poisonous or venomous, and can also help an animal to defend itself. Go over these different types of coloration and we can identify different types of camouflage we see throughout the week. x Cryptic coloration- Pattern of colors on an animal that is very similar to the environment the animal lives in. It makes an animal hard to see when it is in its habitat. o Ex: mountain goats blending into their rocky, snowy terrain x Disruptive coloration- A coloration and pattern disrupt the actual size and shape of the animal, making the animal appear to be a different size and shape o Ex: A zebra’s white body with black stripes x Counter shading – Animals who have a darker color on the top of their body and lighter shading on the bottom of their body. Some aquatic animals such as penguins and sharks have this coloring to blend into dark waters when an animal is looking at them from above, and light colors on their bottom when an animal is looking up at them from below them. o Ex. A Penguin or a shark while they are moving in the water Animals may have warning coloration, we call this aposematic coloration! Their coloration is actually making them stand out of their environment, warning other animals to stay away! “S-T-O-P, STAY AWAY!”
*This is a fun term for the campers to say the word with you and put out their hand like they are telling someone to “stop!!”
x Aposematic coloration- a bright warning color on an animal that alarms other animals to stay away. o Ex: poison dart frogs range from bright yellow to bright blue, telling other animals to stay away from their poisonous skin
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o Ex: King snake has red, yellow and black colors like the venomous coral snake, so other animals stay away B. Camouflaging critters Instructions 1. Divide the campers into partners 2. Pass out an animal picture to a camper pair 3. The instructor will have a stack of habitat cards. 4. Go through the habitat pictures and see if the campers can match up the animal into the right habitat that it camouflages into. 5. Make sure to praise your campers and let them know they are doing a great job being good listeners and taking their turn. X. Disruptive Coloration game (20 minutes) A. What is disruptive coloration? See if the campers can tell you first, then review! Disruptive coloration is camouflage that creates a confusing and distorted image to predators. Due to a white body with black stripes, when a group of Grevy’s zebra are huddled closely, it is extremely difficult to depict an individual from the rest of the group. This is due to their unique pattern that causes the shape and size of the animal to appear different than its actual shape and size. A predator such as a lion would find it difficult to see one zebra out of the whole herd, especially when the zebra split apart, making hunting zebra very challenging! B. Do prey animals help each other find food, or do they help each other stay away from being food? These animals may not be very territorial, but they can sure be aggressive if they are threatened. Predators may be less likely to attack if there is a large group of animals, due to intimidation and fear. For example, zebras have a better chance of survival in a large group. Zebras exhibit disruptive coloration camouflage appearing to be one large group, instead of many individuals. The eyesight of a lion can only capture the overall shape of a herd of zebras, instead of pinpointing out individuals. As soon as a lion hones in on a herd of zebra, it is even more difficult for them to see where each one is moving when the zebra scatter. With difficulty seeing the individuals, lions have to hesitate before they make a move on one zebra, which gives the zebra a better chance of escaping! C. When you live as a large group or herd member, you look out for the animals around you. Instinctively, herd animals protect the young, sick, and the old. Herd or flock animals have been known to keep these members to the middle of their herd or flock for protection. D. Game – Move like a Zebra with safety in numbers! Needs o Felt zebra smocks OR zebra tails Instructions 1. Assign two campers to be a female lion
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2. Assign other campers to be zebra. 3. Have each camper put on the felt zebra smock. 4. Our two female lions will have to tag a zebra to catch their prey. However, if three or more campers huddle into a mini herd of zebras (the campers must hold hands, or link arms) they will be able to camouflage and stay away from the female lions (safety in numbers! ). 5. If you are in a mini herd of at least three zebras, you are safe. The lions can NOT tag campers that are in a mini herd of three zebra!
**If the weather permits it, play this game outside in the education yard!**
XI. Hike/Break/Snack ~ Children’s Zoo and The Veldt (60 minutes) A. Bathroom break B. Hike Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Water bottles for campers The Veldt Grevy’s Zebra . Zebra are gregarious animals. They have a strong tendency to stay together in herds and depend on each other for safety. . Zebra possess strong legs and could injure a predator by kicking. Adults are great protectors of their young and stick with the young for about seven to eight months. Children’s Zoo Little Blue Penguin . These birds use counter shading camouflage to help blend into their environment. . These penguins are found in Australia and new Zealand . They are the smallest species of penguins African Penguin . Found on the coasts of South Africa and Namibia . They are great divers, and can hold their breath for about two minutes under water. . Found in large flocks . While swimming in the water, they use counter shading to camouflage Jacob’s Sheep . Both male and female Jacob’s sheep have horns . They are very agile animals and quick on their feet . They cue off others in their flock for a sign of danger nearby and this is an advantage for protection.
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Alpaca . Alpaca live in groups for defense. They have long necks that enable them to see over mountain or cliff sides, looking out for predators. Dexter Cattle . Dexter cattle live in herds of up to one hundred. . They are very prolific, hearty and resilient to all seasons. . Dexter cattle are medium sized and rely on one another for safety in the herd, just like our other herd species. Nigerian Dwarf Goat . Found originally in Africa . Miniature dairy goat . Live together in large flocks Children’s Zoo- Goat Feed o Make sure you have goat feed in your classroom, if not radio Sarah, Scott or Meredith in the morning, before camp starts. o The goats should be fed outside of the fence o If you bring the campers into the goat yard, they should not have food in their hands o You can feed the goats at any time during the afternoon C. Snack - During snack time, it is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing an appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith.
Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles XII. Craft – Flamingo Craft (20 minutes) A. This afternoon the campers will make a flamingo craft! Tell the campers what supplies you will give them, you may want to pass out the supplies in order of the craft process. Needs o Cut out flamingo body o Flamingo head made out of cardstock o Googlie eye (one per camper) o Three pink feathers per camper o Pipe cleaners(two for legs, one for the neck) Instructions 1. Hand out flamingo bodies
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2. Hand out three pipe cleaners, have the kids attach their pipe cleaners to the under belly of the flamingo ( there are two holes for the legs) and one pipe cleaner for the neck(hole on left side of the body 3. Hand out the googlie e y e s and feathers, the campers can glue those on. 4. Pass out crayons!
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Day III Cooperation
Background Information
Animals that live cooperatively create a cohesive strategy of living amongst all members of their colony or group. Animals that work cooperatively with others are “hard-wired” to work together with other animals of the same species. Cooperation is observed in both animal taxonomic classifications of invertebrates to vertebrates. In order to effectively cooperate animals of all lands must communicate for survival, from caste structured invertebrate species, to mammals such as wolves. Some invertebrates such as bees, ants and wasps develop caste systems which require many forms of communications to be a successful group of animals. Castes typically break up a whole population into specific groups which have duties for each caste. Bees, ants and wasps rely on group communication and a queen who will dictate what they do. Communicating to cooperate requires sensory adaptations such as smell, touch, taste, vision and hearing. Sense of smell is a very strong sensory adaptation amongst invertebrates and vertebrates alike, but some invertebrates rely on this sense over senses such as hearing and sight. Arthropods such as cockroaches use pheromone scent to communicate to the entire group. With the help of pheromone trails, scent markings are left on the ground, just like tiny messages for colony members to read. Wolves have an extremely strong sense of smell, and utilize scent markings to communicate from hundreds of feet away just by smelling scent markings. Wolves have a pack leader who maintains order amongst his members and dictates the direction of the pack. The species we will focus on today range from complex group structures with one main leader, to animals cooperating gregariously.
Background on general ant information
Even though foraging ants look completely chaotic to humans, each ant has a job to either patrol the pathways or find their food that is dictated by what caste they are in. They understand their job by tasting and smelling pheromones. For example, many insects and arthropods follow pheromone trails and use two of their senses as their key navigator senses. Vision and smell assist insects like ants to follow each other in extensive trails to and from their nesting spots.
Ants have complex societies in which the queen and workers have very specified roles. The queen has an extremely important duty of laying eggs and keeping the colony population stable. The working caste tends to the eggs and gathers food for the entire colony. The soldier caste plays a vital role in monitoring colony boundaries, keeping an eye out for intruders. This collaborative work creates a successful system where all individuals play a part in keeping the colony alive.
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Leaf cutter ants can establish colonies that reach up to eight million ants. The ants in the leaf cutter colonies are primarily comprised of workers and soldiers. The queen has a demanding duty of making sure the colony is supplied with ample amounts of new workers. In order to keep the colony going strong, the queen has to communicate to all other castes. All castes have to communicate with each other to meet the basic needs of the colony. These invertebrates utilize sense of smell, touch, sight and taste to communicate properly to one another and within the group. Their communication is extremely clear and concise, so thousands of individuals are able to cooperate and follow pheromones to send messages to each other.
Fun Fact - In the wild, some ant colonies partner up with other ant colonies, miles away, acting as a super colony.
Daily Vocabulary
Eusocial- A cooperative group-living environment, adults cooperatively take care of young. There is typically an overlap between generations such that offspring assist parents in raising siblings. Reproductive castes cared for by non reproductive castes. Most eusocial animals are bees, wasps, termites and ants. Naked mole rats are the only true mammal that is eusocial. Colony- A group of animals of the same species living closely together, divided through a hierarchy, or divisions of labor between individuals. Opportunistic feeder- An animal that may eat as a carnivore and herbivore, with the ability to eat and properly digest a wide variety of foods. Caste – a permanent social hierarchy into which an animal is born. This caste usually dictates an animals job throughout some portion of their life. Pheromone – a chemical signal from one insect to others, used in communication. Decomposer- an animal or insect that eats and breaks down plant matter. Opportunistic hunter- An animal who will eat what is easiest and most convenient, in their ecosystem. These animals eat living things that are still in the realm of feeder they are in
I. Welcome campers in to the classroom (5 minutes)
A. Welcome all campers and parents as they enter the classroom. As the campers arrive, encourage them to find their name tag and take a seat. There will be puzzles and books the campers can engage in while the rest of the class is arriving. As each camper arrives, they can put their belongings inside the closet of the classroom or in a specified area given by the instructor. B. Assist the campers in finding their name tags on their individual carpet square. Read with a camper or help complete a puzzle while we wait for everyone to arrive.
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C. Tell the campers you are excited to see them again! Let’s go around the circle and say our names and a game you like to play with your friends. D. Remind the class about our zoo camp rules and briefly review over them again. Refer back to the zoo camp contract you made on the first day.
II. Introduction to morning topic (25-30 minutes)
Needs o Pictures of Honey bees- colony o Pictures of Naked mole rat-colony o Pictures of Ants- colony o Pictures of Cockroach- gregarious o Pictures of Monarch butterfly- gregarious in migration A. Review what the campers have covered in camp so far. In the last two days of camp, we have talked about groups of animals, seeking protection, food, water and space together. Ask the campers what they learned yesterday, and what animals they saw. B. Communicating and cooperating. This morning we will talk about animals who live in colonies, a group of animals living closely together. From finding food together, to defending the colony, cooperation is the name of the game. We want the campers to understand that the animals that cooperate to survive, don’t do well on their own. They rely on their community to help one another find food. Cooperation means these animals work together to reach a common goal. Defining what cooperation is will help the campers to understand this form of communication before we break down specific examples. Cooperation if the communication between a group of animals to find food and water, seek shelter, defend themselves with safety in numbers and to find a suitable mate. C. Listed below are some examples of animal cooperation: . Cooperation in honey bees involves a division of labor amongst workers to maintain the hive. Honey bees will also cooperate and communicate to help each other find food, a home, and protection against predators. . Naked mole rats living in a colony have to communicate with each other. The queen mole rat uses pheromones to direct the colonies activities. The naked mole rats couldn’t dig the elaborate tunnels in which they live by themselves. They need the whole colony. . Cooperation within colonies and castes are different than cooperation and communication in a herd because typically a herd will intimidate in numbers, a colony or caste will function with more organization among their members. Relate back to our safety in numbers day and point out that herd animals could be removed and the entire herd would not suffer but if you pulled individuals out of a certain caste in a eusocial
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society, the colony could be in trouble! Taking out certain members of a caste could lead cause the colony to be susceptible to predation and confusion finding food! D. While studying each picture, point out to the campers that these animals m a y live with hundreds of others! While you show each picture, tell the campers whether the group is a colony of established castes or a gregarious group of insects. For example, ants are a species that develops a colony, and the group effort of working together is essential for the health of the individuals in the colony. A gregarious group, lives in a loosely associated group that naturally live together, sharing food and space with one another. For example, most cockroaches are gregarious, finding safety within a large group, and breaking down food together. x For example, Madagascar hissing cockroaches live together, gregariously. They do not have established hierarchy of a social system with castes. Females will tend to congregate together, and may physically push away a male. x Honey bees and ants, have highly organized colonies. Every individual has an assigned place, or caste within their colony and they stick with their position their entire lives. Typical jobs would be a worker bee and a queen bee. A caste is a permanent social hierarchy an animal is born into. x Workers are in charge of taking care of young and cleaning the colony. With the help of individual workers, the colony can produce more bees, and grow to be larger. x Soldiers may be in charge of keeping intruders out of the colony boundaries x Queen bees are in charge of maintaining the population of the colony
III. Leaf Cutter Ant Activity – Following the scent trail! (20 minutes)
Game background The game we will play is designed to show the campers that each ant has an assignment to follow and are able to do so by picking up on pheromones. We can relate the pheromones to messages such as “follow me”, “intruder alert, run!” or “I found food” that each ant picks up. The campers can act like an ant to find their way down the trail and use their sense of smell (pheromones) to find their way. Needs o Masking tape o Box with a picture of an eye on it o Box with a picture of a nose on it o Box with a picture of hands on it o Two bed sheets o Leaves made out of construction paper and laminated Instructions 1. Create an “ant log” on the ground by marking the ground with tape. The campers will form an ant line at the end of the log.
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2. If the group is large, or there are over 5 campers, split the campers into two groups. If there are enough campers, you can make two lines of ‘ants’ and have the campers race for resources. 3. Line the campers up in a single file line. Have the campers use their hands and arms as antennae on their head. They will need to use their antennae to feel their way around and pick up the pheromone messages. 4. The log is narrow, so they will need to use their antennae (hands and arms) to feel their way down the path. Toward the end, there will be a sheet, space and then another sheet. Beyond the sheets are three boxes, one with a picture of eyes, a picture of a nose and then a picture of hands. 5. When the first person goes through the sheet barrier, they will need to retrieve a leaf from the box they find the leaves in. After they pick up a leaf, they will need to turn back around and go back through the sheet barrier. The next camper will meet the camper before him/her in the sheet barrier and they will have to point to their face, and show which picture/box the leaves were in. 6. The next camper will receive the message and go find the leaf from the correct box. They will do the same; turn around and meet the next camper, showing them the signal for which box to go to.
**take home point- the campers will be using non verbal communication to communicate where the leaves are. They will be using hand gestures to communicate which box the leaves are located in, so their team can move as fast and as efficiently as possible! **
If you don’t have enough hands to hold up to two sheets, use the chairs in the classroom to drape the sheets over, and have the campers crawl underneath the sheets IV. Colony vs. Cooperative gregarious species- Let’s check it out! (10 minutes) Needs o Tank of Madagascar hissing cockroaches o Video of leaf cutter ants o White board or paper for instructor Directions 1. Get out the tank of Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Set up the video of leaf cutter ants. The campers will be able to see the difference of a colony working together and a gregarious group co-existing together. The cockroach group is typically staying pretty still. They are staying next to each other, the campers will notice they do not look as active as the leaf cutter ants do. 2. Have the campers observe the leaf cutter ants for 10 seconds and then begin to tell the instructor what they saw the ants doing. As they shout out things they saw, write it on the white board or on paper.
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3. Have the campers watch the video of the leaf cutter ant colony and in the same w a y , tell you what they saw. x Links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002wqqk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuInX_lsI8g
V. Jenga Activity
A. Cooperating among a group can be tricky if the group is not communicating to one another. If a sports team didn’t work together, they would never win, or make any successful plays. A football team has to talk about what they are going to do before they go out onto the field and try to make a touchdown. They have to figure out what job each team member will do, so they can work together to get down the field. The campers will test their skills by using teamwork and cooperation, by first building the tower while talking and then building the tower without talking during the process. B. For this activity, the campers need to work together (like they just saw the ants doing), as a team to build the Jenga blocks. Needs o Jenga game! Instructions 1. Lay out the pile of blocks 2. Ask the campers to take two large scoots in toward the blocks, but not too close where they would get injured if the tower fell over. 3. Call on one camper at a time to take a turn and put a block on the ground at first, creating a tower. (3 blocks laying side by side on each level. The level following the one before has blocks facing a different way- parquet s t y l e ) 4. Assist the campers so they know where to put the blocks and how to stack them. Encourage the campers to tell each other “good job!”and “way to go!”. 5. Make sure every person has had a turn, you may go around the group a few times to use up all the blocks. 6. Let’s play another round. This time, they cannot talk, but must use silent communication 7. Have the campers see which way is easiest, with talking or without talking?
* Take home point – The campers will work together to build the Jenga tower. In order to keep the tower balanced and getting larger, they will need to work together. Although, working together meant they had to be patient and wait for the other friend to finish their job before they could do their job. By using nice words and encouraging each other, they were able to work together for a common goal, creating the Jenga tower.
V1.Hike/Break/Snack (60 minutes)
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A. Bathroom break B. Zoo hike- Insect House (Instructors, be sure to stop at animals who live in an interactive social environment, encourage the campers to keep you on track, making sure to find all the animals who live in a gregarious or social colony. Based on time limitations, we only have time to see the animals who relate to our daily topic. ) Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Water bottle for campers Insect House Emperor scorpion . Female scorpions can have up to 12-13 young at once . Mothers take care of their babies, often carrying them on their back for several weeks after birth. . Adults tend to live together, gregariously. . Their diet primarily consists of insects and spiders Naked mole rat . This is the only mammal know to be eusocial and live in a caste system, in which each individual has a designated purpose or job. They are the only mammal to mimic the lifestyle or an insect. . Their colonies can be 20-300 naked mole rats in one colony, although they average about 70-80 individuals per colony. There are select breeders in the colony; there is typically only one reproductive female, which controls the population. She will have 10-27 pups after an 80 day gestation period. . Although naked mole rats lack pain receptors on their skin, their hairs are extremely sensitive and able to feel vibrations and the confined space of a tunnel around them. . They gather roots and bulbs for the colony to eat. Bullet ant . Bullet ants live in colonies and are found in South America . They are considered one of the most venomous insects in the world . When the nest is disturbed, defenders swarm out and release a musky odor, as a sign of anger. This is the initial warning they put out, immediately following with an attack to the intruder. . Scientists say ants will navigate around by visual cues and chemical cues. Honey ant . Honey ants have the ability to harvest honey in their abdomen . Found in North America . Repletes are specific ants whose duty is to store nectar in their abdomen Big headed ant
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. Ants use pheromones to mark the paths they travel, making finding their nest a smooth process. Once an ant finds its food, it is brought back to the nesting grounds prior to eating. Working together, workers provide food for the entire colony. Leaf cutter ant . Leaf cutter ants are found from Central America to South America . Emphasize that these ants do not actually eat leaves, they regurgitate their meal on the leaves and the leaf cultivates a special fungus that will later be their meal! . By using pheromone trails, they can follow one another to their food source . Leaf cutter ants put their saliva on the leaves then harvest the fungus that grows on them to eventually eat. Honey Bees . A colony is made up of worker bees and a queen bee . The worker bees go through different stages of their life where they are responsible for specific duties . The worker will help take care of eggs, clean the colony grounds and forage for food . The queen honey bee can live for 3-5 years, and there is only one queen bee per hive C. Snack - During snack time, it is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing in an appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith. Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles VII.Live Animal Encounter (25 minutes)
Needs o Purell hand sanitizer o Demonstration animal Instructions- Go over the rules of “Animal Time”. The campers should be able to reiterate the rules to the instructor. Ask the campers if they can help the class remember the rules. Call on campers who are raising their hands. Demonstration Animals Madagascar Hissing cockroach
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. Madagascar hissing cockroaches have long antennae that are composed of many tiny receptors. With poor eye sight, these guys use their antennae to navigate their next move. Each individual antenna is divided into about one hundred individual segments, making them flexible and resilient to being bumped or squished. . The receptors that sense rotting food are the most pertinent to their survival. Cockroach nymphs- babies are not born with the natural abilities to feed on wood/other rotting material. . It is important they eat moms excreted feces in order to ingest microbes that help break down certain foods. . They will leave behind small excreted pellets, that create a smell other animals do not want to come close to! To other cockroaches, these pellets signify that they discovered food! This may be a way of sharing food with their own friends, but keeping others out! . Males have large bumps on the top of their heads, called pronatal humps. The females have very slight or no prenatal humps. Males have bushier antennae and possibly more pronounced ridges on their head. The differences between sexes is referred to as sexual dimorphism . These cockroaches live amongst leaf litter, under logs and anywhere on the forest floor. . The hissing vocalizations come out from their spiracles, special holes on the sides of their exoskeleton. . Males use their horns for competition among other males. . Cooperation comes naturally to cockroaches Blue death feigning beetle . These beetles can live up to eight years! . They eat rotting, decomposing plants serving as a very important factor in their ecosystem Maggots (fly larvae) . Gregarious, congregating with other maggots. . Maggots can feed 24 hours a day, breaking down anything from plant matter to decaying flesh . Maggots have mouth parts that enable them to break their food down
VIII. Lunch &Bathroom (25 minutes)
A. Assist the campers in getting their lunches from the closet. Pass out craft trays to the campers to eat their lunch on. B. We want to be a ZERO land fill facility! After lunch, assist campers in putting their lunch waste into the proper bucket of recycling, compost or trash. For the first and second day of camp, have the campers wait until they are finished eating to put any trash/waste
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away. Once everyone is finished, draw their attention to the buckets for recycling/trash/compost. Use their lunches to give examples of what materials and waste will go into each bucket. You can also emphasize that the campers can do this at home too! On the third day, see if they can do this themselves, and remember what waste went where and WHY. C. Refer back to dismissal forms, and double check camper allergies. Campers may have mild to severe food allergies, and it is extremely important to be aware of these before snack and lunch. If you have a camper with allergies that you need to take extra precaution, make sure they have their own, clean food tray to eat on. Needs o Purell hand sanitizer prior to eating lunch o Craft tray o Lunch Instructions 1. Assist campers if they need help opening lunch items 2. Supervise campers, ensure they are only eating their own lunch 3. Gently encourage campers to eat their healthier lunch items first (ex: sandwich and fruits) 4. Campers are to clean up their own food after eating. Put compost/recycling/trash into the proper receptacle. IX. Bathroom/Break (25 Minutes) This is an important part of the day for campers to wind down and relax. A full day of camp can be exhausting, both physically and mentally for this age group. Therefore, encourage campers to be quiet or use inside voices, lie down in their own space and keep their hands to themselves. We can put on an age appropriate movie/documentary and turn the lights off, or read a story for quiet time. X. Introduction to afternoon topic (20 minutes) Needs- Pictures (public drive) o Mexican grey Wolves o African lion o Female lion with young o Wolf with wolf pups A. Cooperation among a pack or pride. Can you imagine finding food for not only yourself but all of your family, and having to do this at every meal?! Ask the campers, If they had to feed themselves and their family members, is the number of people pretty big? Cooperation among these opportunistic hunters is crucial for their defense and hunting strategies. The animals we will see this afternoon are very good at working together. Share these examples with campers, as well as show the pictures of the wolves and lions:
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x If you were a wolf mother, you would take care of your pups and possibly other young as well. Aunts, sisters and mothers help take care of the young of the pack collectively. This type of cooperation involves a tight knit group, involving communication between family members. x If you were a female lion, you would care for the off-spring, or young of other females in the lion pride. x Hunting in a group allows you to take down larger prey than you could do alone. this also allows one kill to feed the whole entire family. Needs –Pictures (public drive) o Female lion with young o Wolf with wolf pups B. Go over a few characteristics of pack hunters, using the Mexican grey wolf pictures and African lion pictures Needs- Pictures o Mexican grey Wolves o African lion Physical characteristics: what do these animals look like? They may have some of these characteristics. x Narrow body with the ability to move quickly and quietly x Aggressive x Fast x Sharp teeth x Sharp mouth parts x Sharp claws How do these animals work together? o Cooperating and listening to each other o Finding food for the entire group o Communicating by non verbal body language (ears straight back, ears bent down, ears straight up, tail down between the legs, tail straight up) o Moving toward one another, pushing each other in different directions o Smelling each other to greet one another o Fighting for each other C. Hunting is very exhausting for most animals. Being in a pack or pride, hunting can help save energy if everyone is working together. Go over the word opportunistic feeder. An opportunistic feeder is an animal who has the ability to digest a wide variety of foods. Depending on how hungry, opportunistic feeders will eat just about anything they can. Explain that a wolf pack can take down prey that is five times larger than they are in size!! Small opportunistic packs have strength in numbers and are capable of taking down larger prey because they communicate and work together. Finding a meal this large is an advantage because this may mean they can hunt less often, or feed more animals in the
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pack with just one kill. Have the campers say the word ‘opportunistic feeder’ a few times, whisper the word or sing it!! XI. Lion pride activity (15 minutes) Needs o Game cards o Tape to mark lines on the ground A. Game scenario- Each pride is trying to find their own food, at the risk of dealing with other predators competing for food. This game is set up like capture the flag. This game can be played in the class room or outside in the education lot. B. Game instructions 1. Split the group into two lion prides. Each pride has their own base, but there is food scattered in-between both territories. Campers have to hunt in groups of at least two and have to agree on which card they will pick up. They need to alternate turns picking up cards, and seeing if it is a food card for their pride. 2. There will be a designated space for each pride to stand in, for a safe zone where they can lay their food (made with either tape or yarn on opposite sides of the room). 3. Spread out food cards around the room with the team color on the bottom side. Food cards can’t be guarded, once a card is picked up and if it is not the proper card, it has to be put back on the ground face down ( similar to a memory game). 4. Each piece that is found has to be brought back to the base, before finding another piece. You can only carry one card at a time. 5. Each team has to find five pieces of food to feed their pride. It has to have their prides color on the back, they can’t take the other prides food. 6. On the instructor’s cue, the campers can begin to play the game. 7. Play the game until both teams have found at least five food cards
**Take home point -The game is over when all the food cards are gone, or when one pride thinks they retrieved all of their food. Working together, they will have to cooperate in order to find enough food for the entire pride! The game can be repeated a few times, depending on time.
XII. Zoo Hike/ Bathroom break/Snack ~ opportunistic carnivores! (60 minutes) A. Bathroom B. Hike – Wolf Woods, African white lion and California Sea Lion Needs o First aid supplies and bag o Water bottle for campers Wolf Woods Mexican Gray Wolf . They are found in south western united states, northern Mexico . Their diet consists of large hooved mammals, such as deer and elk.
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. Their pack is made up of a dominant pair, alpha male, alpha female and their offspring. Wolves work as a team by having creating this hierarchy. Each individual has a role in the pack. Sea Lion Exhibit California Sea Lion . In the wild, they float on the surface of the water in small groups called rafts. . They are opportunistic feeders and predators of lamprey, octopus, rock fish, herring, mackerel, small sharks, salmon, cephalopods and over fifty species of fish. . They have shown to be gregarious when it comes to looking for food and migrating. Migratory behaviors include after breeding season, the male adults migrate north, to find food. African white lion African white lion . From the African plains . The females are in charge of hunting and protecting the young. . It is typical for females to have one main pride leader, a male. . Females live in packs with several generations and tend to stay in one pride their entire lives. The packs function by cooperation. C. Snack - During snack time, It is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing a appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith. Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles XIII. Live Animal Encounter (25 minutes)
Needs o Purell hand sanitizer o Demonstration animals Instructions- Go over the rules of “Animal Time”. The campers should be able to reiterate the rules to the instructor. Ask the campers if they can help the class remember what the rules are during animal friend time. Call on campers who are raising their hands.
Demonstration Animals
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Emperor scorpion . Emperor scorpions do not depend on one another for survival, but they tend to be gregarious. . They feed on insects, arachnids and even lizards! Bat Eared Fox . Found in east Africa . Very large ears, which aids them in hearing small animals moving around under the ground or on top of the ground. . Eats insects, lizards, termites and scorpions . Bat eared foxes do not feel threatened or bothered by living in a close proximity to other bat eared foxes. Researchers have found 72 bat eared foxes in one square mile from each other (San Diego Zoo). They are considered cooperation animals. XV. Craft- Wolf Communication Cone (20 minutes) Needs o Blank Wolf cone o Wolf ears (2 per child) o Crayons o Stapler A. The campers will color their wolf cones and will need the instructor’s assistance in stapling the sides. They can use the cone to make wolf vocalizations and act like a wolf themselves! The instructor will need to help the campers with folding the paper wolf into a cone and stapling the cone together. You may want to show the campers where they can vocalize into the small hole on the wolf cone! When the craft is done, encourage them to communicate with their classmates. Instructions 1. Pass out crayons and craft t r a y s 2. Hand out one wolf paper to each camper 3. Hand out two wolf ears to each camper 4. The campers can color in the blank spaces on the wolf face 5. Staple each paper to create a cone shape
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Day IV Pairs
Background Information
Some animals live in exclusive pairs, referred to as a “bonded pair”. Bonded pairs find security in terms of meeting their basic needs while they are with one another. Food, shelter, water and space are critical for all animals to survive and bonded pairs help one another meet these needs. They can work efficiently and develop a close bond as they work together. Pairs will bond through several rituals, one of them being hunting. For this day of camp, a majority of the animals we will focus on are birds, because they exhibit pair bonding more than other animal groups. Birds like the Stellar sea eagle have to stay with one partner their entire lives and inhabit the same nesting area. This is an important symbol of pair loyalty because both animals come back to one another even after chick rearing. Bonded pairs are a type of relationship that is beneficial to parents and their offspring because cooperative hunting and sharing of child rearing and protection responsibilities can often lead to higher nest success.
Bonded pairs are willing to invest more time into their mate. Between prenatal care from both male and female, and care while there is young involved, there is definitely more time committed, compared to animals that do not have ties to their mate. Being in a bonded pair, animals also save time that would have been lost looking for a new mate every season. Throughout the process of mating and chick rearing, bonded pairs are communicating to successfully stay healthy and reproduce together. Communication between a bonded pair may be vocalization, tactile communication or non verbal communication. For example, grooming one another can be a sign of communication, affection, social bonding and rank. Preening also promotes the depth of a relationship between two animals. For example, macaws are a species loyal to their mate throughout their lifetime and preening is a bond created by tactile communication.
Finding food is essential to stay healthy and alive, but it is also a bonding experience between a pair. While a pair is courting, the male will bring the female food to show their future mate their ability to find food and provide for future offspring. Once paired, they will even take turns presenting food to one another to show signs of superior fitness. For example, a red tail hawk mate will bring its mate and young food, while its mate will be the one to watch the chick(s). Bonded pairs mutually take on the responsibility of finding food and protecting their young. With either parent at the nest, the other parent can go find food. If both parents were to completely leave the nest, their hatchlings are left defenseless.
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Although many bird species tend to create pair bonds, some mammals do the same thing. Gibbons and some lemurs create pair bonds with their mate. Developing the bonded pair allows the two animals to help one another become good parents, protecting their young and taking turns watching out for their family. For example, a mother gibbon may have a baby on her stomach, hanging on while she is in the trees, but the father is not too far away, gathering food for mom and baby or looking out for potential threats. Other primates, such as the black and white ruffed lemur who create a bonded pair will leave their baby in their nest because right after birth, the baby can’t cling to the mother. The mother and father leave the baby in a nest of leaves and keep a close watch on their baby. They take turns patrolling the area and going to find food for their family. Pair species tend to be very territorial and protective of their young. They take turns watching the young and they are always making sure their territory is not being penetrated by any intruders.
Developmentally, it is advantageous to be an offspring of a bonded pair. Another strong advantage of being a chick or offspring of a bonded pair is that they learn life skills from their parents. Mom and Dad teach their young by having their young observe what they do. Bonded pairs raise their young during a crucial period of development, teaching their young to protect themselves, use certain adaptations they have and teach them how to eat and find safe food on their own. For example, a young gibbon will eventually copy his mother’s behavior after watching her eat fruit from a tree over and over. In this way, young will learn how to distinguish fruit that is safe to eat from fruit that is not safe to eat. At a certain age, the young gibbon will stop nursing from Mom and forage just like he learned from his parents.
Pair bonds are not limited to just male and female mates. In a coalition, there may be a pair that works cooperatively, such as the cheetah. Male cheetahs tend to form groups called coalitions. These groups are typically comprised of brothers, or related members who travel together and find food as a team. A cheetah coalition can be 2 or more cheetahs, and possibly more. Researchers have found that some male cheetahs develop a male companion that they share the majority of their time with. When they are separated from their companion, they will show signs of stress and even call to their companion by chirping and making short, high pitched noises. Male cheetah coalitions provide protection, support and comfort for the males apart of the group. Companions in a coalition will groom one another, fight for one another and work together to hunt. Females and cubs tend to gravitate towards one another, forming their own separate groups, while the males keep their distance in their coalition.
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Daily Vocabulary
x Endothermic- Animals who control their body temperature internally x Ectothermic- Animals who rely on the environmental temperature around them to control their body temperatures x Altricial- B a b y animal that is born not capable of moving around on their own after being born. x Precocious – Baby animal that is born capable of moving around and opening its eyes shortly after being born x Bonded pair- an animal pair who will raise their young together and may even mate for life
I. Welcome back, campers! (5 minutes)
A. Welcome all campers and parents as they enter the classroom. As the campers arrive, encourage them to find their name tag and take a seat. There will be puzzles and books the campers can engage in while the rest of the class is arriving. As each camper arrives, they can put their belongings inside the closet of the classroom or in a specified area given by the instructor. B. Assist the campers in finding their name tags on their individual carpet square. Read with a camper or help complete a puzzle while we wait for everyone to arrive. C. Tell the campers you are excited to see them again! Go around the circle and have everyone say their name and one other friend’s name. D. Remind the class about our zoo camp rules and briefly touch on them again. Refer back to the zoo camp contract you made on the first day.
II. Introduction activity- (20 minutes)
“A activity” needs o Puzzle pieces of paired animals for each camper “B activity” needs o Picture of animals grooming each other + mirror o Picture of animals making vocalizations to communicate + microphone o Picture of animals bringing food to one another + fake food o Picture of a mom or dad watching their young + glasses A. Is two better than one? Pair animals may prove this is true. When you are a part of a pair, finding food, shelter, water and space is easier with the help of a lifelong buddy! A friend, who has your back when you need it, can be very helpful. Pairs work together to protect their young and help them to make it out into the wild, on their own. Pair animals stick with a bonded pair because they have to meet their basic needs just
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like our safety in numbers and group animals. Pairs stay together to defend their territory, find food, migration, mating and staying away from danger together. B. Animal Pair Puzzle Place. Before the campers arrive, place puzzle pieces under each carpet square. Directions 1. Each camper should have a puzzle piece under their square that is a match with another campers’ puzzle piece (both pieces will complete a picture of a bonded pair). Each camper will find one animal and they need to find their bonded pair (another camper). 2. On the instructor’s cue, they will be able to act like their animal would to find their match. After they find their bonded pair, they are to sit down next to their partner. 3. Once everyone has found their partner, the campers can go around the circle and s a y their partners name and favorite animal (pair bonding!) Then they can hold up their animal pair together. 4. Talk about each animal pair to the class, while the campers are holding the picture up. C. Ask the campers: what an animal pair can do together? Then, go over some of the typical behaviors a pair can demonstrate together. You can act these out as you go through them Typical pair behaviors x Find food and water for each other x Groom one another x Protect each other x Take turns watching the young or hunting for food Directions 1. Lay out the inanimate objects (glasses, mirror, food, water bottle) 2. Show each one to the campers, as well as talk about each picture 3. After explaining how pair animals cooperate with one another for their survival, call on the campers to pair the object with the animal behavior. This will help the campers to relate to typical behaviors, as well as create a better understanding.
III. Activity- Two is better than one (15 minutes)
Needs o Fake mice o Chicks made out of yellow puff balls o Paper bowl (nests) o Campers-hawk pairs o Instructor- snake A. Game objective- While working as an efficient pair, work can get done pretty quickly!
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B. Activity- It’s a race, we’re hungry! Directions 1. Divide the campers into pairs. 2. Place two campers at each nest (bowl) with two hawk chicks in each one. 3. On the opposite side of the room, place the pile of mice on the ground 4. Each hawk will have to individually place one mouse into their nest at a time or the pairs will be able to work simultaneously and retrieve two mice at the same time. 5. It is the hawk’s decision if one will watch the nest (paper bowl), while the other leaves to get food. If one does not stay at the nest, they may risk getting their babies eaten. 6. The instructor will be a snake. The snake can walk around and take a chick out of the unguarded nest, one chick at a time. After taking a chick, the snake has to retreat before the snake can hunt again. 7. Once all mice are gone, the game is over 8. At the end of the game, whoever has a n y chicks left in their nest wins
*Take home point- After finishing the game, explain to the campers again, pairs can work together (efficiently), and save energy. Mom and Dad can work together so they are not so tired all the time, and they can watch over their young while the other parent is busy! Having an adult watch a nest is important to protect the babies. The babies rely on Mom and Dads help to stay safe, they would not be able to find food and protect themselves until they are a little older. Explain that the babies are not as strong and tough as the mom and dad. Without mom or dad around, there is a good chance the snake may eat the babies.
IV.Hike/Break/Snack (60 minutes)
A.Bathroom break
B.Hike – Wings of the World and Eagle Eyrie
Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Water bottles for campers Eagle Eyrie Stellar Sea Eagle . The stellar sea eagle is found on the eastern coast of Russia to Japan. Stellar sea eagles are bonded pairs. Mom and Dad return to their nesting spot year after year. Andean Condor Andean Condor . Familiar pairs will rejoin, if they separated outside of the breeding season, and produce one chick every other year
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. These impressive raptors have the largest wing surface area of any other bird in the world . These birds are scavengers and will eat any carrion they can get to. They have bald heads so their head feathers will not get in the way of the meal when they are digging in! This allows the bird to stay a bit cleaner! . They can live from 50-60 years in the wild Swan Lake Sandhill Crane . Predominantly found in North America and found all the way down to Central America . Males tend to be territorial of a nesting area and are protective of the young Trumpeter Swans . This is the heaviest bird native to North America . Trumpeter swans may be in a bonded pair their entire lives, which could be up to 20 years! Red Crowned Crane . Vocalizations are very important in courting and maintaining a pair bond. . They exhibit a dancing ceremony to their mate, showing their interest and connection to their bonded pair mate. Mallard Ducks . Found in North America, Asia and Australia . Can live in fresh water, brackish water and salt water . Thought to be the most abundant and wide ranging duck geographically . Bird House Lady Ross’s Turaco . Found in Africa . Live in bonded pairs and are very social . Feed on fruits and seeds Thick Billed Parrot . Found in Northern Mexico . Diet consists of pine seeds and acorns . Thick billed parrot pairs live in flocks and are very social . Their calls can be heard from almost a mile away Magellenic Penguin . Found on the southern coasts of South America, inhabiting grasslands . There have been pairs observed to stay together for over 16 years King Penguin . Found throughout the sub-Antarctic region
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. Duties to care for a young chick are evenly divided between parents . Parents dive almost 800 feet into frigid water to get food for their chick . When one parent is away finding food, the other will be brooding the chick . Bonded pairs stay together the entire term to rear their baby chick. Southern Rockhopper Penguin . Found off islands near southern Chile and Argentina . They spend their winters out at sea, and they are on land in the breeding season, reuniting with mates
C. Snack - During snack time, I t is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing a appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith.
Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles V.Live Animal Encounter (25 minutes)
Needs o Hand sanitizer o Demonstration animals Instructions- Ask the campers to help you remind everyone what the ‘Animal Time’ rules are by calling on campers who raise their hands. 1. Please sit criss-cross applesauce 2. Please keep your hands in your lap 3. When you are told you can touch, that is the specific time to do so 4. After the instructor is finished talking, please raise your hand if you have any questions Demonstration Animals African Grey Hornbill . All hornbills have a casque on top of their bill that enhances vocalizations . They will wait as groups at the edge of a forest fire, to take advantage of escaping insects Barn Owl . Barn owls can be found all over the world, making it the most widely distributed of all owl species.
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. Barn owls rely on their sense of sight, but very much their hearing. Mom and dad stay together to help take care of their babies. Scops Owl, white faced owl . Found in Africa, along the equator, in parts of Cameroon and the Congo . The Scops owl is found in African plains in Congo and other surrounding countries. . Pairs may use the same nest for several years . Found in Lady Ross’ Turaco (If we didn’t see her on day 1) . May live in pairs or family groups . Vocalizations are used to communicate between one another . The bright colors of the Lady Ross’s Turaco are used in visual communication, to stay close to one another.
VI.Lunch & Bathroom (25minutes)
A. Assist the campers in getting their lunches from the closet. Pass out craft trays to the campers to eat their lunch on. B. We want to be a ZERO land fill facility! After lunch, assist campers in putting their lunch waste into the proper bucket of recycling, compost or trash. For the first and second day of camp, have the campers wait until they are finished eating to put any trash/waste away. Once everyone is finished, draw their attention to the buckets for recycling/trash/compost. Use their lunches to give examples of what materials and waste will go into each bucket. You can also emphasize that the campers can do this at home too! On the third day, see if they can do this themselves, and remember what waste went where and WHY. C. Refer back to dismissal forms, and double check camper allergies. Campers may have mild to severe food allergies, and it is extremely important to be aware of these before snack and lunch. If you have a camper with allergies that you need to take extra precaution, make sure they have their own, clean food tray to eat on. Needs o Purell hand sanitizer prior to eating lunch o Craft tray o Lunch Instructions 1. Assist campers if they need help opening lunch items 2. Supervise campers, ensure they are only eating their own lunch 3. Gently encourage campers to eat their healthier lunch items first (ex: sandwich and fruits)
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4. Campers are to clean up their own food after eating. Put compost/recycling/trash into the proper receptacle. VII. Bathroom/Break (25minutes) This is an important part of the day for campers to wind down and relax. A full day of camp can be exhausting, both physically and mentally for this age group. Therefore, encourage campers to be quiet or use inside voices, lie down in their own space and keep their hands to themselves. We can put on an age appropriate movie/documentary and turn the lights off, or read a story for quiet time. VIII. Introduction to afternoon topic (10 minutes)
A. Having a helping hand: Sometimes having two sets of eyes and bodies can be helpful in defense, grooming, foraging and stabilizing a family! A pair works like a team that can communicate and help each other. Having a pair is like always having someone to help you when you need it! Go over the idea that pair animals help each other. Just like a friend would help one of the campers.
x Ask the campers what a working pair can do together? x After they respond, tell them they are doing a great job! x Go through a quick run through of the morning topic. IX. Discovery Forest Scavenger hunt (20 minutes) Needs o Scavenger hunt sheets- “Macaw grocery list” sheets o Pencils o Clip boards A. Game background 1. Tell the campers they are going to go on a journey to find the essential needs they have to have to be a healthy and happy Macaw! You can split the campers up into pairs, and they will be going on a scavenger hunt around discovery rainforest. The campers can act like macaws, flapping their wings or even folding their hands by their face to look like they have a beak! This scavenger hunt is going to be simulated as if a macaw were going shopping throughout the rainforest to find food, water, space, shelter and protection! Follow the list as if it were a grocery list, to find the things a macaw needs to survive in the forest. After the campers find these items, they can check them off. 2. Game location- Discovery Forest Instructions 1. Each pair will get a scavenger hunt sheet that has pictures of the things they need to find if they were a macaw in the forest 2. The campers must stay together and with the instructor! 3. Find something in the forest that will help the macaws meet their needs! 4. You can announce these as the campers go along
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5. After each pair finds something in the rainforest that can be their food, water, space and shelter, they should take turns marking off items 6. When all campers are finished, re-group and head back to the class room. Do a head count while you are doing your activity in the forest and before you leave the forest! 7. When you are back in the classroom, go over each item on the list, and see what things the macaw needs to survive. X. Zoo Hike (60 minutes) – Gibbon Island, Wildlife Canyon &Lorikeet Landing A. Bathroom break B. Hike Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Campers water bottles Gibbon Island (Weather Dependent) Siamang Gibbon . From the forest of Malaysia and Indonesia . Pairs tend to stay together for life and a family will consist of mother, father and a few young that are just a several years old . They are the loudest of all Gibbon species Buff cheeked Gibbon . Found in southeastern Asia (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) . Pairs sing to each other, creating duets . Diet consists of fruits and insects Wildlife canyon Red river hog . Found in central Africa . Diet consists of roots, berries and fruits . Found living alone or in pairs with other hogs Emu . Found in Australia . Typically travel in pairs . Second largest bird in the world to the Ostrich Wolf woods Gray fox . Some pairs mate even mate for life. Parents and sometimes older siblings of a gray fox stay with the young to protect and teach them hunting and survival skills. Red tail hawk . Found in north America . Enjoy being at an elevated location, where it is easier to spot prey
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. Pairs tend to fly together, flying simultaneously in circles while they search for food with their excellent vision. Lorikeet Landing- Feed the lorikeets Instructions
1. Have each camper take one seed stick. Stay in lorikeet landing while your campers are feeding the birds. The campers may need help feeding or feel they need you for support. Some campers may be afraid to go into lorikeet landing, so be mindful of this.
2. Before leaving, make sure to count all of your campers. If you have water bottles or bags, remind your campers to take their belongings with them.
XI. Live Animal Encounter
Pied imperial pigeon . Found in Southeastern Asia, New Guinea and Northern Australia . Feeds primarily on fruits . Even though this species finds pairs for life, they utilize safety from predation in numbers Ring necked dove . Originally from South eastern Africa, now found in parts of North America . Diet consists of grains and seeds
XI. Craft- Eagle magnets (20 minutes) Needs o Brown eagle silhouette cut out with the bottom fringed like specialized feathers o Four white feathers o One googlie e y e o One foam beak o Magnet piece for the back
Instructions 1. Hand out eagle silhouettes 2. Hand out yellow foam beak and glue onto the body 3. Hand out white feathers and have the campers glue them on 4. Hand out googlie eye, have campers glue it on 5. Let craft dry
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6. Put a magnet on the back and write campers name on the back with a sharpie pen!
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Day V Surviving Solo
Background information-
Today’s topic will focus on animals that live alone as well as an overview of the information from this week. The animals we discuss can survive because their adaptations support them for life alone. We will look into how they are independent animals, quite different from animals who seek safety in numbers amongst predators, animals working in packs or animals that form divisions of labor, working toward a common goal. An animal who can live alone must be able to think for themselves, hunt for themselves and protect themselves. By talking about the main adaptations these animals possess, the campers will understand why some animals are equipped to live a life on their own and are mostly nocturnal animals. These animals do not need visual communication like many other animals we have talked about this week.
There are true benefits to being a solitary animal and meeting essential needs on your own. Solitary animals can afford to be selfish and only worry about meeting their own basic needs such as food, shelter, water and space. Even when a solitary animal, such as Sumatran rhino has a baby, the baby is precocious, which means that it can move after birth and be on its own after it is weaned off nursing. For the rhino mother, her responsibility as a caregiver and provider ends once her calf is old enough to find food and fend for itself. This is an advantage for species like this because she is no longer risking her own life for her young and is only finding food for herself. Hunting or foraging for one, versus a group can help save time and energy, and alleviate pressure to share food with limited resources. Two common reasons for animals to congregate together during certain parts of the year are migration patterns and finding food. If food is sparse, solitary animals would not have to worry about sharing limited food resources, especially if they are picky eaters, such as browsers. When solitary animals cross paths with another animal of the same species, they can become territorial and communicate for others to stay away from them. Sharing resources is not a known behavior for them, so they will utilize sensory adaptations such as vocalizations to warn off animals who may be infringing on their own space. Warning signs can also include scent markings from animal to animal, communicating to others to be aware of their presence. Scent markings include, but are not limited to animal urine, pheromones, scat, dung, or fluid excreted from scent glands on the body. These markings are messages other animals can pick up on while they are passing through a certain area of their habitat, telling other animals to stay out of their space.
Sometimes the extreme size of an animal suggests it is too big to be on the menu for other animals to eat. If a large solitary animal like a leopard does come across danger, he or she can escape without having to watch out for other members of a group. Manatees, who can reach up to 2000 pounds in weight, are too large for most animals who live in the same ecosystem as them to eat. Polar bears are another animal who doesn’t face a fear of predation because of its massive
Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 63 of 81 size but also because of their trophic level. Polar bears are tertiary consumers, because they are carnivores that eat secondary consumers. They are at the highest point of the food chain, due to superior sensory adaptations and physical adaptations, compared to all other animals in the same geographical region as them.
Animals who live a solitary lifestyle may still partake in rearing of their young for an extended period of time. American alligator may keep their babies with them until their babies can find their own food. American alligators may stay with their young up until two years of age, a time where their baby has grown to about 2-3 feet long, and has adapted to their environment and has a better chance of surviving on its own. During these two years, the alligator has learned to listen to environmental cues, signs of danger, how to find food and how to be a sit and wait predator. After crucial developmental phases the baby can take what it learned and try to make it on its own. Even though young alligators are communicating with their mothers and possibly other sibling offspring, there is a dramatic difference between their social development and a primate such as the western lowland gorilla. Comparing greater apes to animals who live solitary like the American alligator, we see they both spend time with rearing their young, but the time and development involved is different.
Animals who live alone may have strong adaptations such as being able to camouflage into their environment. Camouflage is a life saving adaptation that can save a life of an animal in a potentially dangerous situation. By utilizing cryptic coloration, the common boa has light brown and dark brown blotches and bars along its spine that helps it to blend into the leaf litter of the rainforest in South America. In the same rainforest, the Southern Brazilian ocelot has golden shades and black outlined spots on its body that allows it to be hidden up in the trees.
x Nocturnal- An animal that is active during the ‘night time’, due to special adaptations, such as excellent vision at night (which aids in hunting and foraging). This animal typically has more rods than cones in the retina of their eye, allowing them to see shapes and shades of color extremely well. x Carnivore- An animal who primarily eats meat x Diurnal – An animal who is active during the day time and sleeps during the night time. An animal that is diurnal has more cones than rods in the retina of their eyes, so they see colors more vibrantly. x Food chain- an intricate, linked web of organisms, exchanging nutrients and energy through their life time. The food chain is grouped into producers, consumers and decomposers, making up the different trophic levels that create the whole chain.
I. Welcome back, campers! (10 minutes)
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A. Welcome all campers and parents as they enter the classroom. As the campers arrive, encourage them to find their name tag and take a seat. There will be puzzles and books the campers can engage in while the rest of the class is arriving. As each camper arrives, they can put their belongings inside the closet of the classroom or in a specified area given by the instructor. B. Assist the campers in finding their name tags on their individual carpet square. Read with a camper or help complete a puzzle while we wait for everyone to arrive. C. Tell the campers you are excited to see them again! Let’s go over our new friend’s names by going around and saying our names and one of the coolest things we saw the day before. D. Remind the class about our Zoo camp rules and briefly touch over them again. Refer back to the Zoo camp contract you made on the first day.
II. Introduction to the morning topic- How can some animals live on their own, without the help of others? Let’s focus on Big and Solitary animals! (20 minutes)
A. Can we live on our own? Even though a mommy or daddy alligator may live alone, once the babies grow up, a mom alligator will spend a lot of time bringing up her baby. Baby alligators need protection from their mother, because they are more vulnerable at a young age. During the months the babies are with the mother, she can call to them and they can call to her, vocalizing with small chirps. After one and a half to two years, the alligator will be on their own, taking what they learned from their mother, as well as the natural instinct to survive on their own.
B. Daily routine activity- Go through a typical routine the campers may experience on a school day. Does Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, brother, sister, Aunt or Uncle help them do some of these activities? Lets see if the campers can relate to some of these activities and think about who helps them to do these things! List of Daily activities (daily routine) . Wake up . Breakfast time! (Who is cooking?) . Make your bed . Go to school (Do you ride a bike? Do you walk? Do you take a bus?) . Finish school . Dinner time . Home work time . Time for club, practice or playing outside . Get cleaned up, brush your teeth and get ready for bed . Bed time C. Ask the campers if they would be able to wake up in the morning and do all of these things on their own? You can ask the campers if they think they will be able to do all of these on their own someday? As they get older, they will be able to do more of these activities on their own, without the help of mom or dad. Some of the animals we learn about have to learn to do things without mom and dads help, like finding food.
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D. Go over some reasons why some animals can live as a grown up by themselves. Large and solitary animals are sometimes considered, too big to be on the menu! Ask the campers if they remember what a predator is. This word will come up often today because the animals we are focusing on are large and solitary animals. Review a few reasons an animal that lives alone, can do so: x They m a y have adaptations that help them survive in their environment x They may have adaptations that make them very efficient hunters x May have binocular vision, eyes in the front of their face so they can see right in front of them x They m a y b e equipped with camouflage, helping to hide in their environment while they are moving around and while staying still x They may be large enough that no other animal could even dream about eating them! III. Bathroom break/ Zoo Hike (60 minutes) A. Bathroom break B. Hike Needs o Radio and bag with first aid supplies o Water bottles for campers Bear Hill American Black Bear . Black bears are extremely territorial, and do not enjoy sharing their space with others . Partially arboreal and terrestrial. They are excellent at climbing up into trees . Opportunistic hunter, eating berries, nuts, bark, insects, grasses and roots . Solitary lifestyle, males will live on their own after growing up next to their mother Spectacled Bear . Found among the Andean mountains in South America. . Spectacled bears eat fruits, nuts and vegetables . They have brown-black fur and lighter coloration of fur around their eyes that gives their eyes a spectacled appearance. . Like most other species of bears, they are seen with other bears typically in mating season or for foraging reasons Polar Bear . Inhabit parts of Greenland, Norway, Russia, and North America . Polar bears live alone and may be aggressive over food because of the low food source in the region they live in . Young live with their mom for just over two years to learn to hunt and survival skills in the harsh temperatures they live in
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. Lifespan of 25 to 30 years . Primarily prey on seals . Polar bears do not hibernate but they go into a deep sleep at this time . Stumbling upon their food can be a rare situation, having a strong sense of smell is essential for survival in the arctic (It is very bare!) . Mothers found with cubs moving around, although males are found by themselves. Lizard& Komodo Dragon Building Komodo Dragon . The komodo dragon is the heaviest lizard in the world . Some adaptations are sharp claws, serrated teeth, an impeccable sense of smell and a venomous bite . Live alone because of aggression and possessiveness over food . Komodo dragon babies are arboreal after birth and will become terrestrial when they are strong enough to fight off other animals. . When they bite into their prey, they are essentially initiating the demise of its prey as soon as it is infected with its venom(they have an anticoagulant in their saliva). . They have sharp serrated teeth that assists them in delivering their venom into their prey. . May gather in large groups to mate or eat together. Ackies Dwarf monitor . Can be found in northern Australia . Can reach up to two feet in length . Terrestrial, living on rocky terrain Crocodile monitor . Found in Papua New Guinea . Known to be the longest lizard in the world . Has a tail that is twice as long as its abdomen and head length. . Have flat and serrated teeth for slicing and tearing into meat(they are carnivores) Manatee Springs American Alligator . The American alligator is a sit and wait predator, waiting for the opportune moment to go after its prey. . They are opportunistic predators, feeding on raccoons, deer, rabbits, mice, chicken, turtles and snakes . Alligators have sharp claws, sharp teeth (that will regenerate their entire lives) and powerful limbs to catch their prey American Crocodile
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. Found in Florida, Southern Mexico, Central America . American Crocodiles have a longer, thinner snout than the American alligator . Their diet consists of small mammals, birds and fish Manatee . Florida manatees are found around the coasts of Florida in shallow waters . An adults manatee can remain submerged under water for fifteen to twenty minutes, unless they are swimming and exerting more energy they surface every three to five minutes Alligator Snapping Turtle . Largest freshwater turtle in North America . Their tongue looks like a fleshy worm floating in the water. When a snapping turtle is lying still and opens its mouth, the tongue is used as a bait to lure in fish C. Snack - During snack time, It is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing an appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith. Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles V. Cheetah Encounter – Offered at 11am and 12noon (30 minutes)
A. Snack/Bathroom break B. Take campers to the cheetah show Depending on the weather, it is always nice to bring the campers water bottles on warm- hot days. Allow time to use the restroom BEFORE going to the show.
VI. Animal Demonstration (25 minutes)
White Throated Monitor – Ollie . White throated monitors live solitary lifestyles and like to have their own space. . They can be quite territorial and are well adept to fighting off other animals . With sharp claws, sharp teeth and a very powerful body they are extreme predators Bearded Dragon
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. Bearded dragons are found to be solitary lizards, being territorial and controlling over food and region they live in. Rainbow Boa (Colombian) . The rainbow boa is non venomous and a constrictor. It gets its name from the iridescent prisms that shine on the back of its body.
VII.Lunch and Bathroom (25 minutes)
A. Assist the campers in getting their lunches from the closet. Pass out craft trays to the campers to eat their lunch on. B. We want to be a ZERO land fill facility! After lunch, assist campers in putting their lunch waste into the proper bucket of recycling, compost or trash. For the first and second day of camp, have the campers wait until they are finished eating to put any trash/waste away. Once everyone is finished, draw their attention to the buckets for recycling/trash/compost. Use their lunches to give examples of what materials and waste will go into each bucket. You can also emphasize that the campers can do this at home too! On the third day, see if they can do this themselves, and remember what waste went where and WHY. C. Refer back to dismissal forms, and double check camper allergies. Campers may have mild to severe food allergies, and it is extremely important to be aware of these before snack and lunch. If you have a camper with allergies that you need to take extra precaution, make sure they have their own, clean food tray to eat on. Needs o Purell hand sanitizer prior to eating lunch o Craft tray o Lunch Instructions o Assist campers if they need help opening lunch items o Supervise campers, ensure they are only eating their own lunch o Gently encourage campers to eat their healthier lunch items first (ex: sandwich and fruits) o Campers are to clean up their own food after eating. Put compost/recycling/trash into the proper receptacle. VIII. Bathroom/Break (25 Minutes) A. This is an important part of the day for campers to wind down and relax. A full day of camp can be exhausting, both physically and mentally for this age group. Therefore, encourage campers to be quiet or use inside voices, lie down in their own space and keep their hands to themselves. We can put on an age appropriate movie/documentary and turn the lights off, or read a story for quiet time. IX. Introduction to afternoon- Solitary predators ! (20 minutes)
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A. Some of the most intense predators on the planet live most of their lives by themselves. Hunting, traveling and sleeping is a solitary duty for them. For example, most of the big cats are superior hunters, self sufficient on their own, and at the top of the food chain. These carnivorous creatures stand their ground over their territory and stalk their prey at night, all while protecting their young. Explain to the campers that some of the solitary animals hunt at night time, making them nocturnal. Nocturnal animals are night hunters, sleeping during the day time and active throughout the night. B. Communicating with a group at night can be difficult, being solitary is easier. Communication is important at all times of the day and at night verbal communication is important, especially if an animal can’t see as great at night as they can during the day. Go over a few reasons communication is important. x Finding food x Talking to a mommy or daddy x A mommy finding her babies x Warning calls for protection x Warning calls, telling animals to stay away X. Comparing solitary animals to the animal’s family groups we talked about earlier in the week, solitary animals do not establish a leader to manage them. (10 minutes) Needs o Pictures of a gorilla troop- eat fruits, bark, small insects o Picture of a polar bear- eat seals o Pictures of elephants- eat roughage, leaves o Pictures of a large snake- eat mice, rats and other small animals o Pictures of a herd of zebra- eat grasses o Pictures of a lion pack- eat zebra, hyenas and other savannah animals o Pictures of komodo dragon- eats mammals such as deer and buffalo A. Living alone and looking out for number one. These animals live by themselves and only look after themselves. These animals may prey on some of the herd, troop and group animals we discussed earlier this week. Go over a few pictures to see if the campers can identify animals who live in a group, troop or herd, to an animal that lives alone. While looking at the pictures, you may want to talk about what the animal eats, making a connection to animals that were discussed earlier in the week. Instructions 1. Have the campers look at each picture 2. Ask the campers what type of grouping the animals live in? 3. Now, for all of the animals that live in a solitary lifestyle, we will put those in a separate pile and go over key factors of why these animals are solitary! XI. Solitary animal pictures (10 minutes) Needs-pictures of solitary predators o Leopard o Jaguar o Tiger o Fossa o Ocelot Groups, Troops, and Herds, 6/7 yr. old Spring Break Camp 2013 Page 70 of 81
o Cougar A. Let’s have the campers look over some pictures of animals who live on their own. While we go over these, let’s talk about communication you may see from these animals. B y various forms of communication, animals can send a message to other animals without even having to use vocal communication. If these animals do not live in a group, do they talk to anyone? How do they tell other animals to stay away from their homes? Ask the campers these questions, then follow up with some examples of communication. Communication types animals use to keep other animals away from them: x Scent marking- an animal marking their own space by urinating or releasing a substance from scent glands on their feet or other parts of their body. These scent markings warn other animals of their presence x vocalizations- possibly warning vocalizations, making a verbal call to keep other animals away x Tactile communication- actually pushing another animal away by physical body to body contact Directions 1. Show the campers each picture, one at a time. 2. While looking at each picture, call upon the campers to see if they can tell you why that animal may be an animal that could live alone. Ask the campers if they have “eyes in the front, ready to hunt”, or “eyes on the side, ready to hide”. When you show each picture, call on a camper and have them tell you which spot the eyes are at. 3. After the campers answer, give them positive encouragement by telling them they are doing a great job! ***Take home point- Do solitary animals have help finding their food? No! Solitary animals have what it takes to hunt for their own food. Unlike our safety in numbers animals, or animals living in a flock or group, solitary animals are excellent hunters and seek out their own meals. Solitary animals like a crocodile will sit and wait to find their own food. They are equipped with the right camouflage to blend into the murky waters where they live. When the right prey comes along, they can move quickly with their long tail and strong body and grab their prey faster than the prey can react.
XII. Animal BINGO! (15 minutes) A. Animal bingo will be a way for the campers to match up the description of who an animal lives with and what type of group they live with or if they live solitarily. The instructor will verbally say the animal clue, and the campers will put a BINGO marker on the correct picture. Some of the clues will be who the animal lives with and some are adaptation or habitat clues. Needs o Bingo markers o Bingo sheets Instructions 1. Pass out a bingo sheet to each child 2. Pass out 9 bingo markers to each child 3. Read the bingo clues. 4. After everyone is finished, the campers can color their bingo sheets
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5. GREAT job everyone! XIII. Zoo Hike/ Bathroom Break/ Snack A. Bathroom break B. Hike Needs o Water bottles o Radio and first aid supplies Cat Canyon Cougar . Cougars are found in a wide geographical range from Canada to South America. . Opportunistic hunters (carnivores) eating mammals as small as a mouse to as large as a deer . Our cougars names are Joseph and Tecumseh White tiger . Found in southeast Asia . Very rare to find a white tiger, genetic rarity . Tigers enjoy water, unlike many other cat species . Tiger cubs will be with their mothers until they are close to two years old Malayan Tiger . Found in Malaysia . They are solitary and nocturnal animals, with good vision at night . Prey upon small to medium sized mammals such as deer and pigs . They have excellent camouflage, blending into the jungle Snow Leopard . Found in the mountains of central Asia . Can jump as far as 50 feet . Their camouflage makes them very hard to find in the wild, their coats blend into the snowy and rocky mountains Night Hunters Eurasian eagle owl . Live in rocky areas, woodlands, grasslands . They are considered one of the largest owl species in the world . They prey upon rabbits, mice and even young deer! Fossa . Found on Madagascar . Sharp retractable claws, long tail and snout . Not a cat, the largest member of the mongoose family! . This animal lives alone and spends time up in the trees and on the ground
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Pallas cat . Found in cold arid climates, in countries throughout central Asia(Mongolia) . Fierce cat who may not look as tough as he is! . Hunt one of their favorite foods, the pika Clouded leopard . Found in southeastern Asia . Feed on deer, pigs, monkeys . Babies are dependent on their mother for about ten months after birth Palm civet . Found in South East Asia (Sumatra & Borneo) living in Tropical rainforests . Diet consists of rodents, snakes, arthropods, lizards and frogs . Their predators would be tigers, large snakes and leopards Slender Loris . Found throughout Sri Lanka and India . Diet consists of fruits, shoots, eggs and insects . Can live up to 15 years! Potto . Found in western and central Africa . Pottos leave behind urine trails to communicate with one another . Pottos are arboreal and live by themselves Aardvark . Found throughout southern Africa . Favorite food is termites . Nocturnal animals Ocelot . Found in central and South America . Very hard to find in the wild because they sit in the trees and blend into light shining through the rainforest . Burmese python . Found in south eastern countries including Burma (Myanmar) . They are carnivorous and restrict their prey . Live alone because of their large size and special adaptations of camouflage Bob cat . Found in north America . Bobcat mothers raise their babies until they are 9 to 10 months old, then they are on their own
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. Cousin to the lynx . Bobcats live in forested areas and prey on rabbits, squirrels, rats and other small animals Fishing cat . Found in Burma, China, Himalayas, Vietnam, southwest India, Sri Lanka . May use its tail like a rudder on a boat, this cat is really fast and not easily spotted in the wild Caracal . Found in Africa, Middle East and India . They can leap up to 10 feet high . Live in desert or dry areas Bear cat . Found in south and southeast Asia . Has a long prehensile tail . Belongs to the civet or mongoose family (not a bear, not a cat!) . Gives off a “hot popcorn” smell C. Snack During snack time, It is important for every camper to be eating their own snack. Similar to the lunch period, refer back to camper dismissal forms and check for camper allergies. If the camper can’t eat the snack the Zoo has provided, they are to bring in their own snack. If you notice the camper is not bringing a appropriate snack for them, give the parents a gentle reminder or contact Sarah, Scott or Meredith. Needs o Craft tray o Zoo provided snack or a snack the camper has brought to camp o Water bottles XIV. Animal demonstration Needs o Purell hand sanitizer o Demonstration animals Instructions- Go over the rules of ‘animal friend time’. 1. Please sit criss-cross applesauce 2. Please keep your hands in your lap 3. When you are told you can touch, that is the specific time to do so 4. After the instructor is finished talking, please raise your hand if you have any questions Demonstration Animals Common boa . The common boa is an arboreal and terrestrial snake. . Quick reflexes easily catch a n y prey off guard.
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. The common boa is a non venomous constrictor. This animal can constrict so quickly, most prey animals do not stand a chance of escaping after it is in its grasps. African Pygmy Hedgehog . The hedgehog is solitary, only coupling for mating. . They eat an insectivore diet . Hedgehogs have unique spines all over their body except their neck and abdomen so they can tuck into a very spiky ball, deterring other animals from eating them XV. Craft – Tiger beaded key chain (20 minutes) Needs o orange pony beads 15 per camper(LOOK AT SAMPLE) o black pony beads 6 per camper(LOOK AT SAMPLE) o nylon lacing string o Metal lanyard hook Instructions 1. Tell the campers they will make a tiger tail keychain! 2. They will get black and orange pony beads to make the stripes of a tail 3. Each camper will get pre cut lacing string 4. Assist the campers in lacing the beads to create the tail, then you can help then make a knot and attach it to the lanyard hook. If you have volunteens in the classroom, have them assist the campers as well.
XVI. Camper Awards A. At the end of each camp week, a camper will get a special award that has their name on it, and the specific award they will receive. The camp award is very important to the campers and they will be very excited to receive their own award! Instructions 1. Prepare camper awards ahead of time and make sure each camper will have one.
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2. Have the campers sit down on their carpet squares 3. Hand out the camper awards, one child at a time 4. Encourage the campers to clap and cheer for one another after each person receives their award, by demonstrating this yourself. GET EXCITED! Woo!! XVII. Dismissal A. Getting ready to head home: Make sure each camper has their lunch bag, book bag, water bottle, inhaler, Epi- pen or any belongings they brought to camp with them. Have dismissal forms ready for when the child’s guardian comes to pick them up. Make sure you see their ID and double check to see the name on the dismissal form list. If you are unsure about something or do not see a parent/guardians name on the dismissal list, radio to Sarah, Scott or Meredith B. Suggestions for dismissal x Have the volunteen help facilitate a game for the campers while the campers are waiting to be picked up x While each camper is leaving, ask them if they have their water bottle, bag, lunch or anything they brought to camp x Make sure the campers have their crafts x Double check the room for belongings and make sure each camper gets all of their personal items and craft x BE SURE TO THANK THEM FOR AN AWESOME WEEK AT CAMP, WE HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THEM! We hope to see them soon! !
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Instructor Guide for Gorilla Adventure Game (DAY1)
Campers will embark on a journey to the Discovery forest and outside behind the education building. Campers have to be supervised by a camp instructor at all times (remember, volunteens do not have the ability to supervise a camper at any time throughout camp) Use the dice to roll and have the campers take turns being the silverback! Each camper should get a turn rolling the dice. Try to act out these behaviors and be as goofy and exaggerated as you want, the campers will love this! Use each roll as a learning opportunity for the campers to learn more about gorillas in general Each number on the dice will be a certain behavior gorillas would exhibit in their normal everyday life Take your radio and classroom keys with you before leaving the classroom Flip over to the back page. there is a chart to follow for proper game instructions:
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Number rolled Behavior Location How to act it out! 1 Forage for food Go down to discovery While walking to rainforest and look for these locations fruit trees (banana looking for food, tree) make hand motions like you are searching! 2 Drink water Waterfall in discovery While looking for rainforest or water water, put your found outside hand above your eyes as if you are looking into the distance. Lick your lips-we are thirsty! 3 Seek shelter Find a spot outside in Knuckle walk the gully or in a niche outside! Lets really that could protect a get into the gorilla gorilla role! 4 Danger is near, retreat back Go back to the Keep your body to a safe place classroom, or stay curled up on the really still and floor and stay very camouflaged until the still. Can the scene is clear silverback beat their chest, danger is near!! 5 Forage for food Go down to discovery Using your sense rainforest or look of smell, wiggle outside in the your nose or make education yard a loud sniffing noise! 6 Sleep Retreat near the bed “ahhhhhh”, make sheets(head back to a yawning noise the classroom) and curl up or sprawl out just like a gorilla would! 7 Young gorillas need play Go out in the education Play a game of tag time! yard or stay in the or just let the classroom if the campers run weather is not great around if you are outside in the back yard
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8 Forage for food Go down to discovery Search for a rainforest and look for different spot than fruit trees (banana the last time you tree) searched for food!
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References
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