OKC Zoo @ Two: Education Connection Lesson Theme: Rodents from Around the World With big ears, a square nose, and legs like a kangaroo, the Patagonian cavy/mara is one unique rodent! What exactly is a rodent? Rodents are mammals that have upper and lower pairs of incisor teeth (the ones in the middle) that NEVER stop growing! They must chew things in order to file their teeth down. Rodents make up almost half of all mammals and can be found almost everywhere in the world with a few exceptions. Normally when you hear the word rodent, you might think of mice or rats, but this group also includes porcupines, beavers, squirrels, marmots, gophers, and chinchillas (but not rabbits). We’re going to briefly celebrate some cool rodents from around the world. • Let’s start with an animal you already know, the prairie dog! Prairie dogs are native to the grasslands of the central and western United States, including Oklahoma. A cool thing about prairie dogs is that they build their homes underground – called prairie dog towns! Check out our town in the Oklahoma Trails section of the Zoo. • Agouti are rodents that are made for living in the rainforests of Central and South America. They have big heads, skinny legs, small ears, and a tiny bald tail….and oily skin that acts as a raincoat! You can find agouti in the Children’s Zoo living with the squirrel monkeys. • An animal that you might not have realized was a rodent is the porcupine. The North American porcupine is the largest species of porcupine in the Americas. Porcupines are covered in more than 30,000 hollow (but very sharp!) quills. Did you know porcupines can climb trees and swim? While we don’t have this species of porcupine in the Zoo, if you’re lucky, you may spot our prehensile tailed porcupine in an education program! Activity: Leave it to Beavers The final rodent we’re going to highlight today is the beaver! Beavers are the largest rodents in North America and the second largest rodents worldwide (only smaller than the capybara). The like to live in water – streams, rivers, marshes, ponds, and shorelines. Here’s a chance to make our own beaver friend. MATERIALS: Paper bag, brown paper, white paper / Markers, crayons or colored pencils / Glue, staples or tape INSTRUCTIONS STEP 1: Cut out 2 ears, 2 arms, 2 legs, and 1 tail from brown the paper. Cut out a rectangle from the white paper. STEP 2: Attach your ears, arms, legs, tail and teeth to your paper bag like shown in the picture below. STEP 3: Decorate by drawing on eyes (or use googly eyes) and a nose. STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 .