By BETTY DEBNAM. Animal Dads

Transcription

1 release dates: June (05) 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. By BETTY DEBNAM Let s Celebrate Father s Day Animal Dads In the animal world, many dads don t stay around to help care for their babies. However, there are some who protect and even hatch their young. Let s celebrate Father s Day, June 19, with stories about some of these dear old dads. Sea horse dads A sea horse is a most unusual dad. He s the one who is pregnant! The male has a pouch in his lower belly, or abdomen. The female lays her eggs in his pouch. The male then carries as many as 2,000 eggs in his pouch until they are ready to be born. This may take two to seven weeks. This silverback gorilla dad relaxes near his baby. Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks because the hair on their backs and shoulders usually turns silver as they grow older. The Mini Page thanks the San Diego Zoo; the National Zoo, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and Wolf Park, Battle Ground, Ind., for help with this issue. Sea horses live in tropical or temperate coastal waters throughout the world. photo by Mohammed Al Momany, courtesy NOAA Gorilla dads The gorilla dad helps clean and hold young gorillas. He breaks up fights among the young and protects them. Many primates make good fathers. Primates are mammals that usually have hands and feet they can use to grasp things. Gorillas, humans and monkeys are types of primates. Gorillas are the largest apes. A gorilla dad can be up to 6 feet tall and weigh 500 pounds. Although gorillas are strong and powerful, they are also shy and gentle. They don t hunt other animals. Although they are mostly vegetarians, they do eat insects. Each night they build a new nest in tree branches or on the ground. Gorillas are endangered. Experts believe there might be as few as 60,000 of all kinds of gorillas living in the wild. Because they are endangered, zoos play an important part in the survival of this species.

2 More Animal Dads Wolf dads Father wolves defend their cubs. They bring food to the cubs and even to their mom if she is unable to hunt. Adult wolves chew and swallow the meat. Then they throw up the partly digested food and feed this to their cubs. Wolves are the largest members of the dog family. They usually live in packs of about three to 20 members. Many wolves are threatened or endangered. This adult male, Apollo, and the cub, Ruedi, live in Wolf Park near Battle Ground, Ind. photo 2004 Monty Sloan, courtesy Wolf Park A father gibbon listens as the mother gives a loud call. Siamang gibbon dads Father Siamang (SIE-uhmang) gibbons help carry their babies, clean them, and watch over them with the mothers. This primate lives in the mountains of Southeast Asia. Gibbons swing from tree to tree through the forest. Families usually travel together. They don t spend very much time on the ground. Gibbons eat mostly fruit and leaves, although sometimes they eat insects and birds eggs. photo by Jessie Cohen, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C (05); release dates: June Father s Day The first Father s Day Father s Day is always held on the third Sunday in June. The first one was celebrated in 1910 in Spokane, Wash. It was started by Sonora Dodd. Her Sonora Dodd mother had died when Sonora was a child, and she was raised by her father. Mrs. Dodd thought there should be a special day to honor fathers. After all, there was already a special day to honor mothers. She wanted Father s Day to be held on June 5, her father s birthday. But the year of the first Father s Day, the ministers in Spokane were not able to get their sermons written in time for that day. So the third Sunday in June was chosen instead. Mrs. Dodd died in 1978, but she lived to see Father s Day become a special day across the country. Mini Spy... Mini Spy is fishing with her dad on Father s Day. See if you can find: question mark word MINI arrow letter J duck funny face cat letter A pencil letter D mug letter T number 3 2 number 8 s Father s Day TRY N FIND Words that remind us of animal dads are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: SEA HORSE, OSTRICH, TAMARIN, FLAMINGO, MARMOSET, GORILLA, PROTECT, HATCH, EGG, APE, NEST, CHICKS, GUARD, FEED, WILD, FUR, RIDE, CARE, SILVERBACK, ENDANGERED, YOUNG. HAPPY FATHER S DAY! Basset Brown The News Hound s P W N G F F L T E S O M R A M R R I E U U F L A M I N G O V O I V L S A R N I R A M A T C T D L W D T R V A P E M V E A E E Y O U N G D F E E D L G R C V O D E R E G N A D N E G E T A L L I R O G C H I C K S W H A T C H K C A B R E V L I S H C I R T S O E S R O H A E S

3 Go dot to dot and color this unusual animal dad (05); release dates: June Rookie Cookie s Recipe Honeydew With Honey Dressing You ll need: 1 honeydew melon, seeded and cut into pieces 4 tablespoons honey 1 /2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lime juice What to do: 1. Place cut-up honeydew in a medium bowl. 2. Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl to make the dressing. Stir well. 3. Place both bowls in refrigerator for at least an hour. 4. Spoon dressing over honeydew and serve to Dad on Father s Day morning. Makes 2 servings. Note: You will need an adult to help with this recipe Meet Jesse McCartney Jesse McCartney can t decide which he likes the most: being a musician or an actor. As a solo singer, he enjoys performing as well as songwriting. As an actor, he plays the character Bradin Westerly in the WB series Summerland. Jesse grew up in New York. He was 7 when he got his first role in a production of Oliver! with a community theater. Then, at 10, he was on Broadway in the play The King and I, and soon after that in A Christmas Carol. Later, he got a part on the soap opera All My Children. Jesse grew up loving music and singing. As a boy, he joined Sugar Beats, a New York kids group, and at 14 became a member of a band called Dream Street. After that, he decided to go out on his own as a solo act. In the future, Jesse, 18, would like to try writing, producing and directing. His dream? To one day go back to college to study filmmaking. The Mini Page Rookie Cookie Cookbook Easy, everyday recipes designed especially for kids! snacks soups salads sandwiches breads beverages Ingredients: 1) Step-by-step directions 2) Measuring tips 3) Utensil guide 4) Cooking terms 5) How to set a table 6) Table manners guide casseroles main dishes microwave dishes desserts Encourages kids to read and follow directions! To order, send $9.95 plus $3.25 postage and handling for each copy. Send check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to: Andrews McMeel Universal, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS or call toll-free Please send copies of The Mini Page Rookie Cookie Cookbook (Item #4206-8) at $13.20 each, including postage and handling. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) Name: Address: City: State: Zip: All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category? Frank: If fish grew on trees, what would you call them? Felicia: Fish sticks! Fred: Did you give the fish some fresh water? Frieda: Why? Did they already drink what I gave them yesterday? Forest: What do you call a fish that takes a bath every day? Fiona: A clean sardine!

4 24-4 (05); release dates: June More Animal Dads Ostrich dads Father ostrich is a real baby sitter. Mom sits on the eggs during the day, and dad has the night duty. When the chicks are in danger, the dad lets out a loud cry to scare away enemies. If this doesn t work, both mom and dad might kick or chase away the enemies. This father marmoset has his back full with three babies clinging on. Small groups of pygmy marmosets live together in the trees in South America. Golden lion tamarin dads Father tamarins carry their babies all over the forest. Babies grab onto their dad s fur and ride on his back as he jumps from branch to branch. A father takes his baby to the mother when it is time to eat. When the baby is older, he helps feed it by mashing and softening its food. Pygmy marmoset dads The mother marmoset doesn t have to worry about day care because dad takes over. Baby pygmy marmosets spend most of the day with him. They grab onto his back as he moves from branch to branch. He takes them back to mom at mealtime. After they ve eaten, they go back to dad. Pygmy marmosets are the smallest true monkeys in the world. They weigh less than half a pound and are only about 6 inches to 8 inches long (15 inches with their tails). Flamingo fathers Parent flamingos share all baby care. Dad even makes a milk-like fluid. Both build the nest, sit on the eggs, feed the chicks and protect the young. Flamingos live near tropical lakes. They get their bright pink color from the tiny plants and shellfish they eat. This ostrich dad is guarding his nest of young hatchlings. In the wild, vultures, lions, jackals and humans are among the ostrich s enemies. Next week The Mini Page is about the 100th birthday of the U.S. Forest Service. photo courtesy San Diego Wild Animal Park This tamarin dad climbs with his babies. The golden lion tamarin is endangered. When the Brazilian forest it lives in is cut down, it loses its home. Look through your newspaper for stories and ads about Father s Day. photo by Jessie Cohen, National Zoological Park Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. Flamingo parents, both mom and dad, feed their young a fluid they secrete from glands in their digestive system. Sites to see: photo by Jessie Cohen, National Zoological Park Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.

5 Read all about animal dads in by Betty Debnam Appearing in your newspaper on. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. (Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-4 1 /4-inch ad promoting Issue 24.) release dates: June (05) from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2005 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc. Standards Spotlight: Animal Dads Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page s content and offer activities that will help your students reach them. This week s standards: Students understand the characteristics and life cycles of organisms. (Science: Life Science) Students understand the interactions of animals and their environments. (Science: Life Science) Activities: 1. Create a Father s Day card for your father or a special adult man in your family. Use one of the animal dads in today s Mini Page in your card. 2. Use words and pictures from the newspaper to create a Mighty Dad poster for your father or family member. 3. Which of the animal dads in today s Mini Page (a) carry their young around, (b) sit on eggs, (c) help feed their young, and (d) carry eggs in a pouch? 4. Write a story about several of the animals days in today s Mini Page. Be sure to include their activities with their young in your story. 5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about one of the animal dads in the Mini Page. Use these questions to guide your research: Where does this animal dad live? What kind of climate does it like? What types of food does the animal eat? How does the father animal help with the young? What happens to the young after they grow up? (standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) Supersport: Melvin Mora Height: 5-11 Birthdate: Weight: 200 Hometown: Agua Negra, Venezuela Big Daddy s rocking at home plate and at home with his family. Melvin Mora, a hard-hitting Baltimore Orioles third baseman, has six children. His wife, Gisel, gave birth in 2001 to quintuplets, two boys and three girls. So Mora is balancing being a good father and a good player. Last year he had the second-highest batting average in the American League at.340. He also hammered 27 homers and drove in 104 runs, and he s pounding the ball again this season. The solid hitter also is a solid citizen. He established the Melvin Mora Foundation, which helps meet medical, educational and various other needs of people in Venezuela. Mora grew up there, boxing and playing soccer in addition to baseball. Now in Baltimore, he s a happy father and hitter who has Orioles fans singing again. (Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 24.) (Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 24, to be used in place of ad if desired.)