Written By Gail Rm16

Zoo Ventures

Introduction

Wednesday 20th February I was really excited because Zoo Ventures was coming to our school. Zoo Ventures came to talk to all the Year 6 and Year 5 students. Zoo Ventures goes to schools to talk about what kind of threatened or endangered animals there are and why they are endangered. Our guide was named Sally. When we got inside the hall she told us the 1 rule was to keep quiet because some of the animals are very sensitive. We all agreed on it and we got to see the animals.

Tortoises

The first animals we saw were the tortoises Gerald and Tortellini. Tortoises can be endangered because of poaching which means that a human catches them and kills them to take 1 part of the animal. Tortoises are Reptiles and they have a large shell to protect them that is usually the part that the Poacher wants. Tortoises are also cold blooded so they need to stay in warm temperatures to stay warm. We each got a turn to hold a tortoise on the mat and pat them.

Chinchillas

Next we saw the Chinchillas their names were Orinoco Junior and Orinoco Junior Junior. Chinchillas are one of the animals that can be very sensitive and scared of loud noises so we all made sure to stay really quiet when the Chinchillas came out. Chinchillas are warm blooded so their thick fur keeps the warmth in. Chinchillas have dust baths because if they had water baths their fur would take a long time to dry. We saw chinchillas had dust baths in mountain ash.

Bearded Dragon

Then we saw Mr Schofield who was a bearded dragon. Bearded dragons have lots of prickles on their chin that looks like a beard. When a predator comes around a bearded dragon stands on its two front legs and puffs up its beard to make it look bigger than it really is and most the time it works. We also got to feel Mr Schofield’s scales.

Fire Belly Newt

A fire belly newt has a bright red coloured stomach which in the animal kingdom represents poison. If a predator goes near a fire belly newt it can just show the predator it’s bright red stomach and the predator would know that that is poison and leave.

Blue Tongue lizards

The next animals we saw were blue tongue lizards Bubble Gum and Stefan. Blue tongue lizards are most commonly found in Australia. Blue tongue lizards can stick it’s tongue out to smell the air also Blue tongue lizards can have over 20 eggs at once.

Guinea Pigs 

The last animals we saw were the guinea pigs Snowflake, Princess Snow Pants, Trifle Top, Sargent Squirrel and Kramer.  Each guinea pig had a mat and we took turns holding them. Their fur was very fluffy and very soft. Each guinea pig was given lettuce and if you listened closely you could hear them crunching. Guinea pigs are not endangered though they are actually very common. 

The last thing we did was say goodbye and thank you to Sally. We also got to see the 2 dogs Margo and Badger but Badger had a sore on his foot so we only got to see Margo. On the way out we patted Margo and went to wash our hands.