THE AMAZING WORLD OF ANIMALS

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part 1/AMAZING ANIMAL FACTS

The more you know about animals, their abilities, and their behavior, the more you’ll see how complex and amazing
they are. Here are some fascinating facts about animals that may surprise you.

✓ Dolphins have been known to protect shipwreck
survivors from drowning and sharks, sometimes
keeping people afloat for many miles.
✓ Beavers live in complex societies withhomes, lodges, and food storage.
✓ Musk oxen and cows form aprotective circle around their calves
when danger or rough weatherthreatens.
✓ Elephants have been known toenjoy painting or drawing, using
paintbrushes or even twigs heldin their trunks.

✓ Orangutans build overhead platforms intheir “nests” to keep out the rain and use
large leaves as umbrellas.
✓ A blackpoll warbler can fly all the way
from Canada to South America and back,then return to the exact same nest.
✓ Male emperor penguins guard andincubate the females’ eggs for two
continuous months, without food, in theperpetual Antarctic cold.
✓ “Electric” fish and eels communicate bytransmitting electrical signals to oneanother.

part 2/ANIMAL I.Q. TEST
Now, let’s put your animal I.Q. to the test. Read each statement below. Check “A” if you agree that the statement istrue, “D” if you disagree, or “NS” if you’re not sure.

part 3/ANIMAL PROJECT
Although we have yet to fully understand animal languages, we can imagine
what animals might be thinking and feeling. Choose an animal and research hisor her natural habitat. Then turn this sheet over and write a “letter to the editor”
from the animal’s point of view in response to a threat to his or her home.

❏D❏NS❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏©2001 ShareTheWorld.com

A

1. Whales’ communication powers are so strong that a whale in
Antarctica can hear the calls of a whale in Alaska.
2. Crows in the south of France have a different “accent” fromcrows in the north.
3. If an injury forces a goose to leave the flock, others staywith the injured bird until he or she recovers or dies.
4. Deer have been known to “guide” other deer whohave gone blind.
5. Elephants mourn their dead and can shed tears ofgrief.
6. Black-tailed prairie dogs use “kisses” to identify
members of their community.
7. After a fight, chimpanzees sometimes comfort the loser by
putting an arm around or grooming him or her.
8. Some birds use mud and plants to set and heal broken bones.
9. There have been thousands of cases in which dogs and pigs havesaved children from danger.

ANIMALS AND THEIR FEELINGSW

e think of some animals as our friends. Others wemay think of as dangerous, and others we hardly think ofat all. But all animals, from the family dog to the tiniest
mouse, are, like us, living, feeling beings. We can learn
more about how animals experience life by developing
empathy toward them—in other words, by identifying
with their needs and feelings to understand them better.

T

he man that had the care of us nevergave me a kind word in mylife. I do not mean that he ill-used
me, but he did not care for us one bit
further than to see that we had plenty toeat and shelter in the winter. Very often
the great boys passing through [our field]
would fling stones to make us gallop. I
was never hit, but one young colt wasbadly cut in the face ... we settled it in
our minds that boys were our enemies.
We had very good fun in the freemeadows, galloping up and down ...
and chasing each other round andround. But when it came to breaking
in, that was a bad time for me;
several men came to catch me ...

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For a classic example of writing that displays empathy
toward an animal, read this passage from Anna Sewell’sclassic novel Black Beauty—The Autobiography of aHorse. In it, a horse named Ginger tells Black Beauty ofher experience with humans. Then think about how theauthor shows empathy toward Ginger and her plight.

one caught me by the nose ... so tight I could
hardly draw my breath; ... and so by force
they got on the halter and the bar in mymouth; one dragged me along by the halter,
another flogging behind ... this was the firstexperience I had of men’skindness ...
... I had a good deal ofspirit ... it was
dreadful to be shutup in a stall dayafter day instead of
having my liberty,
and I fretted andpined and wanted
to get loose.

part 1
1. A dog let into a warm home on a very cold night feels ...
________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________
2. A pony giving rides to children, walking around and around in circles on a hot day, feels ...
________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________
3. A small calf separated from his or her mother feels ...
________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________

part 2
Now stretch your imagination further. Imagine that you are any animal of your choice. On the other side of this sheet,write a brief story from the animal’s point of view, based on the topic “If I had three wishes.” Give your story a title, anddraw a picture to go with it on a separate sheet of paper. Then share both your story and your picture with the class.

©2001 ShareTheWorld.com

The passage you’ve just read shows that empathy is the key to understanding what animals are feeling. Now read eachsituation below. Then, in the spaces provided, list all the feelings you can think of that each animal might beexperiencing.

Changing Times, Changing Minds
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, PEOPLE HAVE USED ANIMALS FOR
THEIR OWN PURPOSES
And we have often failed to realize that animals
experience life—including fear, pain, andhappiness—as we do. But we have been learning,as the “headline history” timetable here shows!

3Researchers
Flip for
ComputerModels
CIRCA 1980s:

part 1 If newspapers had been aroundas long as humans have, they might havefeatured headlines like these. Each one
announces an event or trend that in some way
has brought about positive changes. For eachheadline, tell how the event might have helped
reduce the use of animals by humans.

LINEN IS “IN”
FORFASHIONABLE
PHARAOHSCIRCA 4,000 B.C.:

Cavepeople Switch
From Bones toStones for Tools
CIRCA 70,000 B.C.:

LAMPLIGHTERS CHANGE
THEIR OIL ... FROM WHALE
TO PETROLEUMCIRCA 1860s:“HORSELESSCARRIAGE”
HONKS ITS WAY
INTO HISTORY

Veggie Burger
Adds Life to FastFood
CIRCA 1990s:

Circa 1903:

Fashion Plates
Find Fake Fur
Warm andFriendly
Circa 1960s:

part 2 Despite such animal-friendly developments, animals are still being used by people today. After
1.

2.

3.

4.

Dissecting frogs
in classrooms.

Using elephants’tusks andtortoises’ shells tomake piano keys
and jewelry.

Raising and killinganimals for food.

Killing animals fortheir feathers, fur,and skin.

©2001 ShareTheWorld.com

reading each of the uses below, write an animal-friendly alternative for each on a separate piece of paper.

MAKING HUMANE CHOICES

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We can each make changes in our own lives to make sure that we treat animals with compassion and respect.
We can also encourage others to do the same. The “Golden Rule” that we try to follow in our relationships withother people should also apply to our relationships with animals:“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Take a look at these descriptions of situations in which the Golden Rule is not being applied to animals. For eachone, tell in the spaces provided (a) how the situation fails to live up to the Golden Rule and (b) how you wouldchange it to make it follow the Golden Rule.

1.

At a local zoo or circus, you see a bear circling aimlessly, without shade,on a very hot day.
(a) How does this situation fail to live up to the Golden Rule?
__________________________________________________________________(b) What would you do about it?
__________________________________________________________________

2.

You see many people hurry past a bird with a broken wing who has fallen onto
a busy sidewalk.
(a) How does this situation fail to live up to the Golden Rule?
__________________________________________________________________(b) What would you do about it?
__________________________________________________________________

3.

On your way both to and from school one day, you notice a dog tied up
on a short chain, with no food or water in sight.
(a) How does this situation fail to live up to the Golden Rule?
__________________________________________________________________(b) What would you do about it?
__________________________________________________________________

4. You see your best friend remove a turtle from a riverbank.
(a) How does this situation fail to live up to the Golden Rule?
______________________________________________________(b) What would you do about it?
______________________________________________________

5. You see a cat or dog being hit for going to thebathroom on the carpet.

(a) How does this situation fail to live up to theGolden Rule?
__________________________________________(b) What would you do about it?
__________________________________________©2001 ShareTheWorld.com