African Lion

African Lion

The male African Lion can weigh up to 500 pounds and can be 9 to 10 feet long. The female however only weighs up 350 pounds, and is 7 to 8 feet long.

The lion can live 16 to 18 year or if they are in captivity they could live 25 to 30 years.

The female lion is the hunter of the pride. The lions can even eat bugs, But rarely.

The African Lion Normally will live central or southern of Africa, but can really be found in all of Africa. They can also be found in western Europe to India. Also in America from Yukon to Peru. They like the grassland but will live in the forest to.

The female will give birth year round and will normally have 2 to 6 lions.

For more information about the African Lion:

http://www.pittsburghzoo.org/animal.aspx?id=35

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Lion

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelle

The Dama Gazelles tend to be 3 to 4 feet tall and live up to at least 10 to 12 years.

The Dama Gazelle has a brown color rump and a white are brown back. The Gazelle has curved horns that are a greyish black.

The Dama Gazelle lives in the content of Africa. They tend to stay in the desert, grasslands, or sub-desert steppes. The Gazelles feed on herbs or desert grasses.

The Dama Gazelle mates between March and June. There will be one baby will be born. Only a week will have to pass for the infant to run as fast as the adult Dama Gazelles.

The Dama Gazelles could stand up on their back legs to eat leaves from trees!

For more information about the Dama Gazelle:

http://www.pittsburghzoo.org/animal.aspx?id=24

Poison Dart Frog

Poison Dart Frog

The Poison Dart Frog also known as the Poison Arrow Frog is a very neat animal. They are brightly colored frogs and they can even be yellow! The life span of the frogs can be up to 10 years.

These frogs live in rain forests near water or in trees. They live mostly in Central and South America, from Nicaragua and CostaRica to southeastern Brazil and Bolivia.

The frogs get their food by using their long sticky tongue to get bugs. The Poison Dart Frogs eat a lot of spiders, ants, and termites. Their eyes help them get prey as well.

The frogs mate from mid-July through mid-September. The female frogs can lay six eggs. The female will put the eggs in a stream to hatch. It will take the young tadpoles up to six week to become an adult.

The tropical rain forests are being destroyed so the Poison Dart Frog is becoming endangered.

For more information about The Poison Dart Frog:

http://www.pittsburghzoo.org/animal.aspx?id=8

The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers

Wilbur Wright was born in Millville, Indiana on April 16 in the year of 1867, and his brother, Orville Wright, was born in Dayton, Ohio four years later on August 19. They had two older brothers, Reuchlin, Lorin, and a sister, Kathrine. When Wilbur and Orville were boys, their father, Milton Wright had gotten them toys, such as spinning helicopters, which could fly. Then the brothers started making their own kites. As the brothers got older, they started a small newspaper and a bike repair shop.

The Wright brothers followed a glider project that was taking place in Europe and America. They then started to build their own gliders. The brothers would bring the gliders to a sandy beach area outside the town of Kitty Hawk where they would fly them. The brothers had friends that came to help them while they were there. The Wright brothers succeeded in flying because they never gave up.

On December 17, some of Orville and Wilbur’s friends from Kitty Hawk again came to help them. The brothers’ friends helped move the heavy craft and to serve as witnesses. Orville had the first turn. Then just after 10:30 that cold morning, he made the first powered airplane flight in history. It lasted twelve seconds and covered 120 feet. An hour after that, Wilbur made a short flight. Then Orville flew again and had a 200-foot flight. Finally, at noon, Wilbur made a flight that covered 852 feet and lasted nearly a minute. After that, the craft was flipped over by the wind and was damaged beyond repair. The brothers had achieved their goal. In 1908, the brothers made the first two-person flight in history.

May 30, 1912, Wilbur passed away, aged 45 years, 1 month, and 14 days. Orville Wright was the spokesman of flight till he died in 1948. Even though they are dead, that does not mean we have forgotten them. The Wright brothers’ achievements made other people start to work on gliders as well and now we have airplanes. Neil Armstrong walked the moon only 21 years after Orville Wright died. The Wright brothers now have a national memorial in Kill Devil Hill, NC.

For more information about the Wright Brothers:

http://ncpedia.org/aviation/wright-brothers