Ranger Rick articles from April 1996

Ranger Rick archives from April 1996

Leave it to beavers.
April 1, 1996... In a far-off corner of a green mountain valley, something new is happening. Between the chirps of birds and the croaks of frogs, a strange sound can be heard. It's the crunch, munch, crunch of teeth chomping on wood. A beaver has moved into the...

Wet bits.(brief trivia about wetlands)
April 1, 1996... Hi, Great-Great-Great-Really-Great Gramps! Long ago in Denmark, a man's body was thrown into a kind of wetland called a bog. When his body was found 2000 years later, he looked as if he had just died. He had whiskers and was still wearing a...

Reader riddles.
April 1, 1996... What magazine do toads like the best of all? Warts Illustrated. Kim Wilson; Long Beach, CA What wetland animal knows how to use a telephone? A croco-dial. Erum Qayum; New Orleans, LA What's a frog's favorite game? Croak-kay....

Bye-bye fly!(Four types of carnivorous plants - Venus's flytrap, sundew, pitcher plant, and bladder wort)
April 1, 1996... What happens when a fly gets caught in a Venus's flytrap? It's so gross, you may not want to know. Some wetland wonders are just plain weird--like plants that "eat" insects. Why do they do that? The soggy soil they live in doesn't have enough...

What's a Wetland?(descriptions and types of wetlands: freshwater marsh, salt marsh, and cypress swamp)
April 1, 1996... You sure are getting your feet wet in this special issue of Ranger Rick. But you still might have some questions about wetlands. Never fear--Wet Willy's here. So ask away! A wetland is land that's wet, right, Willy? Right--at least part of...

Adventures of Ranger Rick: when the gang helps some wetland pals, Boomer gets the easiest job ... or so he thinks!(short story)
April 1, 1996... When the gang helps some wetland pals, Boomer gets the easiest job . . . or so he thinks! Darcy Duck tucked a mouthful of downy feathers around the five eggs in her nest. Then she heard some scuffling behind her. She looked back and saw Ranger...

Adventures of Ranger Rick: more facts.(brief facts about the prairie pothole region of the Midwest)
April 1, 1996... * Darcy's nest is in the prairie pothole region of the Midwest. The potholes are millions of shallow holes in the ground. They were made in the Ice Age when a glacier moved dirt and rocks around. As the potholes fill with melted snow and rain in...

The all-American stork.
April 1, 1996... Wood storks, like this hungry bird, were almost wiped out along with their wetlands. Will they make a comeback? What do you know about storks? You've probably seen funny pictures of white storks bringing bundled-up human babies. Big joke! But...

What's the verdict?(children's play)
April 1, 1996... Play Setting: Courtroom of Wetland County, which is hearing the case of the Mushy Marsh animals versus the Happy Days Development Company. Cast of Characters: (in order of appearance) Judge Legal Eagle: Wetland County Judge Bucky...

Kids plunge in! (kids studying the wetlands)(What's Happening?)
April 1, 1996... All across the country, kids are plunging into wetlands. Some slosh through shrubby swamps. Some take measurements in mucky marshes. And some bring back samples from bubbly bogs. In Omaha, Nebraska, more than 1000 school kids have been studying...