Ranger Rick articles from July 1997

Ranger Rick archives from July 1997

Splish, splash, drip, zip: birds do all kinds of things to fix their feathers. It's a life-or-death job! (bird grooming techniques)
July 1, 1997... Just look at this spoonbill whipping its wings in the water. Like all birds, it spends a lot of time keeping its feathers clean and in good shape. Mes- sed-up feathers don't work well, and birds need clean, smooth feathers for many reasons....

Hoppy face. (South American two-inch Budgett's frog even eats other Budgett's frogs)(Illustration)
July 1, 1997... This Budgett's frog from South America is only about two inches (5 cm) across. But it will gulp down just about anything it can get that mouth around--including other Budgett's frogs. When it comes to catching dinner, this little grinner is a...

Year of the muskrat. (through the four seasons with a muskrat)
July 1, 1997... SPLASH! Spooked by a shadow, the muskrat plunges into the pond. He doesn't know what made the shadow, and he doesn't care. All he knows is to dive and swim for the safety of home. So he tucks his small front paws beneath his chin and paddles...

Who's who in a coral condo? (soft coral colonies attract many animals that dart about among them)(Illustration)
July 1, 1997... Is this some kind of weird underwater cauliflower plant? No, it's a tree coral colony--a large group of tiny ocean animals growing together. Except for a few bristly neighbors, the colony looks a little lonely right now. But there's a whole lot...

The busy life of a rotting log.
July 1, 1997... One dark winter night, a wild snowstorm howls through an Oregon forest. As a fierce gust of wind blows--timber!--a dying Douglas fir tree crashes to the ground. By morning, it looks like a l-o-n-g skeleton stretched out under a blanket of white...

Flea bites. (the life cycle of fleas, and why they bite)
July 1, 1997... We fleas bite animals for the same reason you bite candy bars--hunger. Adult fleas suck blood for food. The animals we suck the blood from are called our hosts. Most kinds of fleas suck the blood of mammal hosts such as cats and dogs. But some...

Camping on the wild side! Lolly and Polly spend a few days camping in the Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska, and when they leave not a trace of them is left behind.
July 1, 1997... "We made it!" Lolly Andrews says to her sister, Polly. After a long hike to the top of a ridge, the 11-year-old twins and their parents slip off their backpacks. Below, the Alatna River flows through a wide valley. This is the Gates of the Arctic...

Leave-no-trace camping tips. (after wilderness camping, campers can leave the area just as they found it)
July 1, 1997... Wilderness areas are not all the same, so it's not always possible to follow the same rules everywhere. But here are some suggestions to keep in mind when you go to any wilderness area: It's safer to go out with a group than alone, but keep...

Adventures of Ranger Rick: Zelda leans a painful lesson about 'road food.'(fiction)
July 1, 1997... Vrrrrooommmm . . . a bright red sports car whooshed along, leaving a swirl of dust in its trail. Farther down the road, Zelda Possum hurried across the pavement, her five babies clinging to her back. Zelda was late for an ear- ly-morning meeting...

Millions and millions. (tips are given on how to help keep wild animals and pets off roads and how to avoid hitting them)
July 1, 1997... About 12 wild animals and pets are killed on roads in the United States every second. That adds up to about a million dead animals a day. But that's only part of the picture. Every year in the U.S., more than 100 people are killed and thousands...

My dog licks his lips a lot. How come they never seem to get chapped?(Ask Scarlett)
July 1, 1997... Dogs don't have lips quite like yours. The skin on your lips is different from the rest of your skin. Dry air sucks the moisture out of them quickly. That makes them feel rough and sore. And, believe it or not, licking your dry lips doesn't help....

Why do my horses roll in mud?(Ask Scarlett)
July 1, 1997... To make it harder for you to groom them! Just kidding, Jacque. They probably roll in mud for the same reason that elephants, water buffaloes, and many other animals do: to fight flies and other pesky insects. It doesn't exactly keep the pests...

If hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) are both gases, where does the liquid in water (H20) come from?(Ask Scarlett)
July 1, 1997... It's all a matter of chemistry. Even though a water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, it's very different from molecules of either hydrogen or oxygen. When molecules combine, they form new and different molecules....

What's the story with the ozone hole? Nobody talks about it anymore. What's going on?(Ask Scarlett)
July 1, 1997... Well, the "hole" hasn't gone away. In fact, it's bigger than ever in some places at certain times of the year. Maybe you don't hear so much about it because it's a problem that's been around for a while. It's also a problem that people have been...

Do birds sweat like humans do?(Ask Scarlett)
July 1, 1997... No, they don't. The only animals that sweat are mammals, and not even all mam- mals do it. We foxes have sweat glands, for example, but we don't really sweat. Sweating helps many mammals cool off. As sweat evaporates, it pulls heat away from the...

When I go on a picnic, wasps always try to get in my soda can. How come?(Ask Scarlett)
July 1, 1997... They're going for the sweet stuff. Sugar is quick energy, and the insects need a lot of it to fly. If they find an open soda can or fruit drink, it's like hitting the jackpot. That could be the best way to get the most sugar with the least work....

Blast off!. (blasts in nature are produced by volcanoes, puffball mushrooms, whales, bombardier beetles, and geysers)(Illustration)
July 1, 1997... Volcanoes do it. Geysers do too. So do certain kinds of beetles and other living things. And get this: Our entire universe may have started this way. What are we talking about? Big blasts! Just like fireworks on the 4th of July, nature has some...