Emma's Earth Explorations

  These otters aren't the cute and fuzzy creatures I initially thought they'd be; Giant River Otters are actually lethal killing machines, at least to schools of fish. The Giant River Otter :    Pteronura brasiliensis Description : Giant River Otters are the largest freshwater otter species, and the longest members of the Mustelidae family. They can reach up to six feet in length and weigh between 50 and 70 pounds; females are slightly smaller and lighter. All Giant River Otters have sleek, muscular bodies, resembling weasels more than other species of otters. They also have unique white and brown neck patches which help them distinguish members of their own family. Their sharp teeth and size give the nickname, 'River Wolf'; in fact, Giant River Otters were once the size of actual wolves.  Habitat : These otters live along slow-moving rivers that are often located near swamps and marshes. The species is spread out across North-Central South America with the largest p...

  I'd like to announce the upcoming establishment of a series called Fast Facts, where I will provide quick, useful bites of information regarding a particular species. This will all be written in a professional and former matter without the strings of sarcasm that usually come attached to my other pieces of writing.  I realize that, sometimes, you just want to learn about something without all the commentary from the narrator. The main dish of these eye feast articles should be the species I'm highlighting, not an irritating voice served with a side of dry humor (if it can be called that). Actually, I'm not sure if I can restrain myself. Ok, compromise. I promise to keep the sarcasm to the captions only.  On the upside for me, I have less writing to do. Less writing, but still the same amount of work. Maybe I should've rethought this. Anyways, look out for Fast Facts posts; they might be a nice change of reading for you. 

  Recognized for its bright gold irises and lime green skin, the Glass Frog is one of the thousands of vibrant frog species living in the Amazon. With its piercing gold gaze and glass skin, the glass frog is a beguiling creature at a size of only one to two inches - smaller than the palm of a human hand.    The Glass Frog :  Centrolenidae Characteristics : Green skin color, transparent skin on underbodies and legs, 3.7.5 cm in length Habitat : Tropical lowland forests located from Mexico down to the northern areas of South America Diet : Small invertebrae Conservation : Unknown; only about 1/3 of the total population is stable                                        Although the glass frog is undeniably a unique creature of its own right,  centrolenidae  is probably better known to the rest of the world as the inspiration for Kermit the Frog.  But as wond...

  Clever, sharp, and curious, monkeys belong to one of the most intelligent orders in biological classification. Monkeys Characteristics : Small to medium-sized primates characterized by long tails, hairless faces, long arms and legs, and fur that ranges from white to gold to red to black.  Habitat : Monkeys can be found everywhere around the world; several species live in forests while others live in grasslands and even mountains.  Diet : Fruits, nuts, eggs, seeds, small insects, nectar, and even small frogs and birds depending on the species Conservation : Almost half of the 200 species of monkeys are threatened and around 80 species are endangered Smart and inquisitive, with a quick mind and agility in both the body and brain, monkeys are some of the most respected creatures in society.  Their natural charm and charisma appeal them to others in an effortless way, and they're never short of talent to show off.  I'm a monkey. Thank goodness I was born right on ...

  I feel like that in most wildlife blogs, animals get all the attention while plants and flowers aren't even considered. Yet, the flora in an ecosystem is vital to the whole plant.  Planet. I meant planet.  An ecosystem, and the whole earth really, is really like a complex living clockwork  mechanism where each part is needed for the whole thing to work. Ok, that wasn't as good as the kaleidoscope simile in my other post , but the point is that the fauna of the world isn't the only livings things that need attention and conservation. Plants and flowers are important too; they practically form the structural basis of the world.  In the Amazon Rainforest, there are apparently over 80,000 plant species doing their part to keep the cycle of life going. (The clockwork simile is making more sense now, right?) I say 'apparently' not because of any doubt towards the plants handling their jobs, but because I can hardly believe that there are 80,000 species of anyth...

  With over tens of thousands of species calling it home, t he Amazon Rainforest is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Fauna alone, there are enough animals in the Amazon for me to never be able to learn and write about them all. I know, it's not my best excuse, but it's true. I could never research all 427 mammals, 1300 birds, 378 reptiles, 400 amphibians, and thousands and thousands of fish. And that's why I'm narrowing my focus down to the 20 or so that I believe are the most interesting, important, and influential creatures to the Amazon Rainforest. Over 4000 creatures roam, crawl, fly, swim, and inhabit every corner and surface of the Amazon. Imagine stepping into the chaos; you'd wouldn't be able to take a few steps without seeing something, someone , new, and I think that's crazy. Crazy and beautiful. The Amazon is like a giant kaleidoscope, chaotic and blurry in its infinite shifting parts, glorious if you can focus your gaze. I...

  Pop quiz! Which rainforest layers is shown above? Read on to find out if your guess is correct Ok. So I forgot to post this last year, and now it's finally here. But please ignore that. This post was here the whole time. I'm pretty proud of myself right now for two reasons. One reason is that I still remember enough about the lecture on the layers of rainforests from my APES class to make this post. The other is that I made a totally amazing blurb to introduce this post. It's interactive, it's pithy, and it practically forces you to read the rest of this article. Speaking of pithiness, I'll actually start explaining how the layers of a rainforest work.  It's like a cake. A four-layered cake. Rainforests are split into the Forest Floor, the Understory, the Canopy, and the Emergent Layer (occasionally, the Emergent Layer gets grouped with the Canopy).  The Forest Floor is exactly like the bottom layer of a cake. It's usually soggy, yet hard at the same time,...

  A post about the importance of the Amazon Rainforest and the dangers it faces due to human impact. Fun fact: when I was looking up 'Amazon fires' to find a nice picture to go alongside this post, a bunch of ads from Amazon.com popped up, trying to sell me tablets.  Amazon .  Did you think of the company or ecosystem first? As tempting as it is to write about my opinions on the Jeff Bezos global domination, I'll instead write about the importance of the Amazon Rainforest and the dangers it faces due to human impact. The Amazon is actually one of the few ecosystems on Earth that most everyone knows about, but I'll explain exactly what it is anyway. Also known as the Amazon Jungle or Amazonia (I prefer the former as "Amazonia" sounds like Amazon inc's twisted version of Disneyland), the Amazon Rainforest is a tropical rainforest located in the Amazon Basin, which covers over 7 million sq km in South America's Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, French G...