Who are we?
1. We are called “cold blooded" animals because our body heat depends on the world outside our skins. We can’t make heat inside our bodies or keep our temperatures steady, so we are the same temperature as our outside environment.
2. All of us have skeletons inside our bodies. Our bones are made of calcium and some other minerals, just like your bones.
3. Everyone of us breathes air, not water. Even though some of us live in lakes, ponds, rivers and oceans, we have to hold our breath when we go under the surface.
4. Most of our babies are born from eggs with shells. This helps us live on land, since our babies are protected from dryness.
5. Our skin is covered with scales. These hard plates keep us from drying up when we live on land. The color of our skins helps us hide from animals that want to eat us, or animals that we want to eat. Sometimes our colored scales send messages to other animals. We never have fur or feathers. |
Hokso, Juvenile American Alligator/Reptile Exhibit
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