WildWildL e s s o n sU t a h ’ s H o g l e Z o o

Herbivores of the World: 3-5

Education Standards:

3rd Grade:1.a Identify characteristics of living

things (i.e., growth, movement, reproduction)

2 Describe the interactions between living and nonliving things in a small environment

2.b Predict the effects of changes in the environment (e.g., temperature, light, moisture) on a living organism

4th Grade:1.b Describe Utah’s wetlands, forests and

deserts2.a Identify common plants and animals

that inhabit Utah’s forests, wetlands and deserts

2.b Cite examples of physical features that allow particular animals to live in specific environments

2.c Describe some of the interactions between animals and plants of a given environment

5th Grade:2 Describe how some characteristics could

give a species a survival advantage in a particular environment

2.a Compare the traits of similar species for physical abilities, instinctual behaviors, and specialized body structures that increase the survival of one species in a specific environment over another species

2.b Identify that some environments give one species a survival advantage over another

Welcome to your Wild Lessons Tour! This guide will take you on an educational tour through Utah’s Hogle Zoo, complete with questions to prompt discussions with your students, all while visiting an array of our amazing animals! Enjoy your journey through Utah’s Hogle Zoo!

In this tour, you will explore the world of herbivores, which are animals that only eat plants to survive. These animals have many adaptations to help them survive in their habitat and avoid predators. Today, you will visit some of the herbivores at the Zoo, and will learn about some of their adaptations.

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1. Spots and Stripes

2. Trunks

To begin your tour, visit the giraffes and zebras in the African Savanna. Both animals have bright coloration and patterns. These colorful patterns play a role in helping these animals to survive!

• How do a giraffe’s spots interact with the African Savanna features to help the giraffes blend in?

• Do a zebra’s stripes interact with the habitat features in the same way?

• Why would an individual zebra survive better living in a big herd rather than living alone?

Although the spots may look bright and noticeable here at the Zoo, in the wild they blend in perfectly with the tan savanna where giraffes live. A tan giraffe with no spots would stand out, so the white lines that form the spots help break up the giraffe’s shape by resembling sunlight shining through the plants. This makes giraffes perfectly camouflaged in their habitat.

A zebra’s stripes don’t help it to blend in with its habitat, but to blend in with each other! When the zebras are together in a large herd, their stripes blend together, which makes it hard for a predator to pick out an individual zebra to attack. Living in a group reduces an individual animal’s chances of being the one attacked by a predator.

Head over to Elephant Encounter to see the African elephants. African elephants are the largest herbivores in the world! African elephants live on the African savanna alongside giraffes and zebra.

• Compare and contrast the features of the African Savanna with the features of the Utah deserts. Would an elephant survive in the desert? Why or why not?

• How would an elephant use its trunk to survive in its habitat?

• How do elephants cool themselves off?

Like Utah’s deserts, the African savanna is made up of wide open spaces, with dispersed shrubs and trees. Though it has a dry season, the African savanna gets enough rain to keep it from becoming a desert. An elephant will drink around 50 gallons of water a day! A desert would be too dry for an elephant to live in.

An elephant uses its trunk for breathing, eating, drinking, grabbing, picking things up and communicating! They can use it to push down trees and to reach things high up or down low. An elephant’s ears act as an air conditioner! When it is hot, the elephants can be seen flapping their ears, which cool the blood in the big blood vessels in the ears, cooling them off! They can also be seen bathing, which will help them cool down even better!

Location:African Savanna

Location:Elephant Encounter

Big 6About 96 elephants are killed a day for their tusks. At this rate elephants will disappear right before our eyes. We are working with conservation organizations to protect elephants in the wild. Have students read the informational signs about the threats to elephants and be sure to take an Elphie! Visit www.96elephants.org to find out how you can help save these amazing animals!

3. Thumbs

4. Shells

Visit the Western lowland gorillas at the Great Apes building. They may be outside or inside, depending on the weather. Gorillas eat a “veggie” diet consisting of leaves, bark, stems, roots, vines, bamboo and fruit. Gorillas will spend most of the day eating, and they have a similar adaptation to humans that help them forage!

• How has the adaptation of having thumbs helped gorillas thrive in their habitat? How do they help you?

• How do thumbs give them a survival advantage over other animals?

Just like humans, thumbs help gorillas grab things, using their hands. Having thumbs allow gorillas to forage for their food more efficiently, as well as helps them move around the rainforest, and even to groom each other! Other herbivores have to bend their heads while foraging and eating, making them more vulnerable to predators. Gorillas can eat their food with one hand while keeping their heads up to look around, because their thumbs help them grasp their food.

Head over to the Small Animal Building to visit the desert and radiated tortoises. They may be inside or outside, depending on the season. Though both species live on opposite sides of the world, both live in dry climates, with little water available in some seasons. Both eat a “veggie” diet of cactus and grasses. These animals may be slow, but they still have many adaptations that help them survive!

• How have tortoises, like the desert tortoise in Utah, adapted to living in dry habitats?

• How might a radiated tortoise take advantage of a rainy day?

Desert tortoises get most of the water they need from the plants they eat. They eat plants that contain a lot of moisture, such as cactus, and they have evolved to store that water in their bodies for up to a year. They also have long legs and claws that act as shovels to dig water holes to collect rain water. They can remember the location of these holes and will return to them after a rainstorm. Their shells also protect them from the sun, and they dig tunnels where they can escape the heat. Radiated tortoises have similar adaptations to live in the dry Madagascar climate and will drink as much water as they can whenever they get the chance, storing it until the next rain.

Location:Great Apes

Location:Small Animal Building

Big 6The radiated tortoise is one of the most endangered tortoise species in the world. The radiated tortoise is part of our Big 6 conservation program, in partnership with the Turtle Survival Alliance, working with communities in Madagascar to protect tortoises. Have students read the signs on the work Hogle Zoo is doing to save them.• What are the key areas the project is focusing on?Visit www.hoglezoo.org/soccer-for-sokake/ to learn more about the project.

5. HoovesYour last stop on this tour will be to visit the Turkmenian markhor on the back South Hill, just past Asian Highlands. These herbivores live in steep mountainous regions with rocky terrain, eating grasses, leaves and shrubs.

• What advantage would a markhor’s hooves give it in its habitat?

• Which wild animals have hooves in Utah?

• Do markhor live in a similar habitat to the hoofed animals here in Utah?

These animals have broad two-toed hooves that help them maneuver the rocky areas where they live. The bottoms of their hooves are soft, allowing them to climb rocks with a secure foothold. This gives them an advantage when trying to escape from predators! They are able to move quickly and efficiently on the steep rocky slopes.

Here in Utah, hoofed animals like mule deer, elk and moose can be found living in the mountains with some rocky terrain that they maneuver through; however, mule deer and elk don’t always live in treacherous areas like the markhor do.

Location:South Hill