You are here
Lesson 1: All About Mammals
Orangutans are smart. They use sticks to pry open fruits that are too prickly to touch.
When it rains, orangutans make umbrellas out of large leaves. They make nests to sleep in at night. During the day, they make smaller nests in which to rest.
Female orangutans give birth only once every eight years! This is the longest time of any mammal in the world. Mother orangutans usually have one baby at a time, though sometimes they have twins. Mothers take care of their babies for up to seven years. Then the young orangutans are ready to go out and live on their own.
Mammals are warm-blooded. Their body temperature stays the same all of the time.
The hair on their bodies helps keep them warm. This jungle cat is a margay. It lives in the canopy of the rainforest. The margay is very good at climbing trees. It can also hang from trees by its back feet!
Click to view a related video.
Click to view a related video.
The margay can run head first down a tree just like a squirrel. It is fast and can jump high. This makes it easy for the margay to live in trees. It likes to eat rats, squirrels, monkeys, and birds. Its eyes are big which helps it see at night. Margays like to be alone and will often make their homes in areas of the rainforest that are far away with many trees. Because of this, it is rare to see a margay.
