Zooper Kids - Autumn 2020

AUTUMN ISSUE 2020 HEY KIDS! Check out our competition on the back page

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DINOSAUK! RS ARE BAC

MAKE THIS ZEBRA CROWN

DINO TREASURE HUNT page 8

INSIDE »

• Ninja Bandicoot story

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• Spot the difference 10

• Become a drip detective

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LET’S TALK ABOUT

THE bushfires You may have heard about the recent bushfires in Australia. If you would like to talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling, here are some easy steps to get you started.

A SAFE SPACE

DRAW OR WRITE

Find a quiet place where you’re not going to be interrupted.

This might be your bedroom or a secluded spot in the park.

It might be easier to explain how you’re feeling by writing a letter or drawing a picture. Maybe you can do this activity with an adult or even by yourself.

ASK QUESTIONS

MAKE A PLAN

If you have questions about the bushfires, you could ask someone in your family or your teacher. You could also ask your questions when you visit Healesville Sanctuary.

If you would like to join other people who are helping animals, you could raise money with your friends, organise a stall, a talent show or a dress up day.

Zooper Kids is published for Zoos Victoria

by Hardie Grant Media MANAGING DIRECTOR Nick Hardie-Grant ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Scott Elmslie ACCOUNT MANAGER Hannah Louey EDITOR Georgia Lejeune

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Zoos Victoria PO Box 74, Parkville Vic 3052 P 03 9340 2780 / F 03 9285 9390 E members@zoo.org.au W zoo.org.au

DESIGN Dallas Budde, Natalie Lachina, Kate Slattery PRINTER Immij

Connect with us!

Have you visited us lately? Share your visit with us and be sure to use the hashtag #zoomember

QUESTIONS YOU COULD ASK 1W HERE ARE THE BUSHFIRES?

How the

ZOOS ARE HELPING

2 ARE THE ANIMALS OK? 3 WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I SEE INJURED WILDLIFE? 4 WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP THE ANIMALS? 5 H OW IS THIS MAKING ME FEEL?

NEED MORE HELP? If you'd like to talk to someone else about your worries you can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 at any time.

The call is free.

During the recent bushfires, Zoos Victoria veterinary staff were stationed at three wildlife triage centres across Victoria (Mallacoota, Bairnsdale and Corryong).

Many animals have already been treated and released back into the wild in areas not affected by the fires.

Over the coming weeks, months and years we will be working on:

Specialist veterinary treatment Providing refuge for homeless animals Long-term recovery

To fundraise for wildlife visit zoo.org.au/donate/ fundraise-for-wildlife Printed on 100% recycled paper with vegetable-based inks. Zoos Victoria is a carbon neutral organisation.

For tips on how you can organise an event or raise funds at school, visit the website above. You can also donate directly to the bushfire appeal via this link zoo.org.au/donate

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Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats is a new book that takes you behind the scenes of Healesville Sanctuary and Melbourne Zoo. Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats is a new

Discover it’syoureally like toofbe a ZooZooKeeper bookwhat that takes behind the scenes Melbourne and fascinating Healesville Sanctuary.

Discover what it’s really like and learn new facts about some of to be a szookeeper learn fascinating new facts about Australia’ mostand lovable and rare creatures. some of Australia’s most loveable and rare creatures.

Many Australian animals are endangered.

Australian animals are endangered.

Find outMany how you can help save them – Find out how you can help savethink. them – it’ s easier than you it’s easier than you think!

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Ninja Bandicoots Zooper Kids FA2.indd 1

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EASTERN BARRED BANDICOOTS 1 CM 2 CM

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Eastern Barred Bandicoots have short front legs for digging and large back feet for hopping, and noses shaped like ice‑cream cones with little whiskers on the end.

An adult bandicoot is only around 14 centimetres tall but they can leap 1.2 metres in the air. That’s like you jumping, ninja-style, up onto the roof of a three-storey building!

LEADBEATER’S POSSUM At first glance the Leadbeater’s Possum could be mistaken for a Sugar Glider, except the Leadbeater’s tail is shaped like a baseball bat. They are extremely fast, quiet and hard to spot. Leadbeater’s Possums live in family groups inside old tree hollows.

HELP PROTECT THEM...

KEEP YOUR CAT INSIDE, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. It’s natural for cats to hunt, no matter how well fed they are. The RSPCA has great tips on keeping cats busy and happy indoors, and creating wildlife‑safe ways for them to spend time outdoors.

Visit safecat.org.au

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KOALAS Koalas are the only animal that can survive solely on eucalyptus leaves.

Eucalyptus leaves don’t have very many nutrients, so koalas sleep 18 to 20 hours a day in order to survive on the small amount of energy they get from their food.

COLOUR ME IN!

But when koalas are awake they can be much more active than you might expect. Sprinting on all fours, they can run at 30 kilometres per hour over short distances. They are also able to leap surprising distances from tree to tree, especially when they jump from a higher branch and land on a lower one.

Like many Australian animals the biggest threat to their survival is loss of habitat. Since the time of European settlement, 80 per cent of the eucalyptus woodlands where they lived have been cleared for farms, cities and roads.

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DID YOU KNOW? In all of nature, koalas are the only other animal besides humans that have a unique set of fingerprints for every individual.

FACT FILE

KOALAS ARE: Marsupials: The tiny

babies go straight into their mother’s pouch after birth and stay there until they are big enough to Theymove are: Mammals: Thetheir mothers make around on own. milk for their babies.

Mainly nocturnal:

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

DO TO HELP? TAKEWHAT CARECAN ONI THE ROADS Marsupials: Themost tiny babies They are activego straight into their mother’s pouch after birth and stay Encourage the on adults your at night.

Take care theinroads: there until they are big enough to move family to watch out for wildlife Encourage the adults in your Their are called: when they are driving between around on babies their own. family to watch out for wildlife Joeys. dusk and dawn. when they are driving between Mainly nocturnal: They are most active The biggest threats they dusk and dawn. If you see a koala at night. face are: Land-clearing (or another native animal) that’s Their babies are called: joeys. for houses and roads, Ninja hit, Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats is a new been pull over safely and call book that takes you behind the scenes of Melbourne Zoo The biggest threats they face are : land-clearing bushfires, cars, and dogs. your wildlife rescue service andlocal Healesville Sanctuary.

Discover what it’s really like for houses and roads, bushfires, cars, and dogs. to be a zookeeper and learn fascinating new facts about for advice. some of Australia’s most loveable and rare creatures.

Their conservation status is: TheirVulnerable conservation in status is : Vulnerable in Many Australian animals are endangered.

Queensland, Find out how you can help save them – Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT; $18.70 New South Wales and the it’s easier than you think!

Near Threatened in Victoria.

FOR MEMBERS

AVAILABLE FROM ALL ZOOS VICTORIA SHOPS AND ONLINE AT SHOP.ZOO.ORG.AU

ACT; Near Threatened in Victoria.

Find out more about these animals and others, including tree kangaroos, platypuses, Tasmanian devils and wedge-tailed eagles, in the book Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats, out now. piccolonero.com Ninja Bandicoots Zooper Kids FA2.indd 1

Ninja Bandicoots Zooper Kids FA2.indd 4

20/1/20 11:20 am

20/1/20 11:20 am

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FOR SIBLINGS

/MEMB DOWNLOAD AN EXTRA COPY OF THE HUNT FROM ZOO.ORG.AU

ER-EVENTS AND SHARE THE FUN!

MELBOURNE ZOO DID YOU KNOW?

The T. rex roamed the planet 65 million years ago, in what’s now the USA and Canada.

THE DINOSAURS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK FROM EXTINCTION AND ARE TAKING OVER ALL THREE ZOOS! Visit Healesville Sanctuary, Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo before 2 May and see the dinos in the flesh.

1. HOW MANY TEETH CAN YOU COUNT ON THE T. REX AT MELBOURNE ZOO?

Dinosaurs were covered in scales and even feathers. Some dinosaurs had armour for protection and horns and spikes for defence.

A.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Asian Elephant is the closest living relative of the Woolly Mammoth.

5. WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE LEAST INTELLIGENT DINOSAUR?

(WITH A BRAIN THE SIZE OF A WALNUT)

THE DINOS ARE IN TOWN!

Can you help me learn about my new friends at the zoo by completing my Fact Finding Dino Hunt?

A.

Dinosaurs came in all shapes and sizes, including some of the largest animals to ever roam the earth, through to dinosaurs the size of chickens.

DID YOU KNOW?

The herbivore Argentinosaurus is thought to be the largest dinosaur, at 30 metres long.

HEALESVILLE SANCTUARY

4. WHAT’S

THE TALLEST DINO YOU CAN FIND AT HEALESVILLE SANCTUARY? A.

DID YOU KNOW?

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The dinosaur with the longest name was Micropachycephalosaurus meaning ‘tiny thick-headed lizard’.

LET’S WRITE!

PRACTICE YOUR ING WRITING BY TRAC S ER TT THESE LE

3.

DID YOU KNOW?

Modern birds descended from a group of two-legged dinosaurs known as theropods, whose members include Tyrannosaurus Rex and the smaller Velociraptors.

TRICERATOPS

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2. DID

THE VELOCIRAPTOR HAVE SCALES OR FEATHERS? A.

STEGOSAURUS

EVIE AGED 6

WERRIBEE OPEN RANGE ZOO

JOIN THE DOTS Join the dots below to reveal the hiding dinosaur (hint: start at #1).

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DRAW TWO THINGS YOU FOUND AT THE DINOSAUR FOSSIL DIG PIT

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3 44 39 37

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T. REX

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DINO TRAC K

S CAN YOU MATCH TH E DINOSAUR WITH ITS TRACKS?

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Q. WHAT

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OTHER ANIMAL CAN YOU SEE AT THE ZOO WITH HORNS LIKE THE TRICERATOPS?

A. People have only been on earth about 2.5 million years. Dinosaurs lived on earth for 160 million years, which is about 64 times longer than people have been around.

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Illustration: Gregory Roberts

Can you spot the difference between the two images below? You may also find some Fighting Extinction animals hiding in the forest!

SPOT

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DIFFERENCES

Answers on Page 13

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR winners!

WOW! THANKS FOR YOUR ENTRIES. To enter into our next competition, send your picture to: zooperkids@zoo.org.au

OR

TIGER PACK WINNER: Sadie has done a colourful picture of the tiger.

SADIE AGED 4

Zooper Kids Magazine PO Box 74, Parkville VIC 3052

See back page for all the competition details

ELEPHANT PACK WINNER: Ashley has drawn a picture of one of the zoo elephants meeting her favourite frogs, the Corroboree frogs.

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ASHLEY AGED 4

We love getting your pictures and letters!

KOALA PACK WINNER: Evie has painted the giraffe.

EVIE AGED 6

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE 5 Stegosaurus 4 Apatosaurus at 5m tall 3 Triceratops (3), Stegosaurus (1), T.rex (2) 2 Both 1 We counted 52. How many did you get?

Answers

DINO TREASURE HUNT

ANSWERS ASHLEIGH AGED 9

Puzzle

SLOTH PACK WINNER: Ashleigh has drawn the tiger drinking from a pool.

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Drip DETECTIVES

MUCH OF AUSTRALIA IS IN A STATE OF EXTREME DROUGHT

YOUR LIQUID CHALLENGE

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Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth.

You only need water to rinse!

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Time yourself when showering and try to limit your wash to under 5 mins.

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Where possible, use your toilet’s half-flush button.

When you see a dripping tap turn it off or tell an adult.

Don’t forget to use your reusable water bottle, it’s great both in and away from your home.

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Suggest to the adults in your family to plant drought tolerant plants in the garden as they don’t need as much water.

Only use the washing machine when you have a full load.

Only wash the car with a bucket and do it on the lawn, if possible.

Does your house have a water tank? Our greatest asset falls from the sky and a tank is a great way to catch it all.

CALLING ALL !

DRIP DETEd CarTouIVndES Look in an find your own home to can ily 9 ways your fam ! er conserve wat

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We all have an important role to play when it comes to conserving water, here’s how you can make a difference at home…

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MAKE YOUR OWN

ZEBRA

crown Follow these steps to make your own zebra crown at home.

Ask an adult to help you cut out the shapes

WHAT YOU’LL NEED • Black & white • Sticky tape cardboard • Googly eyes • Scissors • Ruler • A Pencil • A plate

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Using the white cardboard, place a small plate upside down and draw around it to make the zebra’s face.

Using a ruler, cut out two strips of paper for the headband.

Cut out the semi-circle shape for the face.

Using both black and white cardboard, cut out the shapes above for the nose, nostrils, mane, ears and stripes. The picture above shows all the shapes you’ll need.

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Glue the shapes for the nose, nostrils, mane, ears and stripes onto the white semi-circle.

Add the googly eyes or you can draw them on.

Glue six triangles on the band leaving a space in the middle for the face. Once complete, stick the face onto the band.

This is what the finished crown will look like.

7 Ask an adult to put the crown around your head and sticky tape the two ends together. Use the extra strip of paper if you need to make it bigger.

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LET’S COLOUR IN! 18

DON’T MISS THESE PREHISTORIC GIANTS AT THE ZOOS BETWEEN 28 MARCH–12 JULY

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COMPETITION TIME! LION

PANDA

PRIZE PACK

PRIZE PACK

$65 VALUE

MPREEIZRE PAKCKAT

$70 VALUE

$67 VALUE

BOOM!

OWL

WE HAVE FOUR FANTASTIC PRIZE PACKS TO GIVE AWAY THIS ISSUE… If you’d like a chance to win, send a letter or drawing to enter.

Send yours to: zooperkids@zoo.org.au

OR Zooper Kids Magazine PO Box 74, Parkville VIC 3052

PRIZE PACK

$70 VALUE

Good LUCK!

ENtries close 31 April, 2020 so get in quick!!

This competition is open to Zoos Victoria Members under the age of 18 with consent of a parent/guardian.

Entries will be judged on individual merit and winners notified by phone or email. All entries become the property of Zoos Victoria and will not be returned to the entrants. Prizes are subject to change and cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash. Winners will be chosen on 05 May, 2020.