WINTER ISSUE 2021 HEY KIDS! Check out our competition on the back page
g Fro
Mot h
Koa la
Poss um
ZDAZZLE EBRA page 2
Make your own
CONSERVATION CHATTERBOX page 8
INSIDE »
• Animal cooking
• Zooper gardening
• Animal pegs
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FAMILY TIES
Zebras are social animals. They love staying together in a large group, called a dazzle. Sometimes they travel long distances for food and join other groups. Just like the zebras that live at Werribee Open Range Zoo, wild zebras often make friends with other animals on their travels, such as antelope and wildebeest.
HI FRIENDS!
I am a Mountain Pygmy-possum, one of Zoos Victoria’s Fighting Extinction animals. I live in the alpine regions of Victoria and I hibernate all of winter – which means I sleep for months. Look out for me on the pages of Zooper Kids.
? DID YOU KNOW
Under their hair, ra�s skin is black. zeb a
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
COLOUR YOUR FINGER TIP WITH A FELT-TIP PEN AND LEAVE A FINGERPRINT BELOW.
DID YOU KNOW? Just like your fingerprint is unique to you, a zebra’s stripes are all completely individual, meaning that no two zebras have the exact same stripes.
Oh no!
FACT FILE
ZEBRAS Name: Plains Zebra Classification: mammal Habitat: grassland
COLOUR ME IN
This zebra has lost its stripes Can you use your pens or pencils to give the zebra some new stripes? You can make it as colourful as you like.
in southern and eastern Africa
Diet: zebras are
herbivores. They are happy to munch on grass all day
Conservation status: Near Threatened
Sociability: zebras form
harems that include a single male (stallion), many females (mares) and offspring.
MEET ZOLA WERRIBEE’S NEWEST ZEBRA ADDITION Zola was born in January 2021, to mum Zaide. Visit the herd at Werribee Open Range Zoo and you might spy Zola following her mum around the savannah. Printed on FSC® certified paper with vegetable-based inks. Zoos Victoria is a carbon-neutral organisation.
Werribee Open Range Zoo is open 9am–5pm every day Book your free Member ticket zoo.org.au/werribee
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TREES for WILDLIFE LOTS OF ANIMALS MAKE THEIR HOME IN TREE BRANCHES OR HOLLOWS OR UNDER LOGS. MAKE YOUR OWN TREES FOR WILDLIFE WITH THIS EASY CRAFT ACTIVITY.
FUN FACT
WHAT YOU’LL NEED Toilet paper rolls Green cardboard Lead pencil Scissors Paints or pencils for decorating
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Have you ever seen a hole in a tree trunk? This might be the home of a family of owls, possums or even frogs. These holes are naturally occurring hollows and don’t hurt the tree at all.
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Using the toilet roll as a guide, draw the top of your tree using the pencil on the green paper. You can create different sizes and shapes.
Cut out the top of the tree using your scissors.
Decorate the top of your tree with paints or pencils. You could draw green leaves, fruit growing or an animal hiding in the branches.
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Using your scissors, cut a 2cm slit on either side of the top of the toilet roll.
Slide the top of the tree (the green cardboard) into the two slits on the toilet roll.
You’ve made a tree for animals to live in.
DID YOU KNOW? Trees help us breathe, but they’re also homes and important habitats to a range of animals. Here are a few…
Goodfellow’s Tree-kangaroo These marsupials don’t need a nest, they just find a safe branch in a tree and sleep there.
Eastern Barn Owl
Green Tree Frog
Red Panda
These nocturnal birds hunt at night and sleep during the day in hollow logs, caves or the branches of dense trees.
As its name suggests, these frogs spend a lot of their time in tree hollows – especially ones that collect water.
Their semi-retractable claws help with tree climbing – which is where they spend most of their time.
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GET SET FOR THE
DID YOU KNOW?
HOW MANY STAR JUMPS CAN YOU DO IN A MINUTE?
ZOO OLYMPICS Cheetahs are the fastest animals that live on land. They can run at speeds between 80 and 128km an hour.
A.
KULINDA
ARE YOU READY TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE AND BECOME THE ZOO CHAMPION? ? DID YOU KNOW
A gorilla’s arms are than their legs (the ger lon Their opposite of humans). s arm lar scu mu , ong str and help them gather food inst defend themselves aga ls. ma other ani
1 THREE-LEGGED RACE
Get together a group of friends for a threelegged race.
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2 SH UPS HOW MANY PU DO? CAN YOU A.
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You’ll need an uneven number of friends (so that there is someone left over to call the race) and a long piece of material such as a scarf. Pair up and stand side-by-side. Tie your inside leg together above the knee – leaving both outside legs free to move.
3 P ractise walking together before you start the race. Ready, set, go.
DID YOU KNOW? Many animals learn how to walk very soon after they are born. Giraffes can walk within 30–60 minutes after they are born and zebras only take 15 minutes, although those first steps can be rather wobbly.
TIP: This challenge will take lots of balanc e and teamwork.
2 SPEND THE DAY A S AN ELEPHANT
Challenge: try spending the day using only one hand. It’ll feel like you’re an elephant with a trunk.
1 Keep your hand in your pocket or
wear an oven mitt for the day to restrict the use of one of your hands.
2 Test your skills by picking up
different objects like fruit from the fruit bowl or a stack of pencils.
DID YOU KNOW?
ir trunk like Elephants can use the ing! imm sw ile wh l rke sno a
HOW MANY CAN YOU CARRY WITH ONLY ONE HAND? A.
3 BRING ON THE BALANCE The monkeys at the zoo need to have excellent balance in order to swing, jump and hop from tree to tree. Challenge your friends to some tricky balance exercises and see who can stay up the longest.
ONE-LEGGED BALANCE Use a timer to see who can balance on one leg for the longest. Make sure you do separate challenges for each leg. No swapping allowed. If this it too easy, try balancing on one leg with your eyes closed.
DID YOU KNOW?
their head Gibbons throw their arms above feet two on ing walk n whe nce bala for across branches.
LONG JUMP Position a marker as a jumping point. Allow yourself a short run-up and measure (from the marker) how far you’re able to jump, taking off from two feet.
DID YOU KNOW? Kangaroos and wallabies use their long tails for balance. The ‘third leg’ also helps them propel forward when they hop.
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MAKE YOUR OWN
CONSERVATION
Chatterbox
ASK AN ADULT TO HELP YOU MAKE THIS FUN PAPER CHATTERBOX THAT HELPS FIGHT EXTINCTION. ADD YOUR OWN CONSERVATION CHALLENGES TO THE LAST LAYER. WE’VE SUGGESTED A FEW IDEAS BELOW…
Lights off for an hour each night for the Bogong Moth
CONSERVATION CHALLENGES Blow bubbles, not balloons at your next party Conserve water at home – take a 5 minute shower
Reduce, reuse, recycle (know what goes in the yellow bin) Plant native trees for the butterflies and bees Donate an old phone to help the gorillas Eat chocolate made with sustainable palm oil
RULES 1
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Ask a friend or family member to choose an animal. Then move your hands back and forth to spell out the word using the chatterbox. When you stop on the final letter, the inside will reveal four numbers to choose from.
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After they’ve chosen a number, move your hands back and forth counting to that number.
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Finally, ask them to choose a triangle to unfold. That’s their conservation challenge.
Start keeping your cat indoors Lights off for an hour each night for the Bogong Moth
WHAT YOU’LL NEED Coloured paper Scissors
C oloured pens (optional decoration)
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If you have a rectangular piece of paper, fold the bottom right corner to line up with the top edge of the longest side. This will form a triangle shape.
Trim the additional small rectangle next to your folded triangle.
Unfold the triangle so that you have a square shape. Then, fold the opposite point to meet the point on the other side – this will give you two folded lines, one horizontally and one vertically.
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Unfold the triangle. Now, using the middle of the cross fold as a guide, fold each of the points of your square to meet the middle. Then you’ll have a smaller square.
Turn over your small square. Fold each corner into the middle so that all of the points meet.
Fold it in half and stick your fingers under the square flaps to create your chatterbox.
Mo th
Koa la
Frog Poss um
FINISHING TOUCHES Using a pen, write one animal name on each of the four outside squares. On the inside layer write a number on each triangle.
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SAY
cheese
BECOME A WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER WITH THESE TIPS ON HOW TO TAKE A GREAT ANIMAL PICTURE.
Hi, my name is Jo.
JO’S CAMERA TIPS
I am the photographer for Healesville Sanctuary, Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo. I get to spend lots of time taking beautiful photos of animals. You can become a wildlife photographer too. Ask an adult if you can borrow their smart phone or camera or to buy a disposable camera and follow my tips.
HO LD STEADY Practise taking photos of objects in nature that don’t move – such as flowers, trees or leaves. This will help you to practise holding the camera steady because any movement can make your pictures blurry.
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FOCUS
PATIENCE
If you’re using a smart phone, you can lightly tap the screen where the object is that you’d like to focus on. A small yellow square should appear; this will be the part of the photo that will be the clearest. If you’re using a camera, you can hold the shutter button halfway down to focus before pushing all the way down to take the picture.
A lot of my work requires the patience to sit and wait for animals to appear, look towards the camera or display interesting behaviours. Find a comfortable spot in a park or your backyard and wait for the birds or animals to appear. Sitting quietly and keeping still will help to not scare them away.
PR ACTISE
CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Get out there and start taking photos. Take your camera on a trip to the zoo, take your time and see if you can take pictures of the animals showing interesting behaviours. Keeper talks and feeding times are great opportunities. The more photos you take, the better you’ll get.
Try taking close-up pictures of the veins on a leaf. If you need to get closer, use the zoom function or move closer. If you want some more practice, take photos of your pets at home. Aim to focus on their eyes – this will help make the image and subject clearer.
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LET’S COOK!
ZOOPER KITCHEN
EdibleINSECTS Create a snack-time treat with this delicious bite-sized bug recipe.
INGREDIENTS 5 x celery sticks (with the leaves removed) 1 x apple Jar of peanut butter Grapes Sultanas or dried apple
Cut the ends off the celery sticks and slice into smaller pieces.
SNAIL
2 Spread peanut butter on the inside groove of the celery sticks until it is in-line with the sides.
CATERPILLAR
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Cut the apple into thin slices. These will be the wings of the butterfly and your snail shell.
Cut the bottom off one apple slice. Place the apple with the flat side down into the peanut butter on the celery stick.
Arrange the grapes along the celery stick to create the body of the caterpillar.
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BUTTERFLY
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Arrange two small apple circles in the middle of the celery stick.
Add sultanas or dried apple to your edible insects for eyes.
Time to eat your critters. Note: you can also swap peanut butter for cream cheese.
SERVES
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A healthy breakfast that’s fun to decorate.
ANIMAL
PORRIDGE INGREDIENTS 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup of milk 1 cup water 1 tsp cinnamon Drizzle of honey 1 banana Punnet of blueberries 1 sliced apple Cashew nuts
r coconut fo Use flaked u have a yo the feet if y. nut allerg
METHOD 1. Place the rolled oats in a saucepan and add the water
to cover. Place the stove on a medium heat and stir the oats to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom.
2. Once the water is almost gone, add the milk and continue stirring.
3. When the liquid has almost evaporated, add the
cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. Stir and take the pot off the heat.
4. Chop the banana into rounds (save two for the eyes) and then cut them in half. Chop the apple into slices and then cut the slices in half (for the wings).
5. Arrange your fruit using the banana as eyes, with a blueberry in the centre, and the apple slices as wings. Add more banana to the middle as feathers. Use the cashews as claws and for the beak.
6. Eat while your porridge is still warm.
DID YOU KNOW? You can create other animal shapes on your porridge using fruit. Try a cat, a dog or even a rabbit. You can also swap out the fruit that you don’t like and add in your favourites.
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ZOOPER KIDS
GARDENING CLUB Start a garden and grow your own food at home. You can plant in a patch of earth in the garden or a small pot on the windowsill.
MINT
PARSLEY
CARROTS
LETTUCE
Find a shady spot to plant your mint – it hates being in full sunlight. You can grow it from seeds or seedlings or start with a wellgrown plant. Pick your mint leaves regularly because this will help them grow.
There are two common types of parsley to choose from: curly-leaf parsley (the leaves are fuzzy) and Italian parsley (flat leaves). Both are easier to grow from seedlings and they love full sun (although a little bit of shade is OK).
When planted from seed, carrots can take between 2 and 4 months to grow – so be patient. They prefer full sunlight and like to be watered often. Although you might not see much on top, they are growing underground.
They grow best when planted in the cooler months. Lettuce like shady spots and need to be watered every day – if the soil around it looks dry, add more water. Snails love lettuce too, so make sure to pick them off the leaves.
DID YOU KNOW?
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Our zoo animals eat lots of vegetables and leaves every day. To keep them well fed, we grow a lot of their food on site at the zoo.
CARROTS
PARSLEY
ACTIVITY TIME!
To help you identify which seeds or seedlings are planted in your veggie patch, use these handy tags in the garden. Simply attach to an ice-cream stick with glue and stick in the dirt.
MINT PARSLEY
LETTUCE
PARSLEY
CARROTS PARSLEY
You can write your own labels on these blank ones.
IT’S TRUE… Otana the gorilla, who lives at Melbourne Zoo, eats 90kg of vegetables and greens every week.
LETTUCE 15
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR winners! We love getting your pictures and letters.
RILEY AGED 5 JUNGLE PACK WINNER
KIERA AGED 11 AUSTRALIAN ANIMALS PACK WINNER
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WOW!
THANKS FOR YOUR ENTRIES. To enter into our next competition, send your picture to: zooperkids@zoo.org.au
OR
LUCAS AGED 5 BUSHLAND PACK WINNER
Zooper Kids Magazine PO Box 74, Parkville VIC 3052
See back page for all the competition details
GERTRUDE AGED 3 ELEPHANT PACK WINNER
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MAKE YOUR OWN
ANIMAL pegs
Follow these steps to make an elephant, zebra and giraffe using wooden pegs. WHAT YOU’LL NEED PVA glue Paint (white, black, brown and yellow) Paint brush Scissors Felt (grey and pink)
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Wooden pegs Black marker Yellow marker White yarn Small googly eyes (optional)
Ask an adult to help you cut out the felt shapes.
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Paint one peg white (zebra), one grey (elephant) and one yellow (giraffe).
Paint brown spots on the yellow peg and diagonal black stripes on the white peg.
Cut a piece of yarn approximately 30cm long. Loop the wool twice (so that there are two loops at one end). Tie a knot 3cm from the end. Cut the loops so that they are single threads and decorate with a black marker.
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Attach the tail to the back of the peg using glue. Repeat this step and step #3 with a yellow marker for the giraffe.
Cut out ears for the elephant from the grey felt (see guide below). Cut out a small circle in the pink felt for the inside of the ears.
Attach the felt ears and trunk to the elephant peg using glue.
Grey felt ears
7 Finally, glue (or draw) googly eyes to the top of your animal pegs. You’re finished.
Use these templates to e help make th k n u tr t elephan . rs a e and
Grey felt trunk
Pink felt ears
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COMPETITION TIME! ELEPHANT PRIZE PACK
JUNGLE PRIZE PACK
$69 VALUE
$76 VALUE
GIVEAWAY!
LION PRIZE PACK
$65 VALUE
WE HAVE FOUR FANTASTIC PRIZE PACKS TO GIVE AWAY THIS ISSUE…
ZEBRA PRIZE PACK $84 VALUE
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
Good LUCK!
ENtries close 20 July 2021, 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 announced in the next edition of Zooper Kids.