PENGUIN - This is an emperor penguin the
largest and most colorful of all the penguins. The emperor penguin which
stands nearly four feet high, is the giant of all present-day penguins. The
female lays her egg and then abandons her egg to her partner. The male
incubates a single egg by carrying it on its large feet. The female returns
after the egg hatches and takes care of the chick. A penguin's body is
streamlined and this helps it to swim with remarkable skill. Penguins hunt
while swimming, catching fish and other small sea creatures. They can obtain a
height of 1.35 m (4 ft) and weight up to 22 to 45 kg (50-100 lbs).
BLUE WHALE - The blue whale is the largest
and heaviest animal of all time. It can weight up to 508,000 lbs and reach a
length of 110 feet. It is a strong mammal that can travel at 25 hours per
hour. At birth it can weight 6,600 lbs and be 7 meters (25 feet) in length.
The blue whale is a filter feeder, meaning that it has "baleen"
filters in its mouth where plankton (small floating organisms) are trapped.
The sound of a blue whale is awesome, a high pitched sound can be heard 530
miles away.
SHARK - You can use this puppet to describe
the Great White Shark or the Sand Shark, depending on whether you want to
describe a monster or benign member of a very primitive fish family. The sand
shark is found in the Atlantic Ocean. This shark is not normally dangerous to
humans. It eats fish and mollusca. The babies are born from the mother. They
can weigh up to 170 kg or 375 lbs and can be up to 3.2 m or 10.5 feet in
length. The Great White Shark is a very large fish with a terrifying mouth.
These saw-toothed edged teeth are as sharp as razor blades. The shark inhabits
all the world's seas. The Great White tends to attack everything that looks
like food. It eats absolutely everything and the stomach of many Great Whites
include dustbins, tins of jam, and thousands of metal objects. The adult
length is up to 10 meters or 33 feet.
STINGRAY - The rays are primitive fish
related to sharks. Their skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone. There are
about 90 species of stingrays which range in size from one to seven feet
across. They live on the bottom of the sea floor.
HERMIT CRAB - Hermits crabs are related to
crabs and lobsters. Most live in tidal areas or deeper in the ocean. A few are
even land dwellers. A Hermit crab has two large pincers and two pairs of
walking legs. When threatened, it pulls entirely into its shell.
SCALLOP - There are over 300 species of
scallop that live throughout the marine world. The scallop can
"swim" in the water, by using a propelling motion as they open and
close their shells. Scallops have tiny bright blue eyes all along the edge of
the shells. These eyes are highly sensitive to light and dark.
DUNGENESS CRAB - The Dungeness crab ranges
from Alaska to California. It lives in sandy areas from the low tide line to
300 feet deep. The dungeness crab can live eight years and be 10 inches
across. To grow the crab sheds its shell or molts, before the new shell
hardens. The Dungeness crab has 10 legs, the front pair are modified into
piners with which it catches small fish and shellfish.
OCTOPUS - There are over 150 species of
octopus which belong to the mollusk family. They are found throughout the
world’s oceans, most commonly in warm seas.Octopuses range in size from two
inches to a giant 32 feet across the arms of the Pacific species. Octopuses
are masters of camouflage. They can change color, shape and skin texture. The
octopus’ well-developed eyes enable it to see all around itself.
DOLPHIN - This is a mammal, although there
is a fish by the same name. They live in the open ocean, but visit the coastal
areas as well. They tend to live in warmer waters.
LOBSTER - Lobsters belong to the
invertebrates grouping of animals. They are related to crabs and other jointed
critters, like insects. They have two well developed pinchers which they use
to eat and defend themselves.
