Next, we sorted a group of animals into a Venn diagram. We had to decide whether the animal was wild or domestic and very quickly we found some overlapped as they could be wild or a pet, such as a mouse or a horse. This led onto lots discussions about our pets and what we would wish for if we could have one.

We looked at how animals are unique, just like us. However, although we have different finger prints, zebras and tigers all have different stripes to each other and a spider weaves its web differently to others. We carried out a science investigation to find out why the spider’s prey such as flies get stuck in the webs but the spiders don’t get stuck in their own webs. Ask us why?

We have been very creative this week as we made pasta snakes, crocodile pegs, animal masks and also used a variety of multimedia’s to create our own animal portrait.

The highlight of the week by far however was when Safari Pete and his animals visited. We had such fun learning about his animals and where they come from around the world. We went on a safari adventures and met Lady GaGa the spider, Baby Bear the meerkat, Pooki and Dooki the bearded dragons, Juliet the owl, Daisy the Cayman, who was the size of a pencil when she was born! We also met two snakes, an Argentinian Tegu, who ate his salmon lunch and a tree frog from Australia.

Here are just a few facts we learned today:

  • nocturnal owls’ eyes are black but day time owls’ eyes are yellow
  • reptiles are just as important to the ecological system of our planet as bees – we need to save these just as much as elephants and tigers
  • when meerkats are sitting up looking around it is because they are looking for animals that may attack or even eat them
  • Daisy the Cayman was a boy until recently as it is really hard to tell if it is a boy or girl until they are older
  • Safari Pete and Daisy are part of the conservation that help other countries care for crocodiles. He also works with other countries such as Uganda where they teach people about animals, conservation, and living with wildlife peacefully.

We rounded off the morning’s safari with a well-earned wild picnic in the garden surrounded by camouflage netting and stuffed animals!

We continue our wild animal topic next week.