Download Monarto Zoo - Animal Habitats

Teacher Resource to support Student Digital Learning Inquiry
Monarto Zoo - Animal Habitats
This inquiry focuses on five species at Monarto Zoo, challenging students to consider the physical and emotional
needs of the animals and how the zoo provides an environment to ensure these needs are met.
Find the Student Digital Inquiry here: www.inquirytable.sa.edu.au/animal-habitats
This education resource for schools has been developed through a partnership between DECD
Outreach Education and Zoos SA. Outreach Education is a team of seconded teachers based in
public organisations.
Curriculum Outcomes:
Year levels: 4 / 6 / 7
Big ideas: Zoos create environments that resemble natural habitats to support the physical and emotional needs of animals.
Animal behaviour and survival is impacted by the habitat in which they exist.
Concepts: Habitat, behaviour, environment
Curriculum Outcomes: Sustainability
Science (Yr 4) - Living things depend on each other and the environment to survive
Science (Yr 6) - The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment
- Living things are dependent on matter and energy flows within a larger system.
- Describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things.
Science (Yr 7) - Predict the effect of human and environmental changes on interactions between organisms and classify and organise diverse organisms based
on observable differences.
Inquiry Questions (Notebook):
 Select 2 different species and give a description of how Monarto Zoo has created enclosures / habitats to cater for their needs.
 Select 2 species and identify how their needs are the same and different. Give reasons for your response.
 What things can cause a natural environment to become uninhabitable for animals?
 How can humans help maintain the natural habitats of wild animals?
Prior Knowledge / Engagement Ideas:
 As a class group, use a world map and identify the location and numbers of the wild animals in this inquiry. (Geography)
 Select an animal and create a diorama / model of its habitat (ensure 3 elements – food, shelter and water). Students to give reasons for their design choices.
 Select an animal and write an acrostic poem to describe it. (English)
Pre / Post Visit Learning Engagements:
 Identify the location of Monaro Zoo and map a route from your school to the zoo.
 Navigate the Monarto Zoo website to familiarise yourself with the features of the zoo.
 Unpack the meaning of a ‘habitat.’ What constitutes a habitat? (eg. school, classroom, bedroom, house). Use the school grounds and identify the ‘features’ of
this habitat (eg. rubbish bins, classroom locations, playgrounds, etc. – why?)
Supporting Resources:
 Lions – The National Geographic declining lions map shows the number of wild lions living in Africa.
Discussion: What are the causes of this decline and what can humans do to support the lion population?
Glossary:
The glossary terms are identified in bold, green font in the inquiry table.

acacia tree:
A small tree or shrub, part of the legume family, with clusters of small yellow flowers.

carnivores:
Animals that mainly eat meat.

DNA:
The material that carries all the information about how a living thing will look and function.

endangered: A species considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Extinction:
Extinction is the death of the last animal of the species.

feline:
Related to the cat family.

fossils:
The naturally preserved remains or traces of ancient life that lived in the past.

habituate:
To become familiar with and used to a particular place or situation.

mammal:
An animal that breathes air, has a backbone, and grows hair at some point during its life. All female mammals have glands that can
produce milk.

Marsupial:
A group of mammals that carry their young in a pouch.

nocturnal :
Animals that are active at night.

outcrops:
The part of a rock formation that appears above the surface of the surrounding land.

prey:
An animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food.

pride:
A group of lions.

Savannah:
A large flat area of land with grass and very few trees.

Scavengers:
Animals that feed on decaying matter.

semi-arid:
An area that has very little rainfall.

vulnerable:
A species considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
The following pages provide details of the inquiry contents for teachers to help guide students in their learning:
Features
The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world.
The males stand about 5m tall and the females
are a little shorter.
Giraffes have 2-5 short horns, covered with skin
on their heads which can be used to defend
themselves.
Needs (food / environmental)
Giraffes walk slowly unless when
they sense danger, and can then flee
quickly on their long legs. A giraffe
can gallop at 50kph with its neck
rocking back and forward to pull its
weight forwards.
Natural habitat &
geographical location
Giraffes are found in
the dry savannahs of
Africa, where they
roam among the open
plains and woodlands.
The giraffe has hairy lips and large eyes, and is
always alert for enemies. It has brown patches on
its pale coat.
Giraffe
The giraffe has a massive heart that pumps blood
up its long neck.
A giraffe weighs over 1000kg and lives for 20-30
years.
To stand up from a laying position, the giraffe
unfolds its front legs and takes the weight off the
legs by swinging its head back and forwards. It
repeats this movement until it has enough
momentum to get onto its feet. Giraffes usually
sleep standing because it is so challenging for
them to get up.
Giraffes are herbivores, and only eat
plants. With its long neck, the giraffe
is able to eat leaves from high in the
tree. A male giraffe can stretch high
up into a tree for food, while the
female feeds at shoulder height.
Their favourite food is the acacia
tree. They use their long
tongues (which grow up to 53cm)
and canine teeth to strip leaves from
the branch.
Giraffes don’t drink much water and
only need to drink once every few
days because they get most of their
water from their leafy meals.
Giraffes enjoy wide
open spaces that allow
them to see over a
large distance. The
habitat for a giraffe
needs to be large so
that they can move
around freely in open
space.
Threats
Giraffes are found in many places,
but have almost disappeared from
some areas where they once lived,
including northern Uganda,
western Kenya and north-east
Africa.
The lion is the main predator for
the giraffe, and often attacks the
giraffe when it is drinking. When
they drink, giraffes spread their
front legs apart and lower their
necks, putting them in an awkward
position. This provides the perfect
opportunity for the lion to attack.
Human actions also threaten the
giraffe. Humans kill giraffes for
their skins and meat. The area for
the giraffe to live in is getting
smaller as humans construct roads
and clear the land. This results in
giraffes having limited feeding
areas and reduces the chance for
adequate food sources to grow
again.
Features
The Tasmanian devil is a marsupial, and the
females have pouches in which they carry their
young. The pouch has four teats so they can feed
and protect up to four new born devils.
Needs (food / environmental)
Devils are carnivores and eat other
animals, bones, fur and all.
Tasmanian Devil
Devils are mostly black with white markings on
their rump or chest. Adult male devils are usually
bigger than the females and stand around 30cm
tall, and weigh up to 12kg.
They are scavengers and will eat
half-rotten meat and are like natural
vacuum cleaners. This helps keep
the bush healthy and reduces
maggots, which can lead to fly strike
in sheep.
The head and neck in an adult devil can take up
nearly a quarter of their weight because they
have powerful jaws to crunch through bones.
The devil stores fat in its tail so that its body has
something to draw on when there is not much
food. If you see a Tasmanian devil with a fat tail,
it means it is in good condition.
When devils eat they usually make a
lot of noise. This is because they
want to show the others who is the
boss.
Tasmanian Devils are nocturnal
animals and spend most of the day
sleeping in a den or in dense bush.
Natural habitat &
geographical location
Threats
Hundreds of years ago,
Tasmanian devils lived
throughout Australia.
We know this because
fossils have been
found.
The early Europeans in Hobart
didn't like the Tasmanian Devil and
hunted them because the devils
ate their chickens and they thought
the devils would eat other farm
animals too. In 1941 when the
devil numbers decreased, the
government introduced a law to
protect the devil.
It is thought they
became extinct on the
mainland about 400
years ago because the
dingo’s wiped them
out.
As years passed, the devil
population increased, but since
1996 there has been a new threat
with devils having a Facial Tumour
Disease. This reduced the
Tasmanian Devil population by 60
per cent. This resulted in their
threat status to be upgraded from
vulnerable to endangered in 2007.
Zoos SA is working with other
organisations across Australasia in
a captive breeding and release
program for the devil. Zoos SA are
committed to increasing the devil
population until the devil is no
longer endangered.
Features
Lions are the second largest living
feline species, after the tiger.
They are very social animals and live in
groups, called prides. A pride is made
up of up to three males, twelve
females, and their young.
If there is a lot of food and water
available, the pride is larger than when
there is limited food and water.
Lions are also known to
attack elephants when there
are few food sources
available.
Natural habitat &
geographical location
Lions are native to subSaharan Africa.
Threats
The lion population in Africa has reduced by half
since the early 1950s, and now fewer than 21,000
African lions remain in the wild.
Young cubs are vulnerable to predation by hyenas,
leopards and black-backed jackals and can be
trampled by large animals like buffaloes. Cubs begin
hunting at 11 months of age, but remain with their
mother for at least two years.
They live in grasslands
and light woodlands of
eastern Africa through
to the arid areas of the
Kalahari Desert.
The habitat for lions has declined as human
population increases, land is farmed and livestock is
being introduced into wider areas. Humans kill the
lions to protect their livestock or as retaliation kills
for livestock loss.
African Lion
The pride keeps track of one another
with a very strong roar that can be
heard up to 8km away.
Needs (food /
environmental)
Lions eat animals such as the
wildebeest, impala, zebra,
giraffe, buffalo, wild hogs,
and sometimes rhinos and
hippos. They will also feed on
smaller animals such as
hares, birds and reptiles.
Lions spend up to 16-20 hours a day
sleeping or resting, making them the
laziest of the big cats. One of their
favourite positions is lying on their
backs with their feet up in the air or
taking a snooze up in a tree. During this
time, they can be very affectionate
towards one another, rubbing heads,
grooming, and purring.
If lions have access to water,
they will drink it every day,
but they can also go 4-5 days
without drinking as they get
moisture from the stomach
contents of their prey.
Humans also hunt the lion in bravery rituals, as
hunting trophies and for medicinal powers.
The lion can also get tick-borne diseases like canine
distemper and babesia. Distemper is spread to lions
by neighbouring village dogs as well as hyenas.
Babesia occurs during droughts, when malnourished
prey is vulnerable to disease. The ticks spread to the
lions after they kill the sick animal. The combination
of distemper and babesia causes a lot of deaths in
lion populations.
Features
Chimpanzees are our closest living relative
sharing approximately 98.7% of our DNA. They
can show a wide range of emotions including
fear, screaming when scared, hugging for
comfort, smiling or laughing when happy.
Needs (food / environmental)
Natural habitat &
geographical
location
Threats
Chimpanzees live in social
communities of several dozen
animals, and can habituate
themselves to African rain forests,
woodlands, and grasslands.
Wild Chimpanzees
are found
throughout
central and
western Africa
including Sierra
Leone, Uganda,
Guinea,
Democratic
Republic of Congo,
Cameroon and
Tanzania.
Chimpanzees are classified as an
endangered species with approximately
150,000 to 300,000 chimps remaining in
the wild. They face many threats, mainly
habitat loss due to logging, mining, palm
oil plantations and human population
growth. Chimpanzees are also hunted
so that their meat and body parts can
be sold on the black market for a lot of
money.
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzees are very intelligent and have been
Their diet includes insects, eggs, and
known to make and use a wide range of tools,
meat, but they are generally fruit
including rocks as hammers, sticks or grass stems and plant eaters.
as fishing devices for termites and ants and leaves
as sponges or to build nests.
Chimpanzees usually walk on all fours (knucklewalking), but can also stand and walk upright.
They can swing from branch to branch in the
trees, where they do most of their eating and
usually sleep in the trees as well.
Chimpanzees shape and use sticks to
get insects from their nests or dig
out grubs from inside logs. They also
use stones to smash open nuts and
use leaves as sponges to soak up
drinking water. Chimpanzees can
even be taught to communicate with
some basic human sign language.
Humans capture chimpanzees for the
illegal wildlife trade, where young
chimps are sold as pets for
entertainment.
As chimpanzees and humans are so
similar, they can easily catch human
diseases such as Ebola, polio and even
the human flu, which can have a big
impact on entire chimpanzee groups.
Features
Yellow-footed rock-wallabies are a part of the
kangaroo family and the largest of the rock
wallabies.
They live in rugged terrain and their feet are
designed to grip rock with skin friction rather
than dig into soil with large claws.
Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby
Rock wallabies can make horizontal jumps of up
to four metres.
Needs (food / environmental)
Natural habitat &
geographical
location
Rock-wallabies can be found in rocky The rock-wallabies
outcrops and caves in semi-arid
are now only
country.
found in few parts
of Australia. The
Rock-wallabies feed on grasses,
area totals
shrubs, bark and fallen leaves.
approximately
1,000 square
The wallaby is mainly nocturnal, as
kilometres.
the daytime temperature can
sometimes get very hot. They’re
usually best seen in the early
morning or late afternoon sitting on
rocky ledges.
They can go for a long time without
water as they get it from their food,
but if there is water available they
will drink it.
Size:
Length: 50-80cm
Tail length: 40-70cm
Weight: 3-9kg
In South Australia
the population is
estimated to be
around 2,000,
while in New
South Wales there
are as few as 20 to
250 animals
remaining.
Threats
The yellow footed rock wallaby is
considered to be in serious danger of
extinction, with less than 60 living in the
wild. This has been caused by the loss of
their habitat with the clearing of native
vegetation, weed invasion and changed
patterns of fire across the landscape.
The natural threats include hunting by
foxes and having to compete with
livestock, feral goats and rabbits for
food.
In the past, humans have been a threat
as they hunted the rock-wallaby for the
fur trade. This is no longer a current
threat, but had a big impact on the rock
wallaby population.