Bear Scat and Flying Flamingos - Answering Curious Questions From Kids

♪ Another good, good morning, time to go ♪

(upbeat music) - Are you ready to explore God's wild and wonderful world? Welcome to the Nat Theo podcast. I'm your host, Erin Lidham. I'm a certified master naturalist, Bible teacher, and author.

And I am so excited to dive into God's written word, the Bible, and his created world with you. (upbeat music) - Hey, listeners, do you know what many Nat Theo lessons begin as a question?

Sometimes I create an episode about something I am curious about. And sometimes things you kids are curious about.

“So that's why we have lessons with titles like,”

why do Kappie Barra eat their poop? Do cuddlefish have a backpack? And why does a platypus lay eggs? Asking questions is at the center of a scientist's work, or someone studying God's wild and wonderful world?

What are you curious about in creation? Keep searching after answers, and discovering more of the wonders God has made. Today's special episode is all about the curiosity of kids, as we search down answers to some of the great questions

you kids are sending in. Before we get to today's questions,

let's think our amazing sponsor,

who made this special episode possible, Apologya. If you enjoy learning about God's creation, you will love Apologya's award-winning science courses for preschool through 12th grade.

“Apologya offers truth-packed and wonder-filled courses”

for every learner, with fun and engaging textbooks, interactive student journals, audio book options for audio learners, self-paced online courses, and live online classes. Your family can grow with Apologya through every grade level.

We've been learning through Apologya's courses for several years now, and I cannot recommend their science courses more. Sometimes even when we are not doing school, I read through their textbooks myself, just for fun.

Discover Apologya's Bible-based courses in science, math, language arts, world view, and the Bible at Apologya.com or the link in our show notes. All right, let's answer some curious questions from you, kids.

Here's our first question.

My name's a liar, and I'm six, and I want to know how much does a black bear eat a day? - Thanks for your question, Aria. How much does a black bear eat a day? I love this question, because,

“well, this might be a little bit strange,”

but I am a little bit fascinated by bear scat or bear poop. One reason is because my family finds a lot of it here in Colorado. Both in the wilderness and in our own neighborhood. In fact, in one of my new books coming out this fall

called Made to Marvel, I have an entire chapter dedicated to bear scat. One reason I like bear scat is because it gives us a glimpse into the lives of bears and what they have been up to. Last fall, I found piles of bear scat all along a trail

through the wilderness. The scat was a deep purple color. Also along the trail were twin berry honey-seccled bushes, which normally have deep blue or purple berries. But the bushes had no berries on them.

By the look of the berries and the look of the bear scat piles, this bear had been filling its belly with berries. During much of the year, a black bear will eat around 5,000 calories of food a day. And that is mostly from plants.

Along with berries, nuts, insects, worms, and other small animals. But most of their diet is berries and other parts of plants. However, during the late summer and fall, black bears will eat much, much more.

Around 20,000 calories of food a day. Now listen to this. One pound of berries might offer 200, maybe 300 calories. That means if a black bear were only eating berries, it would need to eat around 80 pounds of berries a day.

This is the time of year when they are getting ready for winter,

and they take a long winter's nap.

“If you want to learn more about God's designs”

in black bears, make sure to listen to Lesson 23, bears don't hibernate and Lesson 9 are all black bears black. Plus, watch for my new family devotion, made to Marvel, releasing this fall with a chapter about bear scat. Thanks for your great question, Aria.

Here is our next question. Hello, my name is Boez and I'm five years old. I live in Illinois and I'm wondering how do trees stay alive in the winter? It is winter time right now as I'm recording.

And if you live in an area that gets cold during the winter, like I do in Colorado, it's easy to wonder how trees survive. They look all bright and lively in the summer with fresh green leaves.

But what about when they have no leaves in the winter,

and they look like they are not alive? God designed trees to survive through winter through a very special way. Rest. When it gets very cold outside, trees go dormant.

Dormant is like resting. It means something is not currently active or growing, but it could become active and keep growing in the future. In the fall, when there is less sunlight each day

and the temperatures begin getting colder, many trees prepare to rest. They shed their leaves because they won't need them to soak in sun and make energy throughout the winter.

Even though the trees look dead,

they are very much alive and their roots are protected and even getting stronger as they rest so that come spring, they can spring back into action and grow new leaves, buds, flowers, and fruit. Even pine trees, which keep their pine needles,

which are a special type of leaf, have ways of resting in winter. Their pine needles can get a waxy coating, and they use a natural antifreeze to protect themselves from freezing as they do less growing

and more resting through winter. Rest is important in all of God's creation. God designed all the trees, other plants, animals, and us humans to live well through rest. Thanks for the great question about trees, Boas.

“If you want to learn more about trees resting,”

listen to lesson 49. Why and how do leaves change colors? Here's our next question. - Hi, I'm Hiddasa and I'm seven years old and I live in Seattle, Washington and I want to know

what happens to turtle's mama after they give birth. - What happens to turtles after they give birth? That's a great question, Hiddasa. Turtles are reptiles and lay eggs. When a mother turtle lays her eggs,

she does not stay around to keep them warm, like a bird stays in its nest. Instead, the mother's job is done. However, she does something important before leaving her eggs.

She covers them with sand or soil. God gave mother turtles this instinct so that their babies will be safe and more turtles survive. By bearing them in sand or dirt, the eggs are better protected and stay warm

as the sun warms the land around them. Once the babies hatch, they are on their own. Turtles are precaution. That means that they are born ready for life. They can fend for themselves and find food on their own.

Of course, not all of them survive. However, because God gave mother turtles instincts to safely bury their eggs and baby turtles instincts to dig out of their nests and fend for themselves once they hatch, more do survive.

And we have more turtles to enjoy in God's creation. Thanks for calling in with your question, Hiddasa. If you're curious about turtles, make sure to listen to Lesson 31.

“What is the difference between a turtle and a tortoise?”

Here's our next question. Hello, my name is Silas. And I'm Seth and you sold her my question is, why do two apps have hooves? What a fun question.

Giraffes are such interesting creatures with their long necks and splatchy coats of fur. But why do they have hooves? God designed many animals with hooves. There is a big category of mammals with hooves

called ungulates. Giraffes are in this category.

which are a type of claw or toenail.

“I know that's strange to think about one large toenail,”

but that is what a hoof is. In fact, a giraffes hoof is made from keratin, the same protein in your and my fingernails and toenails. Giraffes are large and heavy and hooves help spread out their weight, so they can balance better and not sink into sandy or soft soil.

A giraffes hooves are very large, around 11 inches or 28 centimeters across, about the size of a large dinner plate. And in a world broken by since curse where animals attack each other, a giraffes hooves protect it from predators like lions.

One swift, powerful kick from a giraff with a hard hoof

helps keep hungry lions away. Giraffes are certainly unique in God's creation, and he designed them just right for life on the savanna. Thanks for your great question, Silas. Tune in to lesson 105, why do giraffes have spots

“to discover more of God's amazing designs in giraffes?”

Here's our next question. Hi, my name is Kangsey. I am five years old. I live in New York, and my question is, can fling mangoes fly?

Kangsey wants to know, can flamingo's fly, which is a great question. Flamingo's don't exactly look like they should fly. They have tall legs like an ostrich, which is a bird that does not fly,

but flamingo's can, in fact, fly, and they do so beautifully. When a flock of flamingos takes off in flight together, it looks kind of like a rippling carpet of bright pink. God built flamingos for the land, water, and sky.

When it comes to the sky, flamingos are fast flyers, high flyers, and far flyers.

First, let's look at the takeoff.

It might seem difficult to launch a nine-pound bird into the sky, but flamingos have a wide wingspan, with their wings stretching up to five feet or one and a half meters across to help catch the wind. They get a running start with their long legs

and run into the wind, catching the wind for an upward lift. Once in the air, flamingos are flying machines, engineered to get where they need to go. They normally fly between 10,000 and 13,000 feet high, but sometimes up to 20,000 feet in the air,

and they are fast, reaching speeds of 40 miles per hour, or 64 kilometers per hour. They can travel long distances, sometimes over 350 miles in one night, to find food or a good source of water. And listen to this, to save energy,

a flock of flamingos will sometimes fly in a V formation, like you might see geese doing during migration. So, although flamingos are most famous for standing around on one foot, they are also built just right for flying. Thanks for your wonderful flamingo question, Kungzi.

Here's our next question. Hello, my name is Christian, and I am six years old. I live in Washington and I am wondering, how do wallices go to have tasks?

“Wallices are interesting animals, aren't they, Christian?”

One thing that makes them unique is their large tusks poking out each side of their mouth. Wallices don't have to work hard to grow these great big tusks. They grow on their own because they are teeth.

Husks first emerge in a walrus during its first year of life,

and the tusks will keep growing for many years, normally around 15 years, but sometimes longer in males. These are not the only teeth a walrus has. A walrus normally has 18 teeth, but only two large K90s on the tap grow into long tusks.

Tusks grow in both male and female walverses, although they normally grow longer on males. A male walrus's tusks can grow to be about three feet or around one meter long. Can you imagine brushing two teeth that were around three feet long?

I don't think a walrus cares too much about dental hygiene or brushing their teeth. But why did god design walrus's with tusks? Their tusks are very helpful for their life at sea. Walrus can use their long tusks to help drag their big heavy bodies up onto ice.

so they can breathe while in the water.

“This is important because it means they can rest and breathe”

without needing to find open water. They also use their tusks for social reasons.

Males display their tusks and even battle with them to show dominance.

Much like male deer do with their antlers.

“Female walrus's will also use their tusks to battle a bit”

for the best spots on the ice. And of course, their tusks come in handy against predators. If you want to learn more about tusks, listen to lesson 102, can a narwal get a brain freeze. Thank you, Araya, Boeas, Hadesa, Silas, Kungzi and Christian for your great questions.

Listeners, whether you have questions about bearscat, flying flamingos, walrus tusks, or countless other mysteries of nature, stay curious.

Your curiosity comes from God and it should always lead you to learn more about

him and his creation and in his word, the Bible. Where might your curiosity lead today? We have over 100 lessons in Nat Theo.

“Why not look for one about a creature or plant you are curious about and see what God reveals to you?”

Let's end, I'm one of my favorite scriptures, Psalm 104, 24. How many are your works Lord? In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Until next time, keep exploring God's wild and wonderful world.