Llama Llama!

 A few weeks ago I visited a petting zoo at Lester's Farm! There were a bunch of adorable animals such as, bunnies, baby goats, sheep, cows, baby chicks, a pig, but my favorite of all was the baby Llama!

Baby Llama!

A baby Llama is also called a "cria", which is the Spanish word for "baby". Llama moms are pregnant for about 11 months and stand up while giving birth. The baby Llama can usually walk and eat within an hour of being born!

I was very excited to meet this baby Llama! I pet him and his fur was super fuzzy and soft. I also fed him some grass, which is one of their favourite snacks.



Mommy and Baby Llama!

Llamas like to be around lots of other Llamas! These animals are domesticated, meaning there are no wild Llamas. They are related to camels and were domesticated from a wild camel called a "Guanaco".

Manta Rays!

Rays in general are amazing and beautiful creatures. Manta Rays in particular are the biggest of the Rays. They seem to glide effortlessly through the water, with graceful movements. Manta Rays are also very mysterious animals to us, because there are a lot of things that humans do not know about them.

cute and squishy!

beautiful markings on underside.

Manta Rays have unique patterns on their undersides; the colors are different depending on the area they are from. For example, Manta Rays from the eastern Pacific often have mostly black undersides, while Manta Rays from the western Pacific are usually white underneath.

Manta Rays are known to jump high out of the water! The meaning of these jumps is unknown, but possible reasons could be:


- communication with other rays
- mating ritual
- avoiding predators/disturbances
- they are just having fun!

Manta Rays nibble on plankton, krill, fish larvae, and other small organisms. They obtain their food through a filtering process as they swim. As the Manta Ray swims through the ocean, the water is filtered through its gills, trapping any particles.


Small fish often feed on parasites on the Manta Rays' skin. This is a mutualistic symbiotic relationship, where the small fish obtain food and the Manta Ray is cleaned of harmful parasites. 


Manta Rays also migrate to find food, although their exact route is unknown. 

Dragonfly!



Dragonflies are super cute insects. Because they are insects, they have 6 legs. They also have compound eyes, which means they have thousands of little eyes in one location. Dragonflies can detect movement very easily.








Dragonflies can fly really fast, up to 60 kilometers per hour! As they fly over ponds and lakes, they catch little bugs, like flies and mosquitoes, to eat. Dragonflies can also mate while flying!








Dragonflies have four beautiful wings. Today, while sunbathing next to a pond, a dragonfly landed on me! I could feel its little wings against my skin. A few years ago, a dragonfly landed on me while eating a bug!