Excellent condition or better.
47 pages
R. Kriner from Grant Heilman
March 1979 Volume 13, Number 3
4 Fantastic Feelers
9 Nature Club News
Ranger Rick's Annual
Contest Winners
10
13 Martin Mansions
14 Millie the Mallard
Takes a Bath
17 Friendly Fires
22 Ollie Ofter's Fun Pages
27 Kootznahoo - a Big Brown Bear
30 Guess What?
32 Animal Noise Makers
33 Tuttle and Kate
Wise Old Owl
36
40
Hollow Oak Book Nook
41 Ranger Rick & His Friends
44 The Fat Bills Are My Favorites
The feathery feelers of a male luna
moth can smell a female miles away.
Turn the page and find out how.
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by Nancy Hornick
Who are these creatures
with two feelers sticking
straight up out of their
heads? Beings from outer
space? No - they're insects!
And each of those feelers is
called an antenna (an-TEN-
uh), like the one on your
TV set. Together as a pair,
the feelers are called
antennae (an-TEN-ee).
Antennae may look
strange, but have you ever
seen an insect without
them? Insects would be lost
without their antennae.
They would be like people
without hands, ears, noses
or tongues. Insects don't
need all of these. Instead,
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6
in
A longhorn beetle "tunes Ill
They are like the tiny hairs
on your arms. But they are
so delicate! Even the slightest
breath of air will move them.
These insects may not see you.
but they can feel you moving.
So hold your breath the next
time you try catching that fly!
The bumpy knobs and holes
covering an insect's antennae
are for smelling. Each one is
busy picking up odors from
the environment. They are
very tiny. Bees have up to
30,000 of these odor pits on
their antennae. The June
beetle has 80,000!
Some ants, bees and ter-
mites can "read" as a lan-
guage the odors they pick up
on their antennae. They live
in colonies of hundreds or
thousands. So they need a
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10
My Annual Contest for
1978 is over. But for the
winners the fun has just be-
gun. From the thousands of
entries we received, over 100
Rangers won prizes!
All who entered get a big
Congratulations! from all of
us in Deep Green Wood. We
know that you really care
about nature. And you're
really doing something about
it! Keep up the good work.
Look for the new contest
in September.
I also want to thank our
contest judges. They were
Charlotte Farrand, Ed Mc-
Crea, Sara Murphey and Craig
Tufts. They picked some
wonderful winners.
R.R.
SAY HELLO TO OUR
TOP PRIZE WINNERS.
Melinda Johnson, 11, of
Shalimar, Florida, is first
prize winner.
"I like animals and have
two dogs, a gray tabby, a
goldfish and a horse," she
told us.
"Since I live in a mild cli-
mate, I can be outdoors a lot.
I like to walk in the woods
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and along the beaches. I also
enjoy riding my horse, play-
ing my clarinet, swimming
and doing crafts.
"In the sixth grade I
participated in a school-
sponsored three-day en-
vironmental study group at
the Blackwater State Forest
Environmental Center. This
year I am doing a science fair
project on bees and how they
fit into nature's plan.
"I can't wait to go to the
National Wildlife Federation's
Summit in Colorado this
summer. My parents are
going too! I am very excite
Scott Westgard, 9, second
prize winner, from Buffalo
Grove, Illinois, is going to
Wildlife Camp in North
Carolina this summer. He
loves to camp and has been
to Grand Teton, Yosemite
and Sequoia National Parks
on camping trips.
"My main interests are
science and art. I like as-
tronomy and fossil hunting. I
-
soccer and
also enjoy sports
swimming in the summer,
ice skating and tobogganing
in the winter."
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would not dump any garbage
into the stream. I would
carry the garbage out of the
forest and leave the campsite
better than I found it.'
"I would do what any
Ranger would do; that is,
respect nature and act like
one of its children, and re-
spect it as you would respect
an elder."
FOURTH PRIZE
WINNERS
ILLINOIS
Shelly Thorne, 11, Elburn
MARYLAND
Brian P. Brooks, 11, Bel Air
MASSACHUSETTS
Ari Jacobson, 8, Waban
NEW YORK
Shari E. Blank, 9, Canton
Patrick J. Kelly, 11, Dansville
FIFTH PRIZE
WINNERS
ARIZONA
Stephanie L. Dunbar, 9, Tucson
FLORIDA
Chelsea Jones, 8, Gainesville
MICHIGAN
Martin A. Hall, 7, Richville
Jennifer Wright, 11, Royal Oak
NEW JERSEY
Craig Nadeau, 9, North Plainfield
Tony Sabo, 12, Chatsworth
NEW YORK
Christopher Drew, 6, Rochester
David Remis, 8, Poughkeepsie
OHIO
Lori Feichter, 12, Massillon
Todd Nielsen Myers, 6,
St. Clairsville
SIXTH PRIZE
WINNERS
CALIFORNIA
Adria Jamal Arteseros, 9,
San Francisco
Julie Demes, 12, Carmichael
Dana Green, 10, Concord
Kristy Lai, 7, Gilroy
O
t
Please turn the page
11
----------- 7 -----------
All kinds of birdhouses
could spell home to purple
martins. But are they fussy!
These large swallows send
scouts north each spring to
look over the best bird real
estate. They might choose a
Bavarian castle or a wheel
with gourds. But whatever
they pick, it's got to be roomy
so that they and all their
friends and relations can
move in. And that's why
people like them around-
lots of purple martins to eat
lots of insect pests.
-Candida Palmer
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Jennifer Schoerke, 10, Philadelphia
Tracy Pierson Titus, 7,
New Ringgold
Howard Whiteman, Jr., 12,
West Mifflin
TENNESSEE
Sally Anne Kelley, 9, Dayton
TEXAS
Maxine Grace Crosby, 10, Arlington
Eugene D. Hahn, 9, Houston
Lisa Heino, 11, Nacogdoches
Chrissie Richardson, 9, Buna
Derek M. Smith, 9, Lewisville
UTAH
Joseph R. Pitkin, 8, Logan
Thomas Smith, 8, Newton
VIRGINIA
Stephen Gallagher, 11,
Virginia Beach
Bill W. Rodman, 10, Winchester
Michelle I. Schue, 10, Richmond
Lara A. Wiersberg, 10, Sterling
WASHINGTON
Renee Henken, 11, Ferndale
Polly Pauw, 11, Federal Way
WEST VIRGINIA
David Kitchen, 9, Fayetteville
WISCONSIN
Joe LeBouton, 7, Elcho
Ann Marie Luker, 12, Oshkosh
Helen Weber, 9, Pewaukee
Joel Zamzow, 9, Portage
CANADA
Kristine Lee Horn, 8, Oak Bluff,
Manitoba
Michael Kalantar, 10, Edmonton,
Alberta
Shawn Mooney, 12, Plenty, Sask.
Leslie J. Stilling, 12, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan
OVERSEAS
Mallay Ch
Nooka Sweden
----------- 9 -----------
Deer and other animals can
by Louise C. Barden
Down a narrow trail in the dead
grass came a baby cotton rat. His
mother squeaked shrilly behind him
and pushed him along. Somehow she
had sensed it - a fire was nearing
her nest.
The rats crossed a bare strip of dirt
that would keep the fire from getting to
them. The mother rat left her baby in a
patch of green weeds. She rushed to
bring two more babies to safety.
The rat family hid together in the
clump of weeds until the fire had
passed. Without having to think about
it, they had known how to protect
themselves from the fire.
Every few years, slow burning
surface fires had burned through this
grassy woodland in southern Georgia.
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Jack pines that grow in the northern
United States have cones glued shut by
their resin (REZ-un). They may stay
closed for many years until the heat of
a fire melts the resin. Then the cones
open, and the seeds drop to the ground.
After the fire they sprout into new trees.
These forests and others need fires
to grow, reproduce and stay healthy.
Some wildfires caused by people or
lightning can harm the forest if they are
not controlled. But some fires can be
part of nature's plan for the forests.
Tree and wildlife experts have tried to
copy nature's way of helping the differ-
ent kinds of plants and animals in the
forest. To do this they set "friendly" fires
that keep the brush under the trees
from getting too thick. We know now
that this helps the seedlings sprout and
helps keep the plants and animals in
the forest healthier. It also helps keep
bigger fires from starting.
But when they set these fires, or let
natural ones burn, the experts have to
be very careful. They have to make sure
that the wind is not too strong and that
the forest is not too dry. They also need
lots of equipment, trained helpers and
a place with bare ground or a supply of
water to help them stop the fire. They
don't want the fire to get so big that it
would be dangerous to the trees, the
animals or the people who might be
nearby.
The End
Rangers: Make sure that you don't start a fire
in the woods. Smoldering campfires and matches
that are still hot can cause very "unfriendly" fires
that do terrible damage to the forests and the ani-
mals that live there. If you see a fire in the forest,
get help right away!
R.R.
Photo by Kent & Donna Dannen
21
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Giraffe, Crocodile, Monkey by Denise Sandy
Chameleon, Jellyfish, Beaver by Julie Lawson
Rabbit by Patty Donohue
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by Robert H. Redding
Kootznahoo growled. He raised his
huge head and sniffed the clear Alaskan
air. The scent was still there, strong in
the wind. Wolves! And wolves were his
enemies. Trouble was on the way.
Lowering his head again, Kootznahoo
(KOOTS-nuh-who) went back to feeding.
Like all big brown bears, he enjoyed a
special feast. His meal was a mule deer
that had died during the long winter.
This was May, and he hadn't eaten a real
meal since October, just before he had
KOOTZ
gone to his den for his winter's sleep. He
was very hungry!
Kootznahoo seldom tried to catch live
deer. He was not a slowpoke, but deer
could easily outrun him. However, when
he wanted meat he could help himself
to deer or other dead animals he found.
A howl cut the silence, and Kootzna-
hoo growled again. The wolf pack was
coming fast. The great bear stood up
on his platter-sized hind feet. He
searched the air with his keen nose, and
his ears picked up a sound-the hushed
stirring of soft footed animals on the
run. He had only a few minutes left.
Hissing, Kootznahoo dropped to all
four feet with scarcely a thump. In spite
of his 700 pounds (315 kg) of bone, mus-
cle and hide, he could be light on his feet.
Showing his mouthful of shining teeth,
he yawned nervously, shook himself and
returned to his feast. Off and on, he
jerked his head up to see what he could
see, which wasn't much. He was near-
sighted and had to rely on his nose and
ears. The wolves drew nearer.
Photos by Stephen J. Krasemann: Tom McHugh-Wildlife Unlimited Photo Researchers
----------- 13 -----------
Tuttle
and
Kate
by Joyce Wolf
TUTTLE
UTTLE, the tuatara (too-uh-TAR-uh),
and Kate, the sooty shearwater, are
roommates. Kate dug the burrow they
share and Tuttle does the housekeeping.
During the day Tuttle naps at home
while Kate goes out fishing. At night
Kate sleeps while Tuttle goes hunting.
Just who are these well-matched partners?
Tuttle the tuatara is a large lizard-
like reptile. He is clumsy and bigheaded
and about as long as your arm. "Tuatara”
means "spiny" in the Maori (MAU-ree)
language of New Zealand. And you can
see from his spiny crest how he got
his name.
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by Mariette Nowak
I like grosbeaks! Take the
pine grosbeak not only is
-
it a beautiful bird, it also
has mouth pouches like a
chipmunk's. It loves to take
snow baths and is so tame
that you can get close
enough for a good look.
Like all grosbeaks, the
pine grosbeak (photo 3)
has a very thick and
rounded beak. This beak is
ideal for cracking open the
seeds it loves to eat. The
word grosbeak, in fact,
comes from two French
words that mean "fat bill."
Pine grosbeaks have
pouches at the sides of their
mouths. They work like
built-in grocery bags. These
pouches are very handy in
spring when there's a family
to feed. The parents stuff
their "grocery bags" with
seeds and insects. Then
they fly off to feed their
hungry nestlings.
The pine grosbeaks are
hardy birds. They take
snow baths the way other
birds bathe in water. Stand-
ing in the snow, the birds
flutter their wings to toss
the white spray over their
feathers. And the cold
doesn't seem to bother
them! No wonder pine gros-
beaks are found in northern
spruce and fir forests the
world over, from Siberia and
Scandinavia to Canada and
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A painted reed frog, no
bigger than your thumb,
hangs on with suckerlike
toe pads. These African
beauties love to bask in
the sun, always ready
to leap to safety.