Zoo-Do Teaching Pack
Foundation and KS1
Contents
Page
Introduction
3
Preparation activities and ideas
5
20 facts about the park for you and your helpers
6
Glossary/Vocabulary
7
Looking at animals
8
What do animals need?
9
Park rules
11
Other preparation activities
12
In the park activities and practical information
14
In the park – what you might need
15
Park activity sheets - Introduction
16
Amur tiger
17
White rhinoceros
19
Scimitar-horned Oryx
21
Giraffe
23
Snow leopard
25
Flamingo
27
Grevy’s zebra
29
Siamang gibbon
31
Follow-up activities and ideas
33
Page 2 of 36
Introduction
The aim of this pack is to increase the value of your visit by making it more fun, focused
and educational. It contains ideas and materials to help you use the park to support the
national curriculum at key stage 1. Following requests from teachers we have
concentrated on supporting the national curriculum for science, but many of the activities
and ideas are also relevant to the national curriculum for geography, English, maths and
technology.
The pack provides:






suggested topics/context for your visit
suggestions for preparatory work
practical information
sheets for use in the park
suggestions for follow-up work
reference and support material for use back in school
The pack is based around 8 of the park’s favourite animals. For each animal there is a
sheet of questions, information and activities. These aim to encourage observation,
consideration and discussion and are intended for use at each animal’s enclosure by a
teacher or parent with a small group of children. The activities explore different topics,
some of which are listed below:









breeding
grouping
colour/pattern
feeding/predator/prey
senses
territory/home
threats to survival
conservation
movement/form
The pack is intended to be flexible in order to cater for the needs of different groups with
different approaches. The pack does not have to be done in its entirety or to the letter; the
class teacher can select the appropriate parts of the pack that he/she requires. Experience
shows that on a park visit the children benefit from an approach that stresses quality rather
than quantity.
The pack offers two ways of achieving this:
1. Each group of children could select 4-6 of the animals featured in the pack as the focal
point for their day. Each group could choose different animals, aiming to look at all the
animals between the class as a whole.
2. You could choose a particular topic as your focus and choose parts of the activity sheets
appropriate to your chosen topic, ignoring the rest of the sheet. For instance, animal
senses is a topic covered on several of the activity sheets.
Page 3 of 36
The following chart indicates some of the topics that could be covered and by which
animals.
Rhino
Snow
leopard
Tiger
√
√
√
Oryx
Flamingo
Zebra
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
Senses
√
√
√
Territory
√
Threats to
survival
√
Breeding
Grouping
Colour/
pattern
Feeding/
prey/predator
√
√
√
√
√
Conservation
Movement/
form
√
√
Gibbon
Giraffe
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
COPYRIGHT
Any of the pages in this pack can be photocopied for use by the school.
Page 4 of 36
Zoo-Do
Teaching Pack
Preparation Activities and Ideas
Page 5 of 36
20 Facts about Marwell
These facts are intended to help you and your helpers know a little more about Marwell
and its aims, prior to your visit. They may be useful in answering the children’s questions
and also in preparatory research and discussion. Older children could perhaps use them to
construct some kind of quiz or game about the park.
1. Marwell is a modern zoological park dedicated to conservation.
2. There are about 180 species of animals in the park.
3. Virtually all the animals at Marwell were born in captivity; we do not remove animals
from the wild unless it is part of a special rescue programme.
4. Many of the species to be seen at Marwell are threatened with extinction.
5. At Marwell you can see big cats, hoofed animals like zebras and antelopes, small
monkeys called tamarins, birds and many other animals.
6. Lots of space is needed for the hoofed animals. Marwell covers about 100 acres.
7. Many animals are born at Marwell. Barely a week goes by without a birth.
8. Marwell often exchanges animals with other zoological collections to prevent
inbreeding.
9. Marwell has about 160 permanent staff, keepers, curators, park managers, gate
keepers, shop assistants, catering staff, accountants, grounds staff, education officers
etc.
10. There are other visitor attractions such as playgrounds in addition to the animals, but
Marwell aims to remain a wildlife park rather than an adventure park.
11. Marwell is a registered charity so that any profit made belongs to the park rather than
any individual.
12. Marwell was founded by John Knowles and the current Chief Executive is James
Cretney.
13. Marwell has an adoption scheme so that interested people can help the park by paying
an animal’s food bill for the year.
14. Marwell was first opened to visitors in 1972.
15. The first animals to come to the park in 1969 were a pair of Amur tigers.
16. Marwell helps financially in the support of conservation projects in other countries eg.
Zimbabwe and Kenya
17. Marwell has one of the largest education departments in this country with 3
classrooms, a lecture theatre and 8 education staff.
18. Marwell has a dedicated band of supporters, fundraisers and friends.
19. Marwell co-ordinates the European captive breeding programmes for several species.
Including the Grevy’s zebra.
20. Marwell is involved with the reintroduction of several species, including the scimitarhorned oryx and golden lion tamarins.
Page 6 of 36
Glossary/Vocabulary
The following vocabulary will be useful to the children in understanding and talking about
animals and conservation.
Adaptation
That which fits an animal to exploit a given environment e.g. the thick
fur coat of the snow leopard is an adaptation to its cold mountain
environment.
Conservation
The maintenance of environmental quality and resources. The
resources may be: physical (e.g. fossil fuels), biological (e.g. tropical
rainforests and its inhabitants), or cultural (e.g. ancient monuments).
Distribution
Area over which a species occurs.
Threatened
Species
A type of animal or plant which is threatened with extinction.
Environment
The complete range of external conditions, physical and biological in
which an organism lives. This includes social considerations, as well as
features such as soil, climate and food supply.
Extinct
Term used when a species or group of species no longer exists.
Habitat
Living place of an animal as determined by climate, vegetation and
terrain.
Predator
An animal which obtains food by eating another, the prey.
Preservation
The protection of species or landscapes without reference to change in
living species.
Prey
An animal which is used as food by another, the predator.
Reintroduction
Returning a species to its former range in the wild.
Species
An interbreeding group of biological organisms that is isolated
reproductively from all other organisms.
Territory
Area occupied by an animal, or a pair or group, which is defended
against intruders.
Vegetation
Another term for plant life.
Page 7 of 36
Looking at Animals - What do you see?
A visit to Marwell is of far greater value if, when you look at the animals, you have
practised looking at animals beforehand and know what sort of things to look for.
To many people this is just an antelope and that is all they see. They then move on to the
next enclosure.
If you stop and really look, there is much more to see!
Here are some of the things that you might notice if you took a good look at this animal.
The children could practise looking at animals using pets, pictures, videos etc.
Keen eyesight
along with allround vision from
sideways facing
eyes help the
antelope to
detect predators.
Horns can be used as weapons if the
antelope cannot run away from predators.
Horns are often different shapes or may
be broken.
Swivel ears help
to detect sounds
from approaching
predators.
Desert
camouflage
is the first
line of
defence
against
enemies.
Tail may be
used to
swish flies
away or to
signal a
message to
other
members of
the herd.
A good sense of
smell helps the
antelope to detect
predators.
Rotate to face left
Hooves offer protection when running on
hard or stony ground. Each hoof has two
parts to it. If the antelope is caught then
kicking with hooves may help.
Long legs help the animal to run fast.
Running is its main defence. The knee
and ankle joints bend the same way as
yours, but are they in the same place?
Page 8 of 36
What Do Animals Need?
Animals need certain conditions to keep them healthy. Maintaining all Marwell’s animals in
tip-top condition is a huge task.
What is it that keeps animals healthy? Here are a few of the important things.
The correct kind of food
Some animals only eat meat, some only eat plants. Some animals eat both plants and
animals. Can you think of two animals in each of these groups?
Clean water
Water is important to every living thing since both plants and animals are made largely of
water. How many different sources of water can you think of? Rivers, dew etc.
Water is easily polluted. Can you think of examples?
Oxygen
All animals need oxygen for their bodies to work.
We use our lungs to get oxygen from the air. Where do animals like fish get their oxygen
from and how?
Choices
We usually enjoy having choices.
Can you think of some of the choices that wild animals have to make every day?
How about animals in captivity? Are they different?
Special care when they cannot look after themselves
At what stage in their lives do almost all animals need special care?
Do animals at Marwell benefit from any extra care, over and above their normal
requirements?
Opportunities to move around naturally
Many animals like to walk or run. But do all animals move this way?
Look at the ways that the enclosures at Marwell are designed to allow the animals to move
naturally.
Somewhere to feel safe, secure and protected
Many animals have colours and patterns to help protect them. How does this work?
Animals also use dens, burrows etc for protection. What sort of protection are the animals
offered at Marwell?
Page 9 of 36
What Do Animals Need?
If you are intending to look in greater detail at the needs of living animals here are some
pointers and questions which you could use to encourage the children to think about this
topic.
1. Considering the care of animals is obviously very important in relation to the animals at
Marwell. Ask the children to consider the care of other animals, such as pets. A few
pets could be brought into school (check your governing authority’s guidelines) so that
the children can explore different aspects of their care.
2. Different animals obviously have different needs. Here are some problems which the
children could consider.
a) Snakes, like all reptiles, need to be warm but cannot make heat inside their bodies
to keep themselves warm like you do. How do snakes get warm so that their bodies
can digest their food?
b) The giraffe, along with many other hoofed animals, cannot dig burrows for
protection from weather and enemies.
Why can’t the giraffe dig?
What are the giraffe’s enemies?
How do they get protection from enemies?
What sort of protection do they get from the weather in the park?
c) Frogs, like all animals, need oxygen. Adult frogs have lungs and can breathe and
get oxygen from the air. As tadpoles they do not have lungs. How do you think they
get their oxygen?
d) All baby mammals need milk. Sometimes a mother animal does not give milk to her
baby (some cannot, some will not). What do you think happens to these babies in
the wild, and in captivity?
e) Do zebras and monkeys move in the same way? How do they move? Would their
enclosures need to be different in the park?
f)
The addax antelope lives in the desert where there are no rivers, lakes, or rain.
Where might they find some water?
g) At Marwell we give meat to the carnivores and fruit and vegetables to the
herbivores. How and where do these animals get their food in the wild?
Page 10 of 36
Park Rules
When people come into close proximity with wild animals it is obviously important to have
a set of standards, or rules, governing people’s behaviour towards those animals,
especially when those animals are within someone’s care and unable to ensure their own
well-being.
To many people, rules seem an infringement of their liberties, so perhaps it is important for
the children to consider Marwell’s rules in greater depth, and what purpose they serve.
The activities described below may help the children to consider the needs of animals in
zoos and the ways in which visitors can help to care for them.
But first, here are Marwell’s rules for visitors:

Do not cross safety barriers. The barriers are there for your protection. Although
our animals are captive bred, they are not tame!

Do not feed or tease the animals. Our animals are fed a carefully balanced diet
and additional feeding may cause illness or even death. Litter, pencils, coins etc.
thrown into animal enclosures can also kill.

Do not use whistles. We use whistles as part of our emergency alarm system.

Do not run or shout in the animal houses. It may scare the animals.

Do not play on the railway lines. Our train may not be big but a collision may
cause serious injury.

Supervision: All children up to and including year 9 (0 – 14 yrs) must be closely
supervised (i.e. every child must be within sight of an adult leader). We offer a ratio
of 1 adult free with every 6 children to enable this to be possible.
“In loco parentis” remains with the accompanying adult leaders/teachers throughout the
visit.
Marwell Wildlife reserves the right to remove groups from the park where the park
rules have not been followed.
1. Ask the children to arrange the rules in order of importance from their point of view,
and to explain their reasoning.
2. Ask them to design a poster to illustrate one of the rules for people who perhaps
cannot read.
3. Are there any other rules that the children feel might be important? And why?
When you feel that the park rules are well understood, you could issue the children with a
certificate of competence in ‘understanding the park rules’, stating that they are fit to visit
the park, to go into their project folders.
Page 11 of 36
Other Preparation Activities
Activity 1
When first introducing the idea of zoological parks find out what the children already think
about zoos and about Marwell in particular. What are zoological parks for?
-looking at animals that come from other countries?
-finding out about animals?
-getting close to and maybe touching animals?
-conserving rare species?
They could do a survey or questionnaires to find how often members of their class have
visited zoos, and what they liked and disliked about them.
Activity 2
Once the idea of a trip to Marwell is established ask the children what they would like to
see and do at the park. You could make a list of their options (e.g. ostrich, tigers, monkeys,
zebras, Tropical world, Encounter village, playground, shop) and then ask the children to
make a priority list. Once it is agreed where to go the children could plan an appropriate
route using a map of Marwell (download the latest version of the park map from the
Marwell Wildlife website – from the home page, follow the route “Marwell”, “park guide”
“interactive map”, then “download map” on link on RHS). They could identify all the
houses that offer shelter for visitors in case of rain, where the toilets are, where they can
have a picnic, etc.
Activity 3
There are lots of opportunities for looking at similarities and differences between the
animals at Marwell. Prior to their visit the children could practise grouping inanimate
objects such as buttons according to different criteria, e.g. size, shape, colour, numbers of
holes.
Activity 4
You will undoubtedly observe animals using their senses whilst you are at Marwell:
antelopes and rhinos swivelling their ears, meerkats on look out, peccaries sniffing,
macaques hugging each other, etc. Consider the five senses that humans use, what we
use them for and how people manage when one of these senses is impaired.
Activity 5
Consider ways that humans can move. If the reasons why we move nowadays have
become obscured, try considering why prehistoric man moved around, e.g. to find food,
water, shelter, building materials, other humans, to escape from danger, to play, etc.
Although animals such as the big cats tend to sleep for most of the time, many of the
herbivores such as the rhinos and antelopes are on the move for much of the time in
search of food. They also often have to move for the reasons listed above. Of course you
will see the animals move in many different ways, e.g. running, walking, flying, swimming,
wading, climbing, swinging, etc.
Page 12 of 36
Activity 6
You will see many different colours and patterns on the animals at Marwell. Before your
visit ask the children to make up a scrap book of different colours and patterns cut out from
old magazines. They could try mixing paints to see that there are many different shades of
each colour. They could try mixing paints to see how many different shades of brown they
can make (when does orange become brown etc) since brown is a colour that features
very frequently in animal coats. Perhaps consider why.
Activity 7
There are always animals of different ages to be seen at Marwell. Some visitors have even
seen animals being born! Look at pictures/videos of animals and their young. Are there
any differences apart from size? E.g. coat colour or pattern, presence/absence of horns,
eyes open/closed, sounds, types (or complete absence) of fur or feathers, food, ability to
look after oneself.
Activity 8
Consider why animals and humans need food, i.e. to grow, to keep our bodies working, to
move etc. At Marwell you may see animals feeding or evidence of their food within their
enclosure e.g. dropped food, husks from seeds, bones. Consider what happens to the
waste products from bodies. You could explain that some animals use these opportunities
to mark their territory by depositing scent in the urine or faeces, e.g. the cats leave scent in
urine.
Activity 9
There will be opportunities to meet animals if you book an education session. Encourage
the children to think of different words, phrases or similes to describe the textures of
different objects, e.g. sand paper, hard boiled egg, welly boot, fabrics, leaves etc.
Page 13 of 36
Zoo-Do
Teaching Pack
In the Park:
Activities and practical information
Page 14 of 36
In the park – What you might need
There are many things to remember if you are trying to ensure that your day at Marwell is
as successful as possible.
Here is a checklist of some items that may be useful
1. Small rucksacks for the children in order to leave both hands free.
2. Clipboards, pencils and paper for every child.
3. Clothing appropriate to a pessimistic view of the weather. Excess clothing can always
be put in a rucksack.
4. Packed lunch.
5. Portable tape recorder (and spare batteries) for recording animal sounds or children’s
observations or comments that you do not wish them to write down.
6. A small camera.
7. A sketch pad.
8. Set of photos of habitats from around the world, in case the children wish to visualise
the natural habitat of an animal whilst looking at the animals in the park.
Page 15 of 36
Park Activity Sheets – Introduction
The following sheets are designed to be used by teachers and/or helpers with small
groups of children.
No previous knowledge of the animals is necessary.
They tell you exactly what to say and do, so that you don’t have to spend time thinking of
the right question or reading lots of information.
Using these sheets, even the most inexperienced helper can approach their task with
confidence.
The topics, activities and questions used are based on our own experience of taking
children around the park, and on the requirements of the national curriculum.
Suggestions for follow up work based on the data and observations collected are included
in this pack.
The animal pictures on the sheets can be copied and/or enlarged for use back at school.
NB Each helper will need a pen or pencil for ‘ticking’ where required, noting
questions to be researched later etc.
Page 16 of 36
Amur Tiger
Habitat - cool, mountainous, pine forests.
Look for features:
Thick fur
for warmth
Eyes which
look forwards
Sharp
teeth
Big strong paws
with sharp claws
Look for patterns:
Look for colours:
Which part of the tiger has
stripes like this?
Ask: Which colours can you see
on the tiger? Tick them.
Draw an arrow to show where
on the tiger.
Where? Write in the children’s
answers:
Black………………………..
Ask: Which way do the stripes on the tiger’s body go?
This way?
Or this way?
Orange……………………..
Pink…………………………
White……………………….
Grey…………………………
Brown………………………
Page 17 of 36
Talk About:
What do tigers eat? (Meat) if they need a clue, ask what pet cats eat, and then ask what
cat food is made of.
The head silhouettes to the left of the indoor viewing window are of animals which the wild
Amur tigers might eat. What animals are they? (Cow, wild pig, deer, goat)
Why does it have sharp teeth and claws? (To catch and kill its prey/food)
Things to do:
Tell the children that although the tigers were born in captivity, they still like doing the
same things as wild tigers.
Wild tigers like to cool off in water. Where can Marwell’s tigers do this? (Look for the pond
and ask a child to point to it)
Wild tigers have a den where they can sleep, shelter and have their cubs. Where is the
den for Marwell’s tigers? (Ask another child to point to the tiger’s house)
Wild tigers like to sleep in the shade. Where can Marwell’s tigers do this? (Look for
bushes, logs etc)
Wild tigers like to look out over their territory. Where can Marwell’s tigers do this? (Look for
the platforms)
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
The graphics by the indoor viewing window can be used for discussion.
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 18 of 36
White Rhinoceros
Habitat - open grassland, hot climate.
The rhinos may be in their house, or on their hard standing, or out in the big grassy
paddock. Find a place where you can see as many as possible.
Look for features:
Horns: how
many? Are
they both the
same?
Small eyes
which look
sideways
Big ears
which twist
around
Huge nostrils
Big feet with 3
hoof- like toes
Look for colours:
Talk about:
Ask: Which colours can you
see on the rhino?
Do you think rhinos can smell well?
(Yes, huge nostrils very good for smelling)
Where? Write in the children’s
answers:
Do you think rhinos can see well?
(No, small eyes compared to other senses)
Black……………………..…..…
Do you think rhinos can hear well?
(Yes, big ears are good for hearing)
Things to do:
Show the children how to
enlarge their own ear
flaps by using a cupped
hand to push their small
flaps forward.
Ask: can they hear better
(they should be able to,
check there are no gaps
between fingers)
Orange………………..…………
Pink……………………….…..…
White…………………….………
Grey…………………………..…
Brown……………………..……
Mud…………………………..…
They love rolling in it!
Page 19 of 36
Sula
Female born at
Edinburgh zoo 12.9.86
Kiri
Female born at
Whipsnade Zoo 15.8.86
Hannu
Male born at Knowsley
Safari Park 12.7.83
Show the children the rhino identikit above.
Ask the children to look closely at the rhinos horns. Are they the same? (No)
Talk about:
Tell the children there are not many rhinos left in the world. This is mainly because people
shoot them. Ask: Do you know why people kill rhinos? (For their horns)
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
What do they eat? In the wild - grass. In the park - grass when they’re in the big field, but
also lots of hay and pony nuts.
What is a rhino’s horn made of? The same material as hair and fingernails: keratin.
How heavy are they? Up to 2,300kg (That is as much as 2 minibuses!)
Why are they smelly? They use their smelly dung to mark their territory.
Are they dangerous? If threatened, yes, but a rhino would not normally attack you. Their
keepers have to be very careful not to be trodden on or lent on by mistake.
How many babies do they have? One at a time.
How long do they live? 45 years.
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 20 of 36
Scimitar-horned Oryx
Habitat – dry, semi-desert.
Finding them: The Scimitar-horned Oryx have four parts to their enclosure – stables, inner
and outer hard standing (gravelly areas) and the large paddock. These are marked on the
map. In general they spend winter on the hard standing and summer in the paddock.
Look for features:
Fur: is it long
or short?
Hooves: can you
see whether they
are two toed or
one toed?
Talk about:
Do you think oryx live in a hot or cold place in the wild?
(Hot; clue - they have a short coat)
Do you think they live in a sandy place or in a forest?
(Sandy place; clue - they are a pale sandy colour)
Tell the story:
Once upon a time there were thousands of wild Scimitarhorned Oryx. They lived around the edge of the Sahara
Desert, in Africa. Then humans invented guns, and jeeps,
and people went hunting the oryx. They didn’t hunt them for
food or horns, they just hunted them for fun until they couldn’t
find anymore. Nobody has seen a wild Scimitar-horned Oryx
for many years now.
Horns: curved
or straight?
Eyes: do they
look forwards or
sideways?
Look for colours:
Ask: Which colours can you
see on the oryx?
Where? Write the children’s
answers for them:
Black……………………..……
Orange…………………………
Pink………………………….…
White……………………………
Grey……………………………
Brown……………………...……
Luckily, organisations like Marwell had been breeding oryx. In
1985 Marwell sent some of its oryx to Africa to live in the
desert where the oryx used to live. They were sent to a
reserve where it was safe and they have settled in well and had babies. There are now
over a hundred living in the wild in reserves.
Page 21 of 36
Things to do:
An antelope only ever grows one pair of horns. Sometimes they grow crooked. Sometimes
one or both are broken off. This happens in the wild as well as in captivity.
Ask the children how many oryx they can see with:
1 horn
no horns
a crooked or broken horn
Record the numbers in the boxes.
If there are baby oryx, look for the tiny horns, just beginning to grow.
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
Why are there so many? Hoofed animals like the oryx like to live in a herd. In the wild they
would take it in turns to look out for danger.
Are they dangerous? They usually run away from humans, but if a mother oryx thought
you were going to hurt her baby, she could hurt you badly with her horns.
Why aren’t they allowed in the field? (if they are not) Hooves are like fingernails, they keep
growing. The gravelly surface wears them down like a giant nail file. The oryx are kept on it
in winter to keep their feet healthy because the field gets very muddy if they are allowed
out in wet weather.
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 22 of 36
Giraffe
Habitat – open woodland and wooded grassland.
The giraffes may be in their house, on their hard standing, out in the paddock or in the
African Valley. You will be using props on or near the giraffe house so view them from
there if possible.
Look for features:
Long tongue
Long strong
legs
Look for colours:
Ask: which colours can
you see on the
Giraffes?
Large ears – can
the giraffe move
one without the
other?
Hooves
Where? Write the
children’s answers for
them.
Black………………
Slightly different
patterns and
colours on each
giraffe
Horns
Orange…………….
Pink………………..
Tail with tuft
Large eyes
White……………….
Grey…………………
Long neck
Brown……………….
Look for patterns:
Ask: Which of these patterns do the giraffes have? Tick the right one.
Talk about:
Ask: What do you think a giraffe eats? (Leaves/trees. In the park we give them hay too,
and sometimes they eat grass in the field)
What helps a giraffe to get its food? (Long tongue, long neck, long legs)
Page 23 of 36
In the giraffe house:
Ask: Can you see the racks where the keepers put the hay for the giraffes? (Look up high)
Tell the children: Whenever they can the keepers cut branches and give them to the
giraffes to eat.
Ask: Can you see any branches ready for the giraffes?
Can you see any branches the giraffes have already eaten most of?
Things to do:
Even adult giraffes can be attacked when they
are bending down to drink. Be a giraffe drinking!
Do not bend your knees. Run away quickly, as a
giraffe must do if it is in danger. Do you find this
easy to do?
Compare your height to that of the giraffe using
the life-size cut out by the giraffe house door
How tall is the giraffe?
How tall are you?
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
Are the giraffes the tallest animals? Yes.
Do they ever make a noise? Very rarely. They can grunt and snort, but you are more likely
to hear their stomachs rumbling!
Are they friendly? Sort of. Giraffes are gentle animals. Some of ours were hand reared
because their mothers could not or would not feed them, so they are not afraid of humans.
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 24 of 36
Snow Leopard
Habitat – high, cold mountains.
Look for features:
Long, furry tail
Big, soft paws
and sharp claws
Thick fur
for warmth
Eyes facing
forwards
Look for colours:
Talk about:
Ask: Why do you think this big cat is called a SNOW leopard?
(Because it comes from a cold, snowy place)
How does its fur help it to live in a cold place?
(It has long thick fur to keep it warm)
Where is the shortest fur? (On its face).
Faces are important and must not get too cold. How could the
snow leopard keep its face warm?
(It uses its tail like a scarf when it has to rest or sleep
somewhere really cold. The snow leopard’s tail also helps it to
balance when it is climbing and jumping on the mountainside.)
Ask which colours can
you see on the snow
leopard? Where?
Black...............................
Orange............................
Pink................................
White..............................
Grey...............................
Brown.............................
Things to do:
Leaping: Snow leopards are very good at jumping. They can leap a long way from one
rocky ledge to the next. Choose a leaf or mark on the ground to be your ‘next rocky ledge’.
Can you jump onto it without wobbling?
Page 25 of 36
Creeping: Snow leopards are also very good at creeping quietly on their big soft paws.
Have a quick game to see how quietly you can creep. Perhaps your adult could be the
listener. He or she must shut their eyes or turn their back to you. The rest of you must
creep as quietly as possible and see who is first to reach the listener. If they hear you
coming you’re out!
Looking: Look at these two patterns. One is a leopard pattern and the other is a snow
leopard pattern. Which is the snow leopard?
Tell the children:
The snow leopard’s pattern and colours help it to hide from the animals it hunts, so that
they don’t see it coming!
Ask: What do we call colours and patterns that help animals to hide? (Camouflage)
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
Why are snow leopards endangered? Hunting for their fur, and habitat destruction - people
are moving further into the Himalayas to live, farm and take holidays.
Do they hate hot weather? No they don’t mind. In the Himalayas it can be hot in summer
and anyway our snow leopards were born in zoos with climates very like ours.
Do they breed at Marwell? Yes. Marwell has bred snow leopards for many years. The cubs
born here go to other zoos to have families of their own.
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 26 of 36
Flamingo
Habitat – wetlands.
Look for features:
Pink colour
Long neck to
reach down
into the water
Strange
beak shape
Webbed feet to
help them walk
in the mud
without sinking
Long legs for
wading – knees
seem to bend the
wrong way
Look for colours:
Talk about:
There are 6 different species of flamingo. Marwell has
the sort you would see in southern Europe or Africa.
Ask which colours can
you see on the flamingo?
Where?
Black...............................
Ask: Which sort does Marwell have more of?
The greater flamingo.
Orange............................
Ask: Does the pink colour help it to hide? No!
Pink................................
White..............................
Grey...............................
Brown.............................
Page 27 of 36
Tell the children:
Flamingos live in big groups (flocks) in the wild. Ask them to imagine that they are a
flamingo separated from their flock.
Ask: How might the pink colour help?
The lost flamingo can easily see the flock and tell from a distance that they are flamingos.
Ask: If you got separated from this group today, how could our school sweatshirts help
you? Just like the lost flamingo.
Tell the children that flamingos get their pink colour from their food. We have to give them
special food, otherwise their feathers would be white.
Things to do:
Tell the children that flamingos feed by holding their special beaks upside-down and using
them as sieves to filter out tiny animals and plants from the water.
Do the actions of a flamingo feeding. Trample with the feet to stir up the mud at the
bottom of the pool. Use one arm and hand like a flamingo’s neck and beak. Swish the
hand from side to side like a beak sieving out tiny plants and animals from the water.
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
Can they fly? / Why don’t they fly away?
Flamingos can fly, so to prevent our flamingos from escaping, they have been ‘pinioned’.
This means that part of their wing is removed. They can still spread and stretch their
wings but can not take off. If we did not do this then we would have to put a roof on the
enclosure. This would stop the wild geese from sharing the pond and would also mean the
enclosure would have to be smaller.
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 28 of 36
Grevy’s zebra
Habitat – dry grassland and semi-desert.
The Grevy’s zebra have stables, hard standing and access to a large grassy paddock,
which they share with the ostriches and oryx. In summer they will probably be in the
paddock.
Look for features:
Tail with tassel
Big ears
Which stripe pattern is right for
the body of the zebra?
Eyes on the
side of the
head
Pattern – wide or
narrow stripes?
Which direction?
Long legs with hooves
Talk about:
Look for colours:
Tell the children that wild zebra are hunted by lions.
Ask which colours can
you see on the Grevy’s
zebra? Where?
Ask: How will a zebra know that a lion is coming? (They
can keep a good look-out with their eyes and have big ears
for listening).
How will it tell the others that there is a danger? (It brays, a
bit like a donkey)
How do the zebra’s long legs help it to escape the lions?
(It can run fast)
Black...............................
Orange............................
Pink................................
White..............................
What does it have on the end of its feet? (Hooves)
Grey...............................
How do these help? (It can run a long way without
getting sore feet).
Brown.............................
Page 29 of 36
Tell the children:
Grevy’s Zebra live in herds, on open grasslands with very few trees. Their stripes are a
special sort of camouflage.
Ask them to imagine that they are a zebra separated from the rest of the herd. The zebra
on look-out duty gives a warning that lions are hunting.
Ask: Can you think of a place to go where your stripes will make you hard for the lions to
see? (To the rest of the herd. When the herd gallop in a bunch it’s hard for the lion to see
where one zebra begins and another ends.)
Things to do:
There are 3 main types
of zebra: Common,
Mountain and Grevy’s.
They all have stripes,
but you can tell them
apart by the patterns the
stripes make.
Which of these back
views belongs to a
Grevy’s zebra?
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
Why are Grevy’s zebra endangered? Humans needing more space. Their sheep and
goats need water so the wildlife is driven away from water-holes. Grevy’s zebra are good
at living in semi-desert, but cannot manage without some drinking water.
How long do they live? About 25 years in captivity, less in the wild.
Can you ride them? Not these. Although most of them were born here, we do not try and
tame them. We want them to stay as wild as possible so that they have a better chance of
surviving if we are ever able to re-introduce them.
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 30 of 36
Siamang gibbon
Habitat – tropical rainforest.
Look for features:
Long, strong arms
Feet that can grip
Eyes facing
forwards
Hands a bit like ours
Talk about:
Ask: Which do YOU use most for getting around, arms
or legs? (Legs)
Which are the longest and strongest, your arms or your
legs? (Legs)
Which are longest and strongest, the gibbons’ arms or
legs? (Arms)
Which do you think the gibbons use most for moving
around? (Arms)
The throat pouch,
which blows up like
a balloon when they
are calling
Look for colours:
Ask: Which colours can you
see on the gibbons?
Where? Write the children’s
answers for them:
Black……………………..……
Orange…………………………
Which part of the forest do you think gibbons live in – on
the ground or high in the trees? (High in the trees)
Pink………………………….…
Tell the children:
Grey……………………………
Monkeys and apes are different. Monkeys have tails;
apes do not have tails.
Ask: Do the gibbons have tails? (No)
So are they monkeys or apes? (Apes)
White……………………………
Brown……………………...……
Page 31 of 36
Tell the children:
Gibbons live in family groups in the rainforest. They eat leaves, fruit and insects. Each
family has its own space in the forest, just like you and your family have a home with food
water and shelter.
Ask: How do we stop strangers coming into our homes? (We have fences, walls and
doors)
Tell the children gibbons cannot build fences in the tree tops. So to tell the other gibbons to
keep out, they sing loudly.
Things to do:
Every gibbon family has its own special song to say ‘‘this is our bit of forest – KEEP OUT!’’
Siamang gibbons make two noises at once when they sing – a low ‘WHOOP, WHOOP’
and a high ‘OH, OH’! Try this yourselves. You will find it hard because you don’t have
throat pouches, but if half of you go ‘whoop, whoop!’ (deep) and the others go ‘oh,oh!’
(high), you’ll sound more like gibbons!
If the gibbons don’t sing for you while you are there, listen out for them as you go round
the rest of the park. They are very loud!
If they ask:
Remember to ask what the other children think before looking up the answer or answering
yourself.
Are they cuddly? No, they cuddle and groom each other, but they would be upset and
angry if humans came too close. Their enclosure at the park is their territory, and they
would not want to share it with a human!
If you are not sure of an answer, DON’T GUESS!
Write the question here and promise to help the children find out the answer later.
Page 32 of 36
Zoo-Do
Teaching pack
Follow-up Activities and Ideas
Page 33 of 36
Follow-up activities
This section includes some ideas for using the observations that you made and the data
that you collected at the park.
Activity 1 - Information table
Gibbon
Zebra
Flamingo
Snow
Leopard
Giraffe
Oryx
Rhino
Tiger
Ask the children to record on the table below some of the data that they collected in the
park on their activity sheets. Some of the information required, such as feeding habit, will
have to be researched from the information on the Animal Encyclopaedia on the Marwell
Wildlife website.
paws/claws
hooves
Type of foot
(or hand)
fingers
talons
webbed feet
side of head
Eyes
front of head
black
white
Colour
brown
orange/brown
walk
run
fly
Movement
swim
swing
Feeding
habit
carnivore
herbivore
Page 34 of 36
Activity 2 - Database
On a computer, create a small data file of some or all of the information in the table. A
suitable database would be an application such as Excel in the Microsoft packages. The
children may be able to enter the data themselves.
Activity 3 - Trends
Using either the table or the database that you have compiled, look for trends in the data.
For instance the children might notice, once they start looking carefully, that the plant
eaters tend to have hooves and the meat eating animals have talons or claws.
Animals with similar ways of life will tend to have similar adaptations if those adaptations
are important to the animals’ survival.
Activity 4 - Animal friezes
Ask each group to make a frieze of their chosen species illustrating its social structure,
habitat and adaptations, especially colours and patterns.
Activity 5 - Model enclosures
Using the information that was collected at the tigers, the children could build a model of a
tiger enclosure. In building the model, the children should be encouraged to consider the
needs of the tigers, the keepers and the public. Safety for all three groups is of paramount
importance.
Activity 6 - Movement
Trying to move like the animals is an excellent method of demonstrating how well the
animals are adapted for moving in their particular ways. Good ones to try are the giraffe,
the gibbon, the snow leopard, the tiger and the flamingo.
Activity 7 - Limbs
Bend pipe-cleaners to resemble a human leg, with joints bending in the correct way and
with the different sections of the leg roughly to scale. Using some of your notes, bend other
pipe-cleaners to resemble a flamingo’s leg or a giraffe’s leg.
Activity 8 - Animal adaptations
Choose an animal and then describe it to a small group. Tell them about its adaptations,
colour, size, diet, etc. Ask the group to guess what the animal is, either by telling you,
choosing the picture, or by drawing it.
Ask them if they can think of any other animals that have similar adaptations.
Activity 9 - Expedition preparation
Consider what you might need if you were going on an expedition to some of the habitats
that the animals come from. What would you need if you were going to the desert? And the
rainforest? Which items would be the same? And which different?
Page 35 of 36
Activity 10 - Build a rainforest
Use junk materials to build a model rainforest, concentrating especially on scale.
Making models of the rainforest animals and putting them in the model forest will help the
children to appreciate the vastness of the forests.
Activity 11 - Shape poems
Make poems about the animals, using some of your descriptions, photos, sketches, etc.
Consider:
 shape
 colour
 pattern
 movement
 limbs
 behaviour
 ears etc.
Write the poems on animal shaped paper.
Activity 12 - Sounds
Investigate different ways of making sounds.
What noises do animals make? How? Consider feet (antelopes), breathing (rhinos),
gibbons (throat sacs), cats (purring and roaring, claws scratching on wood), etc.
Activity 13 - Rainforest play
Act out the process of deforestation, pollution, or collecting, considering what happens to
all those involved.
Pretend to be trees, animals, foresters, native people, conservationists, media, etc.
Activity 14 - Soil erosion
Use two seed trays. Put an equal shallow layer of soil in each tray.
Sow cress or mustard seeds in one tray.
Keep both trays in identical conditions.
Water both trays equally.
Observe:
 What happens to the cress/mustard seeds?
 What happens to the soil in the first tray?
 What happens to the soil in the second tray?
Repeat the experiment, putting both trays on an identical and slight slope.
Compare the results with the previous investigation.
What does this tell us about rainforests and soil erosion?
Page 36 of 36