29 riddles and facts about animals and nature

Written by Harris TobiasIllustrated by Amber Von

Copyright 2015Casita Press

Charlottesville, VA

A Child’s Book of Riddles

This book contains 29 riddles. Most of them are about animals but some are not. There are hints on the riddle pages and some interesting facts about the creatures or objects pictured on the answer pages. See if you can guess the riddles before you turn the page. Good luck and

no peeking.

My howl can make you feel smallYou hope I don’t pay you a call My bad reputationComes from poor educationOver hunting has been my downfall

Red wolves once roamed throughout the Southeastern United States where it was an apex predator. The red wolf was thought to be extinct in the wild by 1980. 1987 saw a reintroduction in northeastern North Carolina through a captive breeding program and the animals are considered to be successfully breeding in the wild but are still considered critically endangered.

WO L FI can move without making a soundMy figure is low to the groundI go where I pleaseIf I give you a squeezeYou won’t like me hanging around

The Boa constrictor is found in North, Central, and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. Boa constrictors can reach lengths of anywhere from 3–13 feet Boa constrictors are very popular within the exotic pet trade, and have been both captured in the wild and also bred in captivity.

BOA CONSTR ICTOR

I fly but not in the airMy skin hasn’t feathers or hairAnd one other thingI have a terrible stingDo you know who I am? Do you care?

Most stingray species are relatively wide spread but several are listed as vulnerable or endangered. Stingrays do not aggressively attack humans A sting can occur if a ray is accidentally stepped on. To avoid stepping on a stingray in shallow water, it’s a good idea to shuffle your feet.

S T I N G R AY

My kind is most seldom seenUnless your senses are keenMy color is blackAll pity I lackI bite but I’m not being mean

The common name black widow spider is due to a behavior in some species in which the female eats the male after mating. Its bite is harmful to humans; however, black widow bites are rarely fatal.

BLACK WIDOW SPIDER

You can run but you cannot hideMy fangs are the source of my prideIf you try to runYou’re certainly doneYou’ll be looking out from inside

Male lions can exceed 550 lbs in weight and are the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia but have disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of their decline. Within Africa, the West African lion population is particularly endangered.

L I O NSome people think I’m a petA mistake they may live to regretMy line is quite ancientI’m smart and I’m patientWith a bite you won’t soon forget

Most species of tarantulas are not dangerous to humans, and some species have become popular as pets. Tarantulas make good pets due to their docility and vivid colors. This unfortunately has led to its over collection from the wild. The illegal pet trade, together with the ongoing destruction of natural habitat and its high mortality rate before sexual maturity, causes considerable concern for the future of the tarantula.

TAR ANT U LAI can take on most any shapeI’m essential to any landscapeIf you look in the airYou’ll find me thereI can touch you and not leave a trace

A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air. A cloud is made up of liquid water droplets. A cloud forms when air is heated by the sun. As it rises, it slowly cools it reaches the saturation point and water condenses, forming a cloud. As long as the cloud and the air that its made of is warmer than the outside air around it floats.

C LO U D SSome people find it drollTo see me out for a strollI’m most often foundUnder the groundBut I sometimes come out of my hole

Moles are small mammals adapted to an underground lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes and short, powerful forelimbs with large paws oriented for digging. Male moles are called “boars”, females are called “sows”. A group of moles is called a “labour”. A mole’s diet primarily consists of earthworms and other insects found in the soil. European, Asian, and North American moles are not endangered and are often considered agricultural pests. Many African moles, however, are endangered; Juliana’s Golden Mole is listed as endangered, as are the Giant Golden Mole and Van Zyl’s Golden Mole.

M O L E

I can be gentle and calmOr do some serious harmI can break treesOr be soft as a breezeWhen I’m angry you better be gone

Wind is air in motion and is referred to according to its strength. Short bursts of high speed wind are called gusts. Long-duration winds have various names associated with their strength, such as breeze, gale, storm, hurricane, and typhoon.

T H E W I N D I’m a creature very well knownI make the jungle my homeThe sound of my callStrikes fear in allBut, still, I’d rather be left alone

The tiger is the largest cat. They are generally solitary but are still social animals. They require large areas of habitat to support their prey requirements. Unfortunately they live in some of the more densely populated places on Earth. This has caused significant conflicts with humans.Over the past 100 years, tigers have lost 93% of their historic range. The remaining tigers have been classified as endangered.

T I G E R

I’m everywhere you want to beWithout me there’s nothing to seeWhen I’m on the sceneEverything’s greenWhen I’m absent it’s pure misery

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System and the primary source of energy for all life on Earth. The Sun is our nearest star. It is spherical and consists of hot gas as a result of thermonuclear reactions in its core. It is thought that almost all stars form by this process. The Sun has a diameter of about 865,374 miles, or approximately 109 times that of Earth. It accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. In approximately 5.4 billion years our sun will start to turn into a red giant large to engulf the current orbits of the Solar System’s inner planets including the Earth.

TH E SUN

Most birds fly better than IThey make their home in the skyMe, I don’t careFish are my fareSo underwater I fly

Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Penguins are highly adapted for life in the water. Their wings have evolved into flippers. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life caught while swimming underwater. They spend about half of their lives on land and half in the oceans.

P E N G U I NYou wonder how something so grandCould eat peanuts out of your handMy size aloneWould fill up your homeSome of my parts are in great demand

Elephants are the largest land mammals. They are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. They are the only surviving relative of the now extinct mammoths and mastodons. The trunk, is the elephant’s most important and versatile appendage, contains up to 150,000 separate muscles. Elephants eat leaves, twigs, fruit, bark and roots. The ivory trade has contributed to their severe population decline.

E LE P HANT

Sometimes I’m old, sometimes newOnce in while I’m blueI come and I goHigh tide and lowI am always looking at you

The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth and is the fifth largest moon in the Solar System. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face. It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun. The Moon is the only celestial body other than Earth on which humans have set foot.

My coat is what gives me awayI am faster than all of my preyMy teeth and my clawsAre what give others pauseFor there’s little that I cannot slayT H E M O O N

The species’ success in the wild is due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometers per hour (36 mph), its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy kill, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains. Most leopards avoid people, but humans may occasionally be targeted as prey.

L E O PA R D I’m everyone’s favorite pestWhen you sleep I won’t let you restIn your ear I will whineOn your blood I will dineItchy bites are my bequest

Mosquitoes are a family of small, blood sucking insects. Although a few species are harmless or even useful to humanity, most are a nuisance because they consume blood from living vertebrates, including humans. In feeding on blood, some of them transmit extremely harmful diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever and filariasis. Some authorities argue accordingly that mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on Earth. There are over 3,500 species of mosquitoes known to science.

M O S Q U I T OWhen something falls on the groundMy sisters and I gather aroundWe clean up the messTake it back to our nestWithout ever making a sound

Ants are social insects and are related wasps and bees. Only half of the 12,500 species have been classified. Ants form highly organized colonies that may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals. Ants have colonized almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass. Ants perform many ecological roles that are beneficial to humans, including the suppression of pest populations and aeration of the soil. There are approximately 1 million ants for every human on Earth.

ANTSMy funny call gives me awayDead animals make my buffetI travel in packsHunting for snacksI’m ugly or so people say

Although long reputed to be cowardly scavengers, hyenas kill as much as 95% of the food they eat. Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, The striped hyena is primarily a scavenger, though it will occasionally attack and kill any defenseless animal it can overcome. The spotted hyena, though it also scavenges occasionally, is an active pack hunter of medium to large sized prey, which it catches by wearing them down in long chases.

HYENA

There is no creature larger than meGood thing I live in the seaI’ve been hunted and slainUntil so few remainI might be the last one you’ll see

The Blue Whale is a marine mammal. At 30 metres (98 ft.) in length and 170 tons or more in weight, it is the largest known animal ever to have existed. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill. Blue whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth until the beginning of the twentieth century. For over a century, they were hunted almost to extinction by whalers until protected by the international community in 1966. A 2002 report estimated there were 5,000 to 12,000 blue whales worldwide.

B L U E W H A L E You can only see me at nightWhen it’s clear I’m a remarkable sightI hide in the dayI’m so far awayThat I shine with an unearthly light

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of hot gas held together by its own gravity. Our nearest star is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible from Earth during the night appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points due to their immense distance. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and the brightest stars gained proper names. Extensive catalogues of stars have been assembled by astronomers.

TH E STARS

There are so few of my kind in the wildEven though I am peaceful and mildThe problem is thatI have no habitatI have no place to raise my child

The orangutans are an Asian species of great apes. They are native to Indonesia and Malaysia and are currently found in only the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Orangutans spend most of their time in trees. Their hair is typically reddish-brown. Fruit is the most important component of an orangutan’s diet. The orangutan is critically endangered. A major factor in their alarming decline has been the conversion of vast areas of tropical forest to palm oil plantations. Hunting is also a major problem as is the illegal pet trade

O R A N G U TA N My kind is nearly extinctHunters brought us to the brinkThey think that my hornWill make them re-bornIt’s just hair and not what they think

Members of the rhinoceros are some of the largest mammals with all of the species able to reach one tonne or more in weight. They generally eat leafy material. Rhinoceros are killed by humans for their horns. People grind up the horns and then consume them believing the dust has therapeutic properties. The horn is incredibly valuable: an average sized horn can bring in as much as a quarter of a million dollars in Vietnam. As a result, poaching is hitting record levels due to demands from China and Vietnam.

R H INO C E ROS

In rivers I like to swimMud protects my sensitive skinI can bite a canoeAlmost in twoAnd no one considers me thin

The name Hippopotamus comes from the ancient Greek for “river horse”. It is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal. After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world and is regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Nevertheless, they are still threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth. Hippos are subject to unregulated hunting and poaching.

H I P P OP OTAMUS

There’s no place that I’d rather beThan out in your yard running freeThis rather begsThe question of eggsWhich came first, them or me?

The chicken is a domesticated version of the Red Jungle fowl, one of the most common and widespread domestic animals with a population of more than 24 billion. There are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, consuming both their meat and their eggs. Some hen breeds can produce over 300 eggs per year.

C H I C K E N

My body is covered with scalesA protection that never failsWhat I like bestIs a big termite nestAnd ants make the tastiest meals

A pangolin (also known as a scaly anteater) has large scales covering its skin, and is the only known mammal with this adaptation. It is found naturally in tropical regions throughout Africa and Asia. The name, pangolin, comes from the Malay word, pengguling, meaning “something that rolls up”. It can curl up into a ball when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armor and its face tucked under its tail. Deforestation, has led to a large decrease in the numbers of giant pangolins. In 2010, pangolins were added to the list of endangered mammals.

PA N G O L I N I can zip through the air like a dartI make flying into an artI am swift and deadlyI eat insects steadilyEcologically I do my part

Dragon flies are characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are among the fastest flying insects in the world. Dragonflies can fly backwards, change direction in mid-air and hover for up to a minute. Dragonflies are major predators that eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, wasps, and, very rarely, butterflies. They are usually found around marshes, lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands because their larvae, known as “nymphs”, are aquatic.

D R A G O N F LY

I’m as big and slow as expectedMy age alone should be respectedSure I move slowlyMy diet’s quite lowlyMy armor keeps me well protected

Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling turtles. Contrary to popular belief, tortoises are in fact turtles rather than part of a separate group. Like most turtles, tortoises are shielded from pred-ators by a shell. Female tortoises dig nesting burrows in which they lay from one to 30 eggs. Most land-based tortoises are herbivores and are among the world’s longest-living animals, with an average lifespan of 100 years or more. The giant tortoise is threatened by introduced species such as dogs and cats which prey on young tortoises, and cattle which compete for grazing vegetation.

T O R T O I S E

People fear that I may be insertedAnd hang in their attic invertedI don’t need to seeThe dark’s fine with meBut my character’s been grossly perverted

Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight. Other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums can only glide for short distances. To help them find their prey in the dark, bats have developed a navigation system called echolocation enabling bats to capture prey in total darkness.Bats are the second largest order of mammals after the rodents and represent 20% of all mammal species. The greatest threat to bats is people. Bats are also killed by harmful development projects such as wind turbines that are placed along migratory routes. In addition, an emerging disease called white nose syndrome is killing large numbers of hibernating bats in North America. The United States is home to an estimated 45 to 48 species of bats.

BATS

People think I look like I’m prayingWhen in fact I’m only weighingWhether to dineOn six bugs or nineMy numbers have been reduced by spraying

A Pledge For The Earth

You know it’s important, my friend,To save the planet upon which we dependYes, it’s up to usTo make a big fussAll Earth’s creatures we must defendYou must understand thatWithout habitatFor many species this is the endSo let’s band together and sayLet no bird or beast fade awayThe Earth is our homeJust leave it aloneAnd we’ll all live together someday

Praying Mantis is the common name for this insect. It is thought to be praying because of its typical “prayer-like” posture. Mantises have large compound eyes and excellent vision. The majority of mantises are ambush predators and camouflage themselves spending long periods standing perfectly still. In pure ambush mode a mantis lashes out at remarkable speed when a target comes within reach.

P R AY ING M ANT I S

Some other books by this author you might enjoy:

How The Cat Got Its Whiskers

The Adventures of MoonRivet

At The Robot Zoo

Five Little Froggies

The Adventures of Rocket Bob

The King’s Dream

A Wish Too Far

The Big Fat Counting Book

The Three Chocolatiers

An Alphabet Book of Bugs

Baker’s Dozen

An Alphabet Book Of Bugs

How the Pelican Got Its Beak

The Three Swords

A Prisoner of Beauty

The Stone Apples

How The Zebra Got Its Stripes

The Broody Little Hen

Trumpet The Homeless Troll

Baker’s Dozen Cookbook

The Wisdom of Yaqui The Bear

MoonRivet

The Adventures of Rocket Bob

The Little Robot

These books and more are available on Amazon and CreateSpace. Just enter Harris Tobias in the search field.

A Contract With Mother Earth

The natural world is our precious heritage. It is ours to either cherish or destroy. The fate of the millions of creatures that share the world with us hang in the balance. I pledge to do my part in protecting our planet’s wildlife, its wild places and living things everywhere.

Signed _________________________________________

Signed _________________________________________

Signed __________________________________________

Signed __________________________________________