©2011 Tammy Yee
Easy Butterfly OrigamiMy new book, Easy Butterfly Origami features 30 bold full-color patterns designed to accurately portray the dorsal and ventral sides of some of the most beautiful butterflies from around the world!
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Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts
Coloring: Hawaiian Monk Seal, Hawaii's State Mammal
Color an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal pup:
On July 6, 2000, the residents on the island of Kauai were treated to a very special event. A baby Hawaiian monk seal, or pup, was born on the shores of Poipu beach. Yellow tape was set up around the mother and pup to keep onlookers at a safe distance. Volunteers kept a watchful eye on the seals 24 hours a day, insuring that the pair was not disturbed.
Hawaiian monk seals are one of only two mammals that are endemic, or found only in Hawaii. Adult seals weigh 400 to 600 pounds (females are generally larger) and feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. Pups are black at birth, and grow at a rapid rate as they feed on their mother's rich milk. Mother doesn't eat the entire time that is spent nursing her pup...that means no meals for six weeks! By this time, poor hungry mom has lost almost a third of her of her weight, and the chubby pup has put on more than a hundred pounds! Imagine if your baby brother or sister weighed 150 pounds when he or she was only six weeks old.
NOAA Monk Seal Recovery Plan
In the past few years, the Hawaiian monk seal population has plummeted to 1,200 individuals, making it the United States' most endangered marine mammal. The oldest living seal species, it is one of only two remaining tropical seals--the Mediterranean monk seal is also critically endangered. A third tropical seal, the Carribean monk seal, has been extinct since the 1950s.
NOAA's recovery plan, revised after intensive research, will focus on a captive care program to nutritionally supplement vulnerable juvenile female seals.
You can help the Hawaiian monk seal by:
The Hawaiian Monk Seal
Scientific name: Monachus schauinslandi
Well, you might ask, why all the hoopla? After all, California sea lions gather in rookeries by the thousands. First of all, Hawaiian monk seals usually steer clear of the populated, major Hawaiian Islands. They are usually found in the French Frigate Shoals, Northwest of the Hawaiian Islands. Secondly and more importantly, Hawaiian monk seals are endangered. Today, there are less than 1,500 Hawaiian monk seals in the entire world.
Hawaiian monk seals are one of only two mammals that are endemic, or found only in Hawaii. Adult seals weigh 400 to 600 pounds (females are generally larger) and feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. Pups are black at birth, and grow at a rapid rate as they feed on their mother's rich milk. Mother doesn't eat the entire time that is spent nursing her pup...that means no meals for six weeks! By this time, poor hungry mom has lost almost a third of her of her weight, and the chubby pup has put on more than a hundred pounds! Imagine if your baby brother or sister weighed 150 pounds when he or she was only six weeks old.
"Winged Feet"
Hawaiian monk seals are pinnipeds (PIN-uh-pedz). Pinniped means "winged feet", and with their flippers and sleek bodies, these mammals are well-adapted to life at sea.
Hawaiian monk seals are pinnipeds (PIN-uh-pedz). Pinniped means "winged feet", and with their flippers and sleek bodies, these mammals are well-adapted to life at sea.
Seal or Sea Lion?
True seals have no external ears, and their hind flippers can't turn forwards. Seals, like the monk seal, harp seal, and harbor seal, are very awkward on land. They drag themselves about with floppy, undulating motions. But once these blubbery pinnipeds enter the water, look out! Their torpedo-shaped bodies cut through the water with ease, and they can dive to tremendous depths. The Antarctic Weddell seal can dive to 2,000 feet and stay underwater for up to 73 minutes!
True seals have no external ears, and their hind flippers can't turn forwards. Seals, like the monk seal, harp seal, and harbor seal, are very awkward on land. They drag themselves about with floppy, undulating motions. But once these blubbery pinnipeds enter the water, look out! Their torpedo-shaped bodies cut through the water with ease, and they can dive to tremendous depths. The Antarctic Weddell seal can dive to 2,000 feet and stay underwater for up to 73 minutes!
Sea lions and fur seals belong to the Sea Lion family. These pinnipeds have external ears, and they can turn their hind flippers forwards, making it easier for them to move on land. The California sea lion is the most popular of all, and is commonly seen in marine shows and circuses.
Hawaiian name: ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, quadruped that runs in the rough seas.
Recommended reading for children:
The Hawaiian Monk Seal, by Patrick Ching. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1994.
The Story of Hina, by Patrick Ching. Island Heritage, 1999.
The Hawaiian Monk Seal, by Patrick Ching. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1994.
The Story of Hina, by Patrick Ching. Island Heritage, 1999.
Sources: Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia, Dr. Philip Whitfield, Ed. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1984.
With Senator Dan Inouye at NOAA's Recovery Plan Ceremony. Painting by Tammy Yee.
NOAA's recovery plan, revised after intensive research, will focus on a captive care program to nutritionally supplement vulnerable juvenile female seals.
You can help the Hawaiian monk seal by:
- Keeping distance from Hawaiian monk seals. Seals and pups are sometimes seen on popular beaches on the Main Hawaiian Islands--human interaction can disturb the mother-pup relationship and introduce disease.
- Cutting loops from six-pack holders and other plastic items before throwing them away. Marine animals can swallow them or become entangled in the plastic holes, which may lead to death.
- Disposing of unwanted fishing lines, nets and other garbage. Don't bury trash in the sand, as it will eventually be uncovered.
- Educating yourself and others about the Hawaiian monk seal:
NOAA Monk Seal Recovery Plan
Star Bulletin: Saving Monk Seals
Fun Facts: Hawaiian Monk Seal
Illustration by Tammy Yee
Scientific name: Monachus schauinslandi
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| Color a Hawaiian Monk Seal |
Well, you might ask, why all the hoopla? After all, California sea lions gather in rookeries by the thousands. First of all, Hawaiian monk seals usually steer clear of the populated, major Hawaiian Islands. They are usually found in the French Frigate Shoals, Northwest of the Hawaiian Islands. Secondly and more importantly, Hawaiian monk seals are endangered. Today, there are less than 1,500 Hawaiian monk seals in the entire world.
Hawaiian monk seals are one of only two mammals that are endemic, or found only in Hawaii. Adult seals weigh 400 to 600 pounds (females are generally larger) and feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. Pups are black at birth, and grow at a rapid rate as they feed on their mother's rich milk. Mother doesn't eat the entire time that is spent nursing her pup...that means no meals for six weeks! By this time, poor hungry mom has lost almost a third of her of her weight, and the chubby pup has put on more than a hundred pounds! Imagine if your baby brother or sister weighed 150 pounds when he or she was only six weeks old."Winged Feet"
Hawaiian monk seals are pinnipeds (PIN-uh-pedz). Pinniped means "winged feet", and with their flippers and sleek bodies, these mammals are well-adapted to life at sea.
Illustration by Tammy Yee
Seal or Sea Lion?
True seals have no external ears, and their hind flippers can't turn forwards. Seals, like the monk seal, harp seal, and harbor seal, are very awkward on land. They drag themselves about with floppy, undulating motions. But once these blubbery pinnipeds enter the water, look out! Their torpedo-shaped bodies cut through the water with ease, and they can dive to tremendous depths. The Antarctic Weddell seal can dive to 2,000 feet and stay underwater for up to 73 minutes!
Sea lions and fur seals belong to the Sea Lion family. These pinnipeds have external ears, and they can turn their hind flippers forwards, making it easier for them to move on land. The California sea lion is the most popular of all, and is commonly seen in marine shows and circuses.
Hawaiian name: ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, quadruped that runs in the rough seas.
Recommended reading for children:
The Hawaiian Monk Seal, by Patrick Ching. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1994.
The Story of Hina, by Patrick Ching. Island Heritage, 1999.
Sources: Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia, Dr. Philip Whitfield, Ed. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1984.
With Senator Dan Inouye at NOAA's Recovery Plan Ceremony. Painting by Tammy Yee.
NOAA's recovery plan, revised after intensive research, will focus on a captive care program to nutritionally supplement vulnerable juvenile female seals.
You can help the Hawaiian monk seal by:
- Keeping distance from Hawaiian monk seals. Seals and pups are sometimes seen on popular beaches on the Main Hawaiian Islands--human interaction can disturb the mother-pup relationship and introduce disease.
- Cutting loops from six-pack holders and other plastic items before throwing them away. Marine animals can swallow them or become entangled in the plastic holes, which may lead to death.
- Disposing of unwanted fishing lines, nets and other garbage. Don't bury trash in the sand, as it will eventually be uncovered.
- Educating yourself and others about the Hawaiian monk seal:
NOAA Monk Seal Recovery Plan
Star Bulletin: Saving Monk Seals
To learn more about Hawaiian monk seals and for a monk seal dot-to-dot, visit the Native Hawaiian Library Other online resources: The Waikiki Aquarium Hawaiian Monk Seal Research, The Seal Conservation Society or Earthtrust
School paper got you down? Need info on wildlife? Visit The Animal Diversity Web
©2011 Tammy Yee
Sea Otter Awareness!
Fold an Origami Sea Otter to commemorate Sea Otter Awareness Week!
How much do you know about those lovable, fur-faced acrobats twisting and diving in kelp beds?
Sea otters are one of the few mammals, aside from primates (monkeys and apes), to use tools. Floating on the surface of the water, they sometimes place a rock on their chest, using it as a hard surface to smash open shelled food like clams and abalone. Have you ever wondered how otters carry all that stuff to the surface? In their armpits, in loose skin folds! Try that with an urchin--better yet, don't try it.
These resourceful animals even use kelp as an anchor, wrapping themselves in the long fronds to keep from floating away while they rest. Kelp also makes a great babysitter. Mom leashes her pup in kelp, letting it bob on the surface as she hunts for food, never having to worry about paying the sitter.
This year will mark the 7th annual Sea Otter Awareness Week. All across the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, aquariums are sponsoring events to teach the public about these endangered creatures.
For more information about otters and a list of events, visit the Defenders of Wildlife website, http://www.defenders.org.
Sea otter facts you "otter" know:
- Size
Sea otters are the largest member of the weasel family, but the smallest of all marine mammal. Males grow as large as 5 feet while the average length of adult females is 4 feet. Full grown otters weigh as much as an average 9 to 10 year old child. Baby otters weigh only 5 lbs at birth! - In the wild they live up to 10 to 12 years of age; however, they can live as long as 25 years.
- Because they have no blubber, sea otters keep warm with their dense fur. They have the thickest, finest fur of any mammal, with up to 1 million hairs per square inch, and they need to keep clean to stay warm. This is why otters are so vulnerable to oil spills.
- Sea otters' webbed hind paws are ideal for a life spent almost entirely in the water.
- A Big Appetite.
Otters need to eat 25 to 30 percent of their weight every day just to stay warm. A 100 lb person would have to eat 100 quarter-pound burgers a day to keep up! Their diet consists mainly of clams, urchins, mussels, crabs and fish. - Sea otters are social critters. They meet and play in groups of less than 10, to more than 100, called rafts. The moms and pups stay together in one group, separate from the males.
- Although moms usually give birth to one pup at a time, they sometimes give birth to twins. Unfortunately, only one pup will survive.
©2009 Tammy Yee
Origami: Goldfish
Difficulty: Easy
Directions:
1. Print and cut out Origami Fish along outer solid lines.
2. With printed side facing up, fold vertically in half along center line.
3. Unfold and turn over, so that the printed side is facing down.
4. Fold diagonally as shown.
5. Repeat diagonal fold on the other side.
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6. Your Fish Origami should be creased as illustrated.
7. Turn your paper over. With printed side down, fold along creases, forming a "tent" as illustrated.
8. Fold the dorsal (top) fin back, then up along solid lines.
Repeat with ventral (bottom) fin.
9. Turn your fish over. Fold top tail fin down, then up along solid lines as shown.
Repeat with bottom tail fin.
10. Turn your fish over and you're pau (done)!
©2009 Tammy Yee.
All rights reserved.
Coloring: Count and Color Creatures of the Reef
Print Count and Color Creatures of the Reef
Can you count and find:
| 1 Dolphin |  |
| 2 Monk seals |  |
| 3 Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Triggerfish) |  |
| 4 Eagle rays |  |
| 5 Hammerhead sharks |  |
| 6 Urchins |  |
| 7 Crabs |  |
| 8 Moorish idols |  |
| 9 Seashells |  |
| And... 10 Milletseed butterflyfish? |  |
Print Count and Color Creatures of the Reef
©2009 Tammy Yee
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