Animal Adventures Europe

Animal Adventures
Europe

Most of Europe is in the temperate climate zone, meaning that temperatures generally stay pretty mild. Many areas within Europe’s temperatures are regulated by the warm water in the Gulf Stream and the Mediterranean Sea. Wind carries the heat of these bodies of water to surrounding land, preventing the air temperature from getting as cold as it otherwise would be. Eastern parts of Europe tend to be colder because there is no nearby Ocean to regulate the temperature.

Praying Mantis

The praying mantis’ name comes from its long front legs which appear to be in a prayer position. The actual purpose for the shape of their legs is to quickly snatch their prey before it can react and escape. This is helped by the sharp spines on the front sides of...

Pufferfish

The main purpose of a pufferfish’s spines and ability to expand itself is to protect itself from predators. When a predator tries to eat a pufferfish, it inflates inside the predator's mouth, poking it from the inside with its spines. Most pufferfish also contain...

Red Fox

Red foxes have mobile ears which can adjust to focus their hearing in any direction. This helps them target the locations of their prey. They’re able to communicate with each other through facial expressions, body language, scent, and a range of 28 different...

Reindeer

Reindeer are specially adapted for the cold tundra environment they live in. Their noses have developed in a way that warms the air before it gets to their lungs and some species’ knees make a clicking noise when they walk that allows herds to hear each other and...

Sable

Sables live in the thickest parts of woods and often dig their burrows by tree roots to make them more secure. They are very territorial and will claim home territories anywhere from 1.5 to 11.6 square miles (4-30 sq km). If resources are low, sables are able to...

Sand Lizard

Sand lizards’ tails are longer than the rest of their bodies. They’re able to detach themselves from their tails in order to escape from predators. Their basic colors are brown, grey, and beige, but males’ flanks turn a bright green during mating season in order to...

Scorpion

Scorpions have been on the planet for hundreds of millions of years, even since before the age of dinosaurs. This can be owed in part to their amazing endurance. Scorpions can slow down their metabolism to the point that they can live off of only one insect for a...

Sea Star

Most sea stars have 5 arms but some are able to grow up to 50. Each of these arms is covered into tiny suckers and organs which the sea star uses to creep along the floor of the ocean. Sea stars generally aren’t very social, but occasionally groups of them will...

Seahorse

Seahorses are able to change colors in order to camouflage with their environment in order to evade predators and sneak up on their prey. The ability to hide is especially important for seahorses because they’re extremely slow, only reaching speeds up to 4.9 feet...

Snowy Owl

Snowy owls are named after their coloring but females actually are never fully white. Adult males are almost entirely white while females’ feathers are covered with dark brown markings. Despite their excellent eyesight, snowy owls often can’t see their prey because...