[gentle music] [moves to upbeat music] - Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Memphis Zoo here in Memphis, Tennessee.

My name is Devon, and I'm an animal interpreter here at the zoo.

That means I have the very special job of taking care of some of the animals here at the zoo and introducing them to people just like you.

Are you ready to learn with me today?

Awesome!

So today we're gonna be learning all about where animals live.

Now, can you tell me, where do you live?

Great job!

Animals live all over the world and make their homes in every place you can imagine.

Today, we're going to travel around the zoo and around the world to explore the different habitats that animals live in.

A habitat is a special location with unique features.

Animals live in different habitats, just like how humans can live in different types of places.

Today we will explore the wetlands, [gentle upbeat music] tundra, [gentle upbeat music continues] grasslands, rainforests, deserts, mountains, and oceans, and some of the amazing animals that call each of them home.

Let's go.

All right, everyone, are you ready to learn about our first habitat with me?

That's great.

Well, my friend Monty here actually came to help us.

Ball pythons like Monty come from Africa where they live on the savannah.

Savannahs are large grassy plains that have very little trees.

The savannahs are home to some of the most recognizable animals here at the zoo, like the elephants, the giraffes, zebras, and the lions behind me.

In the grasslands of Africa, ball pythons will live in burrows or holes in the ground, but they'll come out to eat their favorite food.

What do you think that a snake like Monty might like to eat?

If you said rats and mice, you're right.

She loves any small ground animal.

Ball pythons are constrictors, which means that they're going to squeeze their prey really tightly before they eat it.

Sometimes ball pythons in the wild may have to go a long time without getting their next meal.

It can take weeks or even months for them to find food.

Savannah animals experience both wet and dry seasons.

During the wet seasons, savannahs get a lot of rain and water is easy to find, but during the dry season, water is much harder to come by.

This makes life in the savannah very challenging.

Savannah's are all very open, so it's hard for animals to hide from predators.

For this reason, many animals in the savannah live in groups for protection, like zebras, elephants, and gazelles.

Predators also have a tough time sneaking up on their prey, so many have developed great camouflage, like the lions, cheetahs, and hyenas.

Lions and hyenas also hunt in groups.

All animals in the savannah have to be able to adapt to the changing weather and landscape.

Climate change is affecting the savannah animals around the world.

You can help them by saving energy.

Turning off the lights when you leave a room is a great way to help protect savannah animals.

Okay, learners, can you remember the two seasons in the savannah that we just learned about?

It's the wet season and the dry season.

Did you get it right?

The next habitat we're gonna talk about is wet all the time.

In fact, it's so wet that it's called the wetlands.

Wetlands are an important habitat for many animals, and that's because all animals need water to survive.

The flamingos behind me rely on the wetlands to provide their food.

You may have already known that flamingos are pink, but did you know that they're actually pink because of the food they eat?

That's right!

Flamingos eat tiny things like shrimp and algae, which will over time dye their feathers that beautiful pink color.

Now, if you change the color of the last food that you ate, what color would you be?

I'd be yellow like a banana.

Now, can you think of any other animals that like to live around water?

Hippos, frogs, snakes, otters, and many more animals live in wetland habitats.

That's because wetlands are a habitat with many resources like food, shelter, and of course, water.

Lots of plants grown near wetlands, and these plants can be used for food and shelter by wetland animals.

Many animals in the wetlands are adapted for both land and water, like the hippos.

They spend most of their lives in the water, but they can walk on land as well.

Some wetland animals have to spend their early life in the water all the time, but they'll grow and change to leave the water, like frogs or dragon flies.

You can help the wetlands by not polluting.

We want to keep our wetlands clean and not throw away any trash or chemicals where they can hurt wildlife.

By throwing trash away in the trashcan, you are saving wildlife.

Okay, learners, can you remember what the most important part of the wetland is?

That's right, it was the water!

Our next habitat also has a lot of water.

Can you guess where it is?

It's the rainforest.

Now, what makes the rainforest different from a regular forest?

Well, that's the rain and lots of it.

It rains almost every day in the rainforest, which makes lots of amazing plants and trees.

Rainforests have a lot of biodiversity.

That just means that there are a lot of different types of plants and animals that live there.

Can you think of any other animals that live in the rainforest?

Tigers, sloths, toucans, tapirs, bats, and many more animals live in the rainforest.

How do so many animals fit inside the rainforest?

Well, the rainforest has many layers, which allows animals, both big and small, to live among the trees.

The trees in the rainforest are very tall, and animals have adapted to live in every part of them.

Some animals, like bats, birds, and monkeys, live high in the trees.

Others, like frogs, butterflies, and snakes, live in the lower branches.

And the larger animals, like the tigers and anteaters, live on the forest floor.

The rainforest is home to many of our favorite species and animals.

One thing that we can do to help the rainforest and animals that live there is to use less paper products.

Do you like to draw?

Try using both sides of the page to save paper and save trees.

So we just learned that the rainforest is a habitat that gets a lot of rain, but can you think of a habitat that gets very little?

If you said the desert, you'd be right.

This is my friend, Murray.

And Murray is an Iranian eyelid gecko.

They're small lizards that are especially adapted to live in and around the deserts, like in their native country of Iran and the surrounding areas.

Deserts get a very small amount of rain and are extremely dry, though not all deserts have sand.

Some even have snow.

Deserts can be very hot during the day, but get extremely cold at night.

Deserts have very few plants, and they seem like they couldn't be home to very many animals, but some animals have found a way to survive these harsh conditions.

Can you think of some desert animals?

Camels, fennec foxes, ostriches, rattlesnakes, and burrowing owls, all call the desert home.

You can help protect desert animals by conserving water.

Turning off the sink while you brush your teeth is one way to help desert animals and animals around the world.

Okay, learners, memory check.

Are deserts hot or cold at night?

That's right, they're cold!

Our next habitat is cold all the time, and that's the arctic or the tundra.

The tundra are chilly treeless lands near the north and south pole.

It's home to many animals, like reindeer, snowy owls, arctic foxes, polar bears, and my friends behind me, the sea lions.

There are two types of tundra, the alpine and the arctic.

The arctic tundra are flat, while the alpine tundras are at the tops of mountains.

Tundra are cold, windy, and very harsh places to live.

Many large animals, like polar bears and musk oxs, call the tundra home.

Some animals only live in the tundra during the warmer months and have to move or migrate seasonally.

Penguins very famously live in the tundra, but only a few species.

Emperor and king penguins are well suited for the cold conditions, but that's not true for all penguins.

Some people may believe that all penguins live in the tundra, but really, some penguins actually like it hot.

The African black-footed penguins behind me are a great example of warm weather penguins.

They live off the southern coast of Africa where it can get quite warm.

Like all penguins, these birds are flightless, but instead, they're amazing swimmers.

Penguins spend most of their time in the water looking for their favorite food, fish.

The ocean is teeming with life and is an important resource for all of us, humans and animals.

The ocean covers most of the earth's surface and has animals of all shapes and sizes.

From the giant blue whale to the teeny tiny plankton, many animals call the ocean home.

The oceans are large, and scientists still haven't explored them fully.

New species are being discovered almost daily.

Sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, jellyfish, and many, many more call the ocean home.

We can help the ocean by recycling.

By recycling, we ensure that fewer products are being made, and more importantly, it means fewer things are being thrown away.

Much of our garbage ends up in the ocean, which can seriously harm wildlife.

Help out ocean animals by recycling or reusing items whenever possible.

Today we've met a lot of animals that live all over the world, but do you ever think about the animals that live next to people?

No matter where you live, you have animal neighbors, and that's because many animals have had to learn to live very close to humans, like Opal here, Opal is a Virginia opossum, and they can be found throughout all of North America.

Opossums live next to people for a couple of reasons, but a big one is that they like to eat all of the same foods that we like to eat.

Here at the zoo, Opal gets a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and meats, and she also enjoys her daily yogurt.

But in the wild, opossums can be really interested in things like our garbage.

One of the ways that you can help keep wild opossums and other animals safe is by securing your trash every day to make sure animals don't have access to it.

Opossums can be great animal neighbors to have because they like to eat a lot of bugs along with everything else.

Many species, like birds, squirrels, raccoons, mice, and snakes, live very close to humans.

We can be good neighbors by giving them plenty of space to do their jobs.

All animals are important and play a role in their habitat.

You can be a good neighbor by never picking up a wild animal.

You can take their picture or ask a trusted adult to take a photo for you, but always leave wildlife in the wild.

You can encourage native birds and insects to visit your home by adding native plants, bird feeders, bug houses, and bird baths.

Isn't it amazing how animals can live in all sorts of different places, even in our backyard?

Which habitat was your favorite?

I like that one too.

But my favorite is the ocean habitat.

Let's review all the others.

Animals live all over the world and make their homes in many different places.

Today we learned all about habitats, special places with unique features, and the animals that live in each of them.

We explored wetlands, tundra, grasslands, rainforests, deserts, and oceans, and some of the amazing animals that call each of them home.

You can help animals all over the world by doing simple things like using the three R's, reduce, reuse, and recycle by throwing your trash in the appropriate places and by letting wild animals stay wild.

Now, from all of us here at the Memphis Zoo and myself, thank you all so much for learning with us today.

Bye-bye!