Raccons

     Raccoons are black and white mammals that can sometimes be viscous. Raccoons are active at night. These animals live throughout North and South america and Asia. Through-out the winter, raccoons do not hibernate, although they do sleep for a long period of time. In order for it to be true hibernation, the animal should look almost dead. This is because the animals' body temperature and heart rate drop substantially. In order for raccoons to stay warm through the winter, they gain extra body fat in the fall. Raccoons crawl around on all four paws on land, and also are excellent swimmers, in fact they get a lot of their food from under water. Raccoons eat things such as, bird eggs, fruits, seeds, nuts and plants on land. As for underwater, they hunt things such as frogs, fish and crayfish. Raccoons make their dens in cracks and burrows of high trees or abandon buildings. Normally female raccoons give birth to three or four baby raccoons in the spring. The baby raccoons' eyes do not open until 20 days after being born. When the babies get older they will grow rings around their tails and masks around their eyes. After eight to ten weeks, the baby raccoons come out of their burrow. The mother raccoon is almost always protective of her babies, sometimes not even allowing the father come near them. Most raccoons live around five years if they are in the wild. Some raccoons can live up to 20 years if kept in captivity. There are seven different species of raccoons.

Ligers

     Ligers are a cross breed between a male lion and a female tiger. Most people say that lions are the largest type of cat, but ligers are the largest type of caton earth. Ligers are not tecnically endangered, or common. Ligers have never been common at all. This is because tigers and lions do not live in the same areas, so this
kind if thing is done in captivity. Many Ligers are born with birth defects and die young. It can be very dangerous for the female tiger, (tigress) to give birth because of how big they can be. The tigress can even die from giving birth. Ligers have characteristics of both their mother and father. They have the strength of a lion and the speed of a tiger. Ligers have a larger body than both of their parents. There is no one who knows the life span of a liger. A typical male liger stands about 12 feet tall on hind legs. Ligers can weigh up to half a ton, which is 2 times the amount of either of it's parents.                                                  

Costa Rica

         I will talk about the geography, nature, history, people and culture, and some interesting facts about Costa rica.  To begin I will talk about geography. Costa rica is a small country in   central America. Bordering Costa rica is, Nicaragua, to the North, and Panama, to the South. To the East of Costa rica lies the Caribbean sea. To the west, lies the Pacific ocean. This country is smaller than the state of West Virginia! 


         Next I will tell you about what nature is like in Costa rica. Costa rica is a warm, tropical, place. One fifth of the country is covered in forests. Costa rica is one of the many countries that has rain forests in it.  The Monteverde cloud forest is the largest cloud forest in Central America.  Costa rica is home to over 9000 various kinds of flowering plants and, 2000 different species of trees. Until the rainy season begins, ( April - May) tropical dry forests stay dry. But when the rainy season hits, the forests begin to bloom.  These forests are hot and very humid year round. Molds, ferns, vines, and fungi grow through the canopy to the forest floors because of the heavy rainfall.  Palm trees and mangroves are frequent around the coastal areas.  In the rain forests of Costa rica there includes over 200 different reptile species slithering (or crawling) around in Costa rica. Mainly snakes, but Costa rica also includes many different colorful toads and frogs. Costa rica is also home to the poison arrow frog. Bats, and insects such as, transparent, vibrant butterflies, and leaf cutter ants, live in Costa rica. The national flower is the orchid. there are over 1200 species of orchids in Costa rica. Costa rica is also home to many species of birds, such as, the beautiful, sadly endangered, quetzal, the scarlet macaw, blue footed boobies and, a very beautiful bird that Costa rica is known for. The toucan. This is a picture of many birds you might spot in Costa rica.

  
      Costa rica has a very interesting past. In 1561 the Spanish came and colonized Costa rica. For about 250 years, it was a Spanish colony. In 1821, Costa rica declared independence from Spain, with the help of other countries in Central America, who were fighting for their own country. Women and other people of African decent gained the right to vote in 1949.

      Now I will tell you about the people and culture in Costa rica. People in Costa rica are just like us here in America,except a few different traditions. Just like here in America, Most Ticos (what Costa ricans call them selves), move out when they get married just like us. Although work is an important coordinate of earning a living, Ticos believe they should enjoy their lives. Native languages such as Bribri, the language the people of the Talamanca region originally spoke, is spoken. Although Costa rica's official language is Spanish, English is sometimes spoken as a second language. Many holidays and festivals are celebrated in Costa rica such as, Christmas and Holy week. You're probably wondering, what is holy week? When I got to this part of the entry I had no idea either. But now i know that holy week is the week before Easter, or the last week of lent. Costa rica celebrates Christmas as well. The most popular sport is definitely futbol or, soccer.

       Some interesting facts:
- The capital of Costa rica is San Jos'e.
- The population of Costa rica is 4,516,220.
- Costa rica is home to several volcanoes and Irazu is the tallest, towering at 11,259 feet.