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Draw, Make, or Do!
May 2021
GIRAFF
by Mack ES Look
INSIDE
VOLUME 9 ISSUE 5
enzie,
ARCTIC FOX
Published by the National Wildlife Federation ®
age 6
by Abigail,
RANGER RICK JR. STAFF
editor-in-chief Lori Collins
age 6 art director
photo editor
Cindy Olson
Chris Conway
NWF EXECUTIVE STAFF
president & ceo Collin O’Mara
chief innovation & growth officer Dawn Rodney
CHILDREN’S ADVISORY BOARD
G
ON THE COVER
FLYING FRO
Mason Banks, age 6 Rachel Johnson, age 7
Amelia Boekelheide, age 5 Rose Johnson, age 7
Turn to page 6 to learn why this
,
by Cameron
Gemma Bovaird, age 6 Nicholas Keefer, age 5
Jessica Bullock, age 6 Heidi Klaus, age 6 tokay gecko and others like it are amazing.
age 7 Victor Cantrell, age 7
Dempsey Carlin, age 6
Leonard Machi, age 7
Lucy Mongada, age 4 PHOTO BY JASMINE VINK
Ava Chanpong, age 6 Benjamin Nussbaum, age 7
Artie Christman, age 6 Ethan Paney, age 7
Miles Collins, age 5 Matthew Raby, age 7
Hank Dalheim, age 6 Valentino Shainis, age 6
Lowell Davison, age 5 Declan Snow, age 6
ROBIN QUID
GIANT S l,
Jackson Falk, age 7
Rowan Ferree, age 4
Harper Souza, age 6
Caiden Webb, age 4 4 That’s Wild! 23 The Adventures of
by Sa
by Sau Bonnie & Chester
Quinn Florio, age 4 Avery Wilcox, age 5
m, Eliot Garner, age 7 Jeannine Wu, age 5
age 6
age 6 BLUE
B
JD Guarino, age 5
Abram Janssen, age 6
Caleb Wungluck, age 7
6 Gecko!
by Co IRD 24 Animal Fun
r
age a,
> PHOTO TAKEN UNDER CONTROLLED CONDITIONS
4
< PHOTO RETOUCHED
For instructions to access digital editions, go to 12 Ricky and Pals
RangerRick.org/digitalsubscription.
26 Desert Animals
16 City Critters
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Guessing Game
from our readers, and we review every one carefully. We wish we had room to
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22 Ever Wonder? 30 Elephant
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EY
brightly colored
RANGER RICK JR. TM (ISSN 2169-2750) is published monthly, except January, by
Submit your drawings D FR the National Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit corporation; 11100 Wildlife Center Drive;
GO Reston, VA 20190. Periodical postage paid at Herndon, Virginia, and at additional
and photos online at MA
RK mailing offices.
RangerRick.org/rickysmail. TO
BY
gecko can be fun from ©2021 BY THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Let’s play a game!
PHO
Or mail them to ;
ER
the get-go!
YZ
Ricky’s Mail
Try to find me 4 more
RE
E
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
EL
There are four frogs. See pages 2, 20, 23, and 25.
CH
Reston, VA 20190
MI
times in this issue!
Answer to Back Cover Question:
Y
TB
Include your name, address,
AF
CR
There are 12 of the letter “P.”
and age on the back of 24
24
your drawing or photo. Look for the letter “P.” How many can you find?
Take Ąnother Look
ion® ®
life Federat
National Wild
®
NS
LITTLE RACCOO
Use a QR reader BUGS GROW UP
Colorful
SEA COWS
to see more photos
and drawings online. Find 15 animals in the city.
Geckos
ILLUSTRATION BY ETHAN LONG
“Animal Fun” Answers, pages 24–25 Have you outgrown
this magazine?
T
Switch to Ranger Rick. GIAoN
ises
Call 1-800-611-1599. Tort
3
GAMES
May 2021 NEWS • FUN &
URE • NATURE
BIOBLITZ ADVENT
AM
RangerRick.org/gecko-craft
3/3/21 9:58
1
Cover.indd
RRMAY21_40-1
KIWI NAKED
MOLE RAT
CAPE
BUFFAL
O
SLOTH
A kiw
i can’t
fly. rat can
A naked mole
t hro ug h g round that
dig
s har d as c oncrete.
is a
loth go es to the
As a week.
o m on ce
bathro
Cape bu
f
poor eye faloes have SEAHORSE
sight bu
t a good
sense of
smell.
APE
PHOTOS PROVIDED
BY MINDEN PICTURES
CAPE BUFFALO: SEAN CRANE;
SLOTH: GERRY ELLIS;
Apes do not have
tails.
SEAHORSE: FRANCO BANFI / NPL;
Some seahorses are as small
KIWI: TUI DE ROY;
NAKED MOLE RAT: ZSSD >;
APE: CYRIL RUOSO >
4 as grains of rice. 5
GECKO!
Let’s Read
MARKO VON DER OSTEN /
What do you
call a lizard
BLUE PLANET ARCHIVE
with bumpy skin,
great big eyes,
and grabby toes?
There are many kinds
of geckos. This one
looks like the branch
it is crawling on.
Mossy Leaf-Tailed Gecko Turn the page to find out
6 why geckos are amazing.
INA
KI
CHRIS MAT
REL
Thick-Tailed
ANZ
ON
Gecko
TISON / N
/N
Most geckos don’t have
ATU
RE
AT
PL
eyelids. They wipe their eyes
UREPL >
clean with their tongues.
Watch it!
Flat-Tailed
Gecko
FRA
Some geckos are tiny.
N
K DE
This baby gecko will
SCH
AND still fit on a finger when
OL &
PHIL
IPPE
SAB
IN
E/B
IOSP
it is full grown.
Geckos are the only kind of lizard
HOT
The largest gecko
O
with a voice. They “talk” to tell other
geckos to stay away. Geckos chirp isn’t much bigger
88 and bark. Some even say, “Gecko!”
Dwarf Gecko than a ruler.
Many geckos have
LAMY
PL
ATURE
ERY / N
INE BENN
BUT / A
LORRA
special toes built for
M
climbing. The ridges
TSINSO
Lined Leaf-Tailed on its toes help this
KASE
Gecko gecko cling to a wall.
ANANT
J. H. P >
ET E CARMICHAEL
Tokay Gecko
Different kinds of geckos are
different colors. This lets them
blend into the many places
they live. Blending in helps KIM TAYLOR / NATURE
PL
geckos hide in plain sight.
Day Gecko
¡Hola!
Read the story in Spanish.
BACKGROUND: VECTEEZY.COM
RangerRick.org/GeckosSP 11
Clean-Up Time
c k y
Ri and
a l s
P STORY BY KATHY KRANKING ÷ ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRISTIAN SLADE
It was a sunny spring day in Deep “Don’t aim that at me!” Ricky said,
Green Wood. Ricky Raccoon, Flora laughing. “Are you brave enough to go
Skunk, Bizzie Beaver, and Mitzi down to Last Chance Pond? I’ve heard
Mink were talking about who was that a scary monster lives there.”
the bravest.
“No monster is too scary for me!”
“I’m brave enough to sleep without a bragged Flora. She swished her tail
night light,” Ricky said. around. “Let’s go!”
“I’m brave enough to watch a really A short time later, the friends were
scary movie!” said Mitzi. standing in front of Last Chance Pond.
They couldn’t believe their eyes.
“How about you, Bizzie?” asked Ricky.
“I don’t see any monster,” Flora said.
Bizzie thought a minute. “I guess I’m
“All I see is a big mess.”
not really that brave,” he said. “Mostly
I’m just hungry. Which reminds me— She was right. The pond and the ground
when’s lunch?” around it were full of trash! There were
old bottles and cans, plastic bags, food
The friends laughed. “We already had
wrappers, used tires, and other garbage.
lunch, Bizzie,” said Mitzi.
Suddenly, a big snapping turtle poked
“Oh, yeah,” said Bizzie. “I forgot. Or at
its head out of the water, snapping its
least my stomach did.”
sharp beak at Ricky and his friends.
“OK, Flora,” Ricky said. “How brave
“Aagghh!” screamed Ricky. He fell into
are you?”
Flora. Flora fell into Mitzi. Mitzi fell
“I’m super brave!” said Flora. “That’s against Bizzie. And Bizzie fell onto
because I have a secret weapon. I zap his flat tail.
anyone who bothers me with my spray.”
“No trespassing!” the turtle hissed.
Flora lifted her tail playfully.
“This pond may be a mess, but it’s
mine! And I don’t like company.”
12
“Uh, OK, mister,” said Ricky. But then “Maybe that’s just how snapping turtles
he had an idea. “Could we just stay long are,” said Flora. “Let’s get started!”
enough to clean up the pond?”
The four friends went to work. Bizzie
“Clean up the pond?” the turtle asked. and Mitzi swam around gathering trash
“You’d do that for me?” that was in the water. Ricky and Flora
picked up trash from the ground.
“Sure!” the friends all answered.
“Look!” Flora said, pointing. “There
“It would be nice to live in a clean pond
are flowers growing here. With all this
again,” said the turtle. “But when you’re
trash, it was hard to notice them.”
done, you’ll have to leave.” The turtle
disappeared under the water. When the friends were finished
cleaning up, they all stood back to look
“That turtle isn’t much of a monster,”
at what they had done.
said Mitzi.
“It looks great!” said Ricky.
“But he sure is grumpy,” Bizzie added.
“Wait a minute,” Bizzie said. He went
The snapping turtle popped his head over to the sign and started gnawing
out of the water. He looked around at at it with his front teeth. Then he stood
his clean pond. He looked at the pretty back to show his friends his work.
flowers. And for a moment, he looked
“Second Chance Pond,” read Ricky.
happy. “Thanks,” he said gruffly.
“You’re right. We have given the pond
“You’re welcome,” said Mitzi. a second chance. Great idea, Bizzie!”
The friends turned to leave. As they “I thought so, too,” Bizzie said with a
passed the sign that said, “Last Chance grin. “Plus, I was hungry.” The friends
14 Pond,” Bizzie got an idea. laughed all the way home.
CITY CRITTERS
JAYMI HEIMBUCH / MINDEN PICTURES
Let’s Read
ICONS FROM
VECTEEZY.COM
Animals that live near
people need the same
things as animals
that live in the wild:
food, water, and
a safe place to stay.
Most coyotes live far
from people. But this
one finds everything it
needs on city streets.
16
D
GUY EDWARDES / NATUREPL
ER
EK
M
ID
DL
A backyard flowerpot
ET
ON
/F
makes a good home for
LPA
/M
a brown rat.
IND
EN P
ICTUR
ES
Pigeons find
water to drink
from a fountain
in a city park.
A raccoon dines
on garbage it finds.
MICHAEL DURHAM / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES >
18 19LAURENT GESLIN / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES
A falcon can see
everything from
its perch high
above the city. What wild animals
have you seen
in the city?
A frog can find
the water it needs
in this city park.
LUKE MASSEY / NATUREPL
A bighorn sheep
roams through a
neighborhood looking
for plants to eat.
DONALD M. JONES
20 21WONDER
Ever
?
Sharks don’t have to worry
about cavities because they
WONDER
WONDER Do sharks
grow new teeth all the time.
When one tooth falls out,
another one takes its place.
get cavities? Sawing
May 2021 Logs
Bonnie and Chester were playing
hide-and-seek one beautiful spring day.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 . . .
Are you hiding in
the tall grass?
Are you in the
tree, Chester?
I thought
I heard someone
sawing a log.
No, I’m just
hiding in one.
ZZZZ
Many sharks let small
fish eat food scraps left
22 ILLUSTRATION BY
on their teeth. Watch it! THE END
VIRGINIA GREENE ILLUSTRATIONS BY PARKER JACOBSILLUSTRATION BY ETHAN LONG
Find 15 animals in the city.
Take Ąnother Look
Look for the letter “P.” How many can you find?
24
24We live in a...
The desert we live in is in Africa.
DESERT
Africa
I live in a desert, too.
Guess who I am.
It is very hot and dusty here. I like to eat
1 little lizards.
I’m only as tall as
2 a ruler when I stand
on my tippy toes.
Aardvark
Springbok sniffs for ants.
nibbles on grass.
Lion walks 3
through Members of my
the desert. family take turns
watching for enemies.
26 ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALEXANDER VIDAL
Turn the page to see who I am.GUARD JEAN-LOUIS KLEIN
& MARIE-LUCE HUBERT
DUTY
A little meerkat
is always on the
lookout for danger.
If it sees an enemy,
the meerkat will bark
or whistle.
DESERT ANIMALS SPRINGBOK AARDVARK LION MEERKATLOOK INSIDE
How many frogs
can you find?
JAMI TARRIS / NATUREPL
What does an elephant do
with its trunk?
Watch RangerRick.org/ElephantTrunkYou can also read
