Free-rangegiraffes arefl ourishing

in Niger Hello, neighbor!

There was some good wildlife news from Africa recently: The giraffes of Niger are continuing to grow in numbers, up to 366 from 1996, when only 50 remained and there was fear of extinction.

Giraffes as a group are not endangered. There are about 100,000 in Af-rica, so they aren’t like rhinos or other animals whose future looks bleak.

But the species in Niger is different, not only for its light, orange spots but because, unlike other species, it does not live in a wildlife area, but out among the local people. When people cut down trees in the desert climate, giraffes lose a food source. When giraffes raid gardens, people lose food.

The Nigerien government and wildlife groups have made loans and given aid to farmers where giraffes live, making the animals welcome.

Photo/Roland H

2013

ColoradoKids CK ReporterAlexis Gonzales,

Highlands Ranch

MeeT The new Mane aTTracTions Zoo adds a species

The Denver Zoo has two new additions! They recently welcomed a

pair of year-old maned (that is, “with a mane”) wolves, Inigo and Adrianna, to their zoo family.

They came from different zoos, and it was no accident they were paired together.

Adrianna and Inigo are part of a Species Survival Program, in which these two young zoo animals were chosen to breed.

Not only will their babies make an adorable addition to the zoo population and certain-ly bring in more patrons, they will also be helping the world’s maned wolf population.

So what exactly is a maned wolf? Beth Jo Schoberl, Curator of Primates and Car-

nivores at the zoo doesn’t hesitate to say that they are “gorgeous, smart, and fun animals!”

As for their looks, these South American mem-bers of the Canid family have long legs, big ears and a beautiful red coat.

They actually look more like a fox than a wolf and are not related to any other wolves.

But it’s the black strip of fur or “mane” on the

backs of their necks that can be raised to scare things off that gives them their name.

Perhaps the most fascinating maned wolf fact is that they are the only species in their genus, a very rare occurrence!

When the Denver Zoo’s last arctic wolves died, they needed animals to fi ll the wolf packs’ large exhibit. At the same time, there were many young maned wolves who needed a home. It was a perfect match!

The enclosure was designed to hold an entire wolf pack, so the two maned wolves fi t the space nicely, as they typically live in a large area in the wild.

This is where the Species Survival Program came in. The SSP looks at genetics, keeping animal populations healthy, and diets for animals.

Sometimes, they plan up to 100 years into the fu-ture for certain species’ welfare plans! This group of dedicated people knew Inigo and Adrianna would be good for breeding. But how?

“They are both young and inquisitive,” says Schoberl, “Also, they are a genetic match.”

For the time being, no one has heard the wolves distinctive mating call, so no babies are on the way yet.

But hopefully, 2014 will host the birth of a new cute, little maned wolf or two!

Using “traffi c light” stickers in a cafeteria to tell people which

foods are healthy (green), not quite as healthy (yellow) and not healthy (red) isn’t new.

In fact, nearly three years ago, we had a story here about the system being tested at Laredo Elementary School in Aurora. (To read it, fi nd the link at ColoradoNIE.com)

But now a two-year study of the system at Massachusetts General Hospital’s cafeteria shows it really works, espe-cially when it is paired with a second system you might also have seen in school: Putting the healthy, green-light food where people see it fi rst and can grab it quickly, and the red-light food on a higher or lower shelf.

This study shows that get-ting people to make healthy choices isn’t hard. The trick is to make it easy. Photo/Bidgee

sendinG healThy siGnals helpsdiners choose

By Ellory Boyd,11, a CK Reporter from Louisville

Hello! My name is Inigo! Prepare to be charmed! Photo by Ellory Boyd

given aid to farmers where giraffes live, making the animals welcome.

January 14, 2014

This novel is to dye for

Imagine a world where blondes don’t have more fun, and are in fact all out-

casts.

Why? Simply because of their hair,

and the fact that it isn’t red.

Alison Cherry’s “Red” is based in the fictional Iowa town of Scarlet-ville, also known as the national redhead sanctu-ary.

In Scarletville, redheads have it all.

But brunettes, blondes and “strawbies”, or strawberry blondes?

Not so much. 17-year-old Felicity St. John

is definitely well-off: pretty, popular, and well on her way to winning Scarletville’s renowned Miss Scarlet pageant, thanks to her long, wavy, red hair.

But the enviable hair color that her social life rests upon is 100% imitation.

Revealing that she is truly a strawbie would end her social life.

Hair dye isn’t illegal in Scar-letville, but it sure seems like it, as artificial redheads, or “arties”, are at the very bottom of the social ladder.

Nobody knows her all-impor-tant secret…. Or does someone?

For a week I could not put this book down.

A fun, ever-plot-twisting read for girls of all hair colors, “Red” captures the audi-ence and takes you to Scarlet-ville, down to the last details.

Readers will definitely enjoy the novel’s de-scriptive nature.

This novel was obviously intend-ed for a teenage girl audience.

Due to a very small bit of

mature content, I would recom-mend this book only to a 13+ audience.

However, the strong message that appearance is trivial and the “pageant mom” story of Felicity’s relationship with her mother rises above the turnoffs for teens.

ck Kids and adults can find live links to information about stories in Colorado Kids at www.ColoradoNIE.com

Putting red, yellow and green stickers on food to show how healthy each is can help people make better choices about what to eat.

Go through today’s paper and look for ads, articles and pictures that feature food. Make a list of which stickers they would get: Red, yellow or green?

Beyond these four pages

A

B

C

D

CK Readers change when they need to New Year’s resolutions get

a lot of attention each January, but CK readers

don’t seem to put a lot of faith in them.

A total of 41 percent make New Year’s resolutions, but the majority of those admit that they don’t keep them.

Nearly half said they don’t bother, and that they simply make changes when they feel the need to make changes rather

than waiting for the new year.Here’s what we asked you, and

what you told us:

Do you make New Year’s Reso-lutions?

A. Yes, and I keep them! 16%B. Yes, but they don’t last very

long. 25%C. Sort of. I get New Year’s

Resolutions made for me. 14%D. No, I make changes when I

need to, not just in January. 44%

Here’s our next question:Stock Show is here. How

much of your life is that part of Colorado’s Western heritage?

A. It’s in my family’s history.B. I know how to ride and

take care of a horse.C. I’ve read about it and I’ve

attended some events.D. The saddle horn goes in

front, right?To answer this question, go to

www.nextgen.yourhub.com

we asked, you answered

By Hannah Pederson,12, a CK Reporter from Denver

Colorado Kidsis produced by

Denver Post Educational ServicesExecutive Editor: Dana Plewka

dplewka@denverpost.comCK Editor: Mike Peterson

coloradokidseditor@gmail.comWe welcome your comments.

For tools to extend the learning in this feature, look under“eEdition lessons” at:

www.ColoradoNIE.com

eEditions of the Post arefree of charge for classroom use.Contact us for information on all

our programs.

Denver Post Educational Services101 W. Colfax Ave.Denver CO 80202

(303) 954-3974(800) 336-7678

Here’s an interesting study: A group of psy-chologists at Michigan

State University have found that little kids don’t think boys and girls can be friends.

And yet the boys in the study had friends who were girls and the girls in the study had friends who were boys.

Researchers talked to second through fourth graders about their own friends.

While a lot of their friends were the same sex as them, the kids had plenty of friends who weren’t.

They had friends who sat near them in school, who played the same sports or who liked the same subjects in school, regardless of sex.

But when asked about how other kids make friends, they were much more likely to say boys are only friends with boys and girls only with girls.

The researchers couldn’t ex-plain the difference between kids’ own experience and how they think friendship works.

Photo by Tup Wanders

Boys and Girls arefriends despiTe

whaT They Think

It seems a little embarrass-ing at first, for a research group that is studying climate

change to find its ship held fast in the thick ice around Antarctica.

After all, if the world really is becoming warmer, and if polar ice really is melting, how could such a thing happen?

But, to start with, anyone who has studied science at all knows that “weather” and “climate” are not the same thing.

“Weather” is what happens on one day, or during a week or a month.

“Climate” is the long-term av-erage of the weather in an area.

Sometimes it does rain in the desert but that’s “weather,” not “climate,” and those times that it does rain don’t change the desert into a rainforest.

The case of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition is interest-ing because the changes in the ice pack around Antarctica, as well as the glaciers on the con-tinent itself, were a large part of what they were going there to

study.On their blog (get a link at Col-

oradoNIE.com), they said that it is hard to make accurate predic-tions about climate change with-out good records to compare.

But a century ago, an expedi-tion had gone to the part of Ant-arctica just south of Australia and taken three years of mea-surements and records.

This group was going to the same place to take similar mea-surements so they could make comparisons with that data.

Ninety-seven percent of cli-mate scientists agree there is man-made climate change, but the rate of temperature change has become slower than they had predicted.

Many suspect the large ocean current near Antarctica is chan-neling some of the carbon and heat in the atmosphere undersea.

The only way to really find out what is happening, though, is to go there and take measurements.

But this year, weather turned out to be a problem all its own.

Trapped by weather while studying climate

BrainteaserOn this day in 1784, Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, end-ing our Revolution, so our answers will begin with “U” for U.S.

1. This Hawaiian four-string guitar’s name means “little flea.”

2. On a sunny day, carry a parasol. On a rainy day, carry this.

3. In the Roman version of the story, Odysseus has this name.

4. The sixth-tallest peak in Colorado, a nearby wilderness area shares the name of this Hinsdale County mountain.

5. Peter Beagle wrote a novel about the last of these beasts.

6. Kampala is the capital of this African nation.

7. Andersen’s tale of an unpopular baby swan.

8. The Beehive State

9. The largest Spanish-language TV network in the U.S.

10. King Arthur’s father(answers on Page Four)

Above, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition’s Russian ship is trapped in sea ice. Below, a NASA graphic shows how, by four different group’s measurements, the average world-wide temperature has gone up 1.5 degrees C since 1900. AP Photo/Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Chris Turney

Winter is a wonderful time of the year. One of my favorite parts

is going to the Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships.

I like leisurely strolling down a snow-cov-ered path with snow statues on either side of me.

I see glisten-ing dragons suspended in battle, tigers leaping out at me, and intri-cately carved patterns in snow spheres.

They are all wild creations of sculptors who come to com-pete in the championships.

It takes a lot of hard, tedious work to make a snow sculpture.

First, they need to have an idea drawn out on paper, so they know what to carve.

Later, they start with a large block of hard-packed snow and make the main form of the object they are sculpting.

Finally, they chisel out the details and put it on display.

Spectacular hand-made snow sculptures will pose in the area near the Riverwalk Center.

The Breckenridge Interna-

tional Snow Sculpture Cham-pionships is a free event. This year it will be held January 21 to 25.

If you want to see how the artists work, though, you need to come January 13 through 17.

There is also a history display in the pavilion where you can warm up with hot cocoa and learn about the past 20 years of the event and how snow and ice sculptures differ.

Sixteen teams from Catalu-nya (Spain), Estonia, Fin-land, France, Germany, Great Brit-ain, Iceland, Italy, Lithu-ania, Mexico, Mongolia (2 teams), Russia and the USA (two from Colorado and one from Vermont) will compete for

first place this year. Everyone gets a chance to

vote on which they think is the best sculpture.

It is a day trip from Den-ver to the Breckenridge Snow Festival.

You will need warm layers: A hat, gloves, a coat, and winter boots, because it is very cold outside, especially after dark.

I would highly recommend going there at night because they light up the sculptures with blazing lights.

It is a real winter wonder-land.

snow arT sparkles

BrainteaserSolution

(see Page Three)10 right - Wow! 7 right - Great! 5 right - Good

3 right - See you next time!

1. ukele 2. umbrella 3. Ulysses 4. Uncompahgre 5. unicorn 6. Uganda

7. (the) Ugly Duckling 8. Utah 9. Univision 10. Uther (Pendragon)

By Natalia Goncharova10, a CK Reporter from Fort Morgan

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s Genetics of Taste lab has

a new study - for young and old alike to take part in!

As the lab switches from studying bitter genes to the mystery of fatty acids, people ages 8 and up can be a part of a ground-breaking discovery.

Is fatty acid the sixth taste?

That is the ques-tion trying to be answered by this two year study. To do this, the data has to show a connection between the tongue and the brain with fatty tastes.

Museum visitors can come and be one of 3000+ partici-pants over the next 24 months.

While partaking in this hour-long experiment, visitors will be asked to take a question-naire, a dissolvable strip of fatty acid test, a cheek swab, an odor test, a body composition analy-sis, and a spicy cinnamon test.

Part of the process is helping

to invent a new word in case the data shows that fatty acid is a taste of its own.

Dr. Nicole Garneau, the leader of the study, said, “We hope that with a potential 3,000 visitors, someone will come up with a word that resonates with the community.”

“Genetics of Taste” is a fun way to learn about your body. Reading a book about taste is not as fun as actually participat-ing, and, with this lab, you can

learn in a hands-on way.

“Who looked in the mirror today? Everybody looked in the mir-ror today, right?” Dr. Gar-neau asks. “That’s

because you and your body are much more interesting than anything that you can read in a book.”

The lab is a two-in-one deal, fun and education for you, data for science.

“You’re giving back to the science community by helping us with this data that we really want to get. But also imagine if you were a part in figuring out whether this (fatty acid) is the sixth taste. Not many eight-year-olds, or even 25-year-olds or 60-year-olds get to say that.”

you can help To find a whole new TasTe

By Brianna Wolle,13, a CK Reporter from Arvada

Photo by Brianna Wolle

‘Discover the World’ The 2012 third-place winner, by a team from Latvia and Estonia. Photo/ Alexander Goncharov

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