Gator Grant

Philppe Cousteau at Riverbanks Zoo

2010-03-17T15:27:00.001-07:00

Today I met Philippe Cousteau, the grandson of famous oceanographer, Jaques Cousteau. Philippe was filming an episode of Riverbanks Roundup premiering on SCETV later this year. Me and the other members of the Riverbanks Kids Commission will be on the program asking questions and working on a river clean-up project with Philippe. I will keep you posted about when the TV show will be on.

King Penguins at Riverbanks

2010-03-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

This week our Riverbanks Kids' Commission got to meet some King Penguins. I got to pet one named SCOUT. Penguins mate for life. Scout followed his mate around. They were very playful and very fun...and VERY LOUD!

Naturalist Tom Mancke

2010-03-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

In March, our Webelos scout den worked on earning our Naturalist badges. Naturalist Tom Mancke came out to help us. He brought lots of great stuff, like a monkey skull, a blood stone, and a beaver tail. He even showed us how to make use of items in nature, like how to make a knife out of a piece of quartz or start a fire with flint and steel. It was the best pack meeting ever.

Riverbanks Zoo Kids' Commission

2009-12-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

This year I was selected to be on the first ever Riverbanks Zoo Kids' Commission. This is a group of 9 kids who help make decisions for the zoo. The commission elected me to be the chairman, which is a real honor. In December we were invited to the opening night of The Lights Before Christmas and were introduced to the board members and sponsors. Here I am with Satch Krantz (the zoo's CEO),some of the other Kids' Commission members, and checking out the light with my sister.

A Nature walk with Rudy Mancke

2009-11-30T15:40:00.000-08:00

In November, I went on a great Nature walk with Rudy Mancke, South Carolina ETV's famous Naturalist. Congaree National Park sponsors this event as the annual Harry Hampton Memorial Walk. It was a cold, rainy day, but it was an interesting walk and Mr. Mancke shared information about SC plants and wildlife. He was very nice and wise. Hopefully, we can do it again next year and it wont rain and we'll be able to see more animals.

Repticon 2009

2009-11-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

We checked out Repticon, the exoctic reptile show, when it came to Columbia. Here are some pictures:

Tree Frog

2009-10-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Lions

2009-08-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some playful lions at Riverbanks Zoo.

Alligator Adventure

2009-08-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

In August, we went to Alligator Adventure - Wildlife of the Wetlands, in Myrtle Beach, SC. My kind of place!

Meerkat Manor

2009-07-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some funny Meerkats at Riverbanks Zoo.

Spot the Gecko

2009-07-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

This is my Leopard Gecko, Spot. I bought him at Repticon. Geckos make great pets for first time lizard owners.

WNC Nature Center

2008-11-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

We recently visited the Western North Carolina Nature Center, in Asheville, NC. We saw lots of indigenous animals.

Above: Mountain Lion

Above: Deer

Above: Black Bear

Above: Grey Wolf

Above: River Otter

Mountain Gorillas

2008-08-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Domesticated Ducks

2008-06-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a Photo Documentary of the Easter ducks being raised and then release. This was from March to late May.

Osprey

2008-06-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

SC Aquarium

2008-02-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here are photos from GatorGrant's Cub Scout Pack Sleepover at the SC Aquarium in Charleston, SC.

Baby Loggerhead Sea Turtle

2007-12-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a zoologist at Rivebanks Zoo showing me and my Cub Scout Troop a real live baby Loggerhead.

Behind the Scenes at the Zoo's Aquarium Complex

2007-12-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures from the Aquarium at Riverbanks Zoo, taken on our Cub Scout sleep-over at the zoo.

Behind the scenes at the Reptile House at the Zoo

2007-12-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

In December, my Cub Scout Troop go to spend the night at Riverbanks Zoo and get a tour behind the scenes. Here are some pictures from inside the reptile house.

Giraffe

2007-12-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

Gator Grant feeding a Giraffe. It has a purple tounge. (the giraffe, not Grant.)

AMUR (SIBERIAN) TIGER

2007-11-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

These are the largest living cats and they are listed as endangered, due to destruction of their habitats and poaching. There are less than 500 left in the wild.

Naked Mole Rat

2007-11-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

Naked Mole Rat, from the BBC's "The Life Of Mammals" Ep4
"Nake Mole Rat Rap", from Disney Channel's "Kim Possible"

Koala

2007-11-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

Here's Gator Grant at Riverbanks Zoo, talking about Koalas.

For more on Koalas, check out:

Flamingos

2007-11-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

For more on Flamingos:

Half Wolf

2007-11-11T19:02:00.001-08:00

Here's a dog I saw in Black Mountain, NC that the owner said was part Wolf.

Here's me on Halloween as a WereWolf. Small world.

Swan

2007-11-10T05:38:00.000-08:00

Here I am with a hungry Swan on Lake Susan in Montreat, NC.

For more info, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan

Yak'ing at the State Fair

2007-10-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

Tibetian Yak

Capybara (South America), the world's largest rodent

Feeding the animals

2007-09-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

Gator grant feeds Abraham the Camel.

Gator Grant feeds a Giraffe a carrot.

Gator Grant feeds a pony.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

2007-09-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here's some video footage of a hummingbird in my own back yard.

Panda Haiku

2007-09-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

Endangered Panda

Munching on bamboo and leaves;

There goes the trees.

-by Grant Nicholson

Endangered Animals

2007-09-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

An endangered animal cannot be hunted because there's not a lot of that animal around anymore. They are in danger of becoming extinct or no longer on the earth.You can see an endangered animal near you. The next several posts will focus on some of these rare creatures.

Giant Panda

2007-09-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Many people like pandas because they look so cute and cuddly. I don't know why someone would even want to hunt a panda. Wild panda bears live in central China. A newborn panda looks like a bald hamster or a naked mole rat. It is very tiny at first. Most pandas have only 1 cub, but if they have 2 at a time, they will abandon one of them because they can only care for 1 at a time.

Diet: Pandas eat mostly bamboo-about 25 pounds a day, actually. But they will occasionally eat meat such as eggs or fish so they are classified as carnivores or meat eaters even though 99% of their diet is herbivore or plant eating. They also like honey just like other bears.

Relatives: the red panda, also from central China, is closely related to the giant panda. It is much smaller and looks more like a raccoon. For many years scientists believed that the giant panda was a part of the raccoon family. Now testing shows that they are really bears.

Where are they?: There are about 2000 giant pandas living in the wild in China and studies say that their numbers are growing. But there are 9 living here in the United States on loan from China. One baby panda born here at the San Diego Zoo in California also belongs to China. They are also at the National Zoo in Washington, DC; the Atlanta Zoo in Georgia. And two new pandas are located at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee. And you can see Red Pandas at the Nashville Zoo in Tennessee also. I went with my family a few years ago to see Lun Lun and Yang Yang in Atlanta, Georgia. The zoo is located, by the way, in Grant Park. They were really cool! Here are some photos we took. See if you can guess which one is the panda and which one is my dad. If you live near one of these zoos with pandas, it is certainly worth the trip to go see them.

Alligators

2007-08-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

The name alligator is from the Spanish el lagarto ("the lizard"), the name the early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. There are two living alligator species: the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis). An average American alligator's weight and length is 800 lbs. and 13 feet long. According to the Everglades National Park website, the largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17 feet 5 inches long (5.3 meters). The largest alligator ever recorded measured 19 feet 2 inches (5.8 meters) and was found on Marsh Island, Louisiana. Few of the giant specimens were weighed, but the larger ones could have exceeded a ton in weight. The Chinese Alligator is smaller, rarely exceeding 7 feet (2 meters) in length. An alligator's lifespan is usually estimated in the range of 50 years or more. Alligators are reptiles and lay eggs to have their babies.

Habitat:
Alligators live in freshwater lakes, rivers, and swamps. They occasionally live in brackish water. The only 2 countries in the world where alligators are found are the U.S. and China. American Alligators live in freshwater environments, such as ponds, marshes, wetlands, rivers, and swamps, as well as brackish environments. The Chinese alligator is endangered and lives only in the Yangtze River valley. There are only estimated to be a couple of dozen left in the wild. There are many more of these alligators in zoos around the world than in the wild.

How Alligators are different from Crocodiles:
While alligators are often confused with crocodiles, they are as different from one another as humans are from gorillas. Alligators mainly differ from crocodiles by having wider and shorter heads and in having the toes of the hind feet webbed not more than half way to the tips. Also, alligators preferring fresh water, while crocodiles can tolerate salt water due to specialized glands for filtering out salt. Also, crocodiles tend to be more dangerous to humans than alligators. Alligators have U-shaped heads, while crocodiles are V-shaped. Crocodiles have a longer narrower snout, with eyes further forward. Only the upper teeth are visible when an alligator's mouth is closed, while a crocodile's mouth will reveal both upper and lower teeth. Crocodiles' jaws are more narrow and are used to tear and grip on prey, while alligators' jaws are meant to crush bones.

For more information check out:
http://www.crocodilian.com/
http://www.nps.gov/archive/ever/eco/gator.htm

Welcome to the world of Gator Grant

2007-08-26T16:51:00.001-07:00

Here at Gator Grant's, we talk about animals. I will publish articles, pictures, and videos about animals from around the world. I am nine years old and planning to one day be a zoologist like Steve Erwin. I hope you find the information on this site helpful. Thanks for visiting.