Animals Take Baths in Different Ways.
Q1: How does an elephant take a bath?
A: An elephant takes a bath by spraying water over his back.
Q2: How do pigs take baths?
A: Pigs take baths by soaking, slogging, and snorting in thick, brown mud.
Q3: How do birds take baths?
A: Birds take baths by showering in puddles. Besides showering in puddles, they preen their feathers.
Q4: How do ducks take baths?
A: Ducks do take baths but they do extra work. After showering, ducks spread oil on their feathers so that they will not get soggy or cold.
Q5: How do bears take baths?
A: Bears take baths by rubbing against a tree, by rolling in dirt, and by swimming and splashing in a wide, cool stream.
Q6: How do lions take baths?
A: Lions take baths by licking their long fur clean and by licking a paw and rubbing it over its head.
Q7: How do chimpanzees take baths?
A: Chimpanzees take baths by combing with fur with their fingers.
Each different animal has its way of taking baths. Humans have hands to clean themselves but most animals do not have hands to do so, so those animals develop ways to wash their bodies. An elephant takes a bath by spraying water over his back, or a pig takes baths by soaking, slogging, and snorting in thick, brown mud. Each animal definitely needs to have a way to keep itself clean. If the animal does not take bath, it is possible it would get sick or have bad pests living inside its body, which would cause it to die. Before I mistakenly thought that each animal can use its hands to take baths. I also thought each animal uses water and soap to clean themselves. But in fact, each animal has its own unique way to wash its body. Reading this story enlarges my knowledge of the fantastic nature world about how animals take baths.
Some animals get helpers and they help each other, which is a win-win situation. One animal helps the other animal get cleaned while the other animal gets the benefits of what they need. Oxpeckers help giraffes by pecking away ticks, while Giraffes help oxpeckers by providing them a meal. Fish helps hippos by nibbling algae off a hippos’ skin, while a hippos helps fish by feeding it algae. Before reading this story, I thought each animal is like a prey or a predator in order to keep the ecosystem balanced, just like a cat catches mice or big fish eats small fish. I am very surprised to find out that animals can actually live together in a peaceful way and they are compatible with each other. I realize that not every animal has an enemy in the natural world. Win-win situation makes both sides of animals get what they need and want in order to survive.
Humans need to protect animals since some animals are still weak, compared to humans. We humans share the Earth with animals and we need to protect animals to keep the ecosystem balanced. By studying information about the animals, we get to know about the animals and how to live together with them. Previously I have had wrong ideas about animals and their living styles. I just assume animals A do this then animals B would do the same thing since animal A and B are similar. My misunderstanding could have done some harmful things to make the animals get hurt. Therefore, we should study more about animals. If animals’ living environment gets damaged, humans’ living environment would become dangerous, too. We should learn how to protect animals so humans and animals could have a balanced life together.
“Splish! Splash! Animal Baths” is an informative story telling me how animals take baths individually or through helping each other. Different animals have their individual own ways to wash their bodies. They don’t really have hands or use water and soap to take showers. Some animals even help each other to get cleaned, so both animals get what they need or what they want. Most importantly, this story suggests we humans need to protect animals and the natural world to keep the ecosystem balanced. I strongly recommend this non-fiction story to all young readers because it offers many insights and makes readers think and wonder about nature.
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