107.ARE LIZARDS POISONOUS?
There are few animals on earth which have as frightening an appearance for their size as some lizards! Yet of all the more than 2,500 different kinds of lizards, only two are-actually poisonous. These are the Gila monster, which lives in American deserts, and the beaded lizard of Mexico.
Lizards are closely related to snakes, and, like snakes, are cold-blooded reptiles with scaly skins. Unlike the snakes, however, their long bodies are usually divided into three distinct parts; head, trunk, and tail. Most species have four legs.
106.ARE A BUFFALO AND A BISON THE SAME?
It would probably be hard to convince anyone that the buffalo on the United States five-cent piece is not really a buffalo. Yet it’s a fact. The so-called American buffalo is not a true buffalo, but a bison.
It belongs, however, to the wild-ox family and so is a near relative of the true buffaloes, chiefly in their proportions and in having 14 pairs of ribs, not 13.
105.WHY DO DEER SHED THEIR ANTLERS?
Deer are vegetarians who feed on moss, bark, buds, leaves, or water plants. They are usually very timid animals, and they depend on their speed for safety. They generally feed at night. They have very good eyesight, and their senses of hearing and smell are so sharp that they are able to detect danger easily. Deer vary in size from the little pudu, which is only a foot tall, to the great moose, which may weigh more than 450 kilograms.
