[SciShow Kids intro plays]

Jessi: Hi everyone! I’m excited, because today is a really special day. Squeaks and I got some wonderful emails from Pilmuir Primary School in Scotland! And the students asked such great questions, we wanted to share some of them with you! Now, we can’t answer all of them today, but these ones all have one thing in common -- they’re all questions about animals! So, let’s open our mail!

Our first question is from Shay. Shay asks, “What’s your favorite animal?” Shay, that’s a hard question! There are so many cool animals that I just don’t have a favorite. I think every animal is amazing for their own special reasons.

Take parrots, for example. We tend to think of parrots as large, colorful, talkative birds. But there are nearly 400 kinds of parrots! A parrot can be a big blue and gold Macaw, or a little parakeet like a green-cheeked conure, or even a tiny parrotlet! So cute!

I also love porcupines. They have an amazing way to protect themselves -- quills! The quills that cover their bodies are actually just really thick, stiff hairs! And despite what you might see in cartoons, porcupines can’t shoot them out -- they just get stuck on anything -- or anyone who tries to mess with them. Who wants to annoy an animal covered in thousands of quills? Not me.

And then, what can I say about rats? I mean, one of my best friends is a rat. I love Squeaks! Thanks for the question Shay! Do you have a favorite animal of your own? Let us know!

Okay, our next question... is also about animals! It comes from Brodie who asks, “Why do snakes eat eggs?” Well when you think about it, a lot of people eat eggs, too! We eat them because they have a lot of energy and other nutrients in them. But when we eat them, we have to break their shell, and cook them. Some egg-eating snakes found in Africa and India even have special body parts that help them eat eggs whole.

First, they have awesome jaws that they can open much wider than our mouths can. This lets them gobble up an egg in a single swallow! Then, once the egg is in the snake’s throat, they push down with spines inside their throat and squish it. Pretty awesome right? We have to peel eggs before we eat them... but some snakes don’t!

Alright, our next question is from Chloe who asks “Do you like to do the show each week? And is Squeaks real?” Chloe, yes! One of my favorite things to do is get excited about science. Being able to share cool information with you makes me incredibly happy. As for Squeaks, I better let him answer that question. --Squeaks squeaks-- Did you get that Chloe? Sounded pretty real to me.

For our final question today, Jack asks, “What animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?” What a wonderful question! Let’s start with what a rainforest is! Like its name tells you, the Amazon Rainforest is a huge forest that get lots of... rain! Because it’s always warm and has plenty of water, there are many living things that call the rainforest home. And we’ve talked about a few of them before on SciShow Kids! There’s a big cat, the Jaguar, and one slow moving guy, the three-toed sloth! Plus there’s one more animal that we’ve talked about before, which you might not expect in the Amazon. The Amazon River Dolphin! That’s right! A species of dolphin calls the Amazon river and basin home! Along with these animals there are Black Spider Monkeys, Poison Dart Frogs, and many many more! Great question, Jack!

We also want to say thanks Kai, Jade, and Grace for their awesome questions about car engines, life cycles, and aging. Those are pretty big questions, and we wish we had time to explain them in this episode, but hopefully in the future.

Thank you so much to Pilmuir Primary School for sending in your questions! And of course, if you have a question about anything at all, let us know by getting help from a grown up and leaving a comment down below, or send us an e-mail at kids@thescishow.com. And we’ll see you next time here at the fort!