AmazingJourneys

by Amy Tao

Thousands of different kinds of animals migrate. Every year, as the seasons

change, they move from one home to another. Why? To find food, escape bad weather, or raise families. Whose journey is most amazing? Let’s ask them.

Wildebeest My journey’s so famous it’s called the “great migration.” More than a million of us wildebeests loop around and around the grasslands of southeastern Africa, following the rain. Each trip around takes a year. But our search for fresh grass to eat never ends.

2

Straw-colored fruit bat A million? We’re 10 million! Every year, from October to December, we fly from different parts of Africa to a small forest in Zambia. We feast on fruit at night, then sleep all day, hanging upside down from the tree branches.

3

Arctic tern I travel farther than any other animal. When it’s summer at the North Pole, it’s winter at the South Pole, and vice versa. I fly back and forth from pole to pole—more than 50,000 miles round-trip. For me, summer never ends!

4

Bar-tailed godwit That’s nice, tern, but how far can you go nonstop? I nest in Alaska in summer, then fly 7,000 miles to New Zealand for the winter. There’s no place to land on my trip over the Pacific Ocean. So I fly 8 to 10 days without stopping for food, water, or rest.

5

Globe skimmer dragonflyI’m the insect champ! Well, me and my kids. Our journey from India to Africa and back covers 11,000 miles. It’s so long, we take it in four parts. When I stop, I lay eggs and my children fly the next part. Their children fly part three, and their children finish the trip!

6

Emperor penguin Most animals go someplace warm for winter. Not us! We walk 100 miles to the iciest, coldest nursery in the world. No one lives there to bother our eggs and chicks. In summer, when the chicks are nearly grown, we march back to the ocean to feast on fish.

Whose journey do you think is most amazing?

7

Cricket Media® Books for Kids at Every Stage!

Science Concepts Made Fun from CLICK® Magazine

NonFiction Expository 600L • 345 words

Text © 2018 by Carus Publishing Company dba Cricket Media

Photos courtesy Shutterstock.com

Copyright © 2018 by Carus Publishing Company. All rights reserved, including right of reproduction in whole or in part, in any form.

All Cricket Media material is copyrighted by Carus Publishing Company, d/b/a Cricket Media, and/or various authors and illustrators. Any commercial use or distribution of material without permission is strictly prohibited.

Please visit cricketmedia.com/licensing for licensing and cricketmedia.com for subscriptions.

ISBN 978-1-64262-031-3