Way Up High Facts about the Animals

Ocelot (OSS-uh-lot)

  • Type: Wild cat

  • Lives: Forest floor & understory (shady places)

  • Eats: Small animals—mice, lizards, birds

  • Superpower: Night-vision eyes and super-silent paws

  • Fun fact: Their spots are all different, like fingerprints!

Kinkajou (KING-kuh-joo)

  • Type: Mammal (raccoon family)

  • Lives: High in the canopy

  • Eats: Fruit and sweet nectar

  • Superpower: Prehensile tail—a tail that grabs like a hand

  • Fun fact: Ankles can twist so they can climb down trees head-first.

Hairy Sloth (SLOTH)

  • Type: Mammal

  • Lives: Canopy—hangs on branches

  • Eats: Leaves, buds, and flowers

  • Superpower: Slow-mo energy saver; greenish hair can grow algae for camouflage

  • Fun fact: It moves so slowly that butterflies sometimes rest on it!

Boa (BOH-uh)

  • Type: Snake

  • Lives: Trees and the forest floor

  • Eats: Small mammals and birds

  • Superpower: Constrictor—squeezes gently but firmly to catch food

  • Fun fact: Smells with its tongue by picking up tiny scent bits in the air.

Parrot (PAIR-uht)

  • Type: Bird

  • Lives: Canopy

  • Eats: Seeds, nuts, fruit

  • Superpower: Beak like a nutcracker; feet with two toes forward, two back for climbing

  • Fun fact: Many parrots can copy sounds—even words!

Gecko (GEK-oh)

  • Type: Lizard

  • Lives: Trunks, leaves, houses near forests

  • Eats: Insects

  • Superpower: Sticky toe pads that let it walk on walls (even upside down!)

  • Fun fact: Some geckos chirp to talk to each other.

Bat

  • Type: Mammal that flies

  • Lives: Tree hollows, leaves, caves

  • Eats: Mostly insects; some sip fruit juice or nectar

  • Superpower: Echolocation—they “see” by listening to echoes

  • Fun fact: Bats sleep upside down with tiny toe claws.

Tree Frog

  • Type: Amphibian

  • Lives: Leaves and branches near water

  • Eats: Insects

  • Superpower: Sticky toe disks for climbing, and color that blends in

  • Fun fact: Calls sound like peeps, trills, or quacks—each species has its own song.

Butterfly

  • Type: Insect

  • Lives: All layers—likes sunny clearings

  • Eats: Nectar with a long proboscis (straw-like tongue)

  • Superpower: Metamorphosis—caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly

  • Fun fact: Scales on wings make colors and patterns.

Try-It Activities

  • Sound Hunt: Can you chirp like a gecko or trill like a tree frog?

  • Movement Match: Tiptoe like an ocelot, hang like a sloth (pretend!), flap like a parrot.

  • Habitat Sort: Canopy (kinkajou, sloth, parrot), Understory (gecko, tree frog), Forest floor (ocelot, boa), All layers (butterfly, some bats).