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Scientists find animal with biggest ears

Animal Ears - Level 0

We all know elephants have the biggest ears. However, scientists tried to find which animal has the biggest ears for its body size. A natural history museum found out. It is the long-eared jerboa. The jerboa is a rodent. It lives in the deserts of China. It is nocturnal. This means it is active at night, but sleeps in the day.

A zoologist said the jerboa's body is 10 centimetres long. Its ears are up to 5cm long. This is 50 per cent as long as its body. Elephant's ears are 17 per cent of its body length. Jerboas live in very hot places. Their large ears release heat from their body. This helps them to keep cool.

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Animal Ears - Level 1

What animal has the biggest ears? We know it's the elephant. However, scientists looked at what animal has the biggest ears for its body size. A natural history museum in New York found the answer to this. It is the long-eared jerboa. Not many people know about this cute animal. It is a rodent and lives in the deserts of China. It is nocturnal. This means it is active at night and sleeps during the day.

A zoologist described the jerboa. She said its body is 10 centimetres long. Its ears are up to 5cm long. They are up to 50 per cent as long as its body. Elephant's ears are 17 per cent of its body length. The zoologist said jerboas usually live in very hot places. Their large ears help them to keep cool in the heat. Their ears are thin and have many tiny blood vessels. Blood releases heat from the body. This helps the animal cool down.

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Animal Ears - Level 2

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Have you ever thought what animal has the biggest ears? We all know it's the elephant. However, scientists have looked at what animal has the biggest ears for its body size. The elephant has big ears but it also has a big body. Zoologists from a natural history museum in New York have found out which animal has the biggest ears for its body size. It is the long-eared jerboa. Not many people know about this cute creature. It is a rodent and lives in the deserts of China and Mongolia. It is nocturnal, which means it is active at night and sleeps during the day.

A zoologist described the jerboa. She said its body measures about 10 centimetres. Its ears are 3.8 to 5cm long. They are 40 to 50 per cent as long as its body. Elephant's ears are just 17 per cent of its body length. The zoologist said: "The jerboa has the longest ears for the size of its body in the entire animal kingdom." She said jerboas usually live in very hot places. Their large ears help them to keep cool in the heat. Their ears are thin and have many tiny blood vessels. Blood releases heat from the body into the air. This helps the animal cool down.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Animal Ears - Level 3

Have you ever wondered what animal has the biggest ears? Of course, it's the African elephant. We all know this. Scientists know this. However, scientists have looked at what animal has the biggest ears for its body size. The elephant has big ears but it also has a giant body. Zoologists from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City have found out which animal has the biggest ears relative to its body size. And the answer is... the long-eared jerboa. Not many people know about this cute, big-eared creature. It is a rodent. It lives in the deserts of China and Mongolia. It is a nocturnal creature, which means it is active at night and sleeps during the day.

Zoologist Mary Ellen Holden described the jerboa. She said its body measures about 10 centimetres (not counting its long tail). Its ears are 3.8 to 5cm long. This means its ears are 40 to 50 per cent as long as its body length. The elephant's ears are just 17 per cent of its body length. Professor Holden said: "The jerboa has the longest ears for the size of its body in the entire animal kingdom." Professor Holden explained why some animals have large ears. They usually live in very hot areas. Large ears help an animal to keep cool in the heat. Their ears are large, thin and have many tiny blood vessels. The blood releases heat from the body into the air, which helps the animal cool down.

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