Live Nativity

Every year, the Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary hosts a free live Nativity from 6pm to 9pm during the week before Christmas.  Although we enjoy seeing the Holy Family, the Three Wise Men, and the Shepherds big and small; the biggest attraction for my girls -- especially my 4-year-old -- are the animals.

So, for our science lesson this week, we studied a few of the animals that we knew we would see in a Nativity Scene: camels, oxen, sheep, and donkeys. (The Spirit of the Hills live Nativity also includes turkeys, doves, ducks, chickens, goats, bunnies, horses, llamas, cows, and pot-bellied pigs.)

Here are a few interesting facts we learned before going to the Spirit of the Hills Nativity scene to further observe these species:

• Arabian camels are born with one fatty hump that their bodies can convert to water and nutrients.  There are no more Arabian camels living in the wild. 
• Gnu, or Wildebeest in Afrikaans, (which we decided were more interesting than regular oxen) can go 5 days without water.
• Donkeys are very strong and sure-footed.  Female donkeys are pregnant for a full year before giving birth.
• Female bighorn sheep have horns, but they are smaller and straighter than the horns of the males. The rings on the horns of male bighorn sheep represent one year of life, just like the rings of a tree.