Jake: And now, let’s see what’s cooking in the kitchen with Yves St. La Roche.
(cuts to Yves in his kitchen)
Yves: Bonjour, bonjour little animals out there! Today, we will make something unusual with animal cracker cereal! First, you take a box of animal crackers (grabs a box of animal crackers and places it on the counter), and then you take an empty cereal bowl (grabs a bowl and puts it on the counter). Next, you pour the animal crackers into the bowl (pours the crackers into the bowl) followed by the milk (pours milk into the bowl), and voila! You have animal cracker cereal. I will give it to Stinky now.
(cuts back to Stinky and Jake)
Jake: And now, all the way from South America.
Stinky: America.
Jake: Please welcome Rio the Toucan!
Rio: Hola, Stinky. Hola, Jake.
Stinky: Why are you a guest star today?
Jake: Stinky!
Rio: Well, Jake told me that this episode is about unusual animal relatives. I’m related to the woodpecker, if you can believe it! We belong to a group of birds called Piciformes.
Stinky: Do you eat bugs, too?
Rio: Some of us, but mainly, toucans eat fruit, seeds, reptiles, and even bird’s eggs. Or at least, toco toucans do.
Jake: Your bill seems rather heavy. Is it made out of hollow like your skeleton?
Rio: Yes. Not only do we use our bills to grab food, but male toucans also use each other to determine who wins a female. Luckily, I was not a victim of such barbaric behavior.
Stinky: Do all toucans have big bills?
Rio: Actually, no. Toucans can come in a variety of sizes. Here’s the white-throated tocanet…
The plate-billed toucan…
Stinky: That looks like a parrot!
Rio: The chestnut-eared aracari…
And the smallest of us all, the lettered aracari!
I may not be a songbird, but can I sing today?
Jake: Yes you may. And now, here’s Rio singing ‘Toucan Mambo’.
Rio: Ruffle your feathers and shake your bill
Bunnie: And now, the Animal Awards! Today, the award for Weirdest Shark. Could it be… the hammerhead shark?
Armstrong: The port Jackson shark?
Bunnie: The basking shark?
Armstrong: Or the wobbegong?
Bunnie: And the winner is… the wobbegong!
Armstrong: You call that a shark? That looks more like Stanley!
Bunnie: You made a good point, Armstrong. If that isn’t strange enough, some wobbegongs can walk on land if necessary!
(cuts to Stinky and Jake)
Jake: And now, it’s time for a story. Today’s story is The Woodpecker and the Toucan. “Once upon a time in South America, there was a toucan resting on a branch until he was woken up by a knocking sound. ‘Who’s that?’ Asked the toucan. He looked up to find a woodpecker pecking through the wood. ‘Hello, there!’ Said the woodpecker. ‘I’m digging for bugs! Would you like to help?’ ‘Do I look like I eat bugs to you?’ Asked the toucan. ‘I had a rough sleep last night, and I just want to be left alone!’ The woodpecker decided to continue pecking the wood, and eventually, it drove the toucan crazy. ‘That’s it!’ Said the toucan as he flew over to the woodpecker. ‘I’m going to give you a piece of my…’ He was astonished to see what was there- a hole for him to live in! ‘You can live in the hole,’ Said the woodpecker. ‘And I’ll find lunch in another tree.’ ‘Thank you so much!’ Said the toucan. ‘I’m going to continue my nap!’ And so, the toucan went into his hole while the woodpecker flew off to find another tree, and they lived happily ever after. The end.”
Stinky: That was a good story, Jake. Is Rio still here?
Jake: No, she’s back in South America, but I’m sure she would have loved the story.
(cut to Armstrong and Bunnie in front of the habitat door)
Bunnie: Okay, Armstrong. It’s Habitat Time! Today, we’re going to South Africa.
Armstrong: But we have already been to Africa!
Bunnie: Don’t worry, Armstrong. This will be the last time we visit Africa for the season.
Armstrong: Thank goodness. Can I open the door today?
Bunnie: Sure, why not?
Armstrong: Thank you! (flies over to the doorknob, twists it with his beak, and opens the door)
Bunnie: C’mon, let’s go!
If we’re lucky, we might see the big five: Rhino, elephant, buffalo, lion, and leopard!
Armstrong: But didn’t we already see rhinos, an elephant, and a leopard in the symbiosis episode?
Bunnie: That means we only need to see two of them!
Armstrong: That looks like that animal Tizzy talked about.
Bunnie: You're right, Armstrong. This is an elephant shrew, specifically a cape elephant shrew. It’s also called the hopping shrew since it can leap up to 3 feet in the air, much like a rabbit.
Armstrong: That looks like an antelope.
Bunnie: You’re right, Armstrong. This is a bontebok, which stands up to three feet tall!
And this is a cape buffalo. Even though they eat plants, cape buffalo are very dangerous. Not only do these buffalo never forget, but they also never forgive.
Armstrong: Yikes! Good thing I don’t live in Africa.
I know what that is: A lion!
Bunnie: You’re right Armstrong! Lions used to live in Africa, Europe, and Asia, but now, they only live in Africa and a small section of India.
Armstrong: What happened to the other lions?
Bunnie: They were hunted to extinction.
Armstrong: Extinct? Like the dinosaurs?
Bunnie. Correct.
Armstrong: Yikes! I hope chickenhawks aren’t next.
That looks like a bald eagle, but what’s it doing outside of North America?
Bunnie: That’s not a bald eagle, you silly goose! That’s an African fish eagle. While the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States, the fishing eagle is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Armstrong: Can we stay a little longer? I want to see if South Africa has any native hawks.
Bunnie: Sorry, Armstrong, but we have to go home.
(Bunnie and Armstrong leave South Africa and return to the Animal Show studio)
Bunnie: For Habitat Time, this is Bunnie Bear.
Armstrong: And Armstrong the Chickenhawk.
Bunnie: Just back from South Africa.
(Tizzy flies around Stinky and Jake again)
Tizzy: Quiz time!
Jake: And what’s the quiz this time?
Tizzy: Well, here it is! (cuts to the screen below)
Are toucan bills sharp? Give it a think. Back in a buzz!
Stinky: What do you think, Jake?
Jake: I’ll make a guess and say yes. Hey, that rhymed!
Tizzy: Let’s reveal the answer! (flies back to the previous screen) Are toucan bills sharp? While not typically razor-sharp like Armstrong, toucan bills do have serrated edges in their bills that help them grab food. Bee-lieve it, because it’s true!
Jake: Thanks for the quiz, Tizzy. That's all the time we have today, and until next time, keep seeing the world through the eyes of animals. Bye!
/ Sea Lion | Jim Henson Family Hub | Kids Cartoon - YouTube
