Hi! My name is Charlie and I'm a Chinchilla. I'm 8 now, and Mama says I can walk to the school all by myself now! I'm excited, but I'm also scared...what is out there? Who is out there? Maybe I should ask Mama, she always makes me feel better.

"Mama," I say.

"Yes, Charlie," she said to me.

"I'm excited to walk to school, but I don't know if I can do it...I'm scared."

"Aww, Charlie there is no reason to be scared! Our biome is a beautiful and safe place!"

"A biloan? What's a binome?!!"

"No, a BIOME, it is a our home, where we live with other animals and share our home. Ours, the Alpine Biome, is peaceful, and full of snowy mountains."

"How is it peaceful?"

"Our community, a large group of different animals living together, is made up of herbivores, not carnivores."

"Wait, what does that mean?"

"An herbivore eats only plants, like leaves and grass. Carnivores eat meat, that is other animals. In our community we have deer friends, alpacas, and caribous, which all eat plants like us! Some animals eat anything! They're omnivores."

"WHAT! So Melvin, he's a caribou, an herbivore? Like us?"

"That's right, Charlie! His family is also a keystone species, which means without them our home will be very sad and different."

"Wait why are caribous so important?"

"Caribous are prey animals, they are eaten by predators. Predation is when a predators eats their prey. If they didn't exist then our whole biome would disappear!"

"Our home is so confusing! Wait...does that mean I WILL BE EATEN?"

"Charlie! It is okay. We are considered prey animals, but we have a very special weapon: our fur. It is our niche, that means it is very well-liked and beloved by everyone. It is very special."

"Mama, that is cool and all but how does stop someone from EATING me?!!"

"Charlie, our fur can't help us camouflage..."

"That means we blend in with the things around us!"

"That is correct Charlie! Our fur instead has slips, and this helps us escape from anyone who tries to hurt us."