Wildlife and Flowers

FATE OF JUMBO

2017-12-15T13:48:00.002-08:00

Jumbo drew millions of visitors to the London Zoo during the Victoria age. He was a favourite of the Queen’s children.

As much as adored and loved he had a lonely and sad existence.

It is assumed that he was born around 1860 on the border of today’s Ethiopia and Sudan. His name comes from Swahili “jumbe” meaning chief. His mother was killed and he was captured and sold.

An Italian animal dealer bought and sold him to the London Zoo.

His keeper was Matthew Scott, a loner who loved animals started up a deep friendship.

Jumbo was full of diseases when he arrived in London and Scott nursed him back. Scott had no knowledge of feeding and treating elephants and in a round-about-way added suffering with Jumbo’s diet and also gave him whiskey.

Jumbo as quiet he was during the day became violent during the night smashing up several times the timber-cage. Scientists discovered that a bad toothache could have cause him to get into a rage. As everybody knows toothache really worsen during the night.

His monotonous diet of sticky buns as a reward from the children he gave a rides and hay. After his death they found damage to his teeth and an infection. In his stomach they found 300 coins and a police whistle which the elephant picked up and swallowed but it couldn’t have done him any good.

The rides also must have taken their toll on his joints, judging from photos with dozens of people on his back.

It was a great shock when London Zoo sold Jumbo to an American Circus and 100,000 children wrote to Queen Victoria to stop it.

In 1882 the circus Barnum & Bailey paid £2000 for Jumbo and London Zoo had no hesitation to sell and ship him to America. His keeper went with him.

Ringmaster PT Barnum called it “The Greatest Show on Earth” and 20 million people came to see Jumbo. Barnum claimed he was the biggest African elephant.

Jumbo died very young at the age of 24. They can live 70 years in the wild.

He was exercising at a rail yard in St Tomas, Ontario, Canada, when a train hit him. It was reported that his keeper wept uncontrollably as his best friend died. They had to ward off souvenir hunters.

Barnum stated that Jumbo run head first into the train to save his friend, Scott, and a smaller elephant Tom Thumb.

However, it is now discovered that the skeleton shows no fracture on his head. Old photos show scars on his back and it is thought that Jumbo could not run fast enough to get off the truck.

Even in death he was still exploited; Barnum had him stuffed to put him on show.

Although being already a huge animal but according to the expert he was not fully grown at his age of 24.

He was so famous he inspired a Hollywood movie.

NO ANIMAL RIGHTS AFTER BREXIT Update 31 Jan., 2018

2017-11-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

are Remainers trying to change people's mind? Ever since people voted for Brexit the Government throwing, none stop, hints of problems and disadvantages at the public. Well, they were lying before the vote lets see if we are not better off after Brexit. If nothing else, it saves a huge amount of money.

Update 31 Jan., 2018 -- to put it bluntly, will it make any difference.

UK has been the 2nd biggest ivory dealer despite the ban - the 'Elite' carries on fox hunting despite the ban - Tories keep extending Badger cull despite no evidence they spread TB and cows could be injected with anti-TB serum -

Michael Gove, Environmental Secr., let slip that after Brexit there will be no animal rights. In other word, the Tory Government will not campaign for animal rights during Brexit negotiation.

The reality is that animals can be hunted and that is the real underhanded Tories’ plan.

Already Cameron tried very hard to bring back hunting legally; it has been banned since the last Labour Government. Although banned but the Tories are still hunting. There does not seem any law existing no matter what and there is no prosecution. On the contrary, anti-hunt demonstrators get attacked and no court case held against the attacker.

Surely, it is not the only one after the hounds attacked them. You can see it died in agony.

The Tories are going even so far to state the most ludicrous remark that animals do not feel any pains or anxiety. It is the worst statement anyone can put out. Hopefully, they don’t kid themselves that the public will swallow it.

The English People are and were always known for great lovers of animals. The so-called and I mean so-called Gentry set themselves apart preferring hunting and killing animals.

People are already up in arms for many wrong doings by the Government and now May trying hard to stop the ban for hunting and killing foxes. It will add to the revolt which is already brewing. Is she really so arrogant thinking she can do anything and people will accept it?

A further shock came from America; Trump announcing a cancellation of the import ban of elephant and lion’s trophy. The reason behind it is that his two sons love hunting and shooting wild animals which proves their despicable characters.

May was hinting a few weeks ago that she would like to lift the ban. Despite the ban UK suppose the second largest exporter of ivory. Something to be proud of as well as the second biggest weapon exporter after the USA.

To summoned it up. If USA and UK lift the ban there will be a mass killing and elephants, lions and other animals will be extinct.

Their ruthlessness will hurt the scientist and conservationists who painstakingly worked for decades to increase the number of elephants and lions which were already facing extinction.

Now, it had been reported that due to high prices of animal’s part elephant are being shot every 28 minutes. Lions don’t fare any better but there has been no data known.

Ivory has a higher price than gold, lions’ claws and other parts of animals are highly demanded by Chinese medicine. China tries to stop it and educate the people that the parts have no impact on ill persons, to help preservation.

This is the sad situation of USA stopping and UK trying to stop the ban.

TRUMP STOPS BAN ON IMPORT ELEPHANTS AND LIONS TROPHIES

2017-11-19T15:31:00.003-08:00

This is a shocking and devastation news that Trump would stop the ban on elephants’ and lions’ trophy. It is not known whether the Congress already agreed to stop the ban. Hopefully they turn Trump down.

Of course, May will follow suit; she already passed a remark weeks ago.

This will put all the hard work of conservationist as wasted. As it is every 28 minutes is an elephant killed which is already feared and seen as danger of extinction. Now, with the ban lifted, it will be nothing but mass killing.

The African countries were putting up a fight for decades to save the animals from extinction because of the Black Market. These animals were already marked on the danger list but with all their
efforts they increased the numbers.

The poachers latest dirty trick was to put poison in the waterholes avoiding having to shoot them and alert the game's warden.

The only reason, as I see it, is Trump’s two sons already enjoying shooting elephants and lions. They want to bring their trophies home, make money on it, and avoid prosecution.

It does not show any principles to be a President of the USA.

The same goes for May who itches to cancel the ban. Despite the ban UK is the second largest exporter of ivory in the world. That’s all the Tories good for hunting and boozing.

They forget that people voted them in for standing up for them and doing right for them which is in doubt for a long time. They forget that the same people can also vote them out and, at the moment, it is only a matter of time.

The same goes for fox hunting. Despite of a ban the ‘Elite’ still does and will not be prosecuted. May also fights to get the ban lifted but so far MPs seem to show some principles and refuse to agree.

They all seem to be so arrogant to ignore the law.

AFRICAN AND ASIATIC ASSES

2017-01-19T22:55:00.002-08:00

AFRICAN WILD ASS

There are two species of ass. The African ass and Asiatic ass. The Nubian and Somali African Asses live in an area between Sudan and Somaliland.

INDIAN WILD ASS

The Asiatic asses are larger and more horse-like in appearances.

AFRICAN ASS ONAGER

They are subspecies like the Syrian wild ass. The Onager from Persia and India, the Kulan from Transcapia and Mongolia, and the Kiang from Tibet and Sikkim.

AFRICAN ASS KIANG

African wild asses live in sparsely covered rocky desert sf Northern Ethiopia and Sudan. They are the ancestor of the domestic donkey and the smallest form of equip with narrowest. hooves

They are all dun-coloured and have different heights between 120cm to 127cm

They have long ear, narrow hooves and short upright manes. The tails have a only a tuft of hairs at the end. On the inside of their front legs is a horny wart or chestnut. Horses have a similar chestnut on both of their front and back legs.

Asses are shorter and less graceful then horses and zebras. They bray instead of neighing and their social structure is different

Asses do not live in a permanent group. The most adult males live alone in large territories and mark it with their dung. They demand exclusive mating rights with any female which wanders into their territory. After mating the female may stay with its offspring for a few months but if the food is getting scarce the mare and its family will go somewhere else. Young stallion without a territory will form a bachelor group

Apart from the mating season asses live on their own or in temporary groups all depending on food supply. In dry areas with widely scattered vegetation and of low-quality, males forage in pairs or on their own while females live with their foals.

In wetter areas with plentiful of vegetation, asses live in larger groups. It also gives them more protection against predators. Some groups organise themselves by one or two keeping a watch, while the others feeding, roll on the ground, or sleep.

LLAMAS GUANACOS VICUNAS ALPACAS

2017-01-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

GUANACO

The four species of cameloid live on the high plateaux and grasslands of South America. They have no humps and look like lanky, long-necked sheep.

ALPACA

The guanaco and vicuna are wild but llama and alpaca domesticated. Smaller than camels they have slender legs and their diet is grass. They are adapted to high altitude and the rugged Andes.

The toe pad of the cameloids are not as wide as the camels and there is no web between them. They can be moved separately and make it more sure-footed in the rough terrain.

Like camels, cameloids are resilient to draught conditions. They also produce small amount of urine and very dry dropping. They eat thorny and dry vegetation and chew the cud.

Cameloids breed when the rich summer flush of plants is plentiful.

They have tusk-like canines in both jaws, like camels, but upper incisor is hooked and sharp and used in fights.

The animals have adapted to the high Andes where there is less oxygen to breath. Cameloids have a very high level of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Vicula has 14million per cubic millimetre of blood in comparison to human’s 5 million.

VICUNA

Vicuna, 50kg, is tawny coloured with a long woolly coat. It grazes on arid alpine grasslands between 3700 and 4500m and therefore needs to drink.

Inca kings worn fine robes made from soft, golden fleece from wild vicuna. Recently, they had been slaughtered for their wool and by 1965 only 6000 remained. Their numbers are now increasing.

GUANACO

Guanaco is larger, weighs 100kg and more widely spread.

Guanaco and vicuna have a dominant male ruling over several females and their offspring. During breeding season, they become aggressive and fight vicious battles.

The llama and alpaca were very important to the economy of the Incas. It is thought that they were bred from wild guanacos. For 4000 years cameloids had been domesticated in the Andes. They are still kept for milk, meat, wool and leather. Their droppings are used for fuel.

Llamas are used and excellent pack animals to transport goods over rough mountain paths. Only castrated males are being used. Females and a few males are for breeding purposes.

CAMELS

2017-01-10T07:36:00.002-08:00

CAMEL DROMEDARY

The family of Camelidae contains six species of artiodactyls. The most familiar are the two species of humped camel; the other four species are South American Llamas and their relatives known as cameloids.

The biggest camelids and the tallest artiodactyls of the Old World’s camels are the Dromedary and Bactrian camel.

The dromedary are the Arabian camels, has one hump on its back and has a height of 2.4m at the shoulder. It is long legged, long-necked has beige or fawn colour and live in North Africa, the Middle East and south-west Asia.

They have been domesticated before 1000 BC. They still are used as transport; for their milk; meat and wool.

The Tuareg, Sahara normads, used to drove huge caravans of camels across the desert carrying ivory, cold, salt and slaves.

Today’s Tuareg rely on their camels when moving camps and transporting water and depend on camel milk for food.

Today are no truly wild dromedaries – most are kept in a semi-wild state or live as feral flocks. The big herds in Australia have been imported and run free in the outback. India has about 1,2 million but well over half of the world’s 12.5 million dromedaries live in Africa.

Most Africa dromedaries are left to roam and forage on their own but depend on humans for water.

CAMEL BACTRIAN

The Bactrian camel is smaller, shaggier and stockier and has two humps. It is a native of Central Asia and has been domesticated for centuries. Only a few wild animals can be found in the deserts of Mongolia and western China.

The domesticated Bactrian is a dark brown to beige, stocky, robust beast with two large humps and beefy legs to carry loads. The wild bactrian camel is long legged and svelte animals with small, pert lumps.

Both species have horny callosities on their chest and leg joints to protect them from the scorching ground when they sit down.

They are only about 1,000 bactrian left in th wild and live in protected areas as the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Desert of Lop and Takla Makan Desert in China.

In the mating season a bull claims severalf females and fights off any rival. Afterwards he leaves them.

Camels are specially equipped for the desert. The two toes on each foot are joined by a web of skin with a tough pad beneath. When it steps on the sand it splays out preventing the animal from sinking in.

Their blood cells are unique. It carries elliptical red cells instead of by-concave disc-shaped ones. It prevents the blood thickening at hot temperature.

Their hump is not a water storage tank, as widely known, but a fatty reserve for times of food shortage .In dry areas, camels can survive for weeks without a drink. If dew-covered vegetation or succulents are available they do not need to drink at all.

The camel has various water-saving features. The think coat prevents water losses. It can allow its body temperature rise as much as 8C in the heat of the day and cool in the chill of the night. It only starts sweating at 40C and over.

The kidney also function differently. They absorb most of the water taken in and its urine is concentrated and contains very little water. Its dropping is dry.

In the desert’s heat they will lose some water but the camel suffers after losing 40 per cent of their body weight in water.

When there is water the camel drinks buckets of water in a very short time, 100 litres in a few minutes. This gulping down fluid in such a short time would be dangerous for any other animals.

SAVE SHERWOOD FOREST ENGLAND FROM FRACKING

2017-01-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

Its Only Days away when the company starts fracking.

I think, and most of the people would agree with me, to allow a company to search for oil and gas under the Sherwood Forest the Government must be off balance.

There are 500 year old oaks in there and the chemical put into the ground and explosion bound to kill them.

Even to think about it to have a nothing but profiteering company trying to drill under a thousand-year-old forest which had been care for decades is absolute lunacy.

It is also famous for the Robin Hood legend.

Is this Tory Government really swallowing the story it will not be harmed by underground explosion and chemical pumped into its ground water? Or do they not care but just look at the profit they can get?

Is that all that matters to them – money? As if they are not already swimming in it.

Please Please sign the petition 38 Degrees put up to fight for the

preservation of the Sherwood Forest

http://bit.ly/2iNbmIS

Protect Sherwood Forest

To Forestry Commission Why is this important?

Sherwood forest, home to ancient trees, rare wildlife is in danger. A huge energy company, INEOS, is trying to get permission to explore underneath it for gas. Britain’s most famous woodland could soon be filled with lorries, heavy machinery and explosions.

A government agency, called the Forestry Commission, can decide whether to let the energy company into the forest. They manage all the forests in the UK and are supposed to protect them. They know the risks of letting INEOS into Sherwood - but are probably coming under pressure to let the deal go ahead.

The deal could be signed any day now. A huge public outcry could give the Forestry Commission the push they need to stand up to INEOS and protect our ancient forest.

Can you sign the petition to protect Sherwood Forest before it’s too late?

GRASSHOPPER CRICKETS LOCUSTS

2016-12-29T11:25:00.001-08:00

GRASSHOPPER

There are around 17,000 known species of the family Orthoptera. They include some of the most known jumpers and singers such as crickets, bush crickets and grasshoppers. On a warm summer’s evening you can enjoy their musical chirps.

Grasshoppers, true crickets and bush crickets share their characteristics. They have solid head, two large compound eyes, powerful chewing mouthparts, two pairs of wings and large hind legs for jumping.

CRICKET

Grasshoppers are mostly green or brown, love the sun and live in grasslands. During the day they feed on a variety of plants and jumping from place to pace. Their short antennae have sense organs.

Grasshoppers are small, songless and almost wingless.

Bush crickets have long hair-like antennae and mostly live in trees or bushes. Their diet is mostly plants but are also carnivores. They eat both plants and insects.

Females have a long, curved, blade-like ‘tails’ which is an egg-laying tube (ovipositor). Bush crickets are active at night including during the dusk.

The cave cricket are flightless cave dwellers with long, fine antennae.

Breeding

They all start life as an egg. The hutched nymphs known as hoppers, look like tiny versions of their parent but they have no wings which will grow. There is no larval stage or pupa. As they grow they shed their skins.

Grasshoppers and crickets crawl or hop along. Sometimes they have a short flight or a long jump. The insect’s muscles are very efficient and they can jump several times the length of their body.

Flying

The first pair of wings are solid and serves as protection and camouflage. The second pair are used for flying. They are fine, skin-like wings and larger. They folded up along the body.

Grasshoppers and crickets are known for their singing. Male grasshoppers ‘croon’ to impress the females and as a warning. They rub a row of little pegs on their hind legs against hardened edges on their forewings. Some females can sing, but softly.

Bush crickets and true crickets have a different way of singing. They rubbing the bases of their wings together. Their songs are higher pitched and last longer than grasshoppers.

True crickets’ delicate songs can be heard at any time of the day or night.

Each species has its own sound and vary between metallic, grinding, hissing, buzzing, ticking, scratching or like the noise of striking a match.

Male and female grasshoppers have hearing organs on their abdomen. The ears are like stretching skins or eardrums which vibrate.

Crickets and bush crickets have their ears on their front legs. They scan the surrounding by waving their listening legs as they walk.

LOCUST

Locusts are fantastic jumpers. Their hind legs are extra long to provide the springing thrust. The power of the leap comes from the centre of the joint between the femur and tibia. The hind legs are like chicken drumsticks with powerful muscles inside the huge femur.

The tibia is long but tough and thin. It acts as a lever against the ground as it snaps from a closed position to a fully extended one.

The female desert locust inflates her abdomen to dig a hole deep enough for 30 to 100 eggs. She covers them with a sticky liquid which turns into a capsule when dry.

Locusts are large grasshoppers which live in warm parts of the world. They are mostly quite harmless and live on their own.

For unknown reasons they form, now and then, a huge swarm of thousands of locusts.

Their shape and colour change and their muscles grow. Then they hop, feed and fly together across the countryside. Wherever they land they destroy whole fields by eating huge amount of plants.

When they are gathered in a huge swarm locusts are the most feared and destructive insects in the world.

GIRAFFES AND OKAPI

2016-12-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

There are two species in the Family Giraffudae - the giraffe and the okapi. Giraffes are the tallest of all animals with its long neck and lanky slender legs.

A bull can be 5.3m tall and a female nearly 5m tall.

There are several sub-species with different coat pattern. The reticulated giraffe has large chestnut patches separated by thin white lines. The Massai's giraffe has jagged orange-brown patches on lighter background.

The Giraffe's front leg is longer than their back leg. It gives a continuous slope from the horns down the neck, over the shoulder hump and short body to the tail with a metre-long tuft. The tail with its tuft is used to squad tsetse flies. They have large hooves. Males have bigger horns than females. They are covered with skin and at the end have black hairs.

Baby giraffes have soft horns which lie flat when they are born and then grow upright and hard.
With age, bulls develop bony lumps on their head that grow to look like extra horns.

OKAPI

The okapi has not been discovered till 1901 and it is still a mystery It lives in tense rain forests in the north and north-east of Zaire.

It has a velvety, dark purplish brown, strongly scented coat. On the hindquarters and upper legs it has dark and white stripes. It has a height of about 1.5m at the shoulder. The male has skin-covered horns and a long bluish tongue with which it gathers food and licks itself clean including its eyes and feet.

Its teeth are like a giraffe's and its slit-kike nostrils it can close.

The okapi lives by itself and only seeks a female at mating times. It moves along regular tracks feeding on leaves, buds and shoots of forest vegetation.

LEMUR PART TWO

2016-11-10T14:35:00.001-08:00

FULVUS OR BROWN LEMUR

Their CALLS
Lemurs of Madagascar have a great variety of calls.

The fulvus lemur sound like a dirty laugh.

MOUSE LEMUR

The mouse lemur has a twitter when it is disturbed or threatened.

The sifaka calls sounds its name.

The most strange call has the aye-aye which sounds unearthly when in the middle of the night. Its like a tambourine.

One of the most beautiful calls in the entire animal kingdom belongs to the indri. It sings in a descending chorus to protect its hilltop territory.

SIFAKA LEMUR

FAMILY LIFE
The sportive lemurs and the mouse lemur lead a solitary lives. The other species have such a complex social organisation that scientists who study primates are keen to uncover origins of human behaviour. There is a great variety.

Ringtailed lemurs are competitive, with a strict hierarchy dominated by the mothers. The males just follow the group travelling around their territory competing for their mating rights. They always drink last and in a drought they die first.

Sifaka are in friendly groups of mother, aunties and uncles and know no aggression.

The mouse lemur has several babies but most of the other lemurs have only one. To begin, the mother carries it through threes clinging to her belly. When it grow bigger it climbs on her back and soon makes its first excursion.

NEW DISCOVERIES
Recently there were two new species of lemurs discovered.

The first was a re-discovery of the golden bamboo lemur - thought to be extinct.

The second is a whole new species of sifaka named golden crowned lemur. It was discovered in the dry forest in northern Madagascar which was on the verge to be felled to make charcoal.

RELATIONSHIP WITH MAN
Madagascar was an inhibited island until 2000 years ago. The lemur and other species had the place to themselves for over 50 million years.

When human pioneers arrived from Africa and Indonesia in their canoes they had no fear of man.

Hunters could kill a large number immediately. A loss of at least 20 species, when they burned the forests to create pastures for their cattle. Even today the destruction and burning is still going on.

The rainforests are slashed and burned to grow hill rice on the slopes. Madagascar's soil is fragile and misuse will have a catastrophic effect. Since the population increases the pressure on Lemurs and there habitats will continue.

CONTINUING PERSECUTION
Although there are now protective legislation lemurs are still hunted for food and the forests felled
.
One point which is never mentioned is corruption of the law by powerful town dwellers. Unless this is stopped lemur and other important species only to be found in Madagascar will never be safe.

LEMURS PART ONE

2016-11-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Lemurs, Bush Babies, Lorises, Pottos and Tarsiers are all of the family of prosimians.

They are a close relative of monkeys. The theory is being in competition with monkeys made them all nocturnal but the lemur.

Bones were found in Europe and Africa proved lemurs existed there 50 million years ago. Lemurs are ancestors of mankind. They were widespread but due to climate changes and development of monkeys drove them almost to extinction.

Madagascar broke away from the mainland of Africa due to the continental drift. A small number must have escaped by clinging to drifting vegetation.

At that time there were few animals on the island and the lemurs were able to establish themselves. The Madagascar wildlife evolved separately from wildlife elsewhere.

Around 45 species and subspecies of lemur survive on the big island but are in danger of extinction.

HABITAT
Madagascar, the third largest island in the world, has an amazing selection of habitats for its wildlife. There are deserts as well as tropical rainforests. The island has five different climatic areas and the high altitude of the hills which is like a spine with further diversities along the eastern slopes of the Haut Plateau.

The rainforests are the richest habitat but the dryer deciduous forests hold very rare species like Decken's sifaka and crowned lemur.

Even there are heavy destruction and so severe that animals becoming extinct before they are known to western zoologists to save the species.

FOOD AND HUNTING
As around 80 per cent of Madagascar's plant life is found only on the island, the diet of the lemurs is as unusual as the animals themselves, vegetarian lemurs like the Brown lemur are eating a wide variety of flowers, leaves and fruits in season.

Certain rainforest species, including the ruffed lemur are mainly fruit-eaters but indri lemurs depend on leaves.

The tiny nocturnal mouse lemur eats only insects. With its hands like ours it holds its prey and eats it. It makes loud smacking noises while it enjoys the best parts of it.

The aye-aye eats mainly insects but also appreciates coconuts and raid the village plantations to extract coconut milk. It scrapes the white meat off the coconut shell with its long finger.

SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS
The aye-aye living in the rainforests of the north and east coast has the habit if a woodpecker. It feeds at night and uses its extra long middle finger to tap the branches. It listens with bat-like ears for the rustle of insects and extracts under the bark its food.

The animal moves on all fours through the branches, and walks on its wrists not to damaging its delicate finger.

The indri is so attuned to the rainforest environment that it can live nowhere else. It depends on a least 80 different plants and only found in the Madagascar rainforests. It is therefore impossible to keep it in a zoo.

Verrea's sifaka lives in the spiny desert at the south and has no access to water from streams or rivers. To survive it drinks the dew from its coat in the early morning.

Lemur have sensitive whiskers on their muzzle surrounding the wet-tipped nose called rhinarium. A sense of smell is very important to the animal for it is used as a means of communication.

All lemur have scent glands which they use to stake out their territory.

The ring-tailed lemur rubs its wrist glands over its stripy tail and uses it like a perfumed wand to spread its scent about.

During the mating season it amounts to a scent war by the ring-tailed lemurs to attract females.

WOMBATS

2016-10-04T12:39:00.003-07:00

HAIRY NOSED
WOMBAT

Wombats look like a small bear. They have thick bodies, small eyes and a big flattened head. Their short legs are powerful with sharp claws useful for digging. The wombats are nocturnal and live in a burrows.

Their body measures about 1 meter long and has short hairs. They belong to the marsupial species.

The marsupial pouches of digging animals, such as the wombat, open backwards to prevent the baby being showered with soil.

Wombats living in semi-arid shrublands in SouthAustralia and are well established. They have hairy noses in contrast to the common wombat.

Hairy-nosed Wombats living in the North of Australia are in danger of extinction. Conservationists think there might be only 20 species left in the wild.

COMMON WOMBAT

In contrast, the common wombat living in Queensland and eastern Victoria are thriving. They live on slopes, creeks and gullies which has a sub-humid climate amongst eucalyptus forests.

The animals have very strong teeth which enables them to break-up the tough, fibrous grasses. It is the wombats diet.

Wombats do not fight and have stable social relationship. Their territory measures anything between 2.5 to 2.4ha depending on the habitat.

All wombat species are protected apart from the common wombat living in eastern Victoria.

POACHING INCREASED AGAIN Update 17 August,2017

2016-09-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

UK is the biggest IVORY dealer in the world despite putting a ban on Ivory sales OFFICIALLY!!

PM May tried to cancel the ban but was outvoted.

Update 17 Oct., 2016 -- The latest news is that poachers do not shoot any more but poison the animals. They put poison in water holes.

The poaching of elephants, rhinos, lions and even giraffes are on the increase again.

Even the "legal" hunting has increased. Recent pictures showed a 12 year old and the two sons of presidential candidate Donald Trump posing with their killed animals and feeling great.

The dentist of New York who killed the lion Cecil and shocked the world had also killed already 1000s of wild animal and trades in trophies.

Little do they know how pathetic they are. It only takes a big amount of money of £30,000 to £40,000 to enable them to go on safari and the shooting of the animals is all set-up, made safe for the "hunter"
.
A report in the Daily Mirror state that poaching is on the increase again.

There are ruthless international gangs behind it earning multi-billions of pounds.

The real root lies with the countries like China and Asia demanding parts of wild animals for medicine and ornaments.

Unless these demands are stopped well organised gangs exploit it for huge profits.

The poaching of elephants for their tasks has increased by 400 per cent.

In South Africa's Kruger National Park which is the seize of Wales 36 elephants had been found since January and it has almost double for the same period last year. Other places it is even worse.

During the same time 456 rhinos were found killed which dropped from 557 from 2015.

The huge area is patrolled by helicopters and pilots are in contact with people on the ground despite South Africa's Government demand the ban to lifted of trading in ivory.

Poachers nowadays are well equipped and work at night

As mentioned above unless the demand stops we will face extinction of all these magnificent wild animals. This warning had been out for decades and been repeated times and again but the greed of international criminals goes on.

GREENPEACE STOP HYDRODAM IN AMAZON

2016-07-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

MUNDURUKU TRIBE

Greenpeace is running a campaign about the destruction of one of the most beautiful and fragile eco-systems - the Amazon.

Brazilian Government planning to built 400 dams across the Amazon which would destroy it completely. One of them is in the Tapajos river basin.

Years ago, at school, we were told that Amazon is influencing our climate. Yet, we read constantly how huge areas are deforested.

Now a huge hydro dam is planned which floods an area around the Tapajos river. This will devastate the area where 12,000 indigenous people live, destroy pink dolphins, turtles and fish. It will lead also to huge number of plants, mammals and fish to be extinct.

BROWN MARKED AREA WOULD BE FLOODED FOR THE DAM

The Munduruku people have lived there for thousands of years and fighting the Brazilian Government for 30 years to change their plans. Now they are asking for help.

They live along the river which provides them with food , using it as transport and survival of their cultural and spiritual practises. Flooding this area means an end to their way of live.

They ask from the Brazilian Government for their area to be recognised as their territory.

The Brazilian Government's argument is that a Hydro dam is a clean energy provider. However, if you think about it, it is not. It destroy acres of land and especially wildlife. It would be far better to use solar panel, especially in Brazil. The only snack is, which they will never reveal, the Government does not earn on it.

Greenpeace now took up their fight and appealing to all the people around world to sign up and put pressure on the Brazilian Government to stop.

For more information about our campaigns please see our website: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

They poison rivers, destroying forests and then they find out that they can not eat money.

GREENPEACE FIGHTS FRACKING IN RYEDALE YORKSHIRE Update 14 Nov., 2017

2016-06-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

Update :14 Nov., 2017 --
Apparently bribery did not work and people still demonstrating and blocking roads. May sent the police to clear them. There were some very rough handling and scenes. Some demonstrators were dragged along the road.

All this goes totally against democracy! Fracking does destroy the environment and it is no surprise people are against it. Democracy is that people can object to government's decisions but Thatcher sent police who very rough handled miners and now May the anti-fracking demonstrators. Tories can't accept any objection.

UPDATED: 14 Aug., 2016 ==
Tory Gov is trying to bribe families with £10k to agree to fracking. Whether they will see the money after the deal is questionable. The main point is that it destroys the land forever.

Greenpeace never stops fighting for justice.

A small town Ryedale in the most unspoiled rural Yorkshire dales was chosen for drilling, their own local council are objecting. It is now in the hands of Westminster Mr Greg Clark.

Is there a medicine to cure this madness? To frack in a Natural Park.

It is not only a shocking news but also a crime because it will destroy the area beyond recognition. How can anyone with some sense decide to destroy such a beautiful surrounding? Make no excuses, destroyed it will be.

There will a massive network of roads being build for up to 250 lorries at day to move in and out. The undisclosed chemicals needed to blast into the ground will also damaged the ground water.

Everyone at Greenpeace and especially the people who live there opposing the decision. If you look at the photos it is unbelievable that anyone could make such a decision. It will nothing but ruin the countryside and surrounding village and town forever.

Since big chimney spill out smoke by burning fossil fuels it could also change the climate. All in all it will be devastation for decades to come especially for the wildlife and flora.

Greenpeace had been fighting this ruthless company for several years. then it was decided to agree to fracking near Ryedale for undisclosed reason if there could be any

During the last 10 years or more fracking in Canada and USA proved nothing but disastrous. Not only for nature but also for several companies which went bust because it did not get the financial result.

Canada and USA stopped fracking because they experienced the damage it caused, mostly to ground water. The fracking companies use an enormous amount of ground water and mix it with undisclosed chemicals which they blast into the ground to raise the gas and oil. Then they pump some out again and put it the chemical and water mix into lorries. Where they dispose it off is also unknown.

Viewing all these negative points and experiences by Canada and USA why is David Cameron so hell-bound to have it in the UK?
Part of Ryedale lies within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.

At the moment Greenpeace is demonstrating in front of 10 Downing Street and handed in a competition of over 100,000 signature and rising.

The Decision lies with one man Mr Greg Clark since David Cameron faced a huge opposition from councils and people he gave the whole power to Westminster. Talk about democracy.

GREENPEACE WRITES ---

Hi there,

A leaked government letter has exposed a plot to force fracking on us [1].

If this plan is pushed through, one man in Westminster will have the power to overrule councils that vote against fracking -- meaning that local people will lose their say and be forced to live with the risks.

More than 100,000 people have already signed an urgent petition pushing back against this outrageous government plan, but we'll be even more powerful if thousands more of us join in.

Sign the petition here:https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/frack-silence-2

David Cameron's government claims to champion local democracy, so let's demand they listen to us on fracking.

NOTES
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/fracking/12130801/Ministers-plot-to-foil-anti-frackers.html

KOALA

2016-06-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

Settlers had killed Koalas by the millions for their tense soft fur. Therefore, at the beginning of 20th century it was thought the koala species died out. A hunting ban, although almost too late, and conservation efforts brought the species back.

Koalas live in the lower eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia but where there is plenty of food the population flourish.

Do not be deceived by their cute look they are not all that cuddly. They have large paws and strong sharp-claws with opposable first and second digits designed for gripping tree trunks.

The nocturnal koala is able to survive solely on eucalyptus leaves. They are fibrous but low in protein therefore the adult koala must eat a vast amount, 500g during one night.

The koala has special grinding teeth to chew the leaves. It is hard to digest because it contains concentrates of phenolics and volatile oils. These poisonous compounds are detoxified in their liver helped by microbes a fermentation occurs in the caccum which is particularly large.

Their food is very low on nutrients and to conserve energy they move slowly and sleep up to 18 hours. They sit in the fork of a favourite feeding tree.

The male kola is half as big as the female. In the spring he is very active and patrols his territory each night. He utters harsh sounds and bellows out calls for a warning to other males. He mates with any female he finds. His home range measures up to 3ha and extending with several females, There are also sub-adults and non-breeding males. These animals hardly move and are happy within 1ha.

Males mate at four years and females start breeding when they are two years. The female has one baby and it weighs 0,5g. It attaches itself to one of the two nipples which are within the female's pouch. At five months they get weaned on to leafy material produced from her anus.

It is assumed that this pap provides the gut of the young with the microbes needed to digest eucalytus leaves.

At seven months the baby leaves the pouch to cling to its mother back. It will be only independet when it is one year old.

KANGAROOS

2016-06-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

All Kangaroos look alike with their short front limbs and powerful elongated hind legs useful for hopping. The larger animals are kangaroos and the smaller one are wallabies. The heavy tail is used to balance and used as a prop when grazing. They also can climb by gripping branches. When they walk backwards or forward they use their hind legs separate.

Male kangaroos are larger then females. In the red and grey species they are twice as big. In fights between males it is decisive for only the strongest and biggest get to mate. The male monopolises all the receptive females and fathering all the offspring in the group.

HABITS AND HABITATS

Habitats varies between the species. Some live in forests and some on inland plains. The borrowing bettong or boodie is the only kangaroo which lives in burrows. Wallaroos and rock wallabies like stony rises in open areas.

The larger kangaroos feed from dawn to dusk in open grassland preferable near a woodland.

Red and grey kangaroos eat the same quantity as sheep but do not interfere with them because they prefer different plants.

Rat kangaroos are solitary animals. Larger kangaroos live in a group some times up to 10.

POUCHED MAMMALS OR MARSUPIALS

2016-06-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Since Australia, New Guinea and South America was cut off by oceans for the last million years the pouched mammals have evolved. They exploit a separate and extraordinarily rich fauna which ranges from desert to rainforest.

Pouched mammals already existed at the time of the dinosaurs. At this time there were no continents as we know it today but one giant land mass, called Gondwanaland.

Australia, Antarctica, South America, New Guinea and the nearby islands broke apart when the tectonic plates split Gondwanaland. Over centuries the ancestral mammals of these areas evolved new pouched species.

All over the world new mammals began to grow placentas and replaced pouched species.

When South America collided with North America resulting into one continent the pouched South American opossums moved north into a land dominated by placental mammals.

The pouched mammals evolved separately from their placental cousins but they started with an identical genetic history. The result was evolution duplicate species.

MARSUPIAL BIRTH
Not having a placenta to feed the baby with nutrients efficiently from the mother's body to the embryo, pouched mammals cannot nurture their babies very long therefore marsupials are born only partly formed, The new born baby crawls up its mother's belly to the pouch. It attaches to one of her teats. It does not let go until it is capable to feed itself.

Most of the babies are able to get into the pouch but some are lost. To counteract nature has formed a fascinating back-up.

Marsupial females have a double vagina and a double uterus into which the eggs are shed. The male has a two-lobed penis to be able to fertilise one egg in each uterus. The implantation and

development of the second egg can be delayed for weeks of months until the first baby stops suckling and leaves the pouch.

This enables the mother to breed immediately without a male. It also helps if the first baby died.

THE MARSUPIAL POUCH
Marsupials lead an active life, like Kangaroos. which has a single baby.

Many species of American opossums and Australian carnivorous pouched mammals have eight or more babies.

Their pouch is a fold of skin around the nipples. Attached to a nipple, the young are carried around. As they gain weight the whole litter is heavier than the mother. The moment they release her teats, she leaves them in a nest.

Different species have different ways of care of their babies.

SHIRE HORSES A FORGOTTEN BREED

2016-05-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

Shire Horses were widespread across the country. They worked pulling drays and ploughs but as mechanism was spreading they became less in demand.

It is thought there were as many as a million in England a 100 years ago up to the first World War.

Ed McDowell works as a coachman in London's last surviving stable of seven Shire Horses. He said: "And now worldwide, there are fewer than 1,500.

As a matter of fact they are rarer then the Giant Panda of which are 1,800 in the world. The UK Rare Breeds Surviving Trust see them "at risk".

At the turn of the last century there were 40,000 shire horses in London. Now there only those seven magnificent gentle giants. To save the breed they still cutting the grass in Hyde Parks and pulling the passenger tram at Hampton Court and Richmond Park.

Original they were bred there to carry the knights with their heavy armours. Henry VIII demanded a strong horse to carry the knights into battle. They were also used for mowing and logging. It was Henry VIII who started the breed.

Later when gun powder was invented it brought already a decline for military use to these big horses and became more used to pull drays and ploughing the land.

Oliver Cromwell used lighter and faster horses for his cavalry.

The Shire Horse stands 15 hands high (5ft 4in) at the withers. It has an enormous strength for pulling and were a very popular sight for pulling the brewery drays delivering ale.

The famous Yorkshire brewery Tetley stopped using the powerful horses when it was taken over by the Danish brewery Carlsberg. They found the upkeep too expensive. No doubt they eat a lot being so big and strong but surely Carlsberg could have afforded it.

We must not forget that these horses are the back of the Industrial Revolution. It was them working in the docks bringing all the heavy goods and raw materials from the ships.

For that reason alone they deserve to be kept on.

WORLD FIRST SAFARI PARK IN UK 50TH ANNIVERSARY

2016-04-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

The first Safari Park in the world, outside Africa, was established at Longleat, UK.

Henry, the 6th Marquis of Bath, started 50 years ago at his Longleat estate in the Wiltshere countryside. There were reports predicting catastrophic consequences. It has to be pointed out that people had different outlook in 1960. He was even questioned in Parliament.

The Marquis had huge death duties and was the first aristocrat to open his home to visitors in 1949 which was unheard of. It covered some of the bills but big country estates cost a lot of money to run.
He had an idea to set up a safari park where people could travel through and the animals roam freely like in Africa but on a much smaller scale.

The idea came from circus owner Jimmy Copperfield. He persuaded Lord Bath to fence in 100 acres on his estate. It was opened at the beginning of April, 1966 and visitors had to pay £1 per vehicle. The visitors could watch a pride of 50 lions which they would not have seen otherwise roaming in natural surroundings.

After all the dramatic reports that visitors will be dinners for the lions and the whole safari park will be closed down in no time it was a huge success. The first year counted 500,000 visitors and not one of them was fed to the lions.

The success of the safari park saved the Marquis his magnificent Elizabethan Mansion and the surrounding estate of 10,000 acres.

Nowadays the park has 1200 animals and on Bank Holidays the queues stretching for miles; up to four miles.

However, the name of the successful Longleat Safari Park is some times overshadowed by the antics of the family.

The 7th and present Marquis of Bath is an eccentric. He has a fortune of £150million but is never far from controversy.

The flamboyant 83 year old former Lib Dem peer wanted Wessex to be independent. Wessex is an ancient region in which his estate is. In 1992 when he inherited the title his first act was to sack his brother Christopher who run the safari park and also told him to get out of his cottage on his estate.

Alexander George Thynn, the 7th Marquis, never forgave his father putting his brother in charge. Both acts created a lot of bitterness in both sons

Lord Bath married in 1969 Anna Gael born in Hungary. He has two children Ceawlin and Lenka. However, the Marques has made his name having a huge string of women. He admitted that he has over 70 lovers and some live in cottages on the estate.

His wife now lives in the South of France.

His son Ceawlin, which has the King of Wessex's name, has the title Viscount Weymouth and will inherit his father's title. He runs the estate now after his father stepped back from running the estate for the last six years.

Ceawlin brought in David Bradley from Legoland and Hollywood designers from the Titanic to create new attraction; one of it will be Jungle Kingdom.

The 50th anniversary will be celebrated by a series of events in June. BBC programme Animal Park will also film a new series.

But with all their wealth and beautiful surrounding they do not live happily together. Three years ago Ceawlin removed one of his father's vivid art works which he keeps painting on his bedroom walls.

They fell out and Ceawlin moved into another wing. The Longleat House has 130 rooms.

When Ceawlin, 41, got married to Emma McQuiston, 29, in 2012 neither of his parents attended the wedding because Emma was half-cast. It would ruin 400 years of bloodline.

THREATENED UK SPECIES OF EXTINCTION

2016-02-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

DORMOUSE

Experts declared that hundreds of thousands of these rare animals had been lost because forests get cut up for roads, railways or changed into fields

The dormouse lives in the trees and cannot move on open ground to get to another forest because of predators.

Luckily there is help from Japan. They developed a dormouse bridge. It is a mesh tunnels which help the dormouse to travel to another tree across a road or railway.

TOADS AND FROGS

Toads and Frogs habitat are being destroyed because farmers closing ponds and use easily maintained troughs.

Natterjack toads lost 75 per cent during the past century. Since the 60s the great crested newt’s loss in Britain is 60 per cent.

Farmer asking for more help to provide the habitat to help recovery.

It would also help if people put a pond in their garden.

BUMBLEBEE

Bumblebee have greatly declined in recent years due to intensive farming. Their favourite a meadow was changed into o grazing grass or crops.

Since the 1940s the UK have lost 90 per cent of meadows which caused the biggest decline of the bumblebee. Two species are extinct.

It also does not help the heavy use of pesticides.

According to the experts those little pollinators contribute an unbelievable estimated £400million to the UK economy.

Farmers are becoming aware of the damage they have done and doing now more to bring them back.

It would also help if people plant bee-friendly flowers in their gardens. All the gardens put together cover more ground than farms and parks.

BUTTERFLIES

Butterflies are another species loosing the fight for survival all due to the reason as mentioned in the above bumblebee report.

In the decade only, a massive 72 per cent of butterflies had been lost and some species been extinct.

HEDGEHOG

Another disgraceful record from the experts. The number of 36 million estimated 50 years ago had dropped to under 1 million. If this continues the hedgehog could be extinct within 10 years.

The loss of rough grassland had a great impact but also in urban areas garden fences are dug deeper and therefore stops the hedgehog to travel from one garden to the other. Hedgehogs are great travellers to find their worms and again pesticides which kill worms and slugs adding to loss to hedgehogs.

If the hedgehog cannot move from garden to garden it will go out onto the road and many are killed.

A new scheme which ask people to dig hp;es under their fences to help hedgehogs to travel.

OTTERS

The industrial revolution has a lot to answer for the decline in otters. It counts to a 90 per cent loss since it kills off their food and habitats.

Otters moved to the North and West of the UK since the beginning of the last century.

After a clean-up of the polluted waterways they seem to return and exist in every county of the country.

However, more has to be done to bring back the population of otters. There has to be more uncut riverbanks and to improve underground road crossing for them.

UK WILD LIFE VANISHES

2016-01-15T11:41:00.000-08:00

An absolute shocking news was revealed about UK’s vanishing wild life.

The Species Recovery Trust announced, last year, 421 species of mammals, birds and plants had become extinct in the UK over the last 200 years.

The main reason is the natural habitats are cut down. It is unbelievable and shocking but true.

An even bigger surprise and shock is the fact that 50million birds had been lost since the early 1970. The main reason is the loss of hedgerows due to mechanising farming. 90 per cent of flowering meadows had been lost and cutting down whole woodlands has a devastating effect.

Species which have been hit mostly are yellowhammers, larks and wading birds.

Species which show some recovery are pheasants, crows and wood pigeons.

The blame does not only lie with the farmers alone. They are forced to produce more and cheaper food. Therefore to achieve this and to survive they use chemicals and machineries.

The woodland birds are even worse off. Species like the wood warblers, the lesser spotted woodpecker and willow tit.

According to records woodlands were better managed in the past. Only big trees were felled and the younger trees could grow even better. Now they go in with big juggernauts and cut down the whole area. The soil which is light will erode and the damage is far greater for decades to come. It diminishes birds, mammals, insects and plants.

A group of wild beavers had been spotted in Devon two years ago. It was the last wild beavers in the UK. This week it had been reported that they were missing for the last six weeks. It is supposed that their habitat was disturbed.

Great news comes from the Caerlaverock Wildlife and Wetland Trust. At first there were 500 barnacle geese migrating there in 1948. Now they estimated that 40,000are coming there to spend the winter months. The reason is mainly that hunting had stopped and farmers are paid to keep the grass growing.

We also can help to preserve and protect the wildlife in our gardens. All the UK gardens put together would be as big as Suffolk and covers a bigger area than all the nature reserves put together.

To help the wildlife is to sow more flowers, hanging up nest boxes, feed the birds all year round and have a dish of water for them to bath and drink of it. It does not cost the earth and brings so much joy watching the birds and butterflies.

BEAVERS

2016-01-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

There are two, closely related species, of Beavers and live on two different continents; North America and Europe.

A third species called Mountain Beavers is no relatives. It does not live on mountains but on sea shores and is for unknown reason called Mountain Beavers.

The North American and European beavers look very similar. The head seems small in comparison to its heavy body cover in dense dark brown hairs. The short legs and its feet have five digits with strong claws. The hind feet are larger and webbed. The large tail is flattened horizontally covered with scales. The beaver uses it as a buddle and rudder.

It is known and to be admired for it elaborated Dom shaped house or lodges. It digs first an underwater burrow and mostly into a bank. The foundation is build by packing mud and stones on the ground. Then it uses sticks piling it up on top and held down with mud and stones. Eventually it reaches way up above the water level.

One large internal living chamber is hollowed out above the water level and inside walls is 1m thick. One or more under water entrance is tunnelled into the chamber.

Apart froM their lodges, beavers construct extremely efficient dams and canals. They are also built from mud, stones and twigs. It also uses branches and sometimes even tree trunks. Those dams and canals ensure that the water level is always right and therefore do not either drowned or dried out the chamber making it easy for predators to enter.

Beavers are nocturnal but do not hibernate only slowing down in thee winter. It is at home in the water where they swim and dive with great agility. On land it moves slowly and awkwardly.

DIET The beavers are herbivores and changing their diet to what is available

In autumn and winter they eat the bark and twigs of trees which drop their leaves. In spring and summer they eat more leaves, roots and shoots of plants. Their favourites are water lilies.

Beaver gnawing away around the trunks of a tree with their lower incisors and using their top teeth as levers. Since these large teeth wear down quickly, they are growing continuously.

The beavers are anchoring their supply under water and it preserves the nutritious value.

FAMILY LIFE Beavers live in family colonies within their lodges. Usually two adults and their young one. It is assumed they pair for life. It marks the territory round its lodge by spraying it with scent. They use their tail slapping it on the water as a warning and also have vocal communication.

It is unusual amongst rodent that the beaver has a low reproduction. They have only one litter a year and they mate in January and February. After 100 – 110 days gestation they have a litter of four or five but nine can occur. They are born with their eyes open, covered with fur and swim within a few hours.

They suckle up to three months but also eat solid food after a few weeks. Kits from previous litter are expected to bring food but have to leave when the new litter is born.

HUNTED FOR FUR The North American and European Beavers were hunted for their prized pelts. The relentless hunting for the North American beaver in the 19^th century resulted into reducing it drastically in the Southern rage of the area.

The European beaver were almost extinct but due to reintroduction programmes in parks and nature reserves it is now flourishes.

VULTURES

2015-12-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

Vultures are called the ‘dustbin –men ‘of the desert’. They eat any dead animal or dying, from the soft under belly to the toughest bones hooves. It helps a great deal in prevention of spreading deceases.

The vultures are often seen as squabbling birds fighting over a carcass on the African plain.

They are also often pictured in Western films circling high above over the land indicating there are some animal or human dying below.

Some vultures have changed into vegetarians. For instance the palm-nut vulture has become a vegetarian and only eats the fruits of the oil palm. It weighs 1.3 to 1.5 kg and has a wingspan of 150 cm across. Its body length is 80 cm. The habitat is forests and sub-savanna across sub-Sahara Africa.

There are two species by which the vultures are distinguished. The North and South America are known as the New World vultures and belong to the family Cathartidae.

The remaining species are known as the Old World vulture and belong to the Accipitridae and this group; includes the eagles, buzzards and kites.

The New World vultures are a different species and are voiceless plus have holes behind their nostrils.

Vultures feed on carcasses of dead animals and are specialists feeders. Vultures with heavy bills, such as the lappet-faced vulture, can tear through the thick hides of large animals and tale strips off the toughest meat.

Griffin vultures, however, wait for a carcass to be opened up and then feed on the offal inside.They measure a body length of 93 to 122 cm and have wingspan of 2.3 to 2.8 meters. The female weighs 6.5 to 11.3 kg while the male weighs 6.2 to 10.5 kg.

The smaller billed Egyptian vultures use rocks thrown onto an ostrich egg to open it up. Another unusual behaviour for a bird is that it rolls up wool with twigs to built its nest. When it feeds on carrion the very pointed bill is more ideal for cleaning up the carcass left behind by larger birds. It is quite widely spread. From southwestern Europe to northern Africa and India.

Vultures are not the only ones feeding on carrion. Other birds of prey will welcome an opportunity of a free meal but they mostly hunt and kill their food using their natural weapons like beak and claws

MOUNTAIN BEAVERS AND POCKET GOPHERS

2015-12-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

They belong to the family of squirrel rodents.

MOUNTAIN BEAVER

The short, stocky animal is about 30-41 cm long with a stubby tail. It has been misnamed. It is neither a beaver nor does it live on mountains.

It is making its home along the Pacific coast of North America from southern British Columbia to central California. The area it inhabits is from the sea level up to the tree line and in woodlands with dense undergrows.

It is nocturnal and digs extensive burrow in well-drained soil. The burrow has a number of openings to be able to escape and leading to a labyrinth of tunnel system. It includes chambers for sleeping, storing food and defecating

Its diet consists of plant material which it eats as it picks it and at same time takes a great amount back to the burrow.

Mountain beavers are not known for climbing but it will climb up to 7m to gnaw off small twigs and branches off a tree. As it climbs and eats it will leave a small stub of each twigg and uses it as a foothold when climbing down, head first.

It is able to breed and mate after two years. The mating season last over six weeks from the late winter to the early spring. One litter of two to five young is born each year. They are helpless at birth, and weaned at about eight weeks. They will be forced out of the burrow in the autumn.

POCKET GOPHERS

Pocket Gophers are the professional of burrowers. They live their lives underground more than its relatives.

Their territory stretches from north and central America and from western Canada south to Panama. They can be found in all sorts of habitats provided the soil suits them.

Nature provided them with a thickset body, with short legs and a short thin haired tail which is very sensitive to the touch.

The feet on the powerful forelimbs have five strong digging claws. Digging is also done with the long, curved incisors; the lips close behind to prevent dirt getting into the mouth. Therefore their long, curved incisors are always visible and the claws growing in an incredible rate, about one millimetre a day.

The animal is named pocket gopher because it has fur lined pouches on either side of the face. They can extend from the cheek to the shoulder. They are used to carry food down its burrows and can be turned inside out for cleaning.

Pocket Gophers‘ living quarter is an elaborated, excavated deep underground system. It has many tunnels and chambers for nests, food, storage and defecating. They also tunnel nearer the surface to feed on roots and tubers.

They are solitary and can be aggressive. Each animal digs and occupies its own burrow and its own territory. Territories vary but males occupy bigger territories than females.

They mostly feed underground but surface to find plant material which is either eats there or takes it underground. Pocket Gophers can run fast forward or backward and uses its tail to help as a guide.

In the winter, in the colder parts of its range, it becomes fairly inactive but does not hibernate. They mate in spring and then male and female separate.

Gestation is 17-20 days and the litter is of two to 11 young. They depend on the mother for six weeks and after two to three weeks they move out. Then the young are digging their own tunnels and burrows.

The males are maturing at about one year and the female start breeding about three months. Therefore they can have several litters a year.