January 2021 Factfile - a bit of news from the past month and more!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the first monthly fact file! We are going to share a news article from last month as well as animals and more!

News

You might have heard that the UK has authorised the use of a pesticide harmful to bees. It has been authorised for use on sugar beet with their excuse being to do with the virus yellows disease.
But bees are in serious decline and this is not going to help. It is authorised for emergency use and only in specific conditions but, in our eyes, that doesn't make it okay. Farmers need bees to pollinate crops and now they are killing them with a horrible pesticide. What do you think? We would love your opinions below! For more information on bees in our honey bee post click here.

We have also found an article about some Indonesian monkeys from the island of Bali who steal anything expensive, that tourists have because they know they will get a reward! They know which items have the most value and will often not accept the first offer and will hold out their hands for more!
They steal things like phones and wallets and the people nearby have some of their favourite treats to give in exchange! Sometimes they can negotiate for a long time over holidaymakers' belongings!

Animals of the month

Air animal - European robin

Robins are birds that you have probably all heard of. They are a common sight in gardens and parks, especially at this time of year. European robins are easily identified because of the bright orange-red breasts and faces visible on both male and female birds. However, males have much more distinctively coloured breasts than females. This is so that the females can blend in with the environment and protect the nest and their eggs.
Although robins look quite peaceful and gentle, males will fight and sometimes kill their rivals. Their redbreasts act like red warning flags. Robins do not mate for life. They pair for a single breeding season.
Robins are quite small. They measure about 12-15cm. That's about the width of an A5 book.
Robins are territorial. A breeding pair will own a territory of about 1600 m² to 8300 m² (2000-10000 square yards). In the winter, when the robins are alone, their territories are about 650 m² to 5000 m² (800-6000 square yards) large. That's pretty big for such a small bird. A robin will only attack another robin if the latter is in the first robin's territory. Robins often trespass into the territory of others while feeding.

Land animal - lizard

Lizards are a very widespread group from all around the world, except Antarctica. There are over 6,000 species and they are very different from each other. Some, like geckos, are only a few centimetres long and others, like the Komodo Dragon, can be around three meters long!

They are carnivorous and many have the 'sit and wait' tactic. What they eat also varies hugely from the smaller species eating insects to the large eating mammals as large as a water buffalo! They can regrow their tales and, depending on the species, they can have other interesting skills too, like the use of venom. There are, however, only a few venomous types of lizard.

The common lizard's lifespan is about 5-6 years, but this can vary hugely depending on the breed. They mainly breed in spring and it is like many animals a fascinating season.

A breed of lizard was discovered in the Mojave Desert that gave birth to live young and stayed in a family! Most lizards do not do this and tend to stay away from other lizards when it is not mating season and lay eggs. I find this really interesting and you can read about it all more here!

Lizards are fascinating creatures!

Waterdwelling animal - seal;

Seals can be found on nearly every continent on earth, although most live in cold-water environments. They are carnivores and most rely on eating fish to survive, however, some species like leopard seals eat larger animals and sometimes even other seals. With so much of their time spent in water, some types of seals have evolved to be able to hold their breath for up to 2 and a half hours at one time!

Hunters have targeted seals for hundreds of years for their fur. Due to this many types of seals, like the Caribbean Monk Seal are now extinct. However, climate change is the largest threat to seals, especially the ones who live on sea ice.

Unlike many animals, seals only give birth to one pup at a time. During the mating period, males get very aggressive and fight each other for territory. For this reason, male seals often don't mate until they are eight years old and strong enough to win the fights.

The average lifespan for seals in the wild is 30 years, and some of the largest seals can measure up to 30 feet and weigh 4.4 tons!

Eco Tip Of The Month!

Make the most of your leftovers by reheating food or making sure it goes in the compost for certain things!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and we will be back soon (hopefully more than in January!) with another post!

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/09/pesticide-believed-kill-bees-authorised-use-england-eu-farmers
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jan/14/balis-thieving-monkeys-seek-bigger-ransoms-for-high-value-swag-study
https://animalia.bio/european-robin
https://ebird.org/species/eurrob1
https://www.britannica.com/animal/lizard
https://animalcorner.org/animals/lizards/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/seals
https://www.britannica.com/animal/seal-mammal

Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
King Bee, owned by Glyn Humphrey (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Bali Monkeys 2, owned by Rex Boggs (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
European Robin, owned by Sergey Yeliseev (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Spiny Lizard, owned by (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Harbor seal, owned by Thomas Haeusler (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Comments

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

Hello. On the 12th of August it was International Elephant Day, so we decided that this week's post should be about elephants. Elephants are the largest living land mammals. There are three types of elephant; the African bush elephant; the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants have larger ears, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears. Elephants use their trunks to breath, bring food and drink to their mouths and to grasp objects. Elephants' legs are like pillars. They carry the Elephant's massive weight. African bush elephants weigh 6000kg, Asian elephants weigh 4000kg and African forest elephants weigh 2700kg. Basically, they are very heavy.Elephants eat grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Elephants can live up to 70 years old in the wild. They communicate by sight, touch and smell. Sadly, these wonderful mammals are in danger. African elephants are listed as vulne

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back

Discussion || Should Everyone Switch To Electric Cars?

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for joining me today, as I hop on the blog to discuss whether everyone switching to electric cars would really help the environment. In other words, should everyone switch to electric cars? This is the first part of a two-part series, discussing electric cars, so stay tuned for part two!! I would like to start this post by stating that I am by no means an expert. This is knowledge I have from my own experience, and from research I have done. If anything is incorrect please take it as it is and accept that this is a discussion and I am taking on board all opinions from reliable sources on this complex topic. Electric cars are a huge topic when it comes to sustainability and "saving our planet". There is no debating the fact that electric cars are better for the environment than diesel or petrol once they are on the road. But the production of them is often very polluting, with one study show

Major ocean currents and how they affect global temperatures

Hi everyone, This week we're talking about ocean currents. Ocean currents are part of the ocean's circulation system and influence local and global weather patterns. They are produced by gravity, differences in water density, winds on the ocean surface and Earth's rotation on its own axis. They cause the movements and exchanges of different ocean properties such as salinity, temperature and nutrients. Ocean currents can flow at speeds of up to 4m per second however most flow at speeds between 5cm and 50cm per second. Weather patterns and ocean currents constantly influence one another. Ocean currents follow similar paths as global wind do, transferring heat from the equator to polar regions. They create and influence ecosystems worldwide, especially marine ones. However they also spread plastics and microplastics around the world far from their original source. This system of ocean currents is often referred to as a global conveyor belt. Today w

Announcement: Animal of the week

02.08.2020 Animal of the week: Owl

Hi everyone, This week's blog post is all about owls. Habitat There are many different types of owl: barn owls, long-eared owls, snowy owls and lots more. Different species live in different places. Here are a few examples. Snowy owls live in the Arctic . Great grey owls live in pine forests. Elf owls live in deserts. There are about 130 different species of owl. Owls can be found everywhere in the world apart from Antarctica . Owls live in trees, holes in the ground, barns and caves. Most owls do not migrate in winter. Diet Owls eat insects, spiders, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and small mammals. What they eat the most depends on the type of owl and where it lives. Screech owls feed mostly on insects. Barn owls mainly eat mice, shrews and voles. Eagle owls eat hares and young foxes. Some owls can even fish like the Asian Fish Owl. Even though some species prefer a certain type of food, most owls will eat whatever they can find

10 Animals on the Edge of Extinction No. 10- The Javan Rhino

The Javan rhino is listed as the 1st animal on WWF’s list of the 10 world’s most endangered animals, and I for my part, had never heard of it! If you hadn’t either, we’re changing that now. A bit about the rhino’s lifestyle The Javan rhinos are now exclusively found on the island of Java in Indonesia, but were once found in vast regions of northeast india and Southeast Asia. They have a dark grey colour which looks almost black when wet, and their (often pink) skin folds look a bit like plated armor. Both males and females have lower incisors which resemble tusks that they use to fight. Males have one relatively short horn of about 25 cm (10 inches). Javan Rhinos live in tropical forests, marshy areas and in the thick bush. They are mainly browsers and eat over 100 plants species they find in the forest, weigh between 900 and 2300 kg (1984-5071 pounds) and are between 3 and 3.2 meters (10- 10.5 feet) long. How endangered are we talking? Javan rhinos are the most endangered animal s

February 2021 Factfile - a bit of news from the last month and more!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to February's factfile! We are very sorry that we have not posted very much so far in 2021 but we are going to hopefully make up for it in the spring. News: Source- BBC Newsround The great yellow bumblebee has been spotted in Scotland! They used to be common in the UK but their population declined by about 80% in the last century. The find is a spark of hope as it is currently endangered. This is thought to be because of a decline in natural flower meadows and a boost in farming. The team of conservationists that found it were thrilled and when we heard about it we wanted to share it with you in case you hadn't heard! Source- Guardian In the 1840s a bird was caught in the East Indies. It had never been seen before and Charles Lucien Bonaparte (Napoleon's nephew) named it the black-browed babbler. The species wasn't seen again, so the only proof that it had ever existed was a stuffed specimen.

April 2021 Factfile - some news from the past month and animals that you voted for

Hi Everyone! In this factfile we are bringing you some more news from the past month, animals you voted for, an exciting announcement and more! News: The Guardian reports that 'the new research shows that since the 1990s, the loss of hundreds of billions of tonnes of ice a year into the oceans resulting from the climate crisis has caused the poles to move in new directions.' Previously, the poles could only move due to ocean currents and other natural factors. Apparently, glacial losses accounted for most of the change but some were also due to the pumping of groundwater which once pumped up by humans isn't replaced. This shows just how much climate change is having an impact on our beautiful planet. You may have heard about M&S's plans to release 30 million honey bees to the countryside. It has faced many complaints from experts saying that this could damage the balance of natural pollinators. It is important t

December Factfile

Hello, The fact file vote has come to an end and we have a winner. This year, we will be doing top tips. These will come out at the beginning of the month. These tips are, at the same time, challenges. We hope you will enjoy, and apply them! News Good news New hope for coral reefs A coral reef in India has been restored to health- the proof being in the noises the fish have been making. Many of these strange sounds have never been recorded before. This is amazing, especially considering that the reef has been devastated by blast fishing, where explosives are used to stun or kill everything in the area. Although the corals are being restored, scientists want to know if the animals are also returning and in what numbers. The Guardian states that 'Sound is vital for reef survival, because almost all of its inhabitants, from corals to crustaceans to fish, produce offspring that spend the early part of their lives in the open oceans, before us

Green World

Search This Blog