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

Photo Essay | dolphin spotting boat ride

Hi Everyone! Quite a while ago now, me and my family went on a dolphin spotting boat ride, and I've been meaning to share some photos for ages now! We saw so many dolphins very close up and we managed to get some good shots, although it can never be as magical as in person! All photos in this post were taken by me or my family. They were so close to the boat! This photo is stunning! It's under the water! Again - under the water! It was so hard to capture them jumping! This was the boat.... ...

Animals 36-40 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi, As you probably noticed, we took a break from this series, mostly due to having just too much to do. But we're back now with the last three posts. 36. The Pinocchio frog The Pinocchio frog can be found in the Foja Mountains in Indonesia. They mainly eat insects, although little is known about them. They are named because the males have a spike on their noses. They were only discovered in 2008, and this was completely by accident! It remained unnamed scientifically until over ten years later when it was given the name " Litoria pinocchio " . There is very little information about them but Wikipedia states that "the male Pinocchio frog inflates its nose when calling, and the nose decreases in size when the frog is calm and quiet," which I think is hilarious and so interesting! 37. Snub-nosed monkey Especially noticeable due to their curious looks, the snub-nosed monkeys can be found in the forests of central China and northern...

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...

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

Hi everyone, Welcome back to another post. Today we’ll be talking about deforestation and its impacts on our earth. Deforestation, the widespread clearance of natural forests, has been happening for thousands of years. One example is Western Europe, where, two millennia ago, 80% of the land was cloaked in dense forest cover. However, over time, a significant portion of this green expanse was sacrificed to create room for crops, livestock grazing, and as a source of fuel and building materials. Presently, a mere 34% of Western Europe retains its woodland. Today, the tropics deal with the brunt of deforestation. Activities such as mining, agriculture, road construction, and the establishment of vast cattle ranches drive the mass clearance of tropical rainforests. This results in the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the global climate crisis. The consequences come in two waves: first, the reduced number of...

The life of ... a koala

Hello everyone, Today we're talking about koalas. Also known as koala bears, koalas are marsupials. So they're actually not bears. Koalas, phascolarctos cinereus , are tree dwelling and probably best known for spending most of the day sleeping. They live for up to 15 years in the wild although captive koalas generally live for longer. Koalas have a stout, gray body and a cream-coloured chest. They have a broad face, small yellow eyes and big fluffy ears. In adaptation to climbing, their feet are strong and clawed. Adult individuals in South Australia weigh 14kg and are 60-84cm big. Their Eastern cousins are considerably smaller. Koalas are found in Eastern and Southern Australia, where they live in eucalyptus trees. They feed on the leaves of these eucalyptus trees, eating up to 1.3kg a day. With a body weight of up to 14kg, this means they eat just under 10% of their body weight every single day. However, the le...

December Top Tips | 10 ways to re-purpose a plastic bottle

Welcome to December! We thought it would be cool to find 10 ways you can use a plastic bottle even after you have refilled it gazillion times, so you don't waste all the plastic . Because, even if you try to avoid plastic bottles at all costs, you will inevitably end up using hundreds of them throughout your life. The impact on the environment is undisputed, from the land animals to the creatures of our seas, plastic bottles can have a detrimental impact. But we can reuse them in lots of fun ways, here are our ten favourites. Have a good December and a great new year, you'll hear from us! 1. Bird Feeder At one of our blog meet-ups, we actually made a bird feeder out of an old plastic bottle, so this is definitely one we can vouch for. It's super simple, as long as you have some good scissors to cut the bottle and a suitable place to hang it. Below is a photograph of ours for some inspiration, and there are plenty of resources online to ...

10 Animals on the edge of extinction, You did not know about no.1 - Yangtze Finless Porpoise

The first animal of this series is the Yangtze finless porpoise, a dolphin living in fresh water in southern China in the Yangtze river. It is one of the very few dolphins living in fresh water and the only species left in the Yangtze river. Unfortunately, the porpoise is facing extinction. What is it? The Yangtze finless porpoise is a dolphin species living in the Yangtze River in southern China. It is one of the very few dolphin species that live in freshwater, and the only one that survived in the Yangtze river after the Baiji Dolphin was declared functionally extinct in 2006. It characteristically is about 2 meters long, has no fins -as the name suggests- and no beak. Its mouth however is curved upwards like a smile, giving the Porpoise and cute and friendly face. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Sadly, the Yangtze finless Porpoise is considered "critically endangered" as there are only about 1000 of them left. Why i...

Overfishing- An Introduction

When writing the article on the Yangtze Finless Porpoise, I briefly touched on the topic of overfishing. Many of you have probably heard about it, and know it is a massive problem threatening our seas and their inhabitants. Overfishing is so destructive, it can kill all life in the ocean, and many of you might be part of it every day. So I read through many articles from international organisations, and they all say pretty much the same things. It's a highly complex topic, with so many things to say and do, so this is just an introduction to the broadest points. It's very interesting (and sad) but when you look into it further you realize there is actually a lot you can do! This is very important, especially for ocean lovers and seafood people. What is overfishing? By definition, overfishing is so intense fishing, people catch fish quicker than the stocks can reproduce. Leading to a massive decrease in stocks that can peak in the extinction of a s...

Animals 21-25 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi Everyone! Here are the next five animals in our current series! We hope you learn something from this. 21. Stick insect Stick insects are masters of disguise. They look like twigs or leaves. This strange appearance makes them hard to spot when stationary. Stick insects are herbivores, feeding on leaves, and can live for up to three years. Their habitat includes most tropical and subtropical regions, but there are a few species that live in temperate areas as well. There are roughly 3 000 different stick insect species! Not much more is known about them, because they are difficult to find. The two main threats to their populations are the pet trade and people killing them so as to frame their carcasses, like butterflies. Their conservation status ranges from critically endangered to least concern - so basically every category that is on the list! 22. Glass frog The glass frog is, well, see through. You can literally ...

Communication - how important is it in the natural world?

Hi everyone, So today we're talking about communication in the natural world. As humans, we tend to think that we are superior to the rest of the organisms on this planet. We also think that we are the only ones who can communicate. While it's true that we probably have the most complexe form of communication, not one but thousands of languages, we are by far not the only ones that communicate on a daily basis. First of all, we need to define communication. Most people only think of speaking and writing (emails, texts, letters, and so on). But communication is much more than that. The word 'communication' describes the transfer of information from one organism (sender) to another organism (receiver) or multiple organisms (receivers). Different species go about doing this in many different ways. Animals communicate through sounds, visuals, chemicals, movements, touch, scents, electrical signals or a combination of the above. Sound...

Green World

Search This Blog