Skip to main content

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

Image
By
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 to have a range of pollinators and releasing honey bees on that scale could push other pollinators off the edge. These other insects are in sharper decline and this could put even more pressure on an already strained system.
Matt Shardlow, who is head of a conservation charity called Buglife, told The Guardian that 'It’s about creating a better countryside for pollinators, not chucking more pollinators out into the countryside – we need to get more pollen and nectar into the countryside'
We get that M&S was just trying to do something good but now let's hope they listen and take action to change their plans.

Animals Of The Month:

Land- Gorilla

Gorillas are a type of primate and share 98.3% of their DNA with us. The largest of the great apes, Gorillas can grow to 4 and 6 ft and weigh up to 440 pounds. Gorillas live in family groups of usually about 5-10. They are led by a dominant male, or silverback, who holds his position for several years.
Females only give birth to one baby every 4-6 years, which means she'll probably only have 3 or 4 over her entire lifetime. This means that it is especially hard for gorillas to recover from a drop in population.
Gorillas have been reducing in numbers for decades and according to a United Nations report, they may disappear from the Congo Basin in the Republic of Congo, where they live in forests, by the mid-2020s. However, a new protected area designed for gorillas has meant that they have gone down from being listed as critically endangered to being listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Water- Platypus

The platypus is a rather peculiar creature that lives in freshwater creeks and slow-moving rivers. They often build a simple burrow in a river bank among a tangle of roots and undergrowth.
Platypus reproduction is pretty unique. They are one of only two mammals (the echidna is the other one) that lay eggs. With a tail like a beaver, a body like an otter and a bill like a duck, the platypus is a really special creature. So unique that the first scientists to analyse them thought they were a hoax!
They eat small water insects and rely on a sensitive bill which can detect electrical currents in the water and help to find food.
However, the duck-billed platypus produces venom, but no one really pays it attention because you probably won't ever see one. Their venom can be lethal, but there are no recorded cases of them killing humans. Both males and females have a spur on either hind foot that excretes venom but females fall off at adulthood.

Air- Red Kite

The red kite (Milvus milvus) can be recognised by its red-brown body, angled wings and forked tail. It was once on the brink of extinction but a huge protection movement saved it and it has now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland.
They mainly eat worms and will occasionally be small mammals. They live in woodland, wetland and valleys. They can lay 1-3 and occasionally 4 eggs. They eat primarily dead animals but also sometimes rats, mice and voles. It's wingspan can reach 170cm! They usually live about 4 or 5 years but can live up to 26!

A TV program recommendation:

I recently watched Ade On The Frontline- an incredible documentary series. It follows presenter Ade as he explores the massive impact climate change is having around the world and what different communities are doing to combat it. He travels to many different places and I really love the way he explored these issues and what he covers- highly recommend it!

Announcement:

We are starting a new section to these factfiles with a plant of the month as well! Animal of the week which we did last year and now Animals of the month has been a great opportunity to find out more about a variety of animals and we want to broaden our research and learn more about plants too. Look out for it in next month's post! Click here to vote for next month's animals and plant!
Thank you so much for reading this post and we will be back VERY soon with another post (promise to not leave it as long!). 



Sources:
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dara McAnulty | inspirational young naturalist

By
Hi, Today, I'm going to talk about a young naturalist from Northern Ireland. We haven't had one of these for quite a while (the last one was Wangari Matthai in late August 2021 ), so I'm really excited to write this new one about the inspirational naturalist Dara McAnulty! General information Dara McAnulty was born in 2004. He comes from Northern Ireland, where he lives with his parents and siblings. He is a writer, blogger, activist and naturalist. Dara, his mum and his siblings are all autistic and Dara says that this is the reason he sees the natural world as he does. Books and blogs Dara wrote his blog ' Naturalist Dara '. His first book ' Dairy of a Young Naturalist ' (which we reviewed here ) was published in 2020. It documents a year in his life and how he connects with nature. His second book, ' Wild Child ': A Journey Through Nature' came out in 2021, it again describes nature, this time 'go...
Post a Comment
Read more

Climate change: what is it and what's the problem

By
Hello, I've noticed that we are always mentioning climate change. Not only us blog editors but also politicians, activists and so on. The words climate change are bounced around in the media and probably in your households, but do you actually know what it is or how it works? I know that for a long time, I didn't know what it really meant. I hope that this post changes that. What is climate change and how does it work? The words climate change describe a slow shift in the earth's temperature and changes in the weather patterns. Having a single warm winter does not instantly mean climate change. Climate change happens over a long period of time. If you look at a temperature graph over the years, it doesn't go up in one day and then stay the same for another hundred years. It curves up slowly but steadily. This is a average temperature graph from 1880 to just after 2000. You can see how the temperature gradually gets warmer....
Post a Comment
Read more

15.11.2020 Animal Of The Week: Red Squirrels

By
Hello Everyone, This week's animal of the week is the red squirrel. There are lots of different types of squirrel (about 200 as this includes marmots and prairie dogs). I have some grey squirrels in my garden and you might too. We often see them so hopefully you can learn about red squirrels today. Habitat As you might know, squirrels live mainly in woodland areas. The red squirrel can live in all types of woodland, even if it is quite small. See the maps below for more information on where they live. Diet They feed on mainly nuts, fruit, fungi and other plants. They need to chew as their teeth grow continuously and so can grow so long that they can't eat if they don't chew often. When food is scarce they can eat some insects and small vertebrates. What is thought of them Squirrels are sometimes seen as pests, but not usually as much as many other rodents. They can raid bird feeders (they manage to get in to mine even if ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Factfile-November 2021

By
Hello, Welcome to the November Factfile! Finally, it is December, and Christmas is just around the corner! Settle in, and read all the hot info from November. Here's a quick reminder to vote about the fact file's future. It closes in a month! Thanks, and enjoy! News COP26 Quickly for everyone who does not know: COP stands for "Conference of the Parties" and is a conference hosted by the UN, which brings together the members of the UN to discuss climate issues and come up with agreements regarding these issues. This year, COP was held for the 26th time-hence COP26-in Glasgow from October 31st to November 13th. These are the main outcomes from this conference: The nations agreed on four main topics to take action on Mitigation, Adaption, Finance and collaboration. Apart from that, they agreed on keeping the 1.5 degrees limit but also stated that action must be taken immediately to make it. Mitigation is about reducing carbon emis...
Post a Comment
Read more

02.08.2020 Animal of the week: Owl

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

By
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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no. 6 - Brown spider monkey

By
Hello, Today we're looking at a subspecies of monkey called the brown spider monkey ( Ateles hybridus ). The brown spider monkey, also known as the variegated spider monkey, can be found in the Magdalena River basin in Colombia and Venezuela. They live in lowland (sub-)tropical forests. They are social animals, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. These groups have no known social heirachy and are territorial. They split up into smaller groups while foraging for food. Their diet consists of ripe fleshy fruit, flowers, roots, young leaves and seeds. They are vital for the survival of their eco system as they play an important role in seed dispersal. Adult individuals weigh 6.5 to 9 kg. The females are slightly heavier. They mostly have brown eyes although some have remarkably pale blue eyes. They are about 50 cm big and live for 10-27 years (in the wild). Brown spider monkeys have long legs and a long thin powerful tail. They are better...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

By
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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coral reefs

By
Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...
Post a Comment
Read more