Skip to main content

March 2021 Factfile - some news from the past month, animals that YOU voted for and more!

Image
By
Hi Everyone!

We hope you are all okay and will enjoy this month's wrap up post. We have managed to post a little more this month but we are off school soon so we may be able to post more!

News!

Recent European droughts and heatwaves are said to be worst in 2000 years

The British newspaper, 'The Guardian' reports that the series of droughts and heatwaves since 2014 have been the worst in 2000 years. These heatwaves have disastrous consequences such as early deaths, crop failure and forest fires.

For more information, click here.

This is definitely the final bit of proof that climate change exists and that it needs to be stopped!

Rise in deforestation in 2020

A horrifying 42 000 squared km of forest was chopped down in 2020, making it the third worst year since 2002. The most affected areas were humid tropical forests such as the Amazon, the Congo and other forests in South America and South-East Asia. These forests are vital for slowing and stopping global warming. Also they are known for their irreplaceable ecosystems.

Animals of the month!

Animal of the month - land: Komodo dragon

Despite its name, the Komodo dragon is not a dragon. It is actually a lizard. Their name comes mostly from their size. Also, the yellow colour of their forked tongue reminds some people of a mythical fire-breathing dragon!

Komodo dragons, also known as Komodo monitors, live on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores and Gili Motang. They weigh about 70 kilograms and can, in rare cases, grow up to three meters long. Because of this, Komodo dragons dominate the habitats where they live.

The mating season is between May and August. In September, the females lay the eggs. They hatch in the following April, which is when insects are most plentiful.

Komodo dragons were discovered by scientists in 1910. Their territories have grown smaller due to human activities. They are listed Vulnerable by the IUCN.

Animal of the month - water: Walrus

The Walrus is a large marine mammal. They live around the North and South poles.

Walrus are considered vital for the ecosystems of the Artic and Antarctic. They are listed Vulnerable by the IUCN.

Walrus normally live in the shallow waters above the continental shelf. They spend a lot of time on the sea ice, looking for food.

Walrus are very heavy. Adult males can weigh up to 2 000 kilograms. That's about the weight of a small car. They also have tusks and flippers.

The mating season stretches from January to March. The calves are born from April to June the following year. Males are known to be quite competitive during the mating season.

Animal of the month - air: Kestrel

Kestrels can be found in a variety of habitats, from on the moor and heath to on farms and in towns and cities. They are can be found almost anywhere in the UK and are a familiar sight beside main roads and motorways.

Kestrels eat small mammals and birds, as well as worms and insects. They measure 32-35cm in length and have a wingspan of 71-80cm! Kestrels are easily recognisable, with an orange body, blue head and yellow front.
We hope you liked this month's post.

P.S. Please use our online vote to decide, what animals you want to read about next month.



Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/15/climate-crisis-recent-european-droughts-worst-in-2000-years
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/31/destruction-of-worlds-forests-increased-sharply-in-2020-loss-tree-cover-tropical
https://www.britannica.com/animal/Komodo-dragon
https://www.britannica.com/animal/walrus
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/kestrel/


Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
Forest fire: This image is owned by Yuri Meesen (on pexels.com).
Komodo dragon: This image, owned by David Stanley (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Walrus: This image, owned by Daniel Enchev (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Kestrel: This image, owned by Heather Smithers (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Tara02/04/2021, 01:18

    A fantastic March Factfile, Green World! Keep up the great work you are all doing. Looking forward to next month's update :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adèle02/04/2021, 07:50

    This month's posts have been very interesting to read, especially about how small Kestrels are! (32cm to 35cm!)
    Well done!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Carbon credits

By
Hi everyone, Welcome back to Green World! Today we're talking about an industry that has expanded massively in the past few years. Carbon credits are one of the measures that companies are taking to reduce CO2 emissions . But how does it actually work? The companies that sell carbon credits fund projects to protect an area of forest or rainforest from deforestation . They then calculate how much carbon dioxide emissions they have saves by protecting this area. This means they can now sell 'negative carbon emissions' to companies. In this way, the companies are funding the protection of said area and are causing negative emissions while doing so meaning that the company can still emit greenhouse gases but can claim to be net zero. One carbon credit is basically the permission to emit one ton of CO2. This is good for the company as well as they are able to advertise as sustainable at a relatively low cost to actually reducing the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Animals 31-35 in our '50 incredible animals' series

By
Hi Everyone! Welcome back to our blog, today we are sharing another 5 incredible animals. This is part of a series to celebrate our 50th blog post, all about unusual animals! Enjoy! 31. Pangolins These creatures are often mistaken for reptiles but they are in fact mammals. They are covered in scales and use them to defend themselves because similar to a hedgehog, they curl up into a ball. They eat ants, termites and larvae. They eat using their tongue, which is very long- sometimes even longer than their body! Sadly, Pangolins are in high demand as their meat is considered a delicacy their scales are used in traditional folk remedies, which means that there is an illegal trade. Luckily, there have been many initiatives put in place to help these animals by WWF and similar organisations. 32. Macropinna Microstoma This is a species of fish that live at about 600m below sea level. They hang nearly motionless in the water and have a very unusual...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jane Goodall

By
Born: 1934 When Jane was a little girl, she loved climbing trees and reading books. She dreamed that she could go to Africa and see the wild animals there. So Jane flew to Tanzania determined to study chimpanzees in their natural habitat. When she first arrived, none of the chimpanzees would let her get near them. They would always run away at first sight. Jane kept coming back until they let her come closer. However, Jane wanted to become friends with the chimpanzees.  So she started the "banana club" which meant that she would share bananas with them every time she visited the chimpanzees.  She discovered that chimpanzees have rituals, that they use tools, that their language comprises at least twenty sounds and that they are not vegetarians. Once she rescued an injured chimpanzee and nursed it back to health. When she released it back into the wild, the chimpanzee turned around and hugged her as if to say, "thank you and goodby...
Post a Comment
Read more

2023 on Green World: the stats, our reflections & more || wrap up

By
Hi, Welcome back to Green World! This year has been amazing for our blog, so today we wanted to share some stats, personal reflections from each of the editors and some important information for 2024! 2023 in stats 52 posts 86 463 views most viewed post: Geothermal and Hydropower Energy in Iceland || Iceland Series (part 2) best posting month: August worst posting month: January 2610% increase in views compared to last year! How was it for us? Elsie: This year has been an incredible experience for me. I'm so grateful for all of your support and have loved writing weekly posts on topics that mean so much to me. My favourite post to write was National Parks post, it made me want to travel to all those amazing places. I've also found writing the energy comparison series really interesting because they required a lot of background knowledge and research and made me think more deeply about the complex topic of electricity production. I can't wait to see what 2024 brings us. Fr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Animals 11-15 in our '50 incredible animals' series

By
Hello, We have another five amazing animals for you today. Enjoy! 11. Dhole This is a dog species which looks rather like a red fox . They are difficult to put into any of the dog subfamilies. They aren't foxes, nor wolves, nor domestic dogs. Dholes are fast runners and live in packs of 5-12 individuals. Although sometimes, different packs will join forces to become a pack of 30 or more individuals! However, these super packs are broken up after a successful hunt. The different packs rarely attack each other as neighbouring packs are often closely related. Dhole packs live in burrows with multiple entrances. They can be found in eastern and southern Asia. They eat wild berries, insects and lizards and as a pack hunt deer, rodents and other wild mammals. Interestingly, unlike other dogs, they rarely kill by biting at the throat. They are also good swimmers! 12. Irrawaddy dolphin The Irrawaddy dolphin can be found in coastal areas of south a...
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

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

Photo Essay || Iceland Series (part 1)

By
Hi Everyone! I recently went on a school trip to Iceland! It was such an incredible experience (and I'm going to sound cheesy now) but it was also incredible to do it with some of my closest friends! I saw so many incredible things and learnt so much, so I couldn't resist sharing a little Iceland mini series of posts, all about Iceland, both my experiences there and what I saw, but also the way it uses geothermal energy, and the animals, natural landforms and plants that are there. Today I'm sharing some photos of my trip. These are all photos I have taken, and are also the highlights so please bear that in mind as you browse these! I hope it is interesting and inspires you to book a trip to Iceland! The blue lagoon <33 landscapes.... Lost little farmhouses a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Phytoplankton

By
Hi everyone, Today we're learning about phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in both salt and fresh water, and are mostly single-celled plants. The name phytoplankton comes from Greek and means 'drifting/wandering plants'. One of the most well-known phytoplankton species is green algae. Photosynthesis and carbon transport Phytoplankton contains chlorophyll and photosynthesises . This process absorbs carbon dioxide and creates oxygen, which is released into the surroundings. This is so effective that according to a NASA page : "Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton consume carbon dioxide on a scale equivalent to forests and other land plants." Phytoplankton is accountable for the majority of the carbon dioxide that is transferred from the atmosphere to the ocean. This carbon is carried to other ocean layers when the phytoplankton dies and sinks to the ocean floor or is eaten by animals, that then gener...
Post a Comment
Read more

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more