June 2021 Factfile - some news from the past month, animals and our first plant of the month!

Hi Everyone!

We’re terribly sorry for missing last month’s fact file (May). We have all had a busy few months. This is actually the May fact file coming out very late. The June fact file is cancelled. Because of this, this factfile contains news from both months.

We are very sorry for the delay in this post. As announced in our last factfile, this post has a new feature to it; plant of the month. We hope you'll enjoy it!

News:

Sierra Leone has sold a rainforest for a Chinese Harbour

Sierra Leone has sold 250 acres of beach and protected rainforest for £39m to build an industrial fishing harbour. It was home to many animals, including several endangered species. This will also have a disastrous impact on local communities, tourism and as I've already mentioned, the environment.

Just click here - It's an article about all the environmental disasters that happened in May. It shocked me.

Red Squirrels were born in Northern Ireland

Red squirrels have been born for the first time in 30 years in Northern Ireland after a project was put in place to boost population numbers and re-integrate them into the area. They were born at Carnfunnock Country Park in County Antrim. A section of the park was cornered off and other measures were put in place to stop dogs etc interfering.

Animals Of The Month:

African Wildcat

African wildcats are members of the cat family. They live in Africa (obviously) and West and Central Asia. They are the closest living relatives of domestic cats. In fact, they look very similar to tabby cats.

African wildcats evolved from other wildcat species about 131 000 years ago. The first individuals were domesticated about 10 000 years ago. They are therefore the ancestors of all domestic cats.

They are listed as least concerned, however, due to breeding with domestic cats, this might change in the near future.

Water - Seahorse

The seahorse is a relatively immobile fish and they live in habitats such as mangrove forests and sea grass that provide food and camouflage shelter. They also wrap their tails around underwater plants. They are beautiful and graceful creatures that are very typical of the sea. A baby seahorse is called a seahorse fry and they eat 3000 pieces of food a day! An adult will eat shrimp and live for 1-4 years.

They don't have many predators as they are too bony but crabs eat them and sometimes the father will eat the baby seahorses! There are over 40 known species of seahorse. And one more fact- the males have babies!

Air - Barn swallow

Barn swallows are birds that you may have in your garden. In Europe, the term ‘swallow’ is mostly used to talk about barn swallows, not swallows in general.

Barn swallows can often be seen darting over fields and meadows in search of prey, flying insects. They fly low, normally no higher than a few inches over the ground.

They have a very distinctive forked tail, more deeply forked than other North American swallows

Plant Of The Month - Lily of the Valley

The lily of the valley is a pretty woodland plant with scented, white, bell-shaped flowers. It is native to Europe and Asia. However, in North America, it is considered invasive. The American lily of the valley is it's relative and is native to North America.

Despite their pretty appearance, the lilies of the valley are poisonous to both animals and humans! This is due to the high concentration of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides).

There are several other names for the lily of the valley, including May bells, Our Lady’s tears and Mary’s tears.

Thank you so much for reading this post and we will be back VERY soon with another post (a promise to not leave it as long, though we say that every time!).

P.S. Here's the next vote: Animals and plant vote

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/17/sierra-leone-sells-rainforest-for-chinese-fishmeal-plant
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/environment/environmental-disasters-across-globe-in-may-2021/2271185
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-57486252
https://africageographic.com/stories/african-wildcat/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/sea-horse
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/overview
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/lily-of-the-valley/

Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
African Wildcat, owned by Wildlife Wanderer (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Seahorse, owned by Alex Griffioen (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A Barn Swallow in flight, owned by Hari K Patibanda (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Lily of the valley, owned by hedera.baltica (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-SA 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...

The Responsible Traveller by Karen Edwards || a practical guide to reducing your environmental and social impact // BOOK REVIEW

HI Everyone! Our January monthly post was a zero-waste challenge, but as we explained in our 2023 wrap up , this year we will be alternating a monthly challenge with a book review, of course related to the environment. This week, I'm going to share a recommendation for a fantastic book, all about how you can travel more sustainably and responsibly. I absolutely love travelling, but I'm also very aware of the impact it has on the world, and I am very keen to learn more about how I can further reduce my impact. That's why I bought this book around a year ago, and I've really enjoyed reading it and learning from it. This is a practical, small-format guide, sharing both basic information about the climate crisis and the impact of various travel activities, and how you can do your bit. It shares specific journeys that are more environmentally friendly options, for example long distance train journeys such as The Alaskan Railroad with its stunning alpine forests and wide ar...

Heatwaves - what's so bad about them?

Hi everyone, Today we’re talking about heatwaves and what effects they have on us and the environment. Heatwaves are becoming ever more common, with 2023 breaking multiple world records. In China, 52.2°C were recorded at one point and the coastal waters near Florida, USA, were as warm as a hot tub. This is because of the combination of climate change and El Niño , both of which make the effects of the other worse. But we can’t push the blame onto El Niño. When analysed it became clear that without human made climate change the USA heat records would have been almost impossible. So what exactly are the effects of such high temperatures. A study in Europe found that the 2022 heatwave possibly caused over 70 000 heat related deaths. Although it is sometimes hard to tell whether or not someone died from the heat or from something else, after analysing the data the team found that their original estimate of 62 000 people (which is still a lot) was probably ...

Linking climate change and inequality - 'The Great Carbon Divide'

Hey everyone, Have you heard of 'The great carbon divide‘? It is often referred to as the 'carbon footprint gap' or the 'emissions imbalance‘, and produces frightening numbers. The great carbon divide describes the huge gap between the amount of carbon dioxide the rich versus the poor emit, and these numbers shocked even us. What does this mean? There have been many different studies, and all of them show terrifying results. One study from the Guardian and Oxfam, reports that the richest 1% of the world's population emit more carbon than the poorest 66%. The richest 1% consist of 77 million people, which may seem like a lot at first, but the poorest 66% refers to over 5 billion people! Africa, which is home to 17% of the world's population, only causes 4% of the world's emissions. This top 1% emitted 16% of global CO2 emissions in 2019, that's 5.9 billion tonnes of CO2. Modelling suggests that it would take someone who isn't in the top 1% about 150...

How much do you know about extinction? | quiz

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to the blog! This week is our last monthly quiz! We'd love to hear which one was your favourite in the comments! We also have a quick online survey for what our monthly post should be next year. We really appreciate any feedback and this is the best way for you to tell us what you want to see us post about and share! From a monthly challenge to an environmental book of the month - we just want to know what you think! 🍂 click here to vote! So, how much do you know about extinction? You may know some from our " animals you don't know are on the edge of extinction " series, or from the news as extinction is such a buzzword. All of these facts are from reliable sources such as National Geographic, as well as the statistics being cross checked with other websites. 1. How many years ago was the most recent mass extinction? a) 44 million b) 55 million c) 66 million 2. How many species could be threatened ...

How much do you know about marine animals? | quiz

Hi Everyone! Welcome to another monthly quiz! Today we are so excited to share some quiz questions on marine animals. Let us know how you did in the comments! Questions 1) Which of these came first: sharks, dinosaurs or jellyfish? 2) How many electric bulbs could an electric eel light up? 3) True of False: dolphins sleep with only half their brain. 4) True or False: an octopus has purple blood. 5) What is the loudest sound made by a marine animal (and indeed any animal on the planet!)? 6) True or False: oysters are all female. 7) In which animal species do the males and not the females give birth and care for their young? 8) True or False: a shrimp's heart is in its head. 9) True or False: sea sponges have no head, brain, mouth, eyes, feelers, bones, heart, or lungs. 10) How many continents do turtles live in? Answers: 1) Jellyfish! They've been around for more than 650 million years. 2) 10 3) True! They also...

Marine heatwaves - an ever growing threat?

Hi everyone, So today we're talking about marine heatwaves. We all know about normal heatwaves, they come almost every summer and are either a blessing or a curse depending on where you live. But today we're talking about marine heatwaves. They are increasing rapidly and have become a commonly mentioned topic. There are multiple definitions of marine heatwaves. Generally, they are considered a period of time with unusually high temperatures. Exactly how high and for how long changes depending on which definition you choose. The most common one definition is when the temperature is over the 90th percentile of the area's average seasonal temperature for at least 5 days in a row. For anyone who doesn't know what a percentile is, if you take a test and are at the 90th percentile then it means you are better than 90% of the people who took that test. So in our context, the temperature has to be higher than 90% of the seasonal temperatu...

El Niño & La Niña - what are they and what effects do they have?

Hello everyone, You've probably heard of El Niño and La Niña before. Especially El Niño has been discussed a lot recently in the media. El Niño and La Niña are part of a climate pattern found in the Pacific Ocean that occurs roughly every two to seven years. However there is no real regularity or predictability further into the future. They affect global weather patterns and economies. So first of all, let's cover what is actually happening here. In normal circumstances trade winds blow across the Pacific from South America to Asia. This pushes warm water from South America to Asia meaning that the ocean is a lot cooler off the west coast of the Americas compared to the east coast of Asia. The cold water off the coast of the Americas comes from the ocean's depths and is filled with nutrients. During El Niño those driving trade winds become weaker or even stop entirely. Scientists haven't work...

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no. 8 - Vaquita

Hello, Today, we're talking about the rarest marine mammal. The vaquita is a member of the porpoise family that lives only in the northernmost part of the Gulf of California which is the smallest range of any marine mammal. Vaquita are easily distinguishable, with small bodies tall triangular dorsal fins and dark patches around each eye and on their lips. They are dark grey with paler, sometimes even white undersides. The females generally have larger heads, wider flippers and are longer than the males. Vaquita prefer to stay with 25 km of the shoreline and in waters of less than 150m depth, as these contain more prey. They eat a wide variety of different fish species especially floor dwelling ones. They are shy and very secretive, spending their time alone, in pairs or in groups of up to seven individuals. Vaquita do not migrate. They live in warmer waters and can deal with large fluctuations in water temperature which is uncommon among ...

Glowing nights: understanding the impact of light pollution

Hi everyone, Have you ever noticed how city lights drown out the stars, turning the night sky into a fuzzy glow? Today we're talking about light pollution and how it affects us and nature. Firstly, let's go into the basics of light pollution, which comes in three different types. Glare, characterized by excessively bright and uncomfortable light, is akin to having a blinding torch directed into your eyes. Clutter, as the name suggests, results from light coming from multiple sources simultaneously, often leading to disorientation and confusion. Trespass light, is when light pollution extends into areas where it shouldn't be; for instance, office lights illuminating not only the office but also neighboring apartment blocks or street lights intruding into bedrooms and the night sky. Light pollution is emitted from various sources, including buildings and offices, where interior and exterior lighting can contribute to the problem. Events l...

Green World

Search This Blog