Wildlife and the Weird Weather

The National Trust has released a report about how this year's freak weather conditions have affected wildlife all over Britain. There have been many problems.

To start off with, the first several months of the year were so warm that many offspring were produced. That doesn't sound too bad, does it? Well, it wasn't. Not until the Summer came.

As you know, the Summer was wet, wet, wet. This badly affected bats, birds & insects. They all came out early and many insects drowned in the Summer, which takes the food away from bats. Ground-nesting birds lost their nests, and many fledglings couldn't find enough food.

This is altogether bad news. I hope next year is better for the wildlife.

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Thank you.

A Rabbit's Christmas

As you may know, I always buy Smudgie (my rabbit) birthday & Christmas prezzies. For Christmas this year, I got him a "large Roll 'N' Chew". You can see photos below. Enjoy.





Smudgie starting to open it (once I'd taken the sellotape off)



Smudgie finishing opening it



The toy once I put it together



But it soon unstuck so this is how it looks now, with the non-toxic glue on it

It was such a hassle putting it together. We had the light on for the whole time (which is unusual at Christmas with the Christmas tree lights). But Smudgie likes it, and that's the main thing.

If you have any photos of your pets with their Christmas prezzies, be sure to send them to this address. Thanks in advance.

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Johnny's Gone to Scotland

Johnny Kingdom (above) is know for his hit series Johnny's Kingdom: A Year On Exmoor and the one-off special last year Johnny Goes To Lapland has got another show on today. It's a one-off special called Johnny Goes To Scotland. It will be broadcast at 20:00 GMT on BBC2.

According to this report by Wild Scotland, Johnny is set to help build a new beaver enclosure in the Highlands.

I will be watching, will you?

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Return of the Beavers

There is a new plan to re-introduce beavers into Scotland. They haven't been there for over 500 years due to hunting in the sixteenth century.

Wildlife groups are protesting to get them back in the wild. There are hoping to release 20 of the mammals to a forest in Argyll sometime during 2009.

But almost half of the people in that area are against the idea. They say that the beavers will ruin the environment by chopping down all the trees. Beavers do chop down trees, but by doing that they make way for new wetland plants to live. So, they are actually needed.

I hope they do get released. It would be great for them to return to Scotland, and hopefully they will.

Please comment. Thank you.

Bad News at Christmas

The Siberian Tiger is a very rare species. So when two cubs are found frozen to death in a freezer at a zoo in China.

The zoo which is in the south-west has been deeply saddened by the discovery, especially as there are only 400 of the creatures left in the wild.

Tiger body parts are treasured as medicines in China and on Thursday an adult female of the same species received the same fate.

Buying and selling tigers was banned in China in 1993, so these deaths could be a sign that the trade in body parts of these rare animals may be on the rise.

This is really sad news. Especially as it's Christmas. I hope the trade stops and that there are no more incidents like these two.

Please comment. Thank you.

Oi, Big Ears!

Okay, this is old news. But I was busy when it came out.

The first footage of the Long-eared Jerboa has been filmed recently. The mammals live in Mongolia and are nocturnal. This makes it very hard to film them. You can see the footage below. Enjoy.

Dr. Jonathan Baillie, who led the expedition, said they're hoping it will help them to learn more about the mysterious mammals.

"These creatures hop just like a kangaroo; it is amazing to watch. Little hairs on their feet, almost like snow shoes, allow them to jump along the sand," he said.

"These amazing, remarkable creatures are on the verge of extinction and we know almost nothing about them."

These animals with their ears a third times bigger than their head are really cute, don't you agree? I hope they get saved from extinction.

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Thank you.

Taller in More Ways

There are more species of Giraffe than we thought. This is because a report in BMC Biology has stated that using genetic evidence they have found out that there is not one species of Giraffe like what we previously thought, but there are in fact six species of the mammal!

David Brown, who worked on the report, said, "Using molecular techniques we found that giraffes can be classified into six groups that are reproductively isolated and not interbreeding.

"The results were a surprise because although the giraffes look different, if you put them in zoos, they breed freely."

They have also worked out that two "subspecies" that both live in Kenya are different species and were separated Melina ago. These species are the Reticulated Giraffe and the Maasai Giraffe. It is also interesting that giraffes travel far and yet they don't mingle with other species.

It was originally believed that there were a couple of subspecies, but they were still all the same species.

David Brown also had to add about the two Kenyan species, "There are no rivers or forests to prevent breeding, but some evolutionary process is keeping the two groups reproductively separated.

"The female Maasai Giraffe may be looking at the male Reticulated Giraffe and thinking, 'I don't look like you; I don't want to mate with you'."

He also had this to tell us: "Lumping all giraffes into one species obscures the reality that some kinds of giraffe are on the brink.

"Some of these populations number only a few hundred individuals and need immediate protection."

I personally think it's great that there are more than one species of giraffe. Although I hope they help the endangered species. Especially as overall giraffes have had a 30% decrease in the past decade.

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Thank you.

A New Era

I have been very busy lately. As a result of this, I haven't been on here much at all. But don't you worry as I will be on here more! This is not just because of the Christmas Holidays, but because I have closed down Neighbours Blog & Rygbi Cymru. I am stopping the advent calendar, though, and the Autumnwatch & Springwatch episode recaps. Coming up in 2008, I want you to send me in your wildlife snaps. I'd love to see them. And I will credit you however you like. If you have any you want to send me send them to this address. I would also love photos of your pets so send them in!

Posting will resume tomorrow and I will try to do at least one post a day. Thank you for your patience.

P.S.: I now have a picture of an Orangutan and it's baby as my blogger display picture.

Advent Calendar 2007: Day 01

So here we are, in December. Not long until Christmas. So why not do an Advent Calendar for you out there in the cyber universe?

We have a cyber-Christmas tree up and I may do a few more things during the month. Today I'm doing days 1 and 2 before I do one per day. So put up your trees and your tinsel and get the party started!

And I am currently deciding what to do now.

Please comment.
Thank you.