Wildlife Stories For Older Readers
Hedgehog Awareness Week 2022
Garway School are learning about Hedgehogs as part of their curriculum.
Garway Junior School, Herefordshire, has been working hard researching the decline in British hedgehogs as part of their ‘sats week’ - what a fabulous use of their time!
It’s so nice to see schools incorporating conservation into their learning.
Here are two of their reports - as part of Hedgehog Awareness Week, I think they deserve a shout out!
Author - Robyn, Garway Junior School, Herefordshire
Author - Sid, Garway Junior School, Herefordshire
The Year To Remember Rio - Endangered Species Day 2021
The Spix Macaw, one of the most critically endangered parrots in the world, gets a second chance.
Rio
Anyone remember Rio?
Well, perhaps we should?
For those who don’t, Rio was a children’s animated movie released in 2011. It tells the story of Blu, a flightless Spix Macaw who discovers he must travel all the way to Rio De Janeiro to save his species. There, he meets a female Spix Macaw, Jewel. The two eventually fall in love, and together they have to escape from being smuggled.
Well, it’s loosely based on a true story - the Spix Macaw disappeared from the wild around 20 years ago. The species was pushed to extinction in the wild through poaching and the illicit wildlife trade, but also destruction of their habitat.
Loss Of Habitat
The Spix Macaw inhabited just one single region in the world, the Brazilian Caatinga. This semi-arid half-desert is located in the north-east of Brazil in Bahia, along the Rio San Francisco river.
The habitat, which was characterised by shrubland, thorny vegetation and flat, dry moors along seasonal waterways, was transformed into agricultural areas. Overgrazing by goats and cows led to degradedation of the vegetation, and the loss of the valuable Caraibeira (Silver Trumpet Trees) which provided food and nesting for the Spix Macaw.
Condemed to Extinction
With the species condemned to disappear forever, Sheikh Saoud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Thani, who had transformed his father’s once hobby farm into a centre for the preservation of endangered species, Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in Qatar, made a last attempt to save the Spix Macaw. To preserve the genetic pool and secure a future for this rare species, he gathered together a few dozen Spix’s Macaws that were being kept by private individuals around the world.
With the help of a dedicated scientist team, specialist veterinary support and a carefully managed breeding programme, led by ACTP, the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots, Spix Macaw numbers reached 180 individuals in 2020.
ACTP have been working for several years with Al Wabra (AWWP), Jurong Bird Park (Singapore), Parrots International (PI), and the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment (ICMBio) on an international collaboration to save the Spix Macaw. Joined recently by Pairi Daiza, as an additional centre for breeding, the population was deemed to be sufficiently strong to dare to undertake an unprecedented challenge: the reintroduction of a bird species extinct in the wild, into its original habitat.
Protected Habitat For The Spix Macaw
On the 5th of June 2018, during World Environment Day, the former President of Brazil, Michel Temer, signed a decree to provide a wildlife refuge and environmental protected area that spans 120,000 hectares in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
The Brazilian authorities have since been working to restore the former degraded habitat of the Spix Macaw within an area of the newly protected reserve. Measures such as installation of fences to protect the vegetation from grazing by goats and cows and management of non-native tree species.
Water-slowing devices have been implemented, which have enabled the Caraibeira trees, vital to the Spix Macaws for food and shelter, to become re-established.
Rehabilitation
On the 3 March 2020, the first 52 Spix Macaws were transported a distance of 5680 miles, from Berlin to a purpose-built rehabilitation centre in Brazil. Being raised in captivity means the Spix Macaws face many challenges in order to be re-introduced into the wild. This is why a ‘buddy system’ has been adopted, to give them the best possible chance.
They have been buddied with Blue-Winged (Illinger) Macaws, seasoned residents of the Caatinga, who will teach them how to find food and hide from predators (eagles and hawks). The Spix Macaw will also need time to adjust to the new climate before they are released back into the area they once inhabited.
Education & Raising Awareness
As a symbolic start of a major educational project sponsored by partners of the Spix's Macaw release and breeding program, 7000 children in the neaby town of Curaçá, received t-shirts on the day of arrival of the first 52 Spix Macaws.
In order to increase awareness for this project, Azul Brazilian Airlines commissioned a new Embraer E195-E2, sporting new livery depicting 3 Spix Macaws on each side of the fuselage.
Local Biodiversity
The Spix Macaw project is important for the biodiversity of the Caatinga. According to the Rainforest Alliance, who is helping to raise funds for land purchase in this region, other birds in the region include the colorful Blue-winged Macaw and the Vulnerable turkey-like White-browed Guan. Twenty-nine species of mammals also live in the area, including two vulnerable species, the Northern Tiger Cat and the Brazilian Three-Banded Armadillo. At least 18 species of amphibians also occur in the area (around one-third of the species known for the entire caatinga region), including two species of frogs that may be new to science.
What Does The Future Hold For The Spix Macaw?
For the people of Curaçá and Brazil, the Spix Macaw is an important symbol of their culture. For the rest of us, it represents the fragility of our wildlife. For the Spix Macaws, 2021 represents a new beginning and another fight for survival.
Although the future of the Spix Macaw currently lies in the hands of the partnerships working tirelessly to preserve this iconic species, ultimately, it’s future survival rests with us.
Thank You Bee
Bees make our lives colourful.
Every story begins somewhere and ours started with a bee, so World Bee Day is an extra special day for us. With that in mind, we’d like to say a special thank you to our bees and other pollinators, without whom, our lives could be very boring.
Bees and other pollinators, are an essential part of our planet’s biodiversity. In fact, if it wasn’t for bees and other pollinators, many of the foods we take for granted, might not exist or simply be occasional luxuries due to their high cost.
Summer fruits like the cherry ……
Image by kie-ker from Pixabay, cherry blossom
…… blackberries ……
Image by kie-ker from Pixabay, blackberry flowers
…… raspberries.
By Ihor Hvozdetskyi, raspberry flowers
Stone fruits, such as the apricot.
Image by RitaE from Pixabay, apricots and jam
Image by Sonja Rieck from Pixabay, apricot blossom
Almond trees depend on bees to produce nuts. In fact, California almonds are so dependant on bees for pollination that millions of honey bees are shipped around the state each year.
Image by Couleur from Pixabay, almond milk
Image by Maria Teresa Martínez from Pixabay, almond orchards
Bees pollinate cotton, flax and hemp plants, used not only for fabrics but also to produce rope, cardboard and soaps.
Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay, cotton clothing
Image by manzar_87 from Pixabay, cotton plant
Flax seeds are used in baking and to produce flax oil, rich in healthy omega 3 fats.
Image by Irina Nünning from Pixabay, seeded bread
Image by Couleur from Pixabay, flax flowers
The origins of many of our medicines are down to plants which have been pollinated by bees. Asprin was originally derived from the willow tree. Today, morphine is still manufactured from poppies, which are pollinated by bees.
Image by Mrdidg from Pixabay, ‘morphine’ poppies
Bees pollinate many of the plants used to make animal feed, such as oilseed rape, soya and lupine.
Image by biancaunduli from Pixabay, oilseed rape
Chocolate, manufactured from the cocoa tree. This species has such a complex reproductive structure, that in actual fact, bees can’t access it! The job of cocoa pollination is down to a group of very small flies, amusingly known as the ‘No See Ums’. They are from the family of biting midges, cursed across the globe for ruining many a day in the countryside.
Image by cgdsro from Pixabay, chocolates
Image by helenacoles623 from Pixabay, the cacoa tree
Arabica coffee plants are self-fertilizing as they are a wind-pollinated plant species. However, when bees are around Arabica plants, the fruit harvest increases up to 16%! Robusta coffee plants make up around 40% of the world’s coffee production. They depend entirely on cross pollination, thriving in an area of strong biodiversity - bees are essential to this coffee.
Image by thiemen from Pixabay, coffee
Image by falco from Pixabay, coffee blossom
Some plants, like the strawberry, do not require pollinators to produce fruit, as they are able to utilise the wind for pollination. However, the more heavily pollinated a strawberry is, the bigger and more colourful the berry becomes.
Image by silviarita from Pixabay, strawberry icecream
Bees are responsible for pollinating broad-leafed trees that produce timber for the construction industry.
In fact, so many plants are reliant on bees and other pollinators, requiring pollination to produce seeds for the next generation.
And, even though many plant foods can be self-pollinated, the presence of bees and other pollinators improves the quality and size of the yeild. In short, nature does it best!
Thank You Bee, and all our other Important Pollinators!
Encouraging Hedgehogs Into Your Garden
How to encourage hedgehogs into your garden.
Access
If you’ve already read ‘Hedgehogs Need Room to Roam’ you will understand the importance of providing access - can hedgehogs actually get into your garden? Providing hedgehog holes, 13cm or 5 inches square, is essential for creating ‘hedgehog highways’ between gardens.
Habitat
Leaving a wild section in a secluded area of your garden may encourage hedgehogs, especially if it encompasses hedges, bushes and long grass as these are ideal habitats for hedgehogs. It will also encourage the natural wild food that hedgehogs need to stay healthy. Areas with leaf litter, twigs and moss offer materials for hedgehogs to make nests to sleep in, raise hoglets and hibernate.
Hog Logs
Hog Logs - a decaying wood pile encourages insects such as beetles, earwigs, slugs, millipedes and centipedes. Arranged in a pile with leaf litter, it may attract hedgehogs to nest there.
Food
A hedgehog’s diet consists of beetles, caterpillars, crickets, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, cockroaches, slugs, worms and other insects such as moths and butterflies. Hedgehogs will also eat small rodents, birds, bird eggs, frogs, small reptiles and snakes. If available, they may also eat some native mushrooms, berries, seeds, and fruits.
Native plants (such as honeysuckle, dog rose, hawthorn and blackthorn, in the uk) are caterpillar food plants for a wide range of moths, who then lay eggs on the leaves. The new caterpillars often descend to the ground to pupate before becoming an adult, offering great food for hedgehogs.
It can be helpful to give hedgehogs a nutritional boost when they emerge from hibernation and in the run up to hibernation in order to rebuild or build-up fat reserves. However, the right food is essential to avoid making hedgehogs sick. A high protein cat food (without chemical additives) containing less than 15% fat and no pea fibre is a good start.
Water
A clean, chlorine free, fresh water source is essential for hedgehogs. A healthy pond can provide a welcome source of water and encourage a variety of additional natural food sources for hedgehogs, but remember to make sure it is hedgehogsafe!
Here is some basic guidance on how to construct a pond or mini pond.
Accommodation
Hedgehogs will utilise leaf litter, twigs and moss to construct nests to sleep in, raise hoglets and hibernate. Suitable locations can be under hedges, bushes, logs, compost heaps or sheds. Commercial hedgehog homes are available to buy or you can construct your own hibernaculum. If you have a hedgehog hibernating in your garden (between November to March in the UK) – do not disturb it.
Finally, hedgehogs face many daily hazards. You can learn how to protect one of our most beloved and endearing British mammals here.
The Plight Of The Leopard
Who can fail to be impressed by the muscular power, agility and beauty of the leopard?
Leopard
Who can fail to be impressed by the muscular power, agility and beauty of the leopard? Many of us have heard about the plight of the Amur Leopard, but did you know that other species of leopard exist that are also critically endangered and there is one that is on the brink of extinction?
Javan Leopard
The Javan Leopard, Indonesia, was last assessed in 2008 as critically endangered - there are estimated to be less than 250 mature breeding adults, but possibly as low as 100. The main threats are habitat loss and prey depletion, resulting in human conflict when they prey on livestock or pets - it is estimated that only 5% of the island of Java now contains suitable habitat for the Javan Leopard. Illegal hunting and snaring for the wildlife trafficking trade is also an issue, as hunting motives have evolved from one of subsistence to being commercially driven due to high commodity value. Indonesia has a notorious reputation for illegal and/or unsustainable trade in wild and exotic animals as pets.
Arabian Leopard
The Arabian Leopard is native to the Arabian Peninsular. Their population is shrinking fast, with maybe less than 200 remaining in the wild in 2016, to possibly less than 50 mature individuals. Habitat loss and prey depletion are thought to be at the forefront - human conflict with frankincense harvesters has added to their decline.
The Oman Leopard Project has gone some way to address public education and a ‘no hunting law’ is tackling the decline in prey species. Rangers have been employed in the Dhofar region and Oman's Office for Conservation of the Environment has been compensating herders in Oman for losses to leopards since 2014 in an attempt to prevent retaliation killings, but killing in other areas continues. In 2019 wild cat conservation group Panthera signed an agreement with HH Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al-Saud, Minister of Culture and Governor of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) under the Arabian Leopard Initiative (ALI) to help protect, not just the Arabian Leopard, but leopards globally, pledging $20 million towards these efforts over the next decade.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
The Sunda Clouded Leopard is found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, Indonesia. There are two distinct sub-species of Sunda Clouded Leopard, the Bornean Clouded Leopard and the Sumatran Clouded Leopard. Both are endangered and declining, predominantly due to forest loss and degradation, and poaching.
Despite strict national and international protection, illegal poaching for both the local and international market and live poaching for the pet trade, is fuelling their decline.
Indochinese Leopard
The Indochinese Leopard, SE Asia, is now critically endangered, mainly due to illegal snaring. Once ranging widely across SE Asia and China, it now inhabits approximately only 2 - 6% of it’s historical range, with an estimated 400-900 breeding adults remaining. According to Dr. K. Yoganand, Regional Lead for Wildlife and Wildlife Crime for WWF Greater Mekong, “Snaring is emptying the forests of Southeast Asia, with many wildlife populations already locally extinct or on the verge of going extinct.”
The Amur Leopord or Far Eastern Leopard
The Amur Leopard, native to SE Russia and NE China, is critically endangered. One of the most threatened species of wildlife, only around 100 individuals are thought to remain in the wild. Their decline in numbers has been led by habitat loss for development, logging and forest fires (at times, deliberately started to clear land), and poaching of both the Amur Leopard and it’s prey.
Much is being done to safeguard the future of the Amur Leopard, with planned re-introduction of captive-bred cats, fire-fighting teams and anti-poaching teams in their habitat. Also education and outreach programmes, and compensation schemes for farmers. However, due to the low numbers, their future remains uncertain.
Persian Leopard or Caucasian Leopard
The Persian Leopard, native to the Caucasas region, is endangered. Their numbers are thought to be less than 1300 and their decline has been attributed to hunting and poisoning. A re-introduction of captive bred cats has begun in the North of Caucasus.
The North Chinese Leopard
The North Chinese Leopard is classified as endangered. Although approximately 2500 remain in the wild, their habitat is extensively fragmented. Their numbers have been declining due to habitat loss and lack of prey. However, hope is on the horizon for this elusive cat. In the Loess Plateu's forest, numbers are on the rise following an initiative to restore biodiversity to the area after the habitat was mostly transformed into agricultural land 20 years ago.
Snow Leopard
The Snow Leopard lives in the mountains of Central Asia. Numbers are estimated to range between 3920 - 6390. Snow Leopards are declining due to poaching for the illegal wildlife trade and also, poaching of their prey. Mining and other large-scale developments are threatening their habitat. The Tibetan Plateau is home to more than a half of all remaining Snow Leopards - with temperatures on the rise across Central Asia, climate change threatens to make up to a third of their habitat un-useable.
Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program currently leads or supports conservation activities in five of the 12 snow leopard range countries, including China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.
Due to the territorial nature and the vast ranges required to sustain the iconic leopard, it faces an uphill struggle unless biodiversity is restored to habitats, fragmentation decreased and humans learn to co-exist with this majestic wild cat. Currently, fines and imprisonment are insufficient to deter poachers and traffickers. More resources need to be put into protecting forest habitats, removing snares and bringing poachers and traffickers to justice.
Under Project Pardus, scientists from Panthera, In partnership with local and national governments, corporations, NGOs and local communities, are focusing on monitoring leopard population trends, stopping the illicit fur trade, reducing human-leopard conflict, stabilizing and increasing prey populations, and reducing unsustainable legal trophy hunting - the recent Saudi-Panthera partnership, the Arabian Leopard Initiative (ALI), is a welcome addition towards this goal. Finally, the positive signs shown in the Loess Plateau, show that it is possible to begin to reverse decline by restoring habitat and biodiversity.
You can help the leopard by ‘showing your spots’ and joining the #leopardspotted movement.
Hedgehog Hazards
Helping hedgehogs avoid common hazards.
The Garden Compost Heap
A gardeners friend - the compost heap is great for soil enrichment, but it’s also a great place for hedgehogs to nest, especially amongst grass clippings, leaves and twigs. So, before you dig your garden fork in, have a thorough check for signs of hedgehogs.
Ponds & Swimming Pools
A garden pond can make a fantastic addition to your garden, providing an opportunity to encourage and observe a diverse range of wildlife. It also provides the chance to educate and encourage children to develop an interest in wildlife. Hedgehogs are great swimmers but they need a form of ramp in deep areas and a shallow area at least to one side, in order to climb out of the water if they fall in.
Who doesn’t love a swimming pool? To prevent hedgehogs from drowning, ensure they have a means to get out or keep your pool covered when not in use.
Bonfires
A pile of wood, brush, leaves and cardboard provides a very enticing nesting opportunity for hedgehogs to sleep or hibernate in. It can be difficult to thoroughly check if hedgehogs are present in your bonfire, so it’s best to have all your materials ready nearby and assemble your bonfire on the day of lighting.
Pesticides & Chemicals
The use of slug pellets may poison hedgehogs. Also, as well as killing pests, garden pesticides and chemicals can kill the beneficial insects that help to naturally protect our vegetable gardens and may also inadvertently, kill pollinators.
Netting & Electric Fences
Hedgehogs can easily become entangled in netting, especially when it separates areas they are trying to access. Ensure unused netting is stored away and any netting protecting vegetables, placed at a height sufficient to allow hedgehogs to pass under - after all you want to encourage these marvellous natural pest controllers into your vegetable garden! Electric fences should be checked before, each time they are switched on.
Pets
Dogs especially, can cause serious injuries to hedgehogs. If you have visiting hedgehogs, accompany your pet into the garden when you let them out at night.
Strimmers, Mowers & Garden Tools
Many of us like to get outside and tackle the garden on a sunny day. Garden tools and machinery can cause serious and often, fatal injuries to hedgehogs. Remember to check the area you are working in for hedgehogs. Leaving a wild area even if you only have a small garden, not only may encourage hedgehogs, but other beneficial wildlife too.
Hedgehogs Need Room To Roam
Highlighting the importance of linking gardens.
It may surprise you, that hedgehogs are estimated to have a home range of between 25 - 50 acres or 10 - 20 hectares. That’s an area the size of up to 160 olympic-size swimming pools or almost 24 football fields!
Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash
Thank goodness that hedgehogs aren’t territorial because right now, British hedgehogs are fighting a battle for survival. In a little more than a decade, we have lost almost a half of British hedgehogs, who are now listed on Britain’s Red List for Mammals.
Reasons For Decline
Reasons for their decline are thought to include habitat loss and fragmentation, an increase in intensive agriculture and a decline in suitable food sources.
Helping Our Hedgehogs
We can all help hedgehogs in their fight for survival. Creating wild areas or vegetative cover in gardens and parks, and maintaining rural field margins and hedgerows, provide habitat and potential food sources for hedgehogs. Learn how to encourage hedgehogs and other wildlife into your garden.
Hedgehog Highway
Most importantly, it’s vital that hedgehogs can access areas, due to their vast range of territory. You can help hedgehogs by linking up your garden with your neighbours, creating your own hedgehog highway. Learn how to link your garden.
Finally, hedgehogs face many daily hazards. You can learn how to protect one of our most beloved and endearing mammals here.