The great annual migration

 Migration of animals in Africa. Thanks to Positive news and stories out of Kenya 

The spectacular migration of wildebeests and other animals from Serengeti plains in Tanzania to the Mara River is considered one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

For centuries tourists have been drawn to safari in Kenya with it's colourful and exotic tribes, spectacular natural scenery and large wildlife including elephant, hippos, lions and giraffe. 

 'Kenya comprises of wildlife, culture and the cradle of mankind – a natural paradise and land of contrasts, with world famous national parks like the Masai Mara, Samburu, Amboseli, Tsavo and Mt Kenya.' Bench International African travel experts for over 40 years

Lodges and camps in the national parks are bursting at the seams with guests at the time of the migration.

Sir Richard Branson's newest retreat opens this August in Kenya Mahali Mzuri coinciding with the start of the great migration. Branson has a long love affair with Kenya, and in 2007 was even made a tribal Maasai elder. Branson has ensured the local communities have played a play a part in the development of the 12 sleeper tent property that caters for just 24 people at one time.

The Great Migration follows a predictable route, but the exact timing varies each year and depends on the start of the dry season. The rains usually end in May forcing 2 million animals to move west on the start of their great migration.

African Animals

Flamingos in the wild

There are 6 different types of flamingos in the world and if you have a passion to see these flocks of wading birds in their natural habitat you need to travel to South America or Africa, the Caribbean or the Mediterranean or Turkey or Qatar. 

Read some fascinating facts about Flamingos

All sharks great and small

Sharks (elasmobranchs) have been on earth almost unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs.
There are about 400 species of known sharks. The largest shark is the plankton eating Whale Shark reaching up to almost 14 metres long. The smallest is the Spined Pygmy Shark at less than 18 cm long. 

CSIRO Shark research page

International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks

International Shark Attack File (ISAF)

WHERE CAN I GO DIVING WITH SHARKS?

• Port Lincoln, South Australia
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Tahiti
• The Bahamas
• Southern California, USA
• Rhode Island, USA
• Isla Holbox, Mexico

Black stripes or white stripes?

The zebra is a wonderful animal don't you think?
Many people were in the past confused about the stripes on zebras: were they white animals with black stripes or black animals with white stripes? Embryological evidence shows that the animal's background color is black and the white stripes and white bellies are additions. This has cleared the question up for once and all.

Maybe you are happy to see the wonderful and weird zebra at the zoo but if you are lucky enough to travel you could see them in the annual migration in Kenya.

RESOURCE: Prothero D.R, Schoch R. M (2003). Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Stray parakeet tells police where he lives

TOKYO

A pet parakeet has been returned to its owner after the lost bird told police its home address.
The bird escaped from its owner’s home, and flew onto the shoulder of a guest staying in a hotel, and was handed over to the police.
First it told the police at the north Sagamihara police station the name of the city and district where its owner’s house was. Then it produced the block and street number!

The bird’s owner, a 64-year-old woman, once lost another parakeet after it flew away and was determined to prevent a repeat. So the owner taught the address to this parakeet that she bought it at a pet shop two years ago.
STORY FROM JAPAN TODAY
PHOTO: This is NOT the actual parakeet!

Two giraffes drinking

 The giraffe can survive without water for about 3 days if water is scarce. 

They also get water from green leaves.

One day I will travel to Africa to see these wonderful and gentle creatures with their magnificent patterns in their natural habitat: Dream On!

Fascinating facts about Flamingos

• Flamingos often stand on one leg, with one tucked beneath the body. It is not fully understood why but some say that the flamingo has the ability to have half of its body go to sleep, and swap legs and then let the other half sleep, but this has not been proven. Others say that curling a leg under the body keeps the foot warm, conserving body heat.
• Flamingos can drink water that is almost boiling. We know this as they drink water from boiling geysers.
• Flamingos hold their breath under water
• When at rest a flamingo faces into the wind to prevent wind and also rain from penetrating their feathers

Stingless bees



A Stingless bee, Meliponula ferruginea. Approx. 7mm long.
Picture taken in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, by Muhammad Mahdi Karim

There really are stingless bees and they are found in most tropical or subtropical regions of the world, such as Australia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and tropical America.
More about Stingless bees at Bees Hive Beezine

Alien or animal?

They are Horseshoe crabs which are considered living fossils.
Their blood is blue because of copper.

Where can you find these amazing creatures?
The Japanese horseshoe crab is found in the Seto Inland Sea.

The Atlantic horseshoe crab is found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the northern Atlantic coast of North America. One main area is Delaware Bay, although stray individuals are occasionally found in Europe.

Horseshoe crabs can also be found along the east coast of India.

Bees swarm

Swarming is part of the natural reproductive life cycle of honey bees and usually occurs when bees increase their population in late spring and early summer.
A swarm may contain up to 30,000 bees - workers, drones, and a queen.
A swarm looks like a clump of bees as all of the workers are gathered around the queen and searching for a new home. "Bees swarm when their current home is too full. The hive decides it's time to divide. Half will stay behind in the current home and make themselves a new queen. The other half and the old queen will leave to find a new home." Read more at Bee-Magic Chronicles

More weird and wonderful bee information, facts, photos and bees in design at Bees Hive Beezine.

The ground lion with unique eyes

Chameleons are a unique type of lizard. We all know they can change colour but did you know it is not a type of camouflage but a form of communication? Many things about the 160 different types of chameleon are both bizarre and beautiful, I mean how many animals do you know that sleep upside down?
Chameleons have parrot-like feet with sharp claws on each toe, eyes like stereoscopes and long, fast moving tongues. They are found in warm places such as Africa, Spain and Asia where they can live in either the desrt orthe rainforest. They are good at climbing and hunting and have no ears.

Many types of chameleon have a prehensile tail and display a variety of horns on their distinctively shaped heads.  Each eye, has a scaly lid shaped like a cone, can rotate independently of the other, enabling them to see two different things at the same time in almost a 360 degree radius. They eat mainly insects by catching them with their tongues which are sticky at the end and they get water by licking dew from leaves.



Chameleon from G. A. Boulenger, Fauna of British India. 1890



Young Cape Dwarf Chameleon photographed in a garden in Tokai, Cape Province by Charles J Sharp.



How do they change into those amazing colours? They have four layers of skin with different colour pigments in each and their nerves and hormones cause the colours in the layers to change into the different colours and patterns.

Chameleons like to keep to themselves and can get very aggressive even towards other chameleons. This may be why the English word chameleon comes from the ancient greek words which mean ground lion.

From Currumbin Valley in Queensland

This weird design is a wonderful thing - an envirosax. Have you heard of them?
Reusable bags in interesting designs that are spreading the eco-friendly message.

Baa, Maa & Paa, and all the other designs at envirosax are proud to help protect the environment for tomorrow’s generation by providing a wonderful alternative to disposable shopping bags.  Envirosax bags hold the equivalent of two supermarket plastic bags and are both strong and lightweight.
The Slingsax and Minisax ranges are made out of recycled  plastic bottles.

If you are interested in more eco friendly products, including jewellry, gifts, home furnishings, stationary and toys, please visit earth sky sea

Monster Awareness Month is starting in just a few days.

Orrin Grey is a skeleton who likes monsters.
When asked, he claims to mostly write oubliettes.
You can find out more about him and other monsters at "Who Killed Orrin Grey?"  There is also a list of monster movies.



Also just a reminder about Monster Awareness Month
Who are your favourite monsters? Mine include:

• Godzilla, 
• Mike Wazowski and Sulley 
• the raptors in Jurassic Park
• any demon monsters in the TV show Monkey (great sage and equal of Heaven)
  
  Gojira (Godzilla) 1954 movie posters made by Toho Company Ltd. (東宝株式会社, Tōhō Kabushiki-kaisha).

Brother, sister, husband, wife.

Nüwa 女媧 the Chinese creation Goddess had a companion - her brother and husband Fuxi 伏羲.

Together they are worshipped as the ultimate ancestors of all humankind. 

They are represented as half-snake, half-human creatures joined together from the waist, as in this ancient artwork unearthed in Xinjiang province of China in an ancient tomb.

Nuwa created all animals and humans.

Fuxi showed humans how to hunt, fish and herd livestock.

Artwork is released under CC-BY-SA  from Wikipedia

Mysterious marsupial mole misunderstood - itjaritjari.

Australia has a weird marsupial mole that is blind and deaf and lives under the deserts. So what senses do they use underground?  No one really knows!
If you put one on the sand they quickly "dive in " and disappear. They are small and covered in fur but not many Australians have seen them and they have been difficult to find and study. Since 2004 biologists have worked with the indigenous people who know them.

More information and pictures:
A P Y Land Management Information on Itjaritjari
Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission information on this endangered species

Thanks to adventuregirl10591 for the photo.

Amazing return of the Dibbler

These animals were thought to be extinct by scientists and listed as extinct in 1884 . An Australian man caught a pair of Dibblers when he was trying to catch possums, on the south coast of Western Australia, and they have been bred in captivity since 1967. The dibbler is a small animal with a long latin name -Parantechinus apicalis. They are about 14 centimetres long, marsupials and carnivores. For more detail go to Perth Zoo and information about other animals brought back from extinction go to Bright Sparks and scroll down to the bottom of their page.

Crazy as a cut snake

Protein found in the venom of a Brazilian snake, the Urutus, has been found to help heal injured heart tissue. This protein could also be used in medicines for diabetics. The research has been done at the Physiological Science Department of the Federal University of Sao Carlos in Sao Paulo State, Brazil.

Scientists are focusing their research on the tissue regeneration possibilities presented by the protein. In low concentrations the protein named, ALT-C, can aid new blood vessels in forming. It could be used in drugs that treat conditions such as heart attacks and diabetic wounds.

More Animal info at Bright Sparks Homework Helper