RedKite

Goats

Goats are kept by many people mainly for their wool and milk but they are eaten in some countries.  They are kept on farms but also by a lot of people who have spare land.  You can make a reasonable living from goats by selling their produce. 

There are some natural breeds such as the Golden Guernsey but many are cross bred for strength and greater yield. 

Many of the goats are very pretty to look at and the Bagot is only kept for this reason.  The Angora is kept for its beautiful coat which is cut and sold to clothing manufactures who buy it in great quantities at certain times of the year.

The British Saanen is probably the best milking goat and can produce up to 8 pints a day.  The milk is easily sold to supermarkets and health food stores because it is good for people with digestive problems because it is easily absorbed.

There are many different kinds of breeds and they are all very useful in their own way and because of this many people decide to purchase a couple of goats as an addition to the land.

Aardwolves

The aardwolf lives in the sub-region of Africa and prefers to roam in open country away from the desserts and forests.  Staple diet is termites, difficult to catch bigger prey because does not have the right teeth and claws. 

It is quite pretty with a white coat and a few black stripes and a big fluffy tail.  The fur along its back stands up which makes it look bigger than it actually is.

Unusually they don’t live in big groups but prefer to find a partner they like and just live together with that partner.  But even though they like living with another aardwolfs they prefer to find food on their own.  This is probably because they eat termites which are not easily taken back the den, so there is no need to hunt together.

They have as many as four young and hide them in holes in the ground where they have some protection before they are ready to find food for themselves.

 

Red crab

The red crab is a land dwelling crab that lives in the forests and eats leaves.  It returns to the ocean to mate and the female have their young in the sea.

This is quite an amazing phenomena and many red crabs live in places like Christmas Island.  I have never heard of land crabs before and thought all crabs lived on the seaside not forests. 

The problem occurs when the mating season occurs and they stream down to the ocean.  The red crabs have to get through the city to reach the ocean, cross roads, railway tracks and pavements.  Of course the crabs are determined to get to the sea as fast as possible and are not particularly careful on how they get there.  So there are some casualties. However, hundreds of the crabs do make it.

When they arrive on the sands they rest and bathe in the saltwater, then the males build burrows in the sand and wait for a female to find them.  After the males have mated they return to the forests.  The females stay on the seashore until the young eggs are ready to be dispersed in the sea.  The female red crab does this at night then she also returns to the forest.

I still think this is quite amazing but I suppose the crabs were doing this before humans built cities and got into the crabs way. 

 

 

 

Pinewoods in the UK

Britain has always had natural pinewoods but during the Industrial Revolution and the two World Wars most of the wood from the pine forests were cut down and burnt or used for building.  In 1975 the Loch Garten reserve was established and it promoted the growth of pine, there was also a lot of water there .

Once the trees and the water started to mature they attracted wildlife, many birds and animals came to live and have their young in the safe surroundings.  Some birds that had been extinct were reintroduced such as some species of grouse.

The whole place became alive and flourished, it was a haven for wildlife, bird spotters and animal lovers and shows how guarding our wildlife can make a real difference. 

 

 

Slow worm

A slow worm has an interesting name and is also an interesting creature.  It is not a worm or a snake although it does look like a snake it is actually a lizard and is quite harmless.

They eat slugs so are very good for gardeners if you can attract them into your garden.  They can live for 50 years in zoos but are unlikely to live this long in the countryside because they have a lot of animals and birds that like to eat them and they have little defence against such attacks.

They are mostly seen in the spring and summer months because they like the sunshine and find nooks and hidden places to bask in it.  Slow worms are rarely seen during the winter months because they do not like the cold and  find holes in the ground either natural or made by other animals to dwell in until the weather get warmer and they take a chance on going out again.

They mate in the spring when the males can become quite aggressive towards each other and have as many as 6 young slow worms.

 

Servals

A seval is a medium sized cat that comes from southern Africa.  They are very pretty with a sandy yellow short coat with black markings and wide ears that stand up,  which makes it look very attractive and many people buy the kittens and keep them as pets.

They are only found in places where it is easy for them to get to a water source.  They also like places where there is plenty of cover such as tall grasses.  Servals mainly eat rodents such as rats and mice which are quite plentiful in this area and this is why humans like to keep them because they keep the rodents away.  But they will also eat small birds if they see an opportunity to catch one  and reptiles and insects if they are feeling hungry. 

They hunt mainly in the dark and early hours usually by themselves but they will hunt in pairs if they find a partner that suits them.

 

The orchid

Orchids have always been highly prized flowers and I was amazed to discover that they grow in the wild in the UK quite abundantly.  There are several different species that all look slightly different and they mainly grow in chalk or lime soil.  Some are self pollinating but most are pollinated by insects, bees, moths and butterflies. 

Some of them have a working relationship with the local fungi which help them to feed in their early years but later the orchids grow stronger.

The bee orchid has delicate pink petals and is very ornate.  It is quite common and likes growing in soil with lime distributed through it.  It does not have to attract local wildlife or  rely on others for survival and reproduction because it quite cleverly  self pollinates.

 

The porcupine

The porcupine is a similar kind of creature to our hedgehog, but lives in Southern Africa and has long, sharp quills   It is a beautiful animal with a grey and white bristly fur.  There are beautiful black and white quills running down their backs, some of which can be fired if they feel threatened.

It is unlikely that you will see porcupines in the wild because they come out at night and early morning and their colouring is a good camouflage in the early hours of the day.  Also, they tend to look for food in old holes and hidden caves which are usually out of reach to the passerby.

Porcupines are searching for fresh roots and bulbs but will also eat the local fruit and chew at young bark.   They build nests underground and often have up to three babies in the warmest season of the year.

 

Fig parrots

Fig parrots are small very colourful parrots that live in New Guinea and the surrounding area.  They are called fig parrots because they like eating fruit  from various local trees and berries and also any seeds that they may find in their daily searches for food.

They are very pretty and there are a lot of them in the wild, they are easy to spot because of their size and colouring.  Fig parrots have green bodies, a yellow face, with blue markings under their eyes, a red circle on their crown and  red and blue rings around their necks

They can bite if you try to get to close to them and have very powerful bills which are used for cracking open things. .  They don’t survive for very long in captivity, so they do not make very good pets.