Monthly Archives: April, 2012
Q is for Quito Rocket Frog
Yes – Q is another frog! They are my favourite animal, that’s my excuse. The tiny (snout to vent about 1.25cm) Quito rocket frog is from the valleys and slopes of the Andes, in mid to high elevation, humid, montane forests. Not much is know about it – it is a mossy green colour with …
P is for Panamanian Gold Frog
Panamanian gold frogs are unique – living in a very noisy environment, next to rushing water, they have evolved a way to communicate to signal to rivals and to mates by semaphore. The male frog is about 40 mm, and bright gold with black spots – the female is larger, about 55 mm and completely …
O is for Orangutan
This post is slightly more outspoken than heretofore… Orangutans are wonderful. Beautiful, gentle, intelligent – and they are very, very vulnerable. The forests both Sumatran and Bornean orangutans live in are being cut down mainly for plantations of palm oil. If you go into your kitchen and start looking at your labels, you will find …
N is for Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat
I really love these rare Australian marsupials. Their hairy noses are very sensitive and help them to smell their food in the dark as they have very poor eyesight. As well as the unusual claim to fame of having a hairy nose, they are known for being one of the largest herbivorous animals to live …
M is for Manatee
Manatees are large, aquatic, bulbous, grey, whiskered, flippered, intelligent creatures that live in rivers, estuaries, bays, canals and coastal areas. They are slow-moving and also like to live in slow-moving water, where they rest and travel to find the sea grasses and other underwater vegetation they like to eat. They are the only totally herbivorous …
J for Javan Slow Loris
Slow lorises are beautiful, huge-eyed creatures that live in Indonesian forests in Java. Less than a foot long, they don’t jump through the trees like lemurs or monkeys, but climb slowly using lianas and vines to get from tree to tree. They eat fruit, eggs, lizards, tree gum and chocolate seeds, are seen alone or …
I is for Insect
There are a LOT of insects in the world. Some estimates put the number of living species as 30 million, only 900,000 of which have been described. They are incredibly important to us – pollinating our crops, feeding us and other creatures, eating up poo- without insects we’d be neck deep in the stuff, breaking …
H (number 2) is for Hare
The Corsican or Italian hare prefers grasslands and pastures and is fairly common in some areas but missing or rare in others. It has only relatively recently been shown to be a different species to the European hare. Its population is generally low, and threats to it include the introduction of the European rabbit, predation, …
H (number 1) is for Hippopotamus
I like hippopotamuses. I have written two poems about them… one of which is in my book, and one of which is posted below – and both of them are painted onto a giant reversible jigsaw. Hippos are considered to be the most dangerous animal living in Africa, killing more humans than all the other …
G is for Giraffe
Luckily only one sub-species of beautiful giraffe is listed as endangered. Giraffes are the tallest and yet still the most elegant and one of the most graceful animals on earth. They have been around and are in the fossil record for 1.5 million years. Giraffes have incredibly long necks – I suspect you have noticed. …
lizbrownlee - poet 