Plant talk | Old Man’s Beard Must Go!

Invasive alien species, or IAS – are animals or plants that are introduced into places outside their natural range, hugely impacting native biodiversity, ecosystems or human well-being. They are one of the biggest causes of biodiversity loss and species extinctions, and are also a global threat to food security. Years ago, the the television botanist David Bellamy fronted a tv slot about the very invasive ‘Clematis vitalba’  – “With his impassioned enthusiasm and trademark beard, English naturalist David Bellamy made (a)...

Tasmanian Tiger the focus of ‘de-extinction’

‘The thylacine – or Tasmanian Tiger –  has long been an icon of human-caused extinction. In the 1800s and early 1900s, European colonizers in Tasmania wrongly blamed the dog-sized, tiger-striped, carnivorous marsupial for killing their sheep and chickens. The settlers slaughtered thylacines by the thousands, exchanging the animals’ skins for a government bounty. The last known thylacine spent its days pacing a zoo cage in Hobart, Tasmania, and died of neglect in 1936.’ Images by Henricus Peters – from a...

Whale stranding… what to do, what not to do

WILDLIFE hit the front page of THE PRESS today – sadly, it was because a sperm  whale stranded over the weekend at South New Brighton beach, Christchurch. A sperm whale has died after becoming stranded at a Christchurch beach overnight, according to environmental organisation Project Jonah. The whale was reported stranded just after 5pm on Saturday on South New Brighton Beach, with a volunteer medic onsite within six minutes. Do’s & Don’ts at a stranding Do Keep the animal cool...

Celebrating the magnificent basking shark

World basking shark day is celebrated on the 3rd of November every year. Founded by Basking Shark Scotland, it is a day to raise the profile of the endangered basking shark by sharing information, photos, videos and stories of the world’s second-largest fish. LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...

Polar Bear Week 2023

  Polar Bear Week is observed during the first full week of November, running from October 29 to November 4 in 2023. It coincides with the Fall polar bear migration to Churchill, Manitoba, where the bears gather to wait for Hudson Bay to freeze up so they can return to hunt seals. Find out lots of interesting POLAR BEAR FACTS here LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...