My Science School

          The tallest wild member in the dog family is the maned wolf. The animal has a height of 90 centimetres up to its shoulder. The head to body length of a maned wolf is about 100 centimetres. The tail will add another 45cm to the body length. The species has large and long ears, of about 17.8 centimetres.

          In fact, the animal is not a wolf, even though it is called a wolf. It is not a fox either. The maned wolf is a different species altogether. It is commonly found in the open grasslands of South America. Scientists believe that its height is an adaptation to the tall grass in the region.

          The maned wolf has certain similarities to the red fox. It is famous for the distinctive odour of its territory markings, which has earned it a nickname, skunk wolf.

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          Have you heard the story of the fox who tried hard to get a taste of grapes? Although we do not have any conclusion evidence to suggest that foxes have a craving for grapes, we know for sure that they enjoy both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

          Their diet is made up of insects, birds, rats and hares, and can include eggs and plants too. Foxes that live near water bodies enjoy fish and crabs as well. Most species of fox consume about one kilogram of food every day.

          Sometimes, they raid places where humans reside, and eat from the trash they have dumped. At times, they eat a lot so that they can rest and relax for a day or two. They have the habit of burying excess food for consumption later, usually under dry leaves, snow, or loose soil.

          Foxes have the habit of using the pouncing technique to catch their prey. They crouch down to camouflage themselves in the terrain. Then using their hind legs, they leap with great force to land on top of their prey, thus trapping it.

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          The members of the Canidae family differ in their sizes and appearances. Some breeds of domestic dogs can be bigger than a pony. Dog breeds like the Saint Bernard and the Great Dane are examples. However, the largest species in the family is the grey wolf.

          An adult grey wolf measure between 105 and 106 centimetres in length, and 80 and 85 centimetres in shoulder height. Its tail is 30 to 50 centimetres ling. The grey wolf weighs about 30 to 40 kgs. While male members are heavier, the female will typically be lighter, and weigh 2.3 – 4.5 kg less than males. Other canids will have slight variation in weight from the wolves.

          The smallest member of the Canidae family is the fennec fox. It has a height of only 24 centimetres. The weight of the animal is a paltry 1 kg.

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          If you think that a huge animal like the elephant should have at least a relative at least half its size, you are wrong! The closest kin of the tusker is a puny-sized animal called the rock hyrax. Our amazement will see no bounds when we learn that this animal does not weigh more than four kilograms! The rock hyrax is a small, furry herbivore native to Africa and the Middle East.

          Although hyraxes are tiny in comparison, there are a few physical traits that are share with the elephant. A rock hyrax has little tusks that are similar to those of the elephant. They grow from their incisor teeth. Most mammals with tusks develop them from their canine teeth. These animals have flattened nails on the tips of their digits too. The manatee also shares a common ancestry with the elephant. There was another relative called Tethytheria, which died out more than 50 million years ago.

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          Have you ever thought about how an enormous animal like the elephant manage its weight and size? The animal’s body has developed certain mechanisms to cope with them. If you have observed a dog or a goat, you will see that their legs are positioned at an angle. However, an elephant’s legs are like pillars. They are in an almost vertical position under their huge body. Due to this arrangement, the animal’s heavy skeleton and internal organs get a strong support.

          The skull of an elephant is special too. There are several cavities in the skull resembling a honey-comb. These hollow cavities make the skull lighter, yet strong enough to carry the weight of the trunk. Do you know that the trunk of an elephant can carry weights as heavy as 200 kilograms?

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          Have you seen an elephant race? In some countries such as Thailand, in order to attract tourists, activities like elephant races and elephant football matches are organized.

          Since such sports are cruel, there is a rising awareness worldwide regarding the need to handle animals in captivity with respect and consideration.

          In fact, elephants cannot run! All an elephant can manage to do is to walk. There are two gaits possible for an elephant: a walk and a faster gait, which is similar to running.

          When they are on the faster gait, they can reach speeds up to 49 km/h!

          At this speed, the elephant gives the impression that it is into a gallop, much like a horse.

          However, elephants cannot trot, jump or gallop. They are great swimmers, though!

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          Elephants are magnificent wild animals. Hundreds of elephants are being hunted down every year across the globe for their tusks. Ivory from elephant tusks is more valuable than gold today. The ivory trade became a serious threat to elephants in the 1970s.

          Thousands of these animals are attached by poachers using automatic weapons, motorized vehicles and airplanes. In 1990, the concern over the decline of the elephant population led to the banning of the ivory trade world over.

          However, though the ban brought about a temporary decrease in poaching, the illegal hunting of these animals has increased dramatically in the last 10 years or so.

          This is primarily due to the rapid development of the traditionally ivory-consuming nations, particularly China.

In the first centuries after Christ, Christianity spread from Palestine into North Africa, Asia Minor and across Europe. Further east, many people in the Arabian Peninsula were still pagans, worshipping ancient gods. In this region, during the 600 s, there arose a new religion called Islam.

Islam had its roots in the Hebrew-Christian belief in one God, and its prophet was Muhammad (AD 570-632). Through Muhammad’s Mecca became the holiest city of Islam. Muhammad’s teachings appear in the Koran, the holy book of the Islam.

Fact File: The people of Arabia traded by camel caravans, which broke their journeys at an oasis.

 

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Hadrian’s Wall was built in AD 122 to defend the northern frontier of Roman Britain. It acted as a checkpoint on movement between England and Scotland. The wall took eight years to build and stretches for 118 km.

At this time the Roman Empire was governed by the personal will of the emperor, but the emperor’s power rested on his army. Weak or bad emperors were sometimes overthrown by army generals. Some emperors ruled well – Hadrian, for example, travelled widely to inspect building projects. Others, such as Nero and Caligula, were cruel or mad. The Romans were such good organizers that the empire usually kept working even when there was a fool at its heart.

Fact File: A Roman coin stamped with the head of the Emperor Hadrian. During his reign, he personally visited nearly every province in the Roman Empire.

 

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The ancient Greeks were pioneers in medicine, mathematics and science. They looked at the world in the light of logic and reason, and made some important discoveries. In the year 432 BC a building called the Parthenon was completed. The Parthenon was built in Athens to honour the city’s protector, the goddess Athene. Her gold and ivory decorated statue was inside the great hall, enclosed by columns which supported the roof like a forest of stones.

The Greeks built many beautiful temples to their gods. Stone columns, as used in the Parthenon, were a typical feature of many Greek buildings.

Fact File: Greek actors wore masks to show what kind of character (comic or tragic) they played. Audiences would sit in the open air on a hillside to watch the plays.

 

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A fairy ring is a circular pattern that is produced by fungi growing in grassland. As the fungus grows out from a central point it forms a circle, and at the edges of this circle the grass changes in appearance. Meanwhile the original fungus dies off, so all that is left is the expanding ring of fungus growing beneath the surface. Sometimes a ring of mushrooms also appears. These fairy rings keep growing for many years, perhaps even for centuries. They can reach a very large size unless they are disturbed, for example when the land is ploughed.

Fact File: Fungi represent a separate kingdom of living things and should not be regarded as either plants or animals. There are many thousands of different kinds, showing a huge variety of shape and lifestyle. The fungus kingdom is split into two divisions – slime moulds and the true fungi.

 

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Popularly, the term mushroom is used to identify the edible fungi; whereas the term toadstool is often reserved for inedible or poisonous fungi. In a very restricted sense, mushroom indicated the common edible fungus of fields and meadows. Mushrooms have insignificant nutritive value. Their chief worth is as a specialty food of delicate, subtle taste and agreeable texture. Fungi can be found in damp areas, or growing on tree trunks.

Poisoning by wild mushrooms is common and may be fatal or produce merely mild stomach disturbance or slight allergic reaction. It is important that every mushroom intended for eating is accurately identified before you try to eat them.

Fact file: Fungi live in organic matter. In the soil, fungi are the most important agent in the breakdown of dead plant and animal material, recycling it so that plants can use the nutrients.

 

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Archaeological evidence suggests that primitive whaling, by North American Eskimos called Inuit and others in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, was practiced by 3000 BC, and it has continued in remove cultures to the present. All whale species are becoming less common due to the fact that they have been regularly hunted for food and oil. Other factors are environmental pollution and drift net fishing. The grey whale was hunted almost to extinction by 1925 but was placed under complete international protection and since the 1940s has increased in numbers. Some of the larger species of whales can be seen in Europe as they pass by during migration.

Fact file: The humpback whale was also hunted almost to extinction, and its numbers dropped from 100,000 to 3,000 today. It is now generally protected.

 

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The common seal can be found on sandy estuaries, fjords and rocky inlets away from the full force of the open sea. Although they live and feed in the water, they still come to the shore to breed and to moult their hair. A seal pup is born with thick white fur but will lose this shortly after it is born and it will be replaced by a much darker, sleeker coat. Their diet includes all kinds of seafoods: fish, shellfish, crabs, and lobsters.

Fact File: The pup of a seal will suckle for 10 minutes, five or six times a day. Their birth weight doubles in one week. After a month the pups have grown at an amazing rate, and the mother will then leave to mate with another bull. At this stage the pup enters the sea to fend for itself.

 

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