My Science School

Many alligators live in the great rivers that flow across China and are especially common in the lower reaches of the Yangtze Kiang. These alligators look different from the crocodile because they have shorter jaws. The fourth tooth of the Chinese alligator’s upper jaw is also large a sticks out when the animal has its mouth closed.

The American alligator which lives in the Mississippi River grows to about 6 metres in length, but the Chinese alligator is rarely longer than one and a half metres. It is too timid to attack large animals and presents no danger to human beings. It prefers, instead, to catch fish, water-birds and small mammals.

 

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This very strange mammal lives in the dense equatorial jungles of Asia and is common in the islands of Malaysia. Another type of pangolin makes its home in the forests of Africa.

The pangolin is a shy, harmless, nocturnal animal with a long body up to a metre in length which resembles the anteater. It has a small head, short legs and a thick tail which is always curled up like a question mark. The skin of its throat and the under parts of body is soft, but the rest of the body pangolin’s body covered in hard, horny, yellowish-brown scales which are so made that the pangolin can roll itself up into a ball when it is frightened or in danger.

The name ‘pangolin’ comes from a Javanese word meaning ‘the animal that rolls up into a ball’. The pangolin, which has no teeth, use its long, sticky, snake-like tongue to scoop up ants and termites, insects that provide its only food. The pangolin also has very strong claws on its forefeet, but it uses these only for tearing down anthills to force the insects out into the open ground.

 

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The gavial is a type of crocodile some 4 to 5 metres long that lives in the river Ganges in India and quite different from the crocodile of the river Nile in Egypt. Although it belongs to the same order of reptiles, it forms a family of its own, the Gavialidae.

The distinguishing characteristic of the gavial is its very long, slender jaws that swell out into a bump at the end and this is where the nose is. This nose enables the gavial to breathe while the rest of its body is completely under the water.

The gavial has rows of sharp, equal-sized teeth which look very frightening when it opens its jaws wide. But this is not a dangerous creature and will not attack people or animals who may approach it on the river banks. It prefers to eat dead animals and fish which it catches with quick sideways movements of its head.

Many people in south-eastern Asia believe that the gavial is sacred. In some places gavials are kept in the grounds of temples and looked after with great care and respect.

 

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The lychee is a small, evergreen tree about 6 metres high which for thousands of year farmers in China have cultivated. It was later grown in South Africa, the Hawaiian Islands and parts of America.

In China the fruit of the lychee tree is a very popular delicacy and people prefer them to oranges or peaches. The lychee fruit is about the same size as a small plum, oval to round in shape with a hard, brittle skin which is strawberry-red in colour when ripe.

The white, translucent, juicy flesh of the lychee has a delicious, refreshing taste resembling that of a muscatel grape.

 

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The dense forests of tropical Asia often echo to the hoarse, piercing, far-reaching cries of the gibbon. This is a small, man-like ape or monkey which is quite common in the East, especially in indo-Malayan countries.

It is not difficult to recognize gibbons because they have certain striking characteristics. The chief of these is their extremely long arms. When a gibbon stands up on its hind legs it can still touch the ground with its fingertips, for its arms are about twice as long as its legs.

The gibbon has a slender body covered in brown fur, but no tail. It is an extremely muscular animal and a marvelous acrobat, swinging from branch to branch of the trees with considerable skill and agility.

Sometimes gibbons jump great distances between trees. They can also hang for a very long time with one hand from a branch while swinging gracefully to and fro like a pendulum.

They feed on young bamboo shoots, nuts, fruits, insects and birds’ eggs, and live mainly in the trees, when on the ground they walk upright, without any help from their long arms, which are held above their heads or behind them.

 

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The gorilla lives in the dense forests of equatorial Africa. It is the largest and most powerful of the ape family. The gorilla is extremely strong but it is a unduly disturbed. But other animals are very much afraid of it: few of them will dare to attack a gorilla because they know they would have the worse of the encounter.

A full-grown gorilla stands nearly 2 metres tall, with a massive body and very muscular arms and legs, and can weigh over 200 kilograms. Its jaws jut out and it has a broad, flattened nose and huge beetling eyebrows.

There are two main kinds of gorilla: the lowland gorilla that lives in the rain forests of western Africa, has a dark grey coat; the mountain gorilla which lives in the eastern regions of Zaire-Uganda borderland at altitudes of more than 3,000 metres, has black fur, Little is known about the ways of these big apes. This is because gorillas are very shy animals and also because they were first found only during the last century.

Gorillas usually live in groups which include both young and old. They build rough dwellings in trees a few metres above the ground. These dwellings look like platforms made of branches and twigs.

Gorillas do not spend all their lives in the trees. During the day they wander about on the ground looking for food. They feed on leaves, roots and fruit which the forest has in plenty. Gorillas walk in a crouching position, but every so often they stand up straight on their long hind legs.

 

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Wild peacocks live together in large flocks in the forests of central Africa, India, Sri Lanka and southern Asia, They search for seeds to eat during the day, and at nightfall they fly up the trees where they perch and sleep.

Every peacock has several wives known as peahens. The female birds build their nests on the ground and lay from four to six whitish, sometimes spotted eggs. During the mating season the male utters a harsh raucous cry.

Peacocks were first brought to Europe in the days of Alexander the Great. At one time they used to be kept on many farms, but today they are usually found in zoos or public parks.

Peacocks are extremely beautiful birds with their brightly coloured plumage. The male bird makes a magnificent display when it opens up it opens up its huge fan-like tail to preen itself. The female is more dully coloured and does not have the large ornamental feathers.

 

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Desert rats can be seen during moonlit nights scampering and hopping about the desert sands. These animals, also known as jerboas, come out of their hiding places only after dark in search of food.

But they do not seem to be looking for food as they jump about. Their bodies are about 20 centimeters long and the tail, which ends in a tuft, is some 25 centimeters. The front limbs are extremely short while the hind pair are about six times as long. They are very funny to watch as they hop about on their long hind legs that look like those of kangaroos.

Desert rats live in burrows which they dig with their nails and teeth. They are shy animals and this, together with their agility, makes them difficult to catch. They live quite well in captivity, however, and are extremely clean in their habits. They have a sand coloured coat, as most desert dwelling animals have.

 

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In parts of western Asia and all Europe as far as southern England, beech trees can be found growing in gardens and large avenues.

There are many different kinds of beech including the dark-leaved copper beech and the weeping beech, often to be seen in parks.

The best beeches are found in chalky soil some of them reaching from about 30 to 45 metres high. Many were first planted in the eighteenth century on huge estates.

The timber of the beech is heavy and hard and is extremely useful as firewood. It also has many other uses and is especially noted for making fine furniture and all sorts of different wooden articles.

 

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The lynx is a large, wild, feline animal found in many parts of central Europe. It has unusually large paws, a mottled tawny to cream coat and a black-tipped tail.

The lynx lived in the Alps until half a century ago: the last time this creature is known to have been captured was at the beginning of this century, near Chieri in Piedmont. The animal has not been heard of since.

It is more likely to be the clearance of all trees from the mountains which have caused its disappearance than the fact that it has been hunted down. A deer which had been completely ravaged as if by a lynx, was recently found in a Swiss forest, where there were also impressions in the fresh snow which scientists have identified as tracks typical of his feline creature.

The lynx is now being bred in zoos and then released into the wild to build up its numbers. It usually lives in dense forests where it can find it favorite prey, the roe-buck and the stag.

 

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The horned viper belongs to the reptile family. Dispersed throughout Yugoslavia and some regions of Austria these vipers can also be found in Italy on the eastern Alps. They are easily distinguishable from the usual vipera aspis and vipera berus by a horn, sometimes growing to a length of 5 centimetres, which sprouts out from the tip of the head. The horned viper prefers limestone or very stoney ground, and loves hot climates. It moves rather slowly, particularly during the day, when it sits lazily in the sun, digesting its captured prey which it swallows whole. But, if disturbed, the viper rears up emitting a hissing noise and sinking into the flesh of its enemy two poisonous fangs which are normally kept folded and hidden in a sac in its palate. In this respect, its behaviour is quite similar to that of the other European vipers.

 

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Boars, the ancient forefathers of the domestic pig, have long been extinct in Britain but they still live in fairly large numbers in marshy, wooland areas in Spain, Austria, Russia and Germany. Some species can also be found in northern Africa and central and northern Asia.

Because of their great strength, speed and ferocity when at bay boars have always been hunted by man. In some parts of Europe and India they are still hunted, usually with the aid of dogs. They have not died out, however, mainly because they are prolific animals, the female producing between five and eight off spring at a time. Boars have sociable natures and live in flocks in dense, wooded areas. They feed on acorns, beechnuts, and chestnuts and occasionally small hard-shelled animals, worms, small birds or mice. They even eat serpents as they are immune to their poison.

In order to get rid of parasites, they wrap themselves in the mud.

 

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Cork, a material used mainly for bottle-stoppers, insulation and floor coverings, is produced from a special type of evergreen oak tree which grows, sometimes wild, in the coastal regions of the Mediterranean.

The cork-oak has a thick, dark foliage, formed from noded branches, covered with tough, oval leaves which are small and slightly jagged.

Its thick tall trunk is completely wrapped in an outer bark of cork which is covered with find brown grooves. The tree is first tripped of its cork, which will be rather hard and knobby, when it is about sixteen years old. It is then stripped again every nine to ten years, depending on its location, and each time it will produce a good, light cork just over three centimeters thick.

After about 150 years, these trees cease to produce good quality cork and they are then felled.

 

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Goldfish make extremely popular pets. They are not difficult to look after providing you follow a few simple rules.

The first serious threat to a goldfish is when it is taken home from the pet shop. It should be swimming around in quite a lot of water and you should not take it in one of those small plastic bags. If you must use a plastic bag take the goldfish out of it as soon as possible or it may suffocate.

A second danger to goldfish is the tank it swims in. Tap-water contains chlorine which is poisonous to goldfish. This water is also too cold and might kill the pet.

A third danger is feeding which is all too often wrong for goldfish. These fish do not require much food, but what they do eat must be carefully chosen. Never give goldfish breadcrumbs: use the special food sold in shops but be careful to give it only in small quantities. Occasionally you can give goldfish a small amount of finely minced raw meat or the crushed yolks of hard-boiled eggs.

The larger the tank the happier the fish will be. The ideal tank is the aquarium but a large bowl will serve. Do not forget that even a goldfish can become bored and pine away living alone, so you should give it a companion, either male or female. Goldfish were originally natives of eastern Asia but were later introduced into China, Japan, Europe and the United States. They have been known to live for twenty-five years in captivity, but the average life span is usually much shorter.

 

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It is always an awkward time for dogs when they shed their fur. At such a time they should be treated gently and taken for long walks in the fresh air so that they can roll about in the grass and get rid of their loose hair. The dog should also be groomed with a metal comb so that it won’t have to scratch itself too much, and brushed to remove loose hair and burrs. Short-haired breeds require little grooming but the longer the dog’s hair the more it has to be combed. Some breeds have to be clipped regularly to maintain their health and good appearance.

The moulting period, when dogs shed their old hair, usually lasts about two weeks. During this period the dog should be given fatty foods containing butter, cooking fat or bacon fat. An average-sized dog can eat between hundred and 150 grammes of fat a day without being harmed but a safe fat limit is about 15 per cent of the dog’s total daily food intake.

 

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