Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
A rare albino hummingbird may have been spotted in Colorado.
Albino hummingbirds have a genetic condition that prevents their body from producing a natural chemical called “melanin.” Melanin is a chemical that gives most birds their beautiful colours.
Because Albino hummingbirds aren’t coloured, their feathers are white. They have pink bill and whitish or pink legs and feet. They may either have red or pink eyes.
The pink or red colour is caused by the red of their blood vessels.
A colourful, spindly-legged toad was recently spotted by scientists in Borneo.
The last time anyone had seen it was 1924, when it was reported by European explorers.
The bright green, purple and red toad is known as the Sambas Stream Toad, or the Borneo Rainbow Toad.
Many people had assumed it was extinct.
In July, three of the toads were found on three separate trees in Borneo, Indonesia which is an island off the coast of Southeast Asia. Borneo is the third-largest island in the world.
A professor at the Sarawak Malaysia University led the expedition to look for the toads.
Toka, Thika and Iringa are the last three elephants living at the Toronto Zoo. They will soon be moving to a new home, but they don’t know where yet.
They are waiting for the zoo to decide the best place for them.
For many years, the elephants have been one of the most popular attractions at the Toronto Zoo.
However, since 1984 seven elephants have died at the zoo and now the last three are getting old. The zoo has decided to send them somewhere else to live out their remaining years.
Thousands of people in Vietnam are worried about a giant turtle they consider sacred. A sacred object is something that you worship because you believe it is very important.
The turtle is endangered. There are thought to be only four of them left. It is a giant turtle, weighing about 200 kilograms. Its Latin (scientific) name is Rafetus swinhoei.
Toronto has a huge sports stadium, a science centre and great museums. But there’s one attraction it doesn’t have, that some big cities have—a large aquarium.
Now, an aquarium may be built in Toronto. If it is approved by the City Council, it could be ready by July 2015.
The aquarium would be in a large building. It could include many thousands of fish and marine animals including sharks. One idea is to have a jellyfish room with special lighting and mirrors to make it look very exciting. Another idea is for a tunnel that people could walk through to see the fish swimming around and above them.
Polar bears need to be really fat in order to have healthy babies. But because of global warming, the bears aren’t as fat as they used to be, and they aren’t having as many babies.
Polar bears get fat when they can hunt a lot of seals. They can only hunt seals when there is sea ice for them to hunt from.
Global warming is making the sea ice melt. The bears don’t have as much time to hunt because the ice melts too early. Once the ice is gone for the year, the bears have to go to the shore.
There are 49 dog parks in Toronto where people can take off their dogs’ leashes and let them run freely.
However, not everyone is allowed to use the parks. Dog walkers walk people’s dogs when they are unable to because they are working. They often walk up to six dogs at a time. When they come to a dog park, up to six dogs may pile out of their car and run into the fenced dog park. One or two dog walkers can fill up a dog park, leaving single-dog owners feeling crowded out.
Canada is leading the way in “barcoding” all animals on earth.
Scientists around the world are undertaking a massive project to help protect animals. And Canadians (in fact, Torontonians) are leading the way.
One day, the project will allow you to point your camera phone at an animal or a bug and a screen will pop up with the name of the species and a description of it.
This bug really stinks. Don’t accidentally step on a bug called the Halyomorpha halys. If you do, your running shoes will smell awful. When crushed, the bug emits an odour even worse than a skunk’s! That’s probably why the bug […]
MONKEYS GUARDING THE GAMES Langur monkeys have been put in front of some of the main venues at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. They’re there to scare off wild dogs, snakes and other wild monkeys that might endanger the […]
