Thanks to a generous donation we were able to get a solar heater for water at the Siyakula pre-school. They now have hot water in the kitchen for washing dishes etc. This is a great project that helps both the environment and the school as we now cut down on the electricity usage.
A parasite is an organism that benefits at the expense of another organism. Most parasites are small and cannot be seen, while others are bigger and will be seen as soon as they attach. “How come parasites are not considered predators?” It’s because parasites do not kill their host for an extended period of time READ MORE
Facts about Hermit crabs. Hermit crabs can be found both on land and in water. Unlike the normal crabs, hermit crabs have a soft vulnerable abdomen that needs protection. The most common protection they use is snail shells, but it can be any shell they fit into. When shells are hard to find they also READ MORE
Kleptoparasitism means parasitism by theft. What is parasitism? Parasitism is when an organism benefits at another organism expense. Kleptoparasitism is used in different ways e.g. bullying other organisms to give up their food they just caught, and steal collected or stored food. This way of obtaining food normally saves the kleptoparasite hunting time and also READ MORE
About a month ago a white Southern Right whale calf was spotted in Port Elizabeth. It arrived in Plettenberg Bay and was spotted with its mother on our 7H30 trip this morning.” White” whales (albinos) are a rare sight and do normally not survive because they are easily spotted by predators.
Whales and dolphins communicate with sounds, clicks and song. In some dolphin species and Humpback whales, individuals can be identified on the base notes throughout their life. When we hear dolphins and whales “speak” it sound like random sound, but they don’t listen to the sound itself they hear information that is riding on the READ MORE
Working with wildlife conservation and keeping track of animals over large geographic ranges is hard, as the animals will move a lot and if they haven’t been tagged you never know where to start looking for them. This has been solved by the Conservation Canines program. They train dogs to locate the scat (feces) of READ MORE
One of the main things in life for humans and animals is to reproduce, to secure that their genes make it to the next generation. There is a lot of different ways to do this. Mammals, like humans carry their young ones in the womb before giving birth. Reptiles and birds lay eggs. In most READ MORE