animals as leaders

Why giant prehistoric animals got smaller

Kiki, 01/09/2024

This is because the proportion of the power of a muscle is relative to its cross-sectional area – or the area of the muscle when sliced in half. No matter how big a flea could grow, there would be a limit to their jumping ability. While there are some fundamental reasons that animals are the size they are, there is still some flexibility. One animal might end up growing much larger or smaller than another animal of the same species just a few kilometers away. This is sometimes described as the “island rule”, where large animals become smaller on islands…

What’s flowering now – Cornwall, April 2022

Kiki, 14/08/2024

Some photos of the flowers I’ve seen out and about in Cornwall and in my garden over the last couple of weeks. I like to see what’s in flower and available for the bees. Below is my miniature apple tree. I mainly see hoverflies and bumbles visiting this. Honey bees tend to favor large collections of one type of flower, so this wee tree is probably not worth it for them. One of the first bees of the year I saw in my garden was the enchantingly named female Hairy-footed flower bee. I always see them on the deep blue…

Abandoned micropigs were rescued after being tied to a lamp post by roadside

Kiki, 13/08/2024

Two micropigs have been rescued after a motorist found them tied by their necks to a lamp post by the side of the road. The distressed animals had been tied up using a baling twine in New Romney in Kent, England. Their rescuer, who was on his way home from work, noticed the animals needed saving and took them home. The man brought the two pigs back to his house, where he kept them overnight, before handing them over to The Lord Whiskey Sanctuary in Stelling Minnis, near Canterbury, where staff believed the pair were micropigs. It is the first…

The arrival of the bees

Kiki, 12/08/2024

A couple of months ago, I put a bait hive out in my garden. An empty National brood box, apart from a dark old brood comb pushed to one side and some lemongrass oil smeared on the walls. Then I waited. At first… nothing. But then… I saw some bees coming in and out, inspecting the empty premises. The next day, it was clear something was afoot. More and more bees could be seen around the entrance, until the water in my garden was filled with masses of humming bees. I went and stood outside, looking at the sheer number…