Eco Kids Planet Magazine Issue 57 Rainforests

Award-Winning Kids’ Nature Magazine

TOTALLY TROPICAL ADAPTATIONS

MAKE!

Rainforests

PIGMY THREE-TOED SLOTH The cute castaway!

2018

2018

FANTASTIC FROGS!

2018

Issue 57/58

PLUS Wildlife News, Puzzles and Fun Projects!

What's inside this

ISSUE

PLUS! 3

A Letter from a Jaguar The biggest cat of South America

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The Rainforests of the World Step deep into the jungle

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8 Totally Tropical Rainforest Adaptations Amy investigates

Charlie Meets a Giant Anteater …and a tiny ant

12 Three-Toed Pygmy Sloth

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Rainforest Riddles Can you guess these animals?

A cute castaway

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Snake Finger Puppets Make your own paper toys!

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Mythical Creatures of the Amazon Amelia the Fox comic strip

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Quiz Planet Check your knowledge

30 Fantastic Frog Fest!

Hop into the world of these amazing amphibians

34 Would You Survive in a Rainforest?

Take Simon’s survival test!

Orang-utan in Rain

Bab

© Andrew Suryono © Troy Harrison

21 Wildlife News Meet Roving Reporter Rhona!

Three Posters For subscriptions, please call

Cover: Pygmy Sloth @ Minden Pictures/ Alamy Stock Photo

Over to You Your letters and creations

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Build a Wildlife Water Feature Enjoy this month’s nature project

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Monkey y Spider

NEW

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Jazz in the Jungle Enjoy collage art and enter this month's competition

Eco Kids Planet is published 11 times a year, monthly except for combined double July/August issue, by Eco Kids Planet Ltd.

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Editor: Anya Dimelow Ecology Consultant: Olga Denyshchyk

Writers and Contributors: Gabby Dawnay, JD Savage, Josette Reeves, Katharine Davies, Pete Dommett

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Communications Manager: Illustrations: Julia Nikiforova, Richy Chandler Emma Oldham Design: Nebojsa Dolovacki Paper Crafts: Shobhna Patel

All images: © Shutterstock (unless stated otherwise).

This magazine is printed on FSC certified paper using biodegradable vegetable ink.

To subscribe, visit www.ecokidsplanet.co.uk

© Mint Images Limited/Alamy Stock Photo

Greetings, Eco Kid Warriors!

My name is Balam and I am the stuff of myths and legends. I am ‘god of the night’, ‘lord of the underworld…’ The very word ‘jaguar’ means ‘he who kills in one leap’.

Who better to introduce you to the wonders of the awe-inspiring Amazon rainforest than I? This is my home, my ’hood, my (ever-shrinking) patch, for I am a jaguar, the biggest cat of South America, and the third biggest cat in the world!

Do not mistake me for a leopard! I am certainly as splendid, strong and spotted, but come a little closer, if you dare…

You’ll notice some of my rosettes (my beautiful markings) have little spots in the middle. My legs and tail are shorter than those of a leopard.

My head is bigger and squarer, and my skull is thicker.

And my roar?

Like the sound of wood being sawn!

Some jaguars are so dark, their rosettes are hidden – they are the black jaguar panthers! It’s all down to a genetic mutation called melanism.

But whatever colour, us jaguars are invisible, camouflaged, silent, DEADLY – purrrrfect hunters.

Night and day we hunt – we eat everything we can get our teeth into. One bite is all it takes. Stalk, pounce, bite and kill. Deer, capybaras and tapirs – boom!

Same in the river: fish, turtles and caiman don’t hear me coming, because I am such a superbly strong and silent swimmer.

Enough about me – what skills do you have? Tell me!

Yours, brilliantly,

Balam

(Meaning ‘jaguar’ in Mayan)

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This issue we’re taking you deep into the…

Rainforests of the World …so don't forget to pack an umbrella!

trees, to jaguars and tapirs on the ground.

It’s home to many unusual animals, too, including puppy-sized spiders! (That’s the goliath birdeater – though it doesn’t usually eat birds.)

© Jabruson/naturepl.com

Rainforests are thick jungle-like areas found in wet parts of the world. (Their trees are often so tightly packed together that the rain can take 10 minutes to trickle to the ground!) They only cover about 6% of the world’s surface, but provide a habitat for half the world’s animals and plants. They’re absolutely teeming with life!

Okapi

And the second biggest…

World's biggest rainforest You guessed it – the Amazon, in South America, is the largest rainforest on Earth. You could fit the whole of the UK and Ireland into it 17 times over.

Thousands of species live there. They range from monkeys and macaws in the

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…is Africa’s Congo rainforest. It’s home to many endangered species, including gorillas, okapi and forest elephants. There are lots of flooded forests and swampy bits, where lowland gorillas live. A thousand species of birds live there, too, and 39 of its mammal species can’t be found anywhere else on the planet. (Not

because they’re great at hiding – they just don’t exist anywhere else!)

Let’s not forget how many humans depend on the rainforests, too. The Congo’s ecosystem provides fresh water, food, shelter and medicine for over 75 million people!

The oldest rainforest

Rainforests aren’t all hot, humid tropical ones, with heavy rain and leafy trees all year round. Temperate rainforests grow in cooler places, such as Southern Australia. They aren’t as dense as the others. And you can find monsoon rainforests in Southeast Asia. These have long, dry seasons, during which the trees shed their leaves. Cloud forests are misty, cooler rainforests up in the mountains.

© FLPA/Alamy Stock Photo

© Minden Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo

The spectacular Daintree Rainforest in northern Queensland, Australia, has outlived the dinosaurs! It’s believed to be over 150 million years old – about three times the age of the Amazon rainforest.

It’s like a living museum, showing us how plant life developed on Earth. And with lots of rain in winter, the wet season, the plants grow so thick, you’ll be trekking through jungle!

rat-kangaroo. That’s the world’s smallest kangaroo. It doesn’t hop, but scurries on all fours, and is the only kangaroo to carry more than one baby in its pouch at a time. Also be on the lookout for saltwater crocodiles, the largest of all living reptiles.

They’ll certainly be on the lookout for you!

Grizzly bear, Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada

Southern cassowary, Australia

© Dave Watts/Alamy Stock Photo

Daintree is home to over 3,000 species of plants, nearly 400 of which are rare or threatened. It also has many rare and interesting animals. These include the endangered cassowary (giant, flightless, fast-running birds) and the tiny musky

Fun Fact Rainforests get so much rain, they also contain some of the world’s largest rivers!

Musky rat-kangaroo, Australia

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Rainforests in Antarctica?

The only continent without any rainforests is icy Antarctica. You wouldn’t expect to find any in that frozen wasteland – especially not tropical ones!

But, if you went back 50-100 million years, that’s exactly what you’d find.

Yes, even Antarctica was once covered in tropical rainforests. They had towering trees, and small dinosaurs foraged in their undergrowth. The world was much warmer back then, and the polar ice caps had almost melted. But they’d be strange forests to visit. You may not recognise a single plant, because they’re almost all extinct now!

If the world keeps getting warmer, will rainforests cover Antarctica again one day? (That would surprise the penguins!)

North America

Atlantic Ocean

Equator

Amazon Rainforest

Congo Rainforest

South America Pacific Ocean

Rainforests of the World

Howler monkey calling

Leafy world!

Up to 90% of rainforest life is up in the trees. The canopy is where the trees’ leaves and branches overlap, creating a giant roof over the forest. Lots of animals live there, sheltering from predators down below – and from the wind and rain.

Many trees have gaps between them, so some animals must learn to glide, fly and jump. And there are so many leaves, it’s hard to see much, which means some creatures need to sing or call loudly to communicate. At least there’s lots of fruit and seeds for monkeys, birds, bats, tree frogs and other

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© Rolf Nussbaumer Photography/Alamy Stock Photo

creatures to eat. And it does look pretty cosy up there, don’t you think?

But it makes things creepier down below.

The forest floor gets dark because the canopy blocks out so much sunlight.

There may even be no undergrowth, because so little light breaks through.

Plants need sunshine to survive.

Yet many of the trees have shallow roots.

They may die and fall, or their branches might drop, leaving holes in the canopy.

Then, sunlight can shine through, and dense undergrowth can grow. Watch your feet!

Arctic Ocean Lots of rainforest plants are also used as medicines to treat diseases, such as cancer. We’ve studied less than 1% of rainforest plants for their healing qualities – who knows how many more cures we’ll find? That’s if we get the chance…

Europe Asia

Indian Ocean Madagascar rainforest

Daintree rainforest

Australia Rainforest jungle in Borneo, Malaysia, destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations

Southern Ocean Tropical rainforest Temperate rainforest Which would YOU prefer to walk through?

A dark rainforest with no undergrowth?

Or lots more sunlight, but a trip-you-up tangle under your feet?

Rainforests are important They’re so plant-packed, they produce most of the world’s oxygen, which keeps us alive. That’s why rainforests are sometimes called ‘the lungs of the planet’.

The rainforests are in danger from deforestation. That’s when they’re destroyed so people can use the land for their own needs, such as farming and road building. About 18 million acres get chopped or burned down each year. That’s like losing at least 27 football fields’ worth of forest every minute! If it carries on, the rainforests may be gone in 100 years.

Governments must agree to protect them.

They should also teach the local people how important they are. Maybe then, local communities will help to preserve them.

After all, we need our rainforests. Don’t you agree? (All those thousands of species surely do!)

Harpy eagle chick on nest in emergent tree

© Chien Lee/naturepl.com

© Stan Lupo

At 30 to 50 metres high, the canopy still isn’t the rainforest’s highest layer!

There’s another one above it called the emergent layer, where the tops of the giant trees grow. Animals live there, too, including bats, butterflies, eagles and those giant spiders! They get plenty of rain, sunshine and wind.

Emergent tree towering above the mist-shrouded canopy

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Hi, Amy here!

TOTALLY TROPICAL

RAINFOREST

For this issue of Eco Kids Planet, I’m travelling deep into a tropical rainforest to investigate how animals have adapted to life there.

To start with, I had a couple of questions that needed answering…

ADAPTATIONS! It might not come as a huge surprise to learn that RAINforests get over 200cm of rain every year! This means vegetation stays lush and evergreen all year round.

Trees shed leaves and grow new ones continuously, so branches are never bare.

In nature, there is a reason for everything!

The main part of an anteater’s diet is – you guessed it – ants. An enormous nose and long, sticky tongue enable anteaters to reach ants in extremely awkward places. © Bence Mate/naturepl.com

What are the special conditions of a tropical rainforest?

This means, rainforest animals need to cope with a hot and humid climate. And there is very little sunlight on the rainforest floor because the trees are so dense.

On every level of the rainforest, there are predators ready to munch. Animals must adapt or they’ll quickly become another animal’s lunch!

What does ‘adaptation’ actually mean?

OK, ever wondered why some animals look so weird?

Have you ever marvelled at an anteater’s long nose and even longer tongue? Why does it have these extraordinary features?

Basilisk lizards are so fast, they can run across water! Why the need for speed? To escape predators, of course.

Adaptations can be: PHYSICAL, like the anteater’s nose and tongue, OR BEHAVIOURAL, like the speedy basilisk lizard.

Any feature that helps an animal to survive and thrive is basically an adaptation.

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Animals and plants have been evolving and adapting to their environment over millions of years. If a creature is born with a new feature that proves helpful, that feature is passed down to the next generation.

Here are seven animals with awesome rainforest adaptations:

1. FLYING FOX Not in fact a fox, but a large, fruiteating BAT! • Enormous eyes and splendid sense of smell – all the better for finding fruit.

• Whopping wings for easy long-distance flight.

• Mini mouth opening means minimal loss of juicy fruity diet.

• Ridged roof of the mouth – tiny scrapers neatly remove pulp from fruit peel and nectar from flowers.

• Prompt pooping after eating means quick reduction of body weight for faster flight.

• Beat the heat – flying foxes fan themselves while they roost (rest) or seek shade and lick themselves cool!

© blickwinkel/Alamy Stock Photo

2. B RAZILIAN GIANT COCKROACH With over 200 million years of successful adaptation, it's one of the oldest insects around!

• Super-sensitive leg bristles and antennae – perfect for ‘seeing’ and feeling in the cosy nooks and crannies of the rainforest floor. (Cockroaches like to lurk in the shadows.)

• Flat bodies are perfect for hiding under rocks.

• Oily outer cuticle – slippery ‘skin’ protects cockroaches from dehydration, and seals in the lovely moist rainforest climate!

• SUPERPOWER 1: Cerci – tiny appendages that detect minute movements in the air — are a defence mechanism that means cockroaches can scuttle or fly away before predators get too close for comfort.

• SUPERPOWER 2: Spiracles – tiny holes on the side of the roach’s body that

direct oxygen around the body (instead of lungs) – enable the cockroach to keep going WITHOUT ITS HEAD. Yup, they can live for up to a week, eventually dying of dehydration because no mouth means no water.

FUN FACT Scientists believe prehistoric cockroaches were the muck-munchers of jumbo dino poo (an EXTREMELY important eco-duty)!

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Semi-aquatic, alligator-like reptile, superbly suited to rainforest conditions!

4. BOA CONSTRICTOR Invisible, long, flexible and STRONG! • Camouflage – jungle-green, shadowblack and brownish markings. Boas can lurk, hidden from the beady eyes of hawk predators by day, and use their invisibility to ambush prey at night.

5. SPIDER MONKEY A nimble swinger ideal for arboreal life!

• Prehensile super-tail contains up to 35 vertebrae. It's LONGER than the spider monkey’s body! It works like a strong, supple and slim extra limb, finding tiny gaps to cling, swing, pick fruit or simply hang out.

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• Nocturnal hunting is an excellent adaptation. Boas have excellent vision and use their tongue to pick up scents around them.

• Flexible feeding: boas mostly consume mammals BUT also snack on frogs, birds and reptiles. A varied diet means they can live in different rainforest microhabitats.

• Flexible hunting technique: pounce, squeeze and asphyxiate (stop something breathing).

• Flexible jaws open wider than the head to swallow HUGE prey head first.

BIG meals mean days to rest and digest, so less energy is wasted hunting small things!

© Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

3. C UVIER'S SMOOTHFRONTED CAIMAN

• Alligator body armour protects the small, strong caiman from turbulent water currents and predators.

• Dark brown colour provides top camouflage in murky waters and thick undergrowth.

• Vertical pupils designed for NOCTURNAL vision; the caiman hunts, mates and moves long distances at night.

• Binocular vision from forwardfacing eyes. Tough ‘bony’ eyelids protect the eyeballs, while a special membrane keeps eyes moist and helps underwater sight.

• Hook-like hands, flexible shoulders and long arms.

Spider monkeys are perfectly formed to move swiftly through treetops.

• Smaller and lighter bodies are perfect for swinging.

Aggressive, almost-invincible arachnid!

• Bold and brazen, this giant spider hunts in the open because it CAN! (It has

7. LEAF-CUTTER ANTS Super-evolutionary success story!

• Sustainable FARMING – these amazing ants collect leaves, bury them, then HARVEST the fungus that grows as the leaves rot.

© Juniors Bildarchiv GmbH/ Alamy Stock Photo

6. GOLIATH BIRDEATING SPIDER

no natural enemies apart from spider wasps and parasites.)

• Evil defence mechanism. If being chased, the spider rubs its abdomen to shed tiny barbed hairs. If the hairs embed in an attacker’s skin or eyes, they cause nasty irritation.

• Dracula-like fangs inject poison into prey. The poison starts digesting immediately, then the spider sucks up its liquefied victim like a bird-flavoured milkshake! SLURP! • Leg regrowth. Leg loss? No worries. This near-invincible spider grows a new one.

• Munch more vegetation than any other animal group.

• Fungal secretion from leaf-cutters can transform poisonous plants into a nutritious meal.

• Carry 50 times their own weight – that’s mighty impressive!

• Highly evolved social system.

Colonies provide a lifetime job for all, top to bottom: caretakers, gardeners, foragers and farmers.

Even the tiniest ants have a mission: they ride on worker ants to defend them from carnivorous flies!

Leaf-cutters are such a finely tuned part of the rainforest ecosystem that if the forests disappear, so will the leaf-cutters.

• Guarded and watchful behaviour when feeding on the ground – because smaller and lighter means more vulnerable.

• Noisy! Spider monkeys bark, grunt, yap and cry – great vocal adaptations to warn of danger!

Vocabulary Arboreal: Living in trees.

Binocular: Using both eyes to see things.

Brazen: Obvious, without any attempt to be hidden.

Prehensile: Able to hold on to things.

Secretion: Liquid that is made then emitted.

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E N D A N GEEARTUERDE

Pygmy

CREATURE F

Three-Toed Sloth

The Cute Castaway!

Everyone loves a sloth, right? And the mini version of this slow-motion South American mammal is even more adorable!

Yet people have put the pocket-sized pygmy sloth – and the island rainforest that it calls home – in serious danger.

Small slow-foot The pygmy sloth’s scientific name – Bradypus pygmaeus – means ‘small slow-foot’. This is a perfect description, because this curious creature is certainly small and definitely slow!

• Pygmy sloths are the smallest sloths in the world. They measure just 50cm in length and weigh between 2.5 and 3.5kg.

• Sloths like to take things slowly. They use their long arms and curved, clawed feet to climb trees at a sluggish two metres per minute! But they actually spend most of their time (about 15 hours a day!) asleep in the treetops.

• Sloths are slow eaters. A lunch of leaves, twigs and buds might take them a month to digest!

• Sloths usually only climb down to the ground once a week – just to go to the loo! (So, even doing their business is a slow business for a sloth!)

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Escudo de Veragus

Island home Pygmy sloths only live on the island of Escudo de Veraguas, which is 17km off the coast of Panama, in Central America.

Escudo is really tiny – just 4km long and 1.5km wide! Escudo is part of a huge wildlife sanctuary, but it’s the only bit of land in it – the rest is all sea.

© National Geographic Image Collection/Alamy Stock Photo

Small is Beautiful Other island-living animals that have become smaller over time include the dwarf chameleon from Madagascar, the Mindoro dwarf buffalo from the Philippines, and the Key deer from the Florida Keys islands in the USA.

survive, because being smaller means they can live on less food – and that’s important when you’re stuck on an island with not a lot to eat! Pygmy sloths are 3040% smaller than other types of sloth, but they weren’t classed as a separate species until 2001.

Why so slow?

© Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

Like all sloths, pygmy sloths are super sloooooowww. This means they use less energy, so again, the sloths don’t need to eat as much (which is why they only poo once a week!).

Why so small?

Escudo would have once been part of the Central American mainland, but about 9,000 years ago, it broke away from the coast and became an island. Since then, the sloths that were stranded on Escudo have slowly evolved into a much smaller species (a process known as island dwarfism). This has helped the sloths

They may be slow on land, but sloths are surprisingly good swimmers. They can paddle three times faster than they can climb! Sloths swim across flooded forests to get to new feeding areas, to escape predators, and to find themselves a mate. Their leafy diet fills their tummies with gas, which helps keep them afloat – a bit like a built-in buoyancy aid!

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Going green

Human harm

The green colour on the pygmy sloth’s coat is created by algae that grow on the fur! This might sound gross, but they don’t do the sloth any harm. In fact, the algae provide the sloth with clever camouflage and help it hide among the trees. A sloth’s hair is also home to a whole host of other teeny-weeny wildlife, including beetles, mites and moths!

Escudo is uninhabited, but people are still damaging the pygmy sloth’s island habitat. The main threats are from:

© National Geographic Image Collection/Alamy Stock Photo

© Diorene Smith/ZSL

• Fishing Fishermen and their families come to Escudo every year to catch fish and lobsters. They cut down trees for firewood and to build wooden huts to stay in. The number of local people visiting the island each year is increasing.

• Tourism More and more tourists are travelling to Escudo, too. More buildings might be built for them on the island – such as hotels, marinas or even a small airport.

More than meets the eye A survey in 2012 found fewer than 100 pygmy sloths in the mangrove swamps around the edge of Escudo. Scientists now think there may be lots more living in thick rainforest in the middle of the island – perhaps over 1,000!

Did You Know?

Sloths are related to armadillos and anteaters!

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• Litter More visitors means more rubbish.

There are no waste disposal or recycling facilities on Escudo, so litter is often just left on the island. © Nisha Owen/ZSL

Have you noticed that the hair on a sloth grows in a different direction from most animals? This allows rain to run off their coat when they’re hanging upside down (clever eh?). The pygmy sloth is also called the monk sloth, because the long, shaggy hair that drapes over its head looks a little like a hairy hood, as worn by monks!

All three things are reducing the size of the area in which the sloths can live (and it’s already very small).

Escudo’s pygmy sloth population is now CRITICALLY ENDANGERED.

Human help

© Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

Thankfully, wildlife organisations and local communities are working together to save the pygmy sloth from extinction.

They are finding ways to protect Escudo, while also respecting the traditional lifestyles of the people who want to fish there. Laws about tourism and litter are being made stricter. Conservationists are visiting schools in Panama to tell children about how important it is to look after the pygmy sloth. After all, the future of this weird and wonderful animal – and all the other amazing wildlife that shares its island home – is in their hands.

The Special Six Six different species of sloth are found in the world today. There are four species of three-toed sloth and two types of two-toed sloth.

Three-toed sloths: pygmy sloth, maned sloth, pale-throated sloth and brown-throated sloth.

Two-toed sloths: Linnaeus’s sloth and Hoffmann’s sloth.

All of them live in the rainforests of Central and South America.

Only in Escudo Escudo island is home to other endemic animals, including the Escudo fruit bat, the Escudo hummingbird and the maritime worm salamander.

Did You Know?

Eco Kids Unite!

If you go for a walk in the countryside to look for wildlife, enjoy a picnic or get some exercise, try to leave it as you found it. Recycle any rubbish or put it in the nearest litter bin. Remember: take only photographs and leave only footprints!

The giant ground sloth was a prehistoric mega-sloth that lived during the Ice Age. It was as big as an elephant!

Vocabulary Algae: Simple, plant-like organisms.

Endemic: Only found in that place and nowhere else.

Uninhabited: No people live there.

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Giant Anteater Charlie Meets a

(and an Ant!) It’s me, Charlie, the Eco Kid who can talk to animals. This time I’m meeting a two-metre-long giant anteater!

Charlie: I’m in the Amazon rainforest in South America, looking for Anita Anteater.

Oh, there she is.

Anita: Hi, Charlie.

Charlie: Why were you shuffling along on your knuckles instead of your paws?

Anita: I have to protect my claws. I need to keep them sharp.

Charlie: Ooh, they look very big and powerful – and, gulp, dangerous!

Anita: You bet they are! If I’m threatened, I stand back on my tail and lash out with them. But don’t worry – I’m more likely to claw at a jaguar than a human! Anyway,

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you could outrun me. I’m pretty slow-footed.

Charlie: Is that what they’re for?

Self-defence?

Anita: I mostly use them for opening up ant and termite mounds. Yummy!

Charlie: I bet those sharp claws totally destroy the mounds.

Anita: Actually, I take care not to. After all, I’ll want to come back for another meal later on!

Charlie: How many insects do you eat a day?

Anita: I usually lose count at 30,000!

Charlie: Wow, that’s a lot of ants.

Anita: Well, they’re very small!

Charlie: You don’t have any teeth, so how do you eat them? Do you suck them up through a straw?

Anita: No, I use my tongue. Look how long it is!

© Michel & Christine Denis-Huot/Biosphoto

Charlie: Well, er, you do have a big nose.

Where do you live?

Charlie: It’s about a third of your body length!

Anita: It’s really sticky and spiky, too – great for capturing insects. But ants can bite, so my tongue has to move fast. I flick it out about 160 times a minute, and crush the ants on the roof of my mouth.

Charlie: I know that some of the ants around here have nasty bites.

Anita: They do, but termites can’t bite as badly, so they’re less dangerous.

They have lots more protein, too. I can tell – they’re really filling! So, I actually prefer termites. I eat more of them than ants, really.

Charlie: You should be renamed a termiteeater. How do you find these insects?

Anita: I can smell them from far away!

Anita: I don’t need a home. I just find somewhere to curl up and rest. Have you seen my tail? It covers my head and body if I snuggle up.

Charlie: I bet it keeps you warm.

Anita: It’s a great blanket – and a good sunshade, too! I sometimes dig a hole in the ground to rest in. That’s when my claws come in handy again.

Charlie: Do you have any children, Anita?

Anita: I have one pup every year or so. They ride around on my back for their first year!

Charlie: That must be fun for them.

Anita: It’s good for us both. It makes me look even bigger, which puts predators off attacking.

Charlie: Finally, tell me one thing that’ll surprise me about anteaters.

Anita: We’re good swimmers. We use our snouts like snorkels!

Fun Fact Giant anteaters are sometimes called ant bears!

Extra! Charlie Meets an Ant! Charlie: I also met a fire ant called Antonio, who insists on having his say.

Antonio: That’s right. I think anteaters should be banned! In fact, there should be an animal called an anteater-eater. It should eat 30,000 anteaters a day!

Charlie: That really would have to be a GIANT. But don’t you ants fight back?

anteaters away with our biting before – and we will again!

Antonio: Well, we’ve got sharp mandibles and can give nasty bites. We’ve driven

Charlie: Wow, you’re really defi-ant. No wonder Anita prefers termites!

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Rainforest Riddles Can you guess these animals? Write your answers on the line underneath each one.

Poisonous, poisonous, poisonous me!

Tiny and deadly, I live in a tree…

Size of a paperclip, colour of gold, Touch at your peril And never can hold!

I contain poison to kill many men…

Ask me how many and I’ll tell you – TEN! Poison-provider for poisonous dart, What is my name?

You will guess if you’re smart…

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Little Miss Muffet was eating her lunch When I sat down beside her And started to munch On something with feathers, Two wings and a beak…

Miss Muffet went silent, Then started to shriek.

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She jumped from her tuffet (What you call a stool) And shouted, “Be gone!

You despicable ghoul!”

“Just look at your fangs And your eight beady eyes…

With eight hairy legs, You’re a scary surprise!”

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__________________________________ I am little, I am small, I am smallest of them all.

Also I am very s l o w…

Slowly, slowly, Off I go, Slowly stroll and Slowly eat, Slow at climbing in the heat.

When I swim I’m NOT so slow In the river’s ebb and flow…

(Only once a week I do An extremely slow, slow poo!)

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__________________________________

She ran from the forest With no further word, So I sat on her tuffet And finished my bird. __________________________________ Seldom will you ever see Farmers quite as small as we!

In our HUGE society, Cut and carry from the tree…

Bury them, then: one, two, three!

Munch the rotting leaves with glee!

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My name is from mythology, Another name will bring The spiritual connection of A legend and a king…

I’m a very nimble creature, Do you know what I can do?

I can run across the water (And swim underneath it, too!)

__________________________________

__________________________________

With a frilly fancy crest Upon my green and handsome head, I am better than the rest, Because I run where none can tread!

Hunting in the velvet darkness, Hunting in the day, Yellow-eyed and dangerous, With me, you cannot play…

Deadly, not domesticated, Deadly in the night, Teeth as sharp as sharpest steel Can kill with just one bite.

Covered in a decoration Lovely as the rose, King of all the Amazon And deadliest of foes.

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__________________________________ Poem riddles by Gabby Dawnay

© Troy Harrison

Baby Spider Monkey

Orang-utan in Rain

© Andrew Suryono

Wildlife

News!

TAPIRS TO THE RESCUE WITH THEIR TREEPLANTING POO! The Amazon rainforest shrinks more and more each year. People have been felling its trees and burning parts of it down for decades. To get it growing back, we need to reseed it. The problem is, that’s expensive. It would cost billions of dollars to do the job properly. But not if tapirs do it for us.

(They’ll work for free!)

© Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

Scientists have been studying these piglike plant-eaters in the Brazilian Amazon. They’ve

Hi! I’m Rhona, a 10-year-old from Scotland on a mission to investigate and report the top wildlife news from around the world! I’m thrilled to be joining the Eco Kids. Here is my first monthly news report.

found that they especially like the forest’s burned-out bits. I guess it’s because lots more sunlight reaches the ground there, with no trees to block it. That means lots of tender young shoots sprouting up for them to eat.

In fact, tapirs spend so much time dining in these places, they do more poo there than anywhere else.

And those tapir droppings are packed with highquality seeds, ideal for growing new forest!

Tapirs are big – up to 2.4 metres long – so they eat a lot. That includes huge amounts of fruit and berries, and 99% of the seeds survive the trip through their bodies.

One smelly study found seeds from 122 different plant species in just 135 samples of tapir poo!

That means they’ll poo out a wide variety of seeds in the places that need them most. Plus, their droppings are big enough to protect the seeds from beetles.

So, tapirs may be essential in regrowing damaged rainforests.

The bad news is, thanks to hunting, they’re endangered!

ORANG-UTAN RIAM IS RESCUED! A young orang-utan in West Borneo was rescued on 8 May from an isolated area of land surrounded by roads and housing.

Local villagers contacted the authorities after seeing the orang-utan in their fields, looking for food. Rescuers were quick to respond.

Riam (named by his rescuers) was shot with a tranquilliser gun and carefully caught when he fell from a tree. He has

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been cared for by a team of medics at a rescue centre, and is a fit and healthy young male – phew! He will soon be released into a protected area of forest, which will have plenty of fruit for him to eat.

Happily, Riam’s story is a good example of locals, government and conservationists working together. But the scale of wildlife and human conflict is mind-blowing.

Did you know that since 1999, over 100,000 orangutans have been killed in Borneo? It’s all because of deforestation. Forests have been cleared to make space for palm oil plantations. Cheap and useful palm oil is used in about 50% of supermarket products, from biscuits to shampoo.

Orang-utans are now CRITICALLY ENDANGERED, and at this rate, they'll be extinct in 25 years’ time. No way can we let this happen!

© International Animal Rescue

The on-going challenge is to replant forests and make sure these awesome apes have a sustainable habitat for the future.

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REWILDING WILDCATS IN THE UK! Slightly larger than domestic cats, wildcats are native Europeans and IMPOSSIBLE to tame!

But wildcats are also timid, graceful and secretive creatures, posing no threat to humans or livestock.

In fact, conservation experts believe they would help farmers by managing the rat and rabbit population.

Wildcats are almost extinct in the Scottish Highlands, and none have been recorded in southern England since the 16th century.

They have been successfully re-introduced in Bavaria

(in Germany). Now British conservationists are attempting to do the same here. They are breeding hundreds of wildcats in captivity for release into the Welsh and English countryside.

The biggest risk to the new population will be from cross-breeding with feral domestic cats. This almost destroyed the Scottish population, so experts are making sure the same thing doesn’t happen in England and Wales.

The project will take 20 to 30 years to complete. How exciting to imagine these beautiful creatures might be roaming around by the time we’re grown-ups!

SHAKEN NOT STIRRED – WHY PLASTIC AIN’T SO FANTASTIC A ban on plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers will take effect from April 2020.

Every year in England, we use around 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds. Wow, plastic straws really suck (geddit?).

Key: Glue spot/area Cut lines Attach to area Mountain fold Valley fold

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Snake Finger Puppets Step-by-Step Instructions 1. Cut out the templates for all three snakes and colour them in using contrasting colours.

2. Working on one snake at a time, fold along all the dotted lines in the correct directions.

3. Apply glue to all the glue spots on the snake’s head. Stick these down to the ‘attach to’ areas opposite.

4. To create the finger loop, attach glue to the single glue spot and stick to the

‘attach to’ area located underneath the snake’s body.

5. Repeat these steps with the remaining templates.

You can use your snake finger puppets to have your very own snake race with your friends. Or simply slip all three on at the same time to create your very own den of snakes!

Your finger puppets are ready to play with!

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Colour Me!

Huge numbers of these items are flushed down toilets, and end up in rivers and waterways across the country.

And this mass of plastic pollution is endangering our wildlife.

Used for just a few minutes, the small plastic items take hundreds of years to break down.

The ban is definitely a step in the right direction, but it’s still a small part of a massive plastic problem.

MORE PROTECTED AREAS AT SEA I’m buzzing! Forty-one Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) have been designated to help give greater protection to marine life! Ever visited a nature reserve? MCZs are similar but underwater.

Stretching from Cornwall to Northumberland, the new sites will protect 12,000km2 of marine habitat – an area almost eight times the size of Greater London. The 41 new sites are special places for wildlife, ranging from coral gardens and forests of sea fans to sandbanks. These places are home to rare stalked

jellyfish, short-snouted seahorses, seals, crabs and lobsters. This new protection means more wildlife and healthier, safer seas. That’s something worth celebrating!

AUSTRALIAN SCIENTISTS STUNNED BY DISCOVERY OF NEW DINOSAUR SPECIES! In the late 1980s, opal miner Bob Foster found what he thought were some old animal bones but there was something unusual about them. Opal fossils are fairly common in Australia, but there were just so many of these.

Thirty years later, the bones were finally taken to a museum.

Palaeontologists realised they belonged to a whole new species of dinosaur.

And 60 bones from one adult alone meant they had discovered the world’s most complete opalised dinosaur.

The new species is named Fostoria dhimbangunmal after Bob Foster himself.

It’s not exactly a catchy name, but Bob isn’t complaining!

(Wouldn’t you just LOVE to discover a dinosaur and have it named after you?)

An artist’s impression of Fostoria dhimbangunmal by James Kuether

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THE BERMUDA SNAIL SAVED FROM NEAR-EXTINCTION Ever wondered how zoos help protect wild animals?

Here is a shining example.

Thanks to the help of Chester Zoo, thousands of critically endangered greater Bermuda land snails have been released back into Bermuda.

With a handful taken to Chester Zoo to help with breeding, the snails loved their new home – over 13,000 have been bred there! Of these, 2,000 have been returned to

There are just one million hedgehogs left in the UK, compared to 30 million in the 1950s.

So, watch where you’re going this summer!

WHO’S JOINING ME FOR GARDENWATCH? I love a good mission! Do you? An exciting project called Gardenwatch is their homeland this June, with more on the way. I wish the snails loads of luck! You might look at dirty alleyways differently now. Imagine what ‘lost’ creatures could be hiding there!

CAUTION: HEDGEHOG HAZARD! New road signs featuring a hedgehog will alert motorists to the plight of these prickly critters.

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asking for ANYONE with a garden to help! With four missions to choose from, you can spend the afternoon as a worm, bird or mammal detective!

By exploring your garden and getting up close to its creepy-crawlies and wild visitors, you can collect data and send it in using your phone, tablet or laptop. So, come on, put those screens to good use, and help scientists understand who you’re sharing your garden with!

Choose your first mission at: https://www.bto.org/ our-science/projects/ gardenwatch Song Thrush © billywhiz07/flickr

Once thought to have disappeared for many years, hundreds of snails were discovered in an abandoned, polluted restaurant alleyway in Hamilton (Bermuda’s capital).

Frog Fest!

Now two Eco Kids team up to bring you…

© Design Pics Inc/Alamy Stock Photo

Simon and Charlie's Fantastic

Rainforests are hot, wet and full of vegetation – just how frogs like it.

And an incredible variety of them live there!

Charlie here!

Simon's sent me out to find a poison dart frog. I'd better watch out - some species are the most poisonous creatures alive!

Charlie: OK, I’m in a rainforest in Costa Rica, Central America, and I think I’ve found the Frog WWE! Two bright red frogs are wrestling each other like crazy.

Now one of them has put his head down

to submit… and he’s crawling away. I’ll speak to the winner.

Hey, Red, why were you two wrestling?

Red: He wanted to take my spot on this rock. No way! We were wrestling for 20 minutes – you missed the best bits!

Charlie: Why are you poison dart frogs such bright colours?

Red: To warn predators – if they try to eat us, we’ll poison them. I keep my poison just under my skin, so bite me and you’ll be sorry! Our colours also help us to attract mates.

Charlie: If I picked you up, would you harm me?

Red: You’d better not unless you’re wearing thick gloves. My poison oozes out through my skin. It could paralyse or kill you, so don’t frog-et it!

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Charlie: Thanks for the warning, Red. Now, let’s dart over to Simon for some frog facts…

And here’s a surprise: some toxins from their skins make powerful medicines that help us humans.

See-through frogs My favourite frogs are the see-through ones! People call them glass frogs because their bellies have transparent skin. You can actually see their internal organs, including their tiny beating hearts! Nobody’s sure why they’re seethrough. They’re found in Central and South American rainforests, but I doubt Charlie will see one. They’re usually high up in the trees above the water.

© Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

Let’s see what he’s up to right now…

There are about 170 species of poison dart frogs. They’re not all toxic, but some are very toxic indeed. Native hunters used to roll their blow-darts and arrow tips over a live frog’s skin. That created a coating of poison for the weapon – and it stayed toxic for at least two years! It’s how the frogs got their name.

I found out that what makes the frogs toxic is their diet of poisonous beetles, ants and termites. And what makes those insects toxic are the poisonous plants that they eat. Pet poison dart frogs aren’t fed on poisonous insects, so they’re not toxic at all. They’re completely safe!

TINY BUT DEADLY!

© Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

But something puzzled me. My local exotic pet shop actually sells poison dart frogs! I’m not too happy about that, because collecting them for the pet trade endangers them. But if their skin is so toxic, aren’t they too dangerous to keep as pets anyway? I had to investigate!

A golden poison frog is no bigger than a bottle cap – but contains enough poison to kill 10 grown men!

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Hi, are those your babies?

Frog: Yes, and it took some coaxing to get them on my back, I can tell you!

Charlie: Are you taking them for a fun ride around the forest?

Frog: No, I’m delivering them to water.

They need it to develop.

Charlie: But didn’t you lay your eggs in water in the first place? I thought that’s what frogs do.

Frog: Not us. We lay ours in the leaf litter on the forest floor. It’s as safe a place as any!

of a skyscraper! Will you just leave them there?

Frog: No, I’ll probably come back later and lay some new eggs for them to eat.

Charlie: Woah! I know some people like eggs for breakfast, but that’s like them eating their own brothers!

Frog: Of course it isn’t. Those eggs aren’t fertilised, so they’d never hatch.

Charlie: Sorry, please frog-ive me!

Frog: No problem, but I can’t waste time talking. I’d better hop it.

Tadpoles: Byeeeeee!

Charlie: OK, back to you, Simon…

Charlie: So, are you looking for a small pool or river for them now?

Frog: Oh, they don’t need that much water. I’ll just find some small pockets of it in leaves. I can plop a few tadpoles in each one. I might carry them high up a tree to find some.

Charlie: Wow, that would be like me carrying human babies to the top

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Giddy-up, Mum!

©Mark Moffett/naturepl.com

Charlie: I’ve found a strawberry poison dart frog giving a piggyback ride to lots of little tadpoles. I’ll have a chat with it.

Art By Paul Starosta

Thanks, Charlie.

Now it’s time for my favourite…

FABULOUSLY FREAKY FROGS!

©Stephen Dalton/naturepl.com

© Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

Wallace’s flying frogs live high up in trees in Southeast Asian rainforests. If they’re threatened, they leap off the branch, and glide through the air to safety. They can ‘fly’ for up to 15 metres!

The hairy frog (trichobatrachus robustus) lives in West African rainforests. It has hairy sides, and some folk call it the horror frog. If something threatens one, it breaks its own toe bones and sticks them out through its toe pads, like claws! But don’t worry – everything heals and goes back to normal.

The Malayan horned frog has evolved to look just like leaves on the forest floor.

Its horns even look like the spikes on the edges of leaves! That’s great camouflage, as it lies in wait for its prey.

Fragile Frogs WORLD’S LARGEST FROG!

©imageBROKER/Alamy Stock Photo

African goliath frogs can grow up to 30cm long, and weigh up to 3.3kg! Their diet includes fish, small snakes and baby turtles.

Sadly, many rainforest frogs are at risk. Dangers include climate change, pollution and habitat change. People are always chopping away at their forests to grow crops or farm cattle.

There’s also a deadly disease caused by a fungus, which could wipe many of them out.

We both love frogs and hope they survive. The world wouldn’t be quite as amazing – or colourful – without them!

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s k s A n o

Rainforest?

© Tithi Luadthong/Alamy Stock Photo

Sim

Would You Survive in a

Rainforests are beautiful and important, but they’re also full of danger!

I live in the UK, and love a walk in the forest. We have no native big predators here, so they’re mostly safe to explore.

There are no jaguars, deadly spiders and snakes, or crocodiles!

But what if I found myself lost in a huge rainforest like the Amazon? Thousands of animal species live in rainforests, including dangerous alligators, anacondas and piranhas. Even some of their cute, tiny frogs can kill! There are also some stranger dangers…

Not just animals…

Some of the world’s most dangerous plants grow in rainforests – and you don’t even have to eat them!

Australian rainforests have stinging bushes and trees. Thick hairs coat their leaves, looking so soft you might want to give them a stroke. Don’t! They’re packed

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with poison. Even their slightest touch can sting like an acid burn, or hurt like an electric shock!

The cannonball tree grows in the Amazon rainforest. Its fruits are big and heavy like cannonballs, and fall to the ground to break open. Believe me, you don’t want one landing on your head!

And many rainforest plants and trees are highly poisonous. Never eat their berries (unless you’re a fruit bat or one of the local beetles!).

The best ways to protect yourself against rainforest bugs and insects are to use insect spray and cover up your skin.

Fun Fact

© Robert Adrian Hillman/Alamy Stock Vector

About nine out of ten animals living in the Amazon are insects!

Don't just watch out for big animals…

Bugs and insects thrive in rainforests, too.

The Amazon alone has about 30 million species of insects!

Some are colourful, some look scary, some look weird – and some are dangerous.

Most live in that leafy world we call the canopy. That’s all the overlapping leaves and branches of the trees, which can be 30 metres high, way above your head.

Also watch out for leeches. Rainforests are so humid, leeches can live out of water there. You may see them crawling across the forest floor like worms – but they also drop out of the trees! Their bites are pretty harmless, but bleed a lot.

Snakes are a much bigger danger. Never walk through rainforest undergrowth unless you’re wearing boots and long trousers. And always check the ground for them before sitting at the bottom of a tree!

But bullet ants are active on every level of the Amazon, from the ground to the treetops. They got their name because their stings feel like bullet wounds – ouch!

Mosquitoes look small and harmless, but can carry diseases like malaria and yellow fever. The malariacarrying mosquitoes are most active – and bite most – at night.

Despite these dangers, many people actually live in rainforests, most of them deep in the Amazon. There may be over 300 rainforest tribes, but they grew up there, so they know how to handle it.

Now let’s see how you’d cope…

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SIMON’S SURVIVAL TEST!

Here are some survival tips. Tick A or B for each one – whichever choice you’d make. At the end, see what marks you get and add them up to find out your overall score. Then I’ll tell you your chances for survival!

OK, so you’re lost in a big rainforest…

A. Don’t panic! You need to think calmly. Panic tires your body out and increases its need for food and water. So, be super-calm and make a plan.

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A. Rainforests can be incredibly hot, so roll up your sleeves and trouser legs.

Most insects are only active at night and only bite you if you’re sweating.

B. You don’t want any nasty insect bites, so roll down your sleeves. If you’re wearing a T-shirt or shorts, rub mud over your exposed skin – and on your face, too!

B. There’s no time for making plans – you need to get moving, fast!

Being scared keeps you alert, and keeps you on the move.

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A. Find a water source. Animal trails on the ground will lead you to streams, where you can have a safe drink.

A. Falling branches and trees are two of the most dangerous things in rainforests, so always keep an eye out for them.

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B. It rains a lot in rainforests, and many rainforest leaves are large. Use them to collect rainwater for a safe drink.

B. Trees and branches can’t fall by themselves! Keep your eyes on the ground – that’s where the danger is.

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A. Walk uphill. Higher ground is safest, and it’ll lead you to civilisation.

B. Walk downhill. It’ll lead you to civilisation.

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A. Only keep on the move during daylight. If you need to stay in the same place for a while, build a shelter with branches and foliage to keep out animals and insects.

B. A shelter will trap you if any big animals come. Sleep out in the open, so you can escape quickly if you need to.

A. Avoid big open spaces. It’s easier for dangerous animals to see you there.

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B. Try to find big open spaces. It’s easier for a rescue plane to spot you there.

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A. Only eat fruit, vegetables and nuts you recognise. In the Amazon, you’ll find all sorts, including bananas, coconuts, cucumbers and peanuts. But never eat anything else – it could be poisonous!

B. You can’t even trust food you recognise in a rainforest. Don’t eat anything, even bananas – they could be poisonous.

If you scored over 20, you’re more likely to survive than not. If you scored over 30, I reckon you’re sure to survive! If you scored under 20, learn from your mistakes, so you know what to do if you’re ever lost in a rainforest!

Here are the marks you get for your choices.

Write them down, then add them up!

1. A-5, B-0. 2. A-0, B-5. 3. A-5, B-0. 4. A-0, B-5.

5. A-0, B-5. 6. A-5, B-0. 7. A-0, B-5. 8. A-5, B-0.

You're HERE!

But can you get out...?

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Quiz Planet

Rainforests of the World Crossword

Across

Down

2. The upper layer of rainforest, where the tops of giant trees grow 4. Africa’s rainforest 7. Hot, humid rainforests, located near equator 9. The only continent without any rainforests 10. World’s biggest rainforest

1. The cutting down of trees in a large area 3. Only found in one place and nowhere else 5. Living in trees 6. The oldest rainforest 8. The leafy part of the rainforest, where most animals live

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Totally Tropical Adaptations Quiz 1. Which of the following adaptations help flying foxes to fly? (Select all that apply.) a) Mini mouth opening b) Prompt pooping c) Fanning themselves while roosting d) Whopping wings 2. Which of the following adaptations make spider monkeys well adapted to treetop life? (Select all that apply.) a) Super-tail b) Watchful behaviour on the ground c) Hook-like hands d) Noisy calls 3. Which of the following is NOT an adaptation of the goliath bird-eating spider? a) Giant size b) Ability to inject poison c) A blue-green blood colour d) Fierce defence mechanism

4. Which of the following adaptations make the boa constrictor a remarkable hunter? (Select all that apply.) a) Camouflage b) Flexible feeding c) Giving birth to live young instead of laying eggs d) Flexible jaws 5. The aye-aye is a nocturnal lemur of Madagascar. Which of the following are the eye-eye’s physical adaptions that help it survive in the rainforest?

(Select all that apply.) a) Scary looks b) Oversized ears to listen for insects’ vibrations c) Large front teeth for gnawing wood d) A long middle finger for getting insects out from under tree bark

Joke Corner ake’s favourite Q: What are a sn magic words? abra! and adder-ca-d ra b co a-d ra b A

A: Q: Why couldn’t the snake talk?

A: It had a frog in his throat!

Q: What is a snake’s favourite A: Hiss-tory!

subject?

Q: W hy are frogs so ha ppy?

A: Because they eat what bugs them! ? hat is a frog’s favourite music Q: W A: Hip-hop!

See answers on ecokidsplanet.co.uk/free-resources.

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Over to You In our Nile River issue, we asked you to create a mythical creature that would protect the Nile and its incredible inhabitants. What a remarkable response we received from so many of you! Just imagine what the world could look like if all those mythical creatures sprang to life from your pages.

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition!

And congratulations to our five lucky winners!

Toby, age 11, Exeter DraCO2n

Isabella, age 12 , Milton Keynes The Nile Rescu er

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Lylah, age 10, Leominster Nachu

Nina, age 9, Irel and Dragon of the N ile Emmie, age 7, Southampton Atlantis

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Well done to our runners-up!

Jasmine, age 7, Altrincham Lung Elefish

Amelia, age 8, Bognor Regis Magusa

Franek , age 6, Leylan d Crockh orn Isla, ag e 9, Plethio Bur ton monste r

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We loved receiving ALL of your letters! You can see other competition entries on our website at ecokidsplanet.co.uk/nilemythical-creature-competition

Build a Wildlife Water Feature Nature project When we get hot, we want to cool off, and animals are no different. Even England can get very hot, and it’s not always easy for animals to find water. Building a little water feature is one of the best things you can do to help wildlife!

You will need: - A washing-up bowl or bucket.

(Make sure there are no holes in it, and any soap is rinsed out thoroughly with warm water.)

- Some gravel or sand.

- A few big stones, bricks or logs.

- Some pond plants.

1. Dig a hole big enough to fit your bucket.

2. Pour some gravel or sand into the bottom of your bucket for insects to burrow into.

Don’t use soil, because this might cause algae to grow.

3. Surround the pond with some smaller stones to make it look natural.

7. Now sit back and wait! Animals will love using your new water feature for a quick bath and, in a few months, it may even attract some frogs!

4. Make sure the animals can get out by putting a couple of bricks, larger rocks or logs in your pond.

5. Fill the pond! Rainwater is best but you can also use tap water.

6. Add some pond plants.

Ask at your local garden centre for pond plants that oxygenate (ox-ee-jenate) the water (meaning they create oxygen for the animals to breathe). We recommend something like hornwort.

Top Tip:

This water feature can be made in any small space – even a patio or balcony! Just make sure your animals can get in and out, perhaps by building some steps or a ramp!

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Collage by artist Olya Titova @olyatitovaproductions @collage_department

Monthly Competition

‘Jazz in the Jungle’ Short Story For this month’s competition, we’re asking you to pick up your creative pen and write a short story about our ‘Jazz in the Jungle’ collage on the opposite page. The collage artist used various shapes of orchids to create a colourful rainforest scene. Write a story or a poem of up to 200 words to describe what might be going on in that jungle.

FIVE budding writers will win these TWO super-handy gifts from the Rex London store.

5 TO! WIN

Sydney the Sloth Lunch Bag Keep school lunches fresh with a foil-lined lunch bag, featuring Sydney the Sloth.

Made from recycled plastic bottles, this bag is lightweight and easy to clean.

RRP: £3.95

Sydney the Sloth Children’s Umbrella Splash in the rain with Sydney the Sloth! This sweet children’s umbrella is lightweight, spring-loaded, and has no nasty points, making it ideal for boys and girls aged 3+. RR: £8.95

Available from Rex London: https://www.rexlondon.com/ How to submit your entries: Send a letter to Eco Kids Planet, 41 Claremont Road, Barnet, EN4 0HR or email win@ecokidsplanet.co.uk before 31st August 2019. Please make sure you include your full name, age and address, so we know how to reach you.

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IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF ECO KIDS PLANET

Evolution of Life

Issue 59

How Did Life Get Started?

The birth of life on Earth

Wildlife News from Around the World Rhona reports!

Ten Strangest Creatures that Ever Existed Amy investigates…

The Dodo Extinct Creature Feature

Charlie Meets a Platypus The duck-billed evolutionary marvel

Climate Change

Will animals be able to adapt?

Mass Extinctions What caused them and which creatures disappeared?

ecokidsplanet.co.uk