Emerald Hummingbirds

What up! It's Shreeni here! Anyway since it's spring and the birds are out and flying being your alarm clocks! Right, people? SO really quiet birds like the emerald hummingbird are nice right? But I will bet you have never seen one since they are critically endangered and about to die! Want to know why? Well, simple version humans. Complicated version environmental destruction and the lumber industry. But if you do happen to see one here's how to identify it.

• This bird is about 9.5 cm, medium-sized and emerald colored.
• The male has a glittering blue-green throat and upper chest, sometimes it appearing gray, mottled and dusky. The rest of the parts are pale gray with green sides. It also has bright green upper parts with a bronze twinge on the tail-cover. It has a black bill with a reddish mandible(a patch on the upper or lower beak) and bright tip.
• The female looks the same except a less intense and more restricted gorget ( a patch on the bird's throat.)
• The babies are the same except for a gray throat with turquoise spots

So cute, right!?

Now I might as well summarize the complicated version of why they are endangered. Okay so these birds only live in Honduras and right now people are forcing them out of their habitats because they want to use the land for farming. Where does lumber industry come in? Well, you see the emerald hummingbirds live in the forests and the lumber industry chops down all those trees right? So now everything fits right? So anyway see you next time!! Oh and if you have any questions email : eslwpenvironment@gmail.com. 

Key Deer

Hello World! This is Em. Today I am going to talk about deer. Actually, a specific type of deer, the  key deer.

Male Key Deer

Key deer are an endangered species. I think that they are super cute. They are the smallest sub species of the white-tailed deer. Unfortunately, less than 1000 are still alive and their future is precarious. It’s so sad! Oh, and guess why they are dying. Humans are killing them. Here is what humans are doing to kill them:

1. People feed key deer. When they are fed, they loose fear of humans. Now let's say a key deer sees a road. It walks into the middle. The poor deer gets hit by a car and dies.

2. They are also losing food. Humans are encroaching on their habitat. They build houses there. Key deer eat plants, mainly Mangrove trees and thatch palm berries. To build a house, some Mangrove trees might be chopped down or the thatch palm berries might be cleared to provide more land. They lose food.

3. They are losing their habitat. Humans are building houses where they live. They are running out of space to live in. This also contributes to the lose of food.

 Seriously people. Look at the mess we are making. They are dying because of us. We are killing innocent deer! What did they ever do to us??? Personally, I believe humans in general are self-centered.

Ok...actually that’s not quite true. In 1951, only about 25 remained. And they were helped. So humans aren’t that bad. But still. We are responsible for the species becoming endangered.

Now I am going to explain how they look and how cute they are.

Normally, they are reddish brown or gray brown. They are about 24-32 inches at the shoulder. They are quite tiny. Males weigh about 55-75 pounds and females weigh a little less.

However, unless you live in the Florida Keys with the key deer, it is difficult to help them. But, if you live in the Florida keys or take a vacation there, an important fact is NEVER FEED KEY DEER!!!!!

If you have any questions email : eslwpevironment@gmail.com

Praying Mantises

Hi everybody! Lola reporting. Right now it is Spring! As you may all know, in spring lots of baby animals are born. A couple of months back, (in winter) a praying mantis layed eggs next to my English teacher's class room. Personally, I think it looked really disgusting. Look at the picture and see for yourself.

Eugh...

What did you think about it? Write your opinion in the comments section.

So anyway, in general, I like praying mantises other than when they lay their eggs. Below are some facts about praying mantises. 

Praying Mantis (Genus Matodea)

Mantises mainly hunt insects, but large species of mantises are know to prey on scorpions, birds, snakes and even rodents!! But why anyone would want to eat a rodent is beyond me ...

They camouflage themselves to look like living or withered leaves, sticks, tree bark, blades of grass, flowers, or even stones.

Eggs are typically deposited in a frothy mass that is produced by a gland in the abdomen. This froth then hardens, creating a protective capsule. The protective capsule and egg mass is called an ootheca. Depending on the species, the ootheca can be attached to a flat surface,wrapped around a plant or even deposited in the ground. (The ootheca I saw was attached to a wall.) Despite the versatility and durability of the egg, they are often preyed on, especially by a species of parasitic wasps. In a few species, the mother guards the eggs. 

Babies have hatched!

As some of you may know, female praying mantises are known for cannibalizing their mates. It depends on whether the female is hungry or not. Hungry females are more likely to eat their mates.

Now you can look forward to reading about lots of more interesting stuff about tons of more animals written by my fellow bloggers!

If you have any questions email : eslwpenvironment@gmail.com


Some information has come from Wikipedia.