TTHHEE NN

AATTUU

RREE YYEEAA

RRJJUU

LLYY

!! Badger cubs forage for food !! Killer whales round up salmon off the coast of Canada!! Galapagos giant tortoises battle for supremacy !! Coconut crabs search for mates in Indonesia!! Adélie penguins hunt for fish in Antarctic waters

... plus things to do and look out for in July

TTHHEE

NNAATTUURREE YYEEAARR

JJUULLYY

First published in 2012 by Orpheus Books Ltd, 6 Church Green, Witney, Oxon OX28 4AW England

www.orpheusbooks.com

Copyright © 2012 Orpheus Books Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilizedin any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrievalsystem, without permission in writing from the publisher except by a

reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Created and produced by Nicholas Harris, Sarah Hartley, Katie Sexton,Ruth Symons and Erica Williams, Orpheus Books Ltd

Text by Ruth Symons

Scientific consultant: Chris Jarvis, Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Illustrated by Martin Camm and Ian Jackson

ISBN 978 1 7418 3790 1

Printed and bound in Singapore

TTHHEENNAATTUURREE YYEEAARR

JJUULLYY

CC OO NN TT EE NN TT SS

THE WORLD - 6 EUROPE- 12

NORTH AMERICA - 14

ASIA - 16

ARCTIC - 8

EUROPE - 10

GALAPAGOS Islands 18

SOUTH AMERICA - 20

INDONESIA - 22

AUSTRALasia - 24

ANTARCTICA - 26

THINGS TO DO - 28

new jerboa artwork

IIN THE NORTHERNhemisphere, July is oftenthe hottest month of the

year. Meanwhile, the southernhemisphere is in the depths ofwinter. In Antarctica, each day is astruggle for survival.

Where it is summer, many plants are still inflower, but fruits and berries are nowstarting to grow. Animals eat as much as theycan in this time of plenty and insects are attheir busiest: butterflies and bumblebees sipnectar from flowers and dragonflies chasetheir prey along riverbanks.

TT HH EEWW OO RR LL DD

ii nn JJ UU LL YY

In a Europeanriver, an ottercub takes its firstswim with itsmother. On thefar side, a cootsits on her nest.Meanwhile, aswallow flies lowover the ground,snatching up aninsect in its beak.

In the northern hemisphere, the breeding season is overfor most animals. Their greatest challenge now is toprotect their vulnerable young from danger.

In the Arctic tundra, young musk oxen are temptingprey for wolves. The adult oxen bunch together aroundtheir young to protect them. So long as the oxen staytogether and do not break rank, their young areprotected by thisformidable wall. The wolves have nochance against thebulky adults, sothey circle thepack, snapping atthe oxen. If theyare lucky, this maystartle an individualinto running away.

6 7

BBY SUMMER, thousands of narwhals havegathered in northern Arctic waters, ready forthe start of their breeding season. Some

males take part in “sword-fights” with their hugetusks—actually spiralling teeth up to three metreslong. The fights are mostly a display of strength, butsometimes they result in injury.

Some older males have been observed withbroken tusks and scarring on theirheads, probably as a result ofthese fights.

AA RR CC TT II CC

BBY MIDSUMMER, badger cubs have begun to play less and eat more. As dusk falls,the badger family leave their sett to go

in search of food. The cubs’ mother nolonger needs to be so attentive, as theyoung badgers are becoming more andmore able to fend for themselves.

The badgers spend the night foraging forinsects, worms and small animals such asmice and birds. Earthworms make up thelargest part of their diet. On warm, dampevenings, worms come to the surface to pullrotting leaves down into the soil. These are thenights when badgers are at their most active. Onebadger may eat up to 200 worms in a single night.

10 11

EE UU RR OO PP EE

EE UU RR OO PP EE

LLAST SUMMER, an adult dragonfly lay her eggs just under the water, on the stalks of a lily. The young dragonflies that hatch out are

called nymphs. Over the year, the nymphs remainedunderwater, hunting insects, tadpoles and smallfish. As they grew, the nymphs shed their skinseveral times.

Now, on a warm day in July, a nymph climbs out of the water and rests on the stem of a plant. It thenhauls itself out of its old skin and emerges as a fully-grown dragonfly in its bright adult colours.

It takes an hour or so for the dragonfly to gainstrength and for its crumpled new wings to flattenout and harden. It flies away as soon as it can.The dragonfly will spend the next few weeksfeeding on insects and looking for a mate. It willthen return to the water to lay its own eggs.

12 13

OOFF THE COAST of western Canada, sockeyesalmon are gathering in their thousands, readyto swim upstream to the waters where they

spawn (give birth). The salmon are met by pods ofhungry killer whales. The whales surround the salmonand drive them towards the coast where they aretrapped. Then they pick them off, one by one.

Killer whales are actually the largest member of thedolphin family. They can communicate via clicks andwhistles in order to hunt together.

NN OO RR TT HH AA MM EE RR II CC AA

IIN THE HOT, dry desert of the Middle East, it is thepeak of the pitted sandgrouse breeding season.Chicks can find food for themselves almost as

soon as they hatch, but cannot yet fly to the nearestwaterhole.

Their father will fly up to 25 kilometres each day just tofind water. Here, he soaks his breast feathers in water.Then he flies back to his chicks who sip the water fromhis feathers.

mm ii dd dd ll ee ee aa ss tt

16 17

AAS NIGHT CLOSES IN, a jerboa bounds across the

desert sand, searching for insects and seeds to eat.During this, the hottest month of the year, it spends

most of its time in a deep underground burrow, onlyventuring out at night. It even plugs the burrow’s entrancewith sand each day to keep out the heat.

EEVERY BREEDING SEASON, male gianttortoises battle for supremacy. As well aswinning the right to mate, dominant males

also have the first pick of food.

When two males meet, they face each other andstretch their necks up as high as they can reach.The tortoise who stretches highest wins, while theother retreats. If neither tortoise backs down,the males may resort to bumping heads andeven biting each other.

The Galapagos giant tortoise is one of thelargest and heaviest reptiles in the world,reaching lengths of nearly two metres. They can live to be over 100 years old.

GG AA LL AA PP AA GG OO SS II SS LL AA NN DD SS A pair of male tortoises engage in a

dominance display, rising up on theirlegs, stretching their necks up andopening their mouths wide.

18 19

SS OO UU TT HH AA MM EE RR II CC AA

TTHE PANTANAL, deep in the heart of South America,is the largest wetland in the world. But during thedry winter, it is no more than a string of shallow

pools. Fish, trapped in tiny pockets of water, are easilypicked off by storks and herons. Capybaras gather at the water’s edge to feed on grasses and water plants. At the first sight of predators—for example, jaguars,caimans and snakes—they dive into the water and swimaway to safety.

Capybaras graze on plants exposed bythe retreating waters while a pair ofringed teal ducks fly overhead.

NN ee ww gg uu ii nn ee aa

TTHE LONG, COLOURFUL plumage of the malebird of paradise makes it highly attractive tofemales of the species. In the winter, males

climb on to branches to perform their courtshipdisplays, throwing their tail feathers over their headsand shaking them to impress the females. Their brightcolours signal to females that the male is healthy andwill produce strong young.

MMEANWHILE,on the sea!shore, a

coconut crab is scaling atall palm tree in search offood. It is huge: its legsspan more than a metre.Adult crabs will drown if they gocompletely underwater, but theymust still keep their gills moist for themto work. They do this by rubbing water overthem with their legs. The crabs usually live in burrows,coming out only at night to forage for fruit or nuts. In the breeding season, the crabs venture out for longer periods while they search for a mate.

After mating, the female lays her fertilized eggs in thesea. When they hatch, the young crabs will spend thefirst part of their lives in the sea.

22 23

AA UU SS TT RR AA LL AA SS II AA

NNESTLED IN ITS BURROW, deep in the forestsof New Zealand, a male kiwi incubates a single,extremely large, white egg. It was laid about a

week ago by his partner. He will sit on the egg for upto three months until it hatches. Young kiwis may takeup to three days to break out of their tough eggs. They then stay with their parents for three weeks.

In Australia and New Guinea, the cassowary, a relativeof the kiwi, is also breeding. Female cassowaries lay aclutch of eggs in the nests of several differentmales. The malesthen incubate theeggs and raisethe chicks untilthey are almost ninemonths old.

A kiwi uses its long beak to manoeuvreits egg into position under its body.

24 25

AA NN TT AA RR CC TT II CC AA

AADELIE PENGUINS spend the Antarctic winter onthe edge of the pack ice, diving for fish and krill.Like all penguins, the Adélies are fast and

graceful swimmers, gliding smoothly through thewater. But they must look out for leopard seals thatpatrol these seas.

Adélie penguins are so fearful of leopard seals thatthey hesitate at the water’s edge, none daring to bethe first to take the plunge. Leopard seals lurk inwaters near the penguins’ fishing grounds and mostlycatch their prey by stealth. But in open water, a lucky

penguin may be able to out-swim the predator.

An Adélie penguin puts on asudden burst of speed to

escape the jaws of aleopard seal.

27

IIN THE winter, wandering albatrosses fly greatdistances across the Southern Ocean in search offood. They may soar hundreds of kilometres in a

single day, using up!currents to keep them aloftwithout even flapping their wings. Albatrosses feed onsquid, octopus and fish, which they catch by flying lowover the water and scooping them up. Sometimes theyeat so much that they are too heavy to fly. They thenhave to rest on the water until their food is digested.

3 The plastic at the open end ofyour viewer may be quite sharp.Cover this edge with some thicktape, or several layers of normalsticky tape, to make it safer.

4 Push the covered end of the viewer beneath thesurface of the water and look through the open end.You will be able to see under the water very clearly.

What animals and plants can you see?

IIf you’re going to the seaside thissummer, this activity is a greatway to look more closely at rock

pools. If not, ask an adult to helpyou scoop a bucket of water from apond or river and use your viewer tosee what’s living in the water.

28

TT hh ii nn gg ss tt oo dd oo ::UU nn dd ee rr ww aa tt ee rr vv ii ee ww ee rr

1 Using scissors, cut both ends offa plastic bottle. Take care, as theedges of the plastic may be sharp.

2 Stretch a clear plastic bag or apiece of cling film tightly acrossone end. Secure it with an elasticband or some sticky tape.

10

20

30

40

50

Stinging nettles

Caterpillar ona leaf

Dropped feathers(from birdsmoulting)

Flying ants

Wildhoneysuckle

See how many of these things that typically happen in Julyyou can spot. Award yourself the points on the right!

30 31

NN aa tt uu rr ee ww aa tt cc hh

1 Find a shady spot outside, forexample, beside a fence or wall,but not too close to yourkitchen or rubbish bins.

2 Stack some bricks into a pileor put out a broken plant pot.Look inside every day to seewhich creatures live there.

LLift up a log or stone in your garden orlocal park and you will probably seelots of mini-beasts living in the dark,

damp space beneath it. To seewhich mini-beasts live near you, try making a “mini-beast home”.

TT hh ii nn gg ss tt oo dd oo ::mm aa kk ee aa mm ii nn ii —— bb ee aa ss tt hh oo mm ee