Creaturekind

In this post I'm going to bring something up that has been on my mind for a while now. For you who live in the UK you will most likely know that seeing a red squirrel is rare however the grey is everywhere. How come it ended up like this?  And what does red squirrel conservation mean for the grey squirrels? To answer the first question we have to look back in time a bit. The UK before 1870 only had one species of squirrels which was the little red one with super cute ear tufts and fuzzy long tails. These speedy little fluffs enjoyed their lives chewing their favourite pine seeds in their very much preferred  coniferous  forests. If the autumn was bountiful they would prepare for winter by gaining some love handles in case the supply of stored fungi, green acorns and hazelnuts grew spares during the chillier time. Also for the females who might later have to eat for two, three or maybe four little ones. Accordingly to the UK Woodland Trust  there were abou...

Because he's my newt. Oh dear puns never get old, or so I think. I also think because t hese fellows are minute therefore they are also very cute! (I will get a better picture one day!) The UK have three native species of newts, great crested, smooth and palmate. All part of the salamander family. Which is huge, more than 500 species! Ranging from sizes of 2.7 cm, the Pygmy salamander, to the 1.8 m Chinese Giant salamander. Back to the newts however they stay in between 9 cm to 17 cm, big enough for the little UK and I believe you can guess which one of the three is the biggest? Yes the great crested newt indeed.  What I didn't know is that newts spend must of their time on land, I've only seen them in water. Although on land they're mainly active during the night which might be why I haven't seen them, another big factor might also be that I haven't looked for them there... All three species are under protection in the UK, the great crested fully prot...

Or is it a toad? Well me for one have been unsure. So I decided to dwell into it a bit. Looking through photos on my laptop I found two types of these four legged creatures. These were taken in the UK, specifically Derbyshire. One I thought was a toad and another I also thought was a toad. However, when investigating this I was surprised to find that the UK only has two types of frogs and two types of toads. I guess it at least makes the identification process a lot easier. Even easier as statically speaking you would most likely see only two of them. I can confirm this myself as those are the only ones I've stumbled upon.  So what do you think, frog or toad? Picture 1 Picture 2 Seeing these next to each other have made me realise that there is quite the difference between them. Picture 1  is the Common Frog   and picture 2  is the Common Toad, well done you if you got it right! I must also tell you the scientific name for the common toad ...

By snail mail!  You guessed it, today's post is going to be about snails. Not just any snail but the quite common brown lipped snail. Look at this little beauty I found this summer. Their scientific name is  Cepaea Nemoralis and their distinctive  feature is the darker coloured line on the front of the shell, the one that runs opposite to the others on this particular individual. The rest of the shell can actually be many different colours, this one is just one of the variations.  Apparently scientists have looked in to why the shells are so different but except from giving camouflage  in different areas there's no telling why they vary so much. Their favourite habitats are woodlands, gardens and as you can see grasslands. This particular one I found in an old mining area near my house which has been turned in to a small nature reserve.  Also, as you know, on rainy days they like to come out of their protective shell and move about. Like...

I have now decided to spread my wings and throw my feelers out on a new social media platform. Well not exactly necessarily new but for this blog it is indeed. Freshly made with the name "creaturekinduk" as creaturekind was already taken. The UK part works well as I'm currently living here and I've thought about writing a bit more about local flora and fauna. At the very moment I don't consider myself an expert in photography however I'm hoping to learn and maybe one day purchase a proper camera. So my Instagram feed might be limited to start off with but I'm so very excited to start a new little journey with this  Instagram account and breath a little life in to this blog that haven't got as much love as it deserves this year. So if you're interested in wildlife, the environment, sustainability and nature in general I'd be super happy if you followed my account @creaturekinduk.  Also please comment below with any Instagram account y...

I've been searching the web thinking what to write about next, somehow struggling even though my head is full of thoughts from articles, conversations and social media spreading out there. Something that I keep mentioning whilst talking about university and future plans is "re-wilding and awareness". I don't know why but I just can't help thinking that there should be a future where no conflicts between wildlife and humans should exist. If anything I'd like to believe that we as an intelligent species come together and for once didn't think about what's yours and mine instead of what is ours. Our planet to share, our planet to enjoy and provide for. So that every generation, creatures and humans alike, can peacefully pace this earth without the anxiety most of us are experience today. Anxiety that will turn in to hard times without no actions and after that, who knows? I must confess that the angry, negative and incredible childish part of me have ...

Fin-land, ba dum tsh I know it's been a while since my last post, somehow time has gone faster lately. But now I'm here and I will continue my sharks tale. This shark is known by many names. Zambezi Shark, Nicaragua Shark, and Ganges River Shark are some of them. Mainly based of the location where they hang out. The name we all know it by is however the bull shark. Most people would also say it's one of the most dangerous shark species, maybe even more so then the great white. I've also read that it's pretty much the garbage bin of the sea as it likes to try a bite of everything, might be where the rumour of being the most aggressive shark comes from as well. Picture taken from Wikipedia As in many cases of nature the female is bigger, range between 180cm to 230cm but have in extreme cases been recorded to be over 3 meters. While the male ranges between 157cm to 226cm. Despite their size they're surprisingly agile as they can reach the speed of 11...