Endangered Species
Endangered species are animals or plants or any life form (from fungi (eg mushrooms) to bacteria (tiny living cells)) that are at risk of dying out or becoming extinct (lost from our planet). What animals can you think of that are extinct? Illustration from mentalfloss.com You might think of animals like dinosaurs, dodos, wooly mammoths or saber-tooth tigers. How many others can you think of and what can you find out about them? The enormous Steller’s Sea Cow is extinct. Illustration by Pieter Arend Fokens from reddit.com Animals and other life forms did not just become...
Read MoreHedgehogs
A sick hedgehog joined our growing menagerie on Wednesday. I haven’t seen one close up for years, only a few unfortunate squashed individuals on the doorstep. It was the archetypal ‘Mrs Tiggywinkle’ with sparkling eyes and a wet snuffling nose. Well that was on day two, on day two it looked totally dejected. It quickly rolled into a ball when we picked it up, displaying it’s wonderful anti-predation tactic. This evolutionary behaviour is ingenious, but doesn’t outwit a car. Being given this sick hedgerow sparked a home-school project with our...
Read MoreLet’s Make the World Wild
While running the length of South America, we spoke to two amazing people, Kris and the late Doug Tompkins. Over the last twenty years they had conserved over two million acres of wilderness (more than any other private individuals in the world) in Chile and Argentina. Their motive, they said, was simply “To pay our rent for living on this planet.’ We ran through two of their parks, which they have since bequeathed to the Chilean government as fully functioning, restored and re-wilded national parks; Parque Pumalin and Parque Patagonia. The parks are breath-taking natural...
Read MoreSaving Orangutans
Asian rainforests in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia are being chopped down and burnt so that palm oil can be grown instead. This story book shows what happens when palm oil plantations replace rainforest This is a big problem. Those rainforests are ancient; some of the oldest rainforests on the planet. They are home to incredible tree species and plants. These trees and plants in turn support all kinds of amazing animals such as butterflies the size of plates, orangutans, rafflesia flowers, clouded leopards, rhinoceros hornbills, Sumatran tigers, Sumatran rhinoceros and Bornean...
Read MoreForbes Article: Lessons on Business & Life from Running a Continent
Lovely article in Forbes by Danielle Rossingh:- David Lowrie was 30 years old and climbing up the ranks as a management consultant at accounting firm Accenture in the City of London. But increasingly weary of the lifestyle and lack of work-life balance that come with working for a large international company, Lowrie embarked on a radical career change with his partner, Katherine, an ecologist. Both keen runners, the British couple became the first people to have run the Amazon Basin, clocking up 6,504 miles in a journey that started in freezing temperatures at the southern-most tip of the...
Read MorePublished Today!- Running South America with my Husband and other animals
Spring accompanied us, unfurling her new leaves and blossoms and emptying her dizzying fragrances into the valleys, forests and mountains. My mood soared. Night arrived later and later as the sun refused to set. So the bustle in the woods and rivers continued: the local frog quartet clattered and tapped, a South American snipe rose high in its courtship display, shuddering notes through reverberating tail feathers in great arcs above our tent. While one side of the world awoke, we gently fell asleep. This is an extract from Running South America with my Husband and other animals which is out...
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