Meet 5 rare and endangered animals—from sea stars to stick insects—fighting for survival and deserve their time in the spotlight. We bet you have heard about sea turtles, tigers, orangutans or even axolotls. These endangered animals are frequently featured in public education, conservation campaigns, documentaries, and children’s media, making them highly recognisable outside of scientific or environmental circles. However, there are so many unusual, critically endangered animals that you might not have heard of who deserve their shot in the spotlight. With a focus on endangered species conservation, let's look at five lesser-known endangered animals from around the globe.  Mountain Pygmy Possum There are many rare Australian animals, and two features on this list. The first is the mountain pygmy-possum, Australia’s only hibernating marsupial. They were thought to be extinct until 1966 when they were rediscovered on Mt Hotham.  Population : 950 adults Range :  Three populations in south-eastern Australia between Mt. Bogong and Mt. Higginbotham, Victoria, Mt. Buller, Victoria and Kosciuszko, New South Wales.   Threats : Reduction of food source, climate change, loss of habitats and predators.  Conservation :  NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service  are working with Saving our Species to protect key habitat during planned and unplanned fire events, controlling pest animals and tracking the possum numbers and health over time.  The Mountain Pygmy-possum Recovery Team  is focusing on the decline of the Bogong Moth, the Mountain pygmy-possum's key diet.  Lord Howe Island Stick-insect The Lord Howe Island stick-insect, or tree lobster insect, is one of the rarest insects in the world. Up until 2001, they were thought to be extinct after a ship wrecked on the island in 1912 bringing with it an invasion of black rats that decimated the population.   Population : 9-23 adults  Range : Ball's Pyramid, a volcanic outcrop off Lord Howe Island, Australia Threats : Invasive plants and non-native predators Conservation : Melbourne Zoo spearheads a captive breeding programme which has seen zoos throughout America, Canada, and the UK take part. In 2019, the   Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Project  culled black rats from the island, which has allowed the Lord Howe Island stick insect a chance to flourish.  Sunflower Sea Star Perhaps one of the endangered animals you have never heard of is the sunflower sea star? This Pacific Ocean marine invert has up to 24 limbs and is the largest, fastest and most endangered sea star.  Population : 600 million Range : Eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to California Threats :  Sea star wasting syndrome has wiped out 99.2% of the population. Other threats include ocean acidification, water pollution, dredging and coastal development.  Conservation : The Aquarium of the Pacific  is working with other organisations to monitor and conduct cross-fertilisation and spawning studies.  Galápagos Pink Land Iguana The Galápagos pink land iguana is one of the most unique reptiles of Galápagos and an unusual, critically endangered animal.  Despite only being recognised as a species in 2009, this amazing creature is thought to have diverged from other land iguana species in Galapagos approximately 5.7 million years ago, making it one of the oldest examples of evolutionary diversification in Galápagos.  Population : 211 individuals  Range : On the Northern slopes of the volcano, Volcán Wolf, on Isla Isabela, Galápagos  Threats : Animals preying on eggs, drought and volcanic eruptions Conservation : Fieldwork is currently being carried out on the volcano as well as Galápagos Pink Land Iguana breeding and nesting behaviours  African Penguin The African penguin population is in decline, losing 99% of its population over the last century, with predictions of an additional 80% loss over the next three generations. These small penguins act as an indicator species, where the size and health of a colony reflect the ecosystem. Population :  9,900 pairs Range : Namibia and South Africa  Threats : Food shortages, climate change, human interference and pollution  Conservation : To mitigate the threats to African penguins, efforts have been put in place to ensure safe nesting, flood prevention across breeding sites, rescuing oiled, starving or injured birds and minimising human disturbance around the colonies.  Is your group studying endangered animals? If so, speak to a member of our team about how we can help.

ZooLab animals come from around the world! Let's look at Christmas traditions around the world. 1) The Christmas Bram Belizeans have their version of carolling! The Christmas Bram is when people spread Christmas cheer by going door to door, dancing and singing to Brokdong music. 2) Polaznik Like Scotland's New Year's Day tradition of first footing, the first person to enter a Montenegrin's house on Christmas morning must be male. He is known as the polaznik and is symbolic of the three wise men; it is said that he brings luck and wealth into the home. 3) Dadabe Noely In Madagascar, Santa Claus is called 'Dadabe Noely', which means Grandfather Christmas. 4) Nollaig na mBan The 6th January in Ireland is Nollaig na mBan, Women's Christmas. Traditionally, on the this day men would take over the household duties to allow the women to see friends and relax as a thank you for all their hard work over the festive period. 5) Performing Christmas in Tonga is much simpler, with a strong focus on spirituality. Instead of gift-giving, Tongans share their talents by getting together to perform. 6) Los Reyes Magos In Spain, children aren't visited by Santa but by his helpers Los Reyes Magos (the three wise men). Three Kings Day is celebrated on the 6th of January, with the king leaving presents for good children to open in the morning. 7) KFC KFC is the Christmas meal of choice in Japan. The BBC reports that 3.6 million Japanese families treat themselves to a KFC during the festive period. 8) Aguinaldo In Brazil and Costa Rica it is the law for employees to receive a Christmas bonus. 9) 24 Hour Daylight Scientists in Antarctica are treated to 24 hour of daylight in parts of the continent due to Christmas falling just after the Winter Solstice. 10) Akubra Santa in Australia wears akubra hat, thong shoes and rides in a ute pulled by kangaroos.

Nature is amazing! It has been influencing scientific and engineering discovery for decades. Scientists take inspiration from plant and animal adaptations to design nature-inspired solutions to develop machines, technology, buildings and even medicine. When nature inspires humans to create something new, it is called biomimicry. We will look at five animals that have been the muse for biomimicry solutions. Biomimicry Stenocara Beetle Life in the desert is hard! The stenocrara beetle has adapted to survive in this extreme environment by evolving to have a bumpy exoskeleton that condenses and catches water in the air and then funnels it to the beetle's mouth. Humans have taken this idea to help them survive in the desert. Designers created nets and sheets with the same bumpy texture and wax-like qualities for us to be able to collect condensing water. Spiders Spider webs are strong, flexible, and lightweight. Proportionally, it's stronger than steel! It can elongate to 5 times its relaxed length, and if you spun a strand of it around the world and brought it all together, it'd weigh no more than 500 grams! Scientists are trying to make this silk but thus far have yet to be successful synthetically. They have got close to synthesising the protein in goat's milk, but the methods of creating usable strands for construction or medical purposes are still being trialled. Geckos Many geckos have sticky toes that help them climb on almost all surfaces! What makes them stick aren’t suckers but hundreds of thousands of hairs called satae. The vast surface area of these hairs allows the Van Der Waals forces, the static forces between molecules, to kick in and enable the lizard to climb on all surfaces. This adhesive property is again something that scientists have recreated in labs for uses in artificial adhesion. They have already created tapes and tabs using this dry adhesive material. Sharks Sharks have tiny bumpy scales that lock together called dermal denticles. These help reduce drag, allowing sharks to swim faster. Human swimmers have benefited from this design in swimwear that will enable them to increase their speed. The formation of shark denticles prevents bacteria and other growths from attaching, causing them to be anti-microbial. Humans have copied this to create materials with similarly rough scales to line the bottom of boats and ships to keep them incredibly streamlined and smooth and reduce algae and barnacle adhesion by up to 85%. Hospitals are using a technology called Sharklet™ to create antibacterial surfaces for high touch points, helping to reduce the spread of superbugs. Tree Frogs Tree frogs have special toe pads with hexagonal patterned channels on their feet that build an adhesion force when in contact with a wet surface. Scientists at Leeds University designed a tiny robot inspired by tree frogs that aid in surgery. This robot moves across the internal abdominal wall of a patient, allowing surgeons to see what they are doing on a real-time video feed. The tree frog's feet solve the critical problem of holding the device onto wet, slippery tissue when it is vertical or upside down.

I have just returned from the Island nation of Trinidad (and Tobago)! I was lucky enough to stay in the world-famous William Beebe research station. It’s a Victorian style building located up a mountain in the Arima valley amongst dense rainforest. Small ponds are located in the grounds, populated by guppies. In fact, it’s possible that most guppies found in captivity share their ancestry with these wild guppies! William Beebe is most famous for being the inventor of the Bathysphere - a steel sphere used for exploring the depths of the ocean.    Trinidad is located just a few miles from the coast of Venezuela and gives ample opportunity for species to make their way across to the islands. It is an island with mainland ecology, and therefore a paradise for naturalists. I have a few species that I always look for... The Bushmaster is the longest viper in the world and can reach lengths of 12 feet long. Its venom can be considered as one of the worst - the venom itself is a mix of proteolytic, anti-coagulant, haemorrhagic, and neurotoxic proteins. (You should still have a few hours to get to a hospital, however). The only wild cat in Trinidad is the Ocelot - a beautiful medium sized spotted cat, that's as stunning as it is rare. I have never seen one and really doubt I’ll get lucky enough for a sighting.   On this trip I did manage to see an animal that's arguably much, much harder to see...   Most evenings I would walk down the trail, keeping a keen eye out for snakes, bats, spiders.... anything that moves. I hadn't gone very far when I noticed something slowly crawling along one of the steep banks that are either side of the path. It was a pink caterpillar looking creature. When I looked closely, I saw long antenna and a large number of legs! I had just found a 'grail' animal! It was a velvet worm! These prehistoric animals date back 400-540 million years and are exactly the same as the fossils that have been found. These things are straight up weird... they give live birth to a single baby that can be 40% of the mothers body mass, the pregnancy is around 13 months! They are predatory, hunting by shooting a glue-like substance to trap its prey. It then feeds at its leisure, and they don't come out to feed often - around once a month. DNA suggests velvet worms could be the common ancestor to both crabs and spiders! To most it's just an odd-looking worm, but to those who know about them realise it’s like seeing a unicorn! I’ve travelled to many rainforests all over the world, but I never expected to see one, so finding one was an awesome experience.   The first snakes I saw were Tree Boas coiled up in the overhanging mangrove trees. These are pretty common in Caroni swamp, a huge 12,000-acre mangrove forest, consisting of large lagoons, marshes and mudflats. It's teaming with life, so tree boas are almost guaranteed. One of the lesser seen animals is the silky anteater, the smallest anteater in the world. During daylight hours they sleep amongst the thinner mangrove branches. They look a lot like a brown tennis ball stuck in a tree. In the dark they will wake up and go in search of food of choice - termites. I got a great sighting of an Osprey, drying itself in the sun. The draw to this swamp, however, is the roosting of Trinidad's national bird, the Scarlet Ibis. These strikingly vibrant birds come from miles around and congregate in their thousands. It’s quite the spectacle. These birds are protected the right way, with extremely harsh punishments. If you are found with a single Scarlet Ibis feather you could be given a fine for a few thousand pounds, if you are suspected of poaching an Ibis then it could be 10 years in prison.    Bush Bush Island is another of Trinidad's protected areas. It’s more of a peninsular nestled inside a large marsh than an actual island, it’s one of the few places in Trinidad you can reliably see the Red Howler Monkey. This area was paramount to the reintroduction of the Blue and Gold Macaw. It's dominated by huge Fig trees, even larger silk-cotton trees, and the occasional smaller palm species. Some of the palms had their fronds cut so they hung down, hiding underneath were tent-making Bats, that bite the leaves to use them as shelter. One of my favourite parts of Bush Bush Island is an area of about 1km where, under the leaf litter, is a layer of seashells. If you dig it, goes down about 18 inches before you get to soil. This is not a natural deposit of shells, as among the shells are small shards of pottery. The whole area is a trash pile left behind by the native Arawak people hundreds or thousands of years ago. No research has been done to find out exactly how long ago it was inhabited.    Tamana cave is a well-hidden natural wonder. You need to walk up the side of a small mountain and about halfway up, obscured by the undergrowth, is an entrance. Living inside the dark caverns are millions of bats, covering the walls, ceiling, and the air around you. Around 12 species of bat can be found inside, using some of the possible 20 miles of unmapped and unexplored darkness. It's quite hard to explain what being surrounded by millions of bats is like, but I'd describe it as being inside a living tornado, where all the debris avoids touching you.    Some other highlight species seen were a 'Bootlace' snake, one of the smallest snakes on the planet. It was just sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor in the research centre. These rarely seen snakes are around the thickness of the lead out of a pencil. They're normally underground living in small burrows and they specialise on feeding on ants and termites. I finally saw the Bearded Bell Bird, which I have heard many times but never got close enough to see it. The reason for this, like the howler monkey is to communicate over long distances in thick habitation, and so pinpointing the animals exact location can be difficult. I managed to get a photo close enough that I could see where the name 'Bearded Bell Bird' came from. Thankfully its only a short time before I can visit this small island paradise again, and I will be keeping my eyes open for more unusual animals!

Hi! My name is Elle. I came to ZooLab after working in an education setting for nine years. I'm excited to share why our work is essential for others in education. Here at ZooLab, we have carefully tailored our fun and engaging workshops to coincide with the National Curriculum. Let's take a closer look at some of our sessions as examples of how we can help you meet curriculum coverage through enriching hands-on experiences. Workshop: Habitats ​ZooLab’s Habitat workshop introduces pupils to different habitats from around the world: including tropical rainforests, deserts, polar regions and oceans. This hands-on workshop looks at three great survivors; rats, cockroaches and humans and considers how and why they have survived. So how does this workshop enrich the National Curriculum ? Habitats occur in the National Science Curriculum through the topic of ‘living things and their habitats’. However, cross-curricular links are made with Geography across various key stages, allowing children more time to explore, learn and find answers through fieldwork. With science now having a heavy focus on pupils working scientifically, fieldwork- such as outdoor learning, helps give pupils opportunities to meet these objectives and have long-lasting, fun experiences at school. At ZooLab, children partake in ethical, hands-on experiences by handling animals they will not see in the wilds of the UK, instilling a curiosity in children which they can take into their local area. Fieldwork allows pupils to get close to nature, taking their learning away from traditional book reading. Schools seek to give children time in nature through forest school programmes, which promote the holistic development of all involved. At ZooLab, we can complete our workshops in outdoor settings where the weather allows; this helps us draw attention to the habitats of our animals with clear, natural visuals, drawing comparisons between different countries and what we see around us. It is always a pleasure to allow our giant African millipedes to wander around on the leafy ground to help us demonstrate how their segments qualify flexibility across their bodies as they forage. Suppose your school has a forest area or any green space outside. In that case, this can be a suitable outdoor classroom in which children can inspect for different habitats to either precede or follow our habitats workshop. ZooLab also has a range of free, printable resources which support our sessions. So how do we make learning accessible within this workshop? At ZooLab, we cover a wide geographical area within England and parts of Scotland and Wales. In some cases, delivering workshops in areas where green spaces are limited and air pollution is higher. I am always mindful when delivering our workshops that not all children have access to nature as easily as others; therefore are coming to school with different prior knowledge. Vocabulary will differ between inner-city academies and outer-city village schools, so I aim to adapt my approach to support the teaching of curriculum-based terminology. As a ranger, I consider that geographical placement might make school time a child’s primary exposure to a tadpole-filled pond, woodlouse-covered logs and worm-rich soil. If you have any specific requirements, feel free to discuss your class's needs and prior experiences before the workshop. The animals we handle during our sessions originate in Africa, Asia and Australia, often seen as these fantastic, far-away destinations. I understand that not all pupils will have access to the internet or television to see real-life images of our animals’ habitats which is why I use ZooLab’s 5-minute digital video with bright, engaging pictures and animations for our habitats workshop. These give children baseline images to build their learning as we talk through 4-6 different habitats. This video can be played at the start of the workshop or before ZooLab visit as an introduction to the topic.

Animals at risk have seen their habitats threatened by humans and our everyday activities, so it comes down to all of us to do our part to save them. You might not have a rainforest on your doorstep, but there’s still plenty you can do to help conserve your local wildlife in your back garden. Trees and Plants Trees are often cut down to make room for our houses, roads, and farms. Native trees are crucial for our planet. Not only do they absorb harmful gasses from the air and provide us with clean oxygen, but they are an important habitat for our local wildlife. One of the best ways to help regrow this environment and help local wildlife thrive is to replant native trees to rebuild that habitat. But this can be a big task, and not everyone has the space to plant a tree. You can also help by being mindful and aware. If you are walking in local woodland, stick to the paths to help reduce human traffic through nature’s turf. If you have to go off the track for whatever reason, keep a close eye on where you’re stepping and what you are touching so you don’t disturb anything you shouldn’t. Bugs and Birds It is not just habitat loss that puts the critters in our gardens at risk, however. They also suffer from pollution and climate change, but there are things we can do to help them out. Feeders are a great way to encourage local birds, especially in the winter. They help to keep the birds that don't migrate away warm and healthy, especially now that climate change is affecting so many of their food sources. Likewise, you may want to build a place for other animals in the garden to rest. Bee hotels and hedgehog homes are great ideas for our winter hibernators, where frog ponds and bat boxes can help give a safe space to animals whose homes are under threat. Energy and Water There is plenty we can do to tackle climate change at its root cause. By doing so, we can help keep our plants healthy and have a positive effect on conservation efforts. We can keep an eye on what resources we are using and try our best to cut down on the most harmful ones. Electricity and water are two resources that come to us at the push of a button and the turn of a tap, but sometimes we use more of these resources than we need. Be aware of ‘vampire devices’ that use energy while they are on standby and switch them off at the wall. Likewise, try taking a little less time in the show to reduce water consumption. It might be nice to spend some extra time under the water, but the energy needed to heat the water and pump it in through the shower can have a big impact. Also, keep an eye out for dripping taps to save as much water as possible! Wildlife Conservation: In Conclusion… Conservation may seem big and daunting, but there are small things that you can easily do from home. Even small tasks can have a giant impact on the future plants, animals, and even the future humans on planet Earth.

As the weather gets colder and winter begins to take hold, you might notice that a familiar visitor is missing from the garden. Bees are one of our best and most significant pollinators. In spring and summer, they are kept extremely busy by helping our gardens to flourish. They support 80% of pollination worldwide, and they are essential for helping many of the plants grow. However we look at it, bees are crucial for life all around the world. But bees are also at risk of climate change destroying their habitats, changing their behaviours and affecting their chances of survival. We must learn as much as we can about bees so we can continue to help them survive the changing climate. Where do bees go in the winter? A common Google Search is 'Where Do Bees Go in the Winter? '. Unfortunately, most bees die in autumn. They can’t survive the cold temperatures, and their food sources disappear. Despite this, some do have ways of staying alive. Queen bumblebees eat as much as they can in autumn before finding a comfortable area of loose soil underground. Here, the queen will hibernate over the winter months. They will wake up in March or April ready to find a new site for a hive and start producing worker bees. Solitary bees have a different strategy. Female solitary bees lay their eggs in springtime, and by autumn, these eggs will have grown from grubs to fully-grown bees. Even though the bees are fully developed, they don’t emerge from their cocoons yet. Instead, they stay wrapped up cosily until the following spring. What do bees eat? Mostly, bees will eat pollen and nectar, but that’s not all they have been known to eat. Depending on the type of bee, they have been seen eating over-ripe fruit, fluids from other insects and, in some cases, even meat. Do bees sleep? They do! Honeybees get between 5 and 8 hours of sleep a day. How do bees fly? The little wings bees have shouldn’t be keeping a bee in the air. Yet they work incredibly well. Their wings are flexible and twist and rotate as they fly. They do quick flaps from front to back. Not only does this help them get off the ground, but it produces the buzzing sound that can be heard when a bee flies past. Can bees smell? Not only can bees smell, they do it exceptionally well. A bee’s sense of smell is powerful, and they use it to communicate. They can use their sense of smell to find food, defend the hive from sickness and even identify bees from other hives. The sense of smell is so strong and accurate that some bees are trained as ‘sniffer bees’ by humans, seeking out dangerous items or substances in return for food-based rewards. How do bees communicate? If smell is only one-way bees communicate, how else do they do it? They dance! In 1973, a scientist named Karl von Frisch won the Nobel Prize partly for figuring out the language of bees. He noticed that bees used a dancing motion to direct other bees to food sources. Why are bees important? Bees are essential to our survival. They pollinate our food crops and ensure there is enough food for us. Without them, it is estimated that farmers in the UK would have to pay £1.8 billion to pollinate the crops that bees will happily do for free. It is not only the plants we eat that they support, but wild plants that animals rely on. Without the bees, our ecosystem would collapse, and nature would struggle to continue. Our world needs bees, and it is becoming more vital than ever that we help them survive. How can you help the bees? Luckily, there are a few things we can all do to help support the bee population. Why not: - Build a bee hotel. Bees need a dry shelter to rest and hibernate in. Build them a dry den with lots of little tunnels and places to hide. - Plant bee-friendly plants. Many plants produce high levels of nectar and can help make your garden more bee-friendly. Plants such as bluebells, clovers and honeysuckle are all great flowers that bees will love. - Stop using pesticides. Pesticides may help to remove harmful bugs from plants, but they also harm the bees and other pollinators. There are different ways to remove pests which will still allow the bee population to thrive.

It fascinates me how many superheroes (and villains) are based around animals and their unique abilities. BATman, SPIDERman, ANTman - its clear that the animal kingdom highly influences the creators of the superheroes we see on the big screen. What's interesting is that there are a huge number of animals with real superpowers! Animal Superheroes Spider Man Spiderman is a favourite, and rightfully so. He can cast webs and swing through the city, which makes him so popular; real (non-radioactive) spiders, of course, have this ability. Real spiders don't need to swing from building to building; they can fly away! Ballooning (or kiting) is where a spider releases a long strand of silk; its surface area can get caught in the wind and has enough force for the spider to become airborne! Silk is regarded as one of the most robust materials on earth and has a stronger tensile strength than steel (its density is 1/6th of steel). It's so light that a strand going around the earth would only weigh 500g and to lift a human; the silk would only need to be 0.9mm thick! The golden orb-web spider (a species widespread throughout the tropics) has the strongest silk, and its web can catch birds! Tribal peoples harvest the web and use it as a fishing line! My favourite Spiderman story is where the spider D.N.A. starts to corrupt Peter Parker, and he slowly turns into a giant man-spider! Thor Thor doesn't have a direct animal for his inspiration, but surprisingly, some animals can produce light and electricity. Bioluminescence is relatively common in the natural world. Fungi and jellyfish can glow when required, and even here in the U.K., you can encounter glowworms (they are, in fact, beetle larvae). Glowing generally aids in locating each other. Some deep-sea shrimp have a bioluminescent smoke screen to confuse predators. However, the animal that gives the greatest shock is the electric eel (it's not an eel but is more closely related to a knifefish); they produce an alternating current of up to 860 volts! For reference, the socket in your wall will give 120-240 volts, and a taser will produce 1200 volts. However, there's another animal that even tops the electric eel. The small and unassuming pistol shrimp has another unique ability. It has one very small and one massive claw. The giant claw can snap shut with such tremendous force it creates an air bubble, which then collapses into itself, the pressure results in a blast of light and temperatures of 8000F! That's close to the temperature of the sun's surface! If that's not a superpower, then I don't know what it is! Wolverine Wolverine has always been a popular character, rough around the edges with a bad attitude and never willing to back away from a fight. Wolverines are the largest land-dwelling mustelid, fundamentally a giant stoat. Up to 25kg in weight, they are a force to be reckoned with. When I think of tough, scrappy animals, only one other spring to mind: the Ratel (honey badger). These African animals have got a reputation that's fully deserved. They will attack lions, leopards and even passing 4x4 jeeps! They can take cobra bites as a minor inconvenience. The character Wolverine has super healing powers, too, and he's also got a metal skeleton made of the fictional adamantium. Believe it or not, animals have metal parts of their body! The tropical leaf-cutting ants have a tough job chewing through the leaves of trees and other plants; their jaws need to be kept super sharp, and they achieve this by having their jaws reinforced with zinc and manganese infused with proteins. The metal can take up to 20% of their body weight in some species! Jean Grey Jean Grey is a psychic character; she can sense others' feelings and locate people; there are animals with similar superpowers, too. Dolphins have a highly developed echolocation ability; they can see through the density of objects, including us! A pregnant woman swimming with dolphins often gets extra attention from the animals. Dolphin sonar will allow them to see the developing baby inside the woman, which piques their interest! There are even cases where dolphins have assisted with the human's birth! What is spectacular is that dolphins communicate via echolocation, and evidence suggests that they may use a 'sono-pictorial' or 'holographic' language, meaning that one dolphin can put a picture or idea into another dolphin's head!! Imagine that! Because if a dolphin can, they can share that thought!

It’s Dementia Action Week, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Our rangers often visit care homes and care settings (accompanied by their animal team), so this is an important topic for us to shed some light on! All rangers are also ‘Dementia Friends’ and trained on how to communicate and help in the best way they can.   What is Dementia and Alzheimer’s? Dementia is a general term for losing memory and other cognitive abilities. Alzheimer’s is a specific brain disease that is the most common form of dementia.   Most people will know someone in their lives who has been affected, and as you can imagine, it is challenging; the symptoms massively interfere with daily life.   How can animal therapy play its part? Animal therapy can help improve the sense of well-being and quality of life.   Regular animal therapy sessions have been shown to delay the progression of symptoms in people living with dementia, including agitation, aggression and depression. Levels of stress and anxiety are also vastly reduced in those who spend regular time with pets and other animals, as well as an improvement in a person’s confidence and self-esteem. It can strengthen social bonds and encourage socialisation. Meaningful activities that promote engagement are important for people, especially those with dementia; animal therapy has been proven to be particularly beneficial. Spending time with animals is a fun activity that can be done as part of a social group, stimulating conversation and interaction to promote a home-like unit atmosphere. Visits from animals can be an exciting part of a person’s day and provide something to look forward to. Spending time with animals can improve brain function  Animal therapy can help to improve short-term memory, trigger long-term memory and enhance communication skills, even in those with dementia. Some care homes have found that visits from animals make their residents more alert and engaged with the world around them. Animal therapy is a calming activity that reduces dangerous situations Spending time around animals is proven to significantly reduce blood pressure and have a calming effect on people. Those living with dementia - due to heightened levels of confusion, depression, and anxiety - can get themselves into dangerous situations, but this is reduced if they feel calm and relaxed. Animals improve people’s nutrition and mobility When we feel calm and our emotional needs have been met, we feel more equipped to handle day-to-day tasks, like eating, drinking enough water, and exercising. This is particularly difficult for people with dementia, who often feel agitated or depressed. With regular animal therapy sessions, you can ensure that their mental well-being is taken care of. Want to find out more about ZooLab’s Animal Therapy sessions? Get in touch !

This World Oceans Day, we thought we’d take a journey through the different layers of the ocean and the animals that live there. The ocean covers about 70% of Earth’s surface, and 94% of wildlife lives here, producing over half the planet’s oxygen. Oceans feed us, support wildlife, help our economy, and more, yet they are under threat. 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year and overfishing endangers countless numbers of animals like sharks. Animals From Every Layer Of The Ocean Sunlight Zone – Sea Turtles The sunlight zone, or the photic zone, is the top layer of the ocean. It is home to the majority of aquatic wildlife. Sunlight penetrates this level up to around 200m, and the warmth allows phytoplankton to photosynthesise.   The sunlight zone is also home to animals like the sea turtle. There are seven different species of sea turtles, and they have been around for around 100 million years. They spend the majority of their lives in the water and are actually a migratory species. The entire ocean ecosystem is supported by sea turtles, who help maintain coral reefs and other aquatic biomes.   Twilight Zone – Jellyfish We’re about 200m below the surface now. We find lots of funky marine life here and, in particular, we find a lot of jellyfish. These crazy looking creatures have no brain, no heart, no bones and no blood - they’re 98% water! When they become stressed, their cells undergo a very special process, where they become brand new again! These jellies could prove very important to scientific and medical research, particularly in the fight against aggressive diseases like cancer.   Jellyfish have been around for a really long time; although fossils of these guys are hard to come by, evidence suggests the earliest jellies could have been floating around about 600 million years ago!   Midnight Zone – Frilled shark We’re about 1000m below the surface here. As the name suggests, the midnight zone is also very dark. It’s so dark, we don’t get much, if any, plant life. So, all the animals found here are either predators or scavengers. Some really cool sharks live in this zone, like the frilled shark.   Frilled sharks get their name from their frilly gills, which are placed far back on their bodies. They swim similarly to an eel or snake, but they have been known to lunge at prey and swallow them whole. These sharks give birth to live young, and once born, the young sharks can survive completely on their own.   The Abyss – Dumbo Octopus The abyss is 3000-6000m below the surface of the ocean. It is the largest environment for life on Earth. Lots of large animals like sharks can be found in the abyss, but so can smaller animals like tiny fish and shrimp. As this zone is so deep and vast, the sunlight cannot penetrate it, and it’s very dark. Because of this darkness, a lot of animals utilise a very special adaptation; bioluminescence! These unique animals have phosphorescent cells, and this is why certain animals appear to glow bright (often blue) colours in the dark waters.   Other interesting animals live in the abyssal layer, like the Dumbo Octopus! These octopi are the deepest living genus of their species, living at around 13,000 feet below sea level. They use their big, ear-like fins to propel themselves through the water. Due to the scarcity of life at this level, they always have eggs at different stages of development in their bodies and store sperm for long periods after mating to maximise the chances of reproduction. Trenches - Barrel Amphipod The surface of the ocean is far from smooth. With lots of curves, edges, cliffs and holes,  got lots cliffs and holes – and even mountains and volcanos – this layer marks the ocean’s trenches. The Mauna Kea Volcano in Hawaii, for example, begins on the ocean floor, extending 6000m below the surface. The ocean floor also has many deep trenches – The Mariana Trench is the deepest location on Earth; in fact, it’s over 36,000 ft deep! Life here can be tough. The pressure is 1000x greater than on the surface, there’s no sunlight, and it’s freezing cold.   Most animals avoid this hostile habitat, but there are some, like the Barrel Amphipod, which have interesting survival techniques. These deep-sea crustaceans cling onto salps with their sharp claws, ripping apart the soft tissue. After the salp has died, the amphipod shelters inside the carcass, reshaping it into a barrel and toughening the structure with chemicals secreted from its body. Ocean Floor – Sea cucumber We’ve finally reached the bottom! The structure of the sea floor is often dictated by tectonic plates, which move and shift over time. Most sea beds are covered in layers of marine sediments, made up of varying combinations of land sediment, biological organisms, sediment from chemical reactions, and cosmic sediment.   The variety of animals that live on the sea floor is called ‘Benthos’ and includes animals like sea cucumbers. They are in the same class are sea urchins and starfish, and there are over 1,000 species of sea cucumber.  They feed on tiny waste particles floating in the water and have up to 30 tentacles to catch their food.   Want to learn more about the ocean? Contact us today for more info on our Oceans workshop !

In celebration of ZooLab's new primary workshop, Oceans , we will look at ten interesting facts about oceans we've learned while researching our new script. 1) The ocean covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface. 2) The Pacific Ocean is the largest, covering 30% of the Earth’s surface and containing over half the world’s water. The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean but is approximately half the size of the Pacific. 3) A blue whale tongue is heavier than an elephant - it weighs 2,449 kg 4) The Pacific Ocean is home to the “Ring of Fire” – an area which accounts for 75% of the world’s volcanic activity 5) The mid-oceanic ridge is the longest mountain range, at 65,000km 6) Coral reefs are like the ocean's rainforests– formed over millions of years from dead marine life and help keep the sea clean. 7) The Great Barrier Reef is about the size of Germany and is home to approximately 450 coral species and 1,500 fish species. 8) The average ocean depth is 2 miles, but the deepest trench is approximately 7 miles. 9) Spider crabs pick up and carry bits of rock, seaweed and shell to use as disguises. 10) The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an accumulation of harmful plastics about the size of South Africa.

The Philippines is one of the world’s 17 most biologically rich countries. With plentiful rainforests and islands across the country, it’s no wonder that many endemic species live there. Despite this, it is also a hotspot of biodiversity loss, and has one of the largest numbers of species affected by extinction. So, come with us to discover some of the Philippine animals that call this place home. Two lies, one truth - the Philippine flying lemur is not a lemur and doesn’t fly  Endemic to the Southern Philippines, the Philippine flying lemur spends most of their life in the Rainforest canopy. Leaping from trees, they can glide around 70 metres.  Deadly: The Jungle centipede is the only species of centipede that has caused human death Its venom contains phospholipase A2, serotonin, and acidic proteins, which cause pain, swelling, necrosis and possible Systemic reactions and, in rare cases, death. Mind your manners! The Philippine cobra spits at attackers  This species is 1 of 14 that spits venom, and it can shoot its neurotoxin up to 10ft. Iconic! Butanding have a day dedicated to them Butanding, whale sharks, are celebrated internationally annually on 30th August. As the largest fish in our oceans, Butanding are incredibly important to our marine ecosystems; however, numbers are falling.  The Philippines has the second largest population and can be spotted around Onsol town in Sorsogon Province, Oslob town in Cebu Island Province, Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte, and Puerto Princesa City in Palawan Island. They are so celebrated in the Philippines that they feature on the 100 peso bill.  The Philippine eagle keeps the rainforest in check  National bird, the Philippine eagle, is one of the rarest eagles in the world and can only be seen on 4 islands in the Philippines- Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao.  As apex predators, giant Philippine eagles help the rainforest ecosystem thrive by keeping mammal, lizard, and bird populations in check. Atlas moths only survive on what they ate as caterpillars Atlas moths are one of the largest insects on the planet. Their wingspan can grow to up to 27cm across, which is larger than human hands! Despite this mammoth growth, they never develop fully formed mouths during their cocoon stage. This means that they can only survive on what they stored up as caterpillars - this is usually 1-2 weeks' worth of food.  The Philippines is home to many endemic frog species The country has around 50-60 species of Platymantis frogs that are only found in the country. They’re also commonly known as wrinkled ground frogs, ground frogs, or forest frogs and are found in the rainforests of the Philippines and in limestone or alpine regions. The freshwater crocodile is one of the rarest crocodile species These crocs are found on just two of the country’s islands, and live in its freshwater bodies of water (rivers, creeks, and marshes) at up to approximately 800m above sea level. They have a 100-year life span and are one of the rarest crocodile species on the planet. Lake Lanao’s endemic fish population is depleting rapidly Lake Lanao is a lake in Mindanao, the second-largest island in the Philippines. The lake is experiencing a rapid and catastrophic decline in its native fish population, mainly due to the introduction of the non-native tilapia species to expand the local fishing industry. The fish is now used in traditional dishes in the country. The Visayan Warty Pig’s warts protect their face These pigs are endemic to six of the Philippines’ islands, and only two of those have documented populations of these pigs. Their names come from the clusters of warts on male pigs’ faces, which protect their faces during fights. Enjoyed learning about Philippine animals? Are your pupils studying Adaptations or Habitat? If so, please get in touch. ZooLab’s team are experts at hitting those Living Things and Their Habitats outcomes. Contact us at info@zoolabuk.com   or fill in our  contact form .