LinguaLive Lv.1 20200616

News ①

Panda

Pandas eat almost nothing but bamboo shoots and leaves. Occasionally they eat other vegetation, fish, or small animals, but bamboo accounts for 99 percent of their diets. Pandas eat fast, they eat a lot, and they spend about 12 hours a day doing it. The reason: They digest only about a fifth of what they eat. Overall, bamboo is not very nutritious. To stay healthy, they have to eat a lot—up to 15 percent of their body weight in 12 hours—so they eat fast.

Giant Panda

News ②

A Fox and The Crow

A Fox once saw a Crow flying with a piece of cheese in its mouth. The Crow landed in a tree. The Fox wanted the cheese. “Good day, Ms. Crow,” said the Fox. “How good you look today. Your feathers are so shiny, your eyes are so bright. I feel your voice must be better than all the other birds. Please let me hear just one beautiful song from you, the Queen of Birds.” The Crow lifted up her head and began to sing, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground. Then the Fox grabbed it. “That will do, thank you,” said the Fox. “That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you some advice.“ Do not trust flatterers. (Original)

1. What did the fox want?
1) The Crow 2) Other birds 3) The cheese 4) Some advice
2. What happened when the Crow began to sing?
1) The Fox got hungry. 
2) The cheese fell.
3) The Fox listened.
4) The Crow ate the cheese.
3. Why did the Fox want the Crow to sing?
1) Because it’s beautiful.
2) Because the Fox can’t sing.
3) Because the Crow was hungry.
4) Because the Fox wanted the cheese.

News ③

Pinker flamingos are more aggressive, study finds
Colour plays ‘important role’ in ‘complex social structures’, researcher says

Bright pink flamingos are more aggressive than paler ones when it comes to fighting over food, according to new research.

Researchers from University of Exeter — who looked at lesser flamingoes with WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre — said very pink feathers mean the animals are in good health and ready to breed.

Therefore, they said the most colourful male and female birds from this species tend to be more aggressive when competing for food.

Pinker flamingos are more aggressive, study finds

News ④

White giraffe believed to be last female in the world killed by poachers
The mother and calf were found in a "skeletal state" conservationists said

A white female giraffe, thought to the last of its kind in the world, has been killed by poachers, conservationists in Kenya have announced.

The mother her and calf were found in a "skeletal state", and were thought to have died at least four months ago, Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy said in a statement.

The statement added the animals had been killed by armed poachers.

The rare giraffes had been living at the Kenyan wildlife sanctuary. The Kenya Wildlife Service was called to investigate the disappearance after the animals had been seen for several weeks.

“This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffes,” Mohammed Ahmednoor, manager of the reserve in Garissa County, Kenya, said in a press release.

White giraffe believed to be last female in the world killed by poachers

News ⑤

Climate crisis: One-third of all plant and animal species could be extinct in 50 years, study suggests

Huge loss of animals and plants imminent as climate crisis continues, say researchers

In just 50 years’ time, a third of all plant and animal species on our planet could be wiped out due to man-made climate change, US scientists have warned.

The damning new study of humanity’s impact on ecosystems around the world examined recent extinctions due to climate change, along with rates of species movement and various projections of future climatic conditions.

The researchers said their study is probably the first to estimate broad-scale extinction patterns due to the climate crisis by using data from recent climate-related extinctions and from rates of species movements.

It is the latest research to paint a bleak picture of future biodiversity on Earth, as other scientists have warned our species is responsible for bringing about a sixth mass extinction event.

The research team, from the University of Arizona used data from 538 species at 581 sites around the globe and focused on species which had been studied at the same place at least 10 years apart.

One-third of all plant and animal species could be extinct in 50 years, study suggests