Brockswood Lesson: Emus

With the wonderful response we received to our first Brockswood lesson, we thought we'd put another together for you! This time we would love to talk to you about Emus, one of our most fascinating and unique animals, sometimes overlooked for not being quite so cute and cuddly.

Fun Facts:

• The word Emu comes from an Arabic word meaning ‘large bird’, and large they most certainly are! Emus are Australia's largest bird and the second largest bird in the world. They stand about 2 metres tall.

• Emus belong to a family of flightless birds called 'Ratites'. Most of this family are now sadly extinct; and only the Emu, Ostrich, Cassowary, Kiwi and Rhea are living today.

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Suggested Homework:

Think: Can you name any other animals from Australia?

Research: If the Emu is the second-largest bird in the world, which bird is the largest? We’ll give you a clue; it is one of the other members of the Ratite family. Which bird is the smallest? Can you do a bit of maths and calculate the size difference between these two very different birds?

Research: What does the word 'Extinct' mean? It is very important that we care for animals and stop this from happening to them. This is called 'Conservation'.

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• Emus have been living in Australia for a very long time. Their ancestors, the Dromornithids, roamed the land when Dinosaurs lived; and they are even thought by some scientists to be “Living Dinosaurs”, as they have many similar or even identical features to their Dinosaur relatives!

Some of these amazing features shared with their Dinosaur ancestors include:

• Most birds have what is called a keeled sternum (their breast bone), but Ratites don't have this, like their dinosaur ancestors. This means that they don’t have a strong anchor for their wing muscles that other birds have, and they could not fly even if they had large wings! They do have tiny wings hidden under their feathers, but cannot use them.

• Although they can't fly, they can most certainly run! They have long legs and powerful feet with three forward-facing toes. This allows them to run very fast - up to 30 miles per hour! These strong legs can also deliver some very powerful kicks; and one toe on each foot has a long talon, which can be lethal to predators. They are also good swimmers and love the bathe.

Can you see the resemblance to dinosaur feet here?

• Emu feathers are very different to most birds and these hang loosely, rather than being smooth and aerodynamic, giving them their shaggy appearance. This is how we think dinosaur feathers would have looked too!

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Suggested Homework:

Research: Have a look at some different birds and their feet. They’re not all the same and can vary a lot between different species – why do you think this may be?

Research: All birds are thought to be descended from Therapod Dinosaurs (this group of dinosaurs even includes the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex!). Can you find any other traits that make them similar to our bird friends? A very big hint below...

An Emu egg!

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• Emus are omnivorous and need very nutritious food to maintain their huge body weight – they can weigh up to 54kg. They mainly eat vegetation, including a wide variety of leaves, grasses, seeds and native flowers; as well as water plants, such as duckweed and algae. They also enjoy a variety of fruit and vegetables here at Brockswood.

Suggested Homework: You are now in charge of preparing Malcolm the Emu's dinner at the sanctuary. What will you put in his bowl for him?

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We've only just scratched the surface about the amazing Emu and hope that you can see them a little differently now! If you would like to learn more, why not dig a little deeper and see what facts you can find? or ask us some questions, we love talking about our animals!

Now we'd love to see you get arty and have some fun! Why not draw, paint, or make your own Emu at home. Get creative! and don't forget to take some photos and send them to us, we, and Malcolm our Emu, would love to see them.

Government Support Needed for Animal Sanctuaries!

Animal Sanctuaries like ourselves, Rescues, and Zoos across the UK are currently at ever-increasing risk of closing. This is due to the loss of fundraising opportunities, inability to furlough staff (animals continue to need our round-the-clock care), and lack of emergency funding available to us at this time. Many of these organisations may close if the Government does not step in; resulting in countless animals becoming homeless, having no rescue to take them in, or worse still being euthanised - a zoo director in northern Germany has even admitted that some animals might soon have to be fed to others, if the zoo is to survive (we absolutely will not let this happen at Brockswood). Please help by joining the plight to urge the Government to step in and help during this desperate time!

Please send an email or letter to your local MP to urge our Government to step in to help organisations like Brockswood Animal Sanctuary survive COVID-19. You can write your own email/letter in your own words or feel free to use the letter that we sent to our local MP, Marco Longhi, as a template. Mr. Longhi has kindly responded to us, and we would love to see more of his colleagues join our fight.

You can find your local MP and contact them directly by searching for them here: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mps/

Please SHARE with as many people as you possibly can to get our message out there to the people that can make a difference, and ensure that animals are considered at this difficult time!

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Our letter to Marco Longhi, MP:

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Copy & Pastable Version for you to edit as required:

RE: Additional Support Required for UK Animal Sanctuaries & Rescue Centres.

As our local constituency Member of Parliament, Brockswood Animal Sanctuary would like to raise our concerns with you regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the UK animal care sector.

We are encouraged by the various help packages the Government has put in place to help businesses and organisations through this very difficult period. However, it appears that the unique challenges that face animal sanctuaries and rescue centres have been overlooked. In common with more mainstream business and organisations, income during COVID-19 lock-down has ceased due to fundraising events being cancelled and their charity shops closing etc.

The packages outlined by the Government so far are in the main directed towards mainstream businesses that can go into a period of dormancy more easily than animal care facilities can for the following reasons:

• Smaller animal facilities have a higher proportion of staff that work directly with the animals, unlike some larger facilities like zoos that have a higher proportion of ancillary staff that can be furloughed to help with overall running costs.

• Businesses that are closed do not have ongoing costs of stock replenishment. Animal facilities do; we still have to feed the animals on a daily basis and change bedding etc.

• Businesses that are closed are not using utilities such as electric, gas and water. This does not change for animal facilities as the day to day work is continuing as normal. Those facilities that deal with exotic animals such as reptiles use high levels of electricity to keep vital heat lamps functioning which are required to keep these animals alive.

You can see from the above that although income has ceased outgoings for these facilities remain at the same level, which is just not viable or sustainable. Therefore we would ask that:

• The current Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme be extended to include the salaries of essential animal care staff or alternatively allow furloughed essential staff to volunteer some time back into the organisation.

• The banks reviewing an application for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan are flexible with regard to the mechanisms by which smaller animal facilities create an income as not many will fit into the parameters set by most banks when considering the viability of a loan.

• Support is put in place for animal sanctuaries and rescue centres that will not receive the Coronavirus Small Business Grant because the properties they occupy do not meet the Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rates Relief requirements; or they operate from a part of a larger property and the grant goes to the landlord or owner of that property.

We fully understand that the Government are not going to be able to save every single business and organisation and as the Chancellor pointed out, some will unfortunately fall by the wayside. However, it would seem that the animal care sector has fallen between the gaps in the Governments support packages. This could potentially result in a disproportionate amount of animal sanctuaries and rescue centres facing possible closure, compared with other sectors where business can more easily go into ‘hibernation’ during this crisis.

We are looking for your support to help us make representations to the Government to ensure that the animal care sector will be considered as the COVID-19 policy continues to be revised and developed. Yours sincerely,

Neil Swann Director – Brockswood Animal Sanctuary

Brockswood Lesson: Raccoons

With so many children isolating at home at the moment and parents wondering what to teach, we thought it might be fun for us animal keepers to share some information with you about our animals, our work, and the natural world; that you can pass on to your children! So we are starting today with one of our most popular animals, Raccoons.

Fun Facts:

• Raccoons have some of the most dexterous hands in nature. They have small hand-like paws with five digits, much like our own hands! Native Americans were the first to note their unusual paws, and the English word 'raccoon' comes from a Native American word 'aroughcun', which means "Animal that scratches with its hands." The Aztecs also named them for their special paws, calling them 'mapachitli' or "One who takes everything in its hands." Today mapache means "raccoon" in Spanish.

• Their front paws contain around four times more sensory receptors than their back paws - about the same ratio as your own hands and feet. This means that they are able to tell the difference between objects without actually seeing them, which is important when feeding at night. As they are nocturnal, this is when they are most active.

• They can even heighten their sense of touch through something called dousing. To you, this can look like they are washing their food in water, but they are actually wetting their paws to stimulate the nerve endings. Like light to your eyes, water on their hands gives them more sensory information, meaning they can feel even more than they would if their hands were dry.

• Raccoons don't have opposable thumbs like yours, but do have special rotating feet, and can turn their hind feet 180 degrees, which is very helpful when they are climbing up and down objects.

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Suggested Homework:

Research: What is a Nocturnal animal?

Research: What is an Opposable Thumb, and which animals have them?

Research: Raccoons have lots of different names in other countries and languages. How many different names can you find for them?

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• Raccoons are omnivores. Preferred plant-based foods include: tubers, seeds, berries, and nuts. They also like to eat insects, fish, eggs, small mammals, small birds, molluscs, and crustaceans.

• Much like some of our own British wildlife such as foxes and badgers, wild raccoons in the USA are well known for rummaging through rubbish bins for leftovers, and have earned the name Trash Panda as a result! Unfortunately, many animals have become forced to live alongside humans in this way due to habitat destruction.

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• Thanks to the black markings across their eyes, raccoons have been typecast as bandits and thieves in stories for centuries, but their famous black masks do more than make them look like adorable outlaws - they also help them to see clearly. Remember that they are nocturnal, and so seeing well in the dark is very important to them! This dark colouring absorbs incoming light, reducing glare that would otherwise bounce into their eyes and make it harder to see.

• Raccoons communicate with each other using over 200 different sounds and 12-15 different calls.

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Suggested Homework:

Think: Why do you think it is important that Raccoons can see in the dark?

Think: Now that you know what Raccoons like to eat, if you had to help us care for Fiona, what would you feed her?

Think: Habitat destruction is causing animals to lose their natural homes. What do you think us Humans can do to help them?

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• Raccoons are very intelligent animals, ranking above cats and just below monkeys on the mammal IQ scale. Monkeys are generally considered to score just below humans and great apes on IQ scales, which means that their intelligence is not as far behind yours as you might like to think!

Suggested Homework: At the sanctuary, we are currently putting this intelligence to good use and training Fiona so that she can help with her own care, such as learning to step on scales to be weighed for important health checks. We also give her lots of fun toys and puzzles such as toys with hidden treats so that she must use her "hands" and work out how to get to the tasty snack inside. Now that you've learned a little about Raccoons, can you think of some things that she might enjoy doing? Maybe you could design a new toy for her?

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Phew, that was a lot of information to take in! Now it's time to get arty and have a bit of fun! Why not draw, paint, or make your own Raccoon at home. Get creative! and don't forget to take some photos and send them to us, we would love to see them.