Award-Winning Kids’ Nature Magazine

CHARLIE MEETS
A ROADRUNNER Built for
WHIZZING WEIRDNESS Speed
AND FAST FOLKLORE!
EYE-CATCHING
COLOUR-CHANGERS
GIBBONS
AMELIA THE FOX

SHORTFIN MAKO SHARK

THE CHEETAH OF THE OCEAN Issue 101
March 2023

Fun Projects, Puzzles and Stunning Posters

 Wh at 's inside this
ISSUE 3
PLUS!
A Letter From a Jackrabbit
Born to run!

4 Surprising Speedsters
Don’t blink, or you’ll miss them!

12 Biomimicry and
Speedy Inventions
8 Charlie Meets a 10 Shortfin Ask the Expert

Roadrunner Mako Shark 15 Patas Monkey With Young

A speedster from the cuckoo family The cheetah of the ocean Poster

16 Cheetah Running
Poster

30 Eco Kids Quiz Planet

Puzzles and games

32 Over to You
Competition winners

17 Wildlife News 21 Gibbons 34 Colourful

Rhona and Rusty report Amelia the Fox Daffodil Windmill
Monthly project

35 Monthly Competition
Animal race

Eco Kids Planet is published 11

times a year, monthly except for

22 Eye-Catching 26 Whizzing combined double July/August

issue, by Eco Kids Planet Ltd.
Colour-Changers Weirdness and Fast
Amy investigates… Folklore!
Simon investigates…

For subscriptions, please call

0800 689 1365
Cover: Cheetah cub © Minden Pictures/

Email: Editor: Anya Dimelow Design:

[email protected] Nebojsa Dolovacki
Contributing Editor
Post: & Writer: Illustrations:
Eco Kids Planet, JD Savage Leah Ingledew
41 Claremont Road,
Comic:
Alamy Stock Photo

Barnet EN4 0HR Writers & Contributors:

Richy Chandler
Katharine Davies,
ecokidsplanet.co.uk Gabby Dawnay,
facebook.com/ecokidsplanet Daisy Fox, Josette Reeves To subscribe, visit
twitter.com/ecokidsplanet www.ecokidsplanet.co.uk
All images: © Shutterstock (unless stated otherwise)
2
Hello Eco Kids -
Jack’s my name and
guess what! I’m a
jackrabbit!

“A jack–rabbit?” you might ask politely. Yippee! My back legs propel me along at
“But oh my word, what spectacularly over 64 kilometres per hour!
l-o-n-g ears you have for a rabbit. And
those back legs of yours – they’re even I’ll zigzag across the dry grassland to
L-O-N-G-E-R…” outwit and outrun those pesky predators
– I’m VERY good at it. But it’s the silent
To which I’d reply, “That’s because I’m ones you have to watch out for – hawks
NOT a rabbit at all. I’m a hare!” (I know,
and eagles with beady eyes spying
confusing name, but hey…)
from above. They might pounce at
I have these magnificent ears for listening. any moment…
And if I hear the sound of a wily coyote
or a sneaky bobcat creeping up on me, I And another reason I’m most definitely
do the one thing my legs were designed NOT a rabbit is that I don’t live
for: RUN! underground. I prefer to shelter under a
dense bush or between two large rocks.
Yes, I’m a solitary creature. I like to live
alone, rather than in a crowded burrow.
Always ready.
Always listening with my giant ears.
Always poised to zoom…
I need SPEED to survive!
By Gabby Dawnay

We hares were born to run. Literally. From So long, suckers…

the moment we’re born (with hair – well, Jack-the-hare-rabbit
we’re ‘hares’, after all, tee-hee) we can get
up and GO! (NB I’m a HARE)
3
 Don’t blink, or you’ll miss them! We’re celebrating the
world’s fastest animals, including some…

By JD Savage

If someone asked you what’s the quickest Yet not all super-

©
Gra
land animal, you’d probably be quick to sprinters are big.

ce C.
reply “cheetah!” These big cats can go The Southern

Wu et al. 20
from 0 to almost 100 kilometres per hour California
within seconds. From there, they can mite can reach
sprint faster than 112 kilometres per hour a speed of 322

10.
– especially if they’re hungry!  times its body
length per second.
That knocks spots
SEE YOU, off cheetahs, which can
WOLVES! only cover 16 times their own body length
per second.
So, those mites are 20 times faster than
a cheetah. But they’re only the size of a
sesame seed, so they’re unlikely to beat
one in a race!
Maybe they chase a tiny prey that runs
even faster.

But they can’t keep that speed up for

long. North America’s pronghorns are Fun Fact
the fastest long-distance runners. They The mites are also good at stopping
can keep up a speed of 56 kilometres and changing direction very quickly!
per hour, leaving predators way behind.
They can also run much faster over They’re arachnids (say “a-rack-nids”), so
shorter distances. they’re from the same group of animals as
spiders and scorpions. But what are the
Vocabulary fastest running insects?
Sprint: Run at full speed over a
short distance. Could it be the super-fast ants that dash
across the Sahara Desert?
4
 But which insect flies the fastest?
The sun makes them run

Saharan silver ants are Earth’s fastest It’s the dragonfly, which can reach speeds
ants. They can run 108 times their body of around 97 kilometres per hour. These
length in a second. At some points when super-hunters need speed to snatch their
they gallop, all their feet are off the prey in mid-air and to escape from danger. 
ground at the same time! They may need
to move so fast to stop the scorching
desert heat from roasting them. CAN’T
CATCH ME!

But the Australian tiger beetle is even

faster, covering 171 times its body length
in a second. Tiger beetles use their speed Have you ever seen small butterflies
to chase prey – yet they run so fast they whirling around in fast, wiggly-jiggly
have to stop! zigzags between resting on flowers? You
They zoom so quickly their eyes can’t can feel dizzy just from watching them!
gather enough light to see properly. They’re most likely skipper butterflies,
Everything becomes a blur – including which reach speeds of around 60
their prey. So they need to halt mid-chase kilometres per hour. That’s faster than
to see again. They’re still fast enough to an average horse’s gallop – and any other
catch it. butterfly. Darting about like that makes
them harder for predators to catch. 
Fun Fact
When it strikes its prey, the Dracula Fun Fact
ant can snap its jaws together 5,000 There are about 3,500 species
times faster than the blink of an eye! of skippers!

5
Now for some quick questions…
What's the fastest-growing plant?
Bamboo. Chinese Moso bamboo can grow Are any fish
almost a metre in just one day! super-fast?
Yes, and black marlins
out-speed them all. Their
top swim speed is at least
129km per hour.

Could I outrun an alligator?

Alligators are fast over short distances
but quickly get tired. They much prefer
sneaking up on small prey in the water to
chasing after big prey on land. Most fit,
healthy humans can outrun them – but
don’t take any chances!
Do I have more chance of escaping
from an alligator if I run in
a zigzag?
Lots of people think so. But, no, run very
fast in a straight line. That gets you further
away faster.

Can you name a surprisingly

fast creature?
Penguins! I know, you’ve seen them
waddle awkwardly on land, where they
seem anything but fast. But I’m talking
about underwater, where those torpedo- Do any animals run in
shaped birds can glide very quickly. zigzags, though?
Gentoo penguins swim at top speeds of Yes, lots of animals, including rabbits,
36km per hour! mice and gazelles, run in zigzag patterns
to confuse any predator chasing them.
So, are you sure I shouldn't...
Yes!
Can humans outrun most animals?
Yes, but only when it comes to long
distances. Many mammals can sprint
faster than us. Having twice as many legs
helps! But most furry mammals have to
pant to keep cool. We sweat, instead. Our
sweating skills help us to keep running
for distances and at speeds that would
overheat other animals.
6
 RUS’S DASHING DINOSAURS!

© Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo

Hi, Rusty fans!
As you all know, I’m the
world’s top dinosaur
expert. (Yes, I AM, Rhona!)
So, who better to tell you
about the fastest dinosaurs?
Most of us experts agree Deltadromeus – say “Del-tah-dro-may-uss”
that the ones that used two legs for
walking moved the fastest. One called
of modern animals with similar body
deltadromeus may have been one of the
sizes and builds. We also measure the
speediest of all. It lived about 90 million
distances between their fossil footprints
years ago, with its long, thin limbs and
to help us guess how fast they moved.
razor-sharp teeth. Rhona would quickly
stop making fun of dinosaurs if one of But there’s one thing we all want to know…
them came after her!

Could we outrun a T. rex?

Experts disagree on how fast these
massive monsters were. Some think they
were swift runners, but others reckon
they could only move at a fast walk
because they were so heavy. But most
agree that a fast human runner – like me –
could outrun a T. rex. Phew!
Rusty

Compsognathus – say
“Komp-sog-nuh-thuss” SLOW DOWN,
RUSTY – MY FEET
Another of the fastest ARE 'SAUR'!
may have been the
compsognathus, which
lived 161 million to 146
million years ago. It
was only chicken-sized,
one of the smallest
dinosaurs ever. But it
was a fierce predator
and most likely ran at
about 64 kilometres
per hour.
But how can we know the
speeds of dinosaurs? I’ll
tell you! Experts study
their skeletons and then
compare the speeds
7
Charlie
Meets… A Roadrunner!

Illustration by Leah Ingledew

By JD Savage

It’s me, Charlie, the

Eco Kid who can chat with
animals. This time I’m in
America, meeting a cuckoo
family member that’s
DOPRVWJLYHQXSÀ\LQJ Charlie: He’s dashed off. I’ll try to
catch up.
Charlie: Yes, I’d be wasting my time Roadrunner: Come on, slowcoach!
scanning the skies for this bird. It’s a
greater roadrunner! Charlie: Puff… Pant… Wow, he’s fast.

I’m in a town by the Sonoran desert Roadrunner: Can’t catch me!

in Arizona. I heard that a roadrunner Charlie: Don’t run back into the desert –
sometimes comes out of the desert I’ll get lost there!
looking for food scraps here. Ah, I can see
one way over there, looking a bit wary. Roadrunner: All right, we’ll just run
He’s checking whether I look dangerous. around this land here.
Come on over, Mr Roadrunner!
Charlie: Gasp, wheeze – stop! Let me get
Wow, he’s rocketing towards me now! my breath back.

Roadrunner: Who are you? Roadrunner: All right, but you said you
were a great sprinter. Are you sure you’re
Charlie: I’m Charlie and I want to ask you a human and not a snail?
about your speed.
Roadrunner: Well, I’m a great sprinter. FUN FACT
Charlie: Cool. Me, too. Roadrunners sometimes reach
speeds of over 24 kilometres
Roadrunner: Let’s have a race, then. per hour!
Ready… Set… GO!
8
Charlie: You can run over twice my speed. and crush its spine so it can’t move. Then
How do you run so fast? I grab its head and bash it against the
ground until it’s dead.
Charlie: Well, that’s brave – and
gruesome.
Roadrunner: Sometimes, I work with my
mate. One of us distracts the snake while
the other creeps up from behind.
Charlie: How did you get a partner?
Roadrunner: I offered her a lovely present.
Charlie: A bunch of flowers?
Roadrunner: No, a dead grasshopper – she
looked hungry. Then I did a great dance,
Roadrunner: I’ve got strong legs and I
with lots of bowing, whirring and cooing.
know how to use ’em! And I jerk my long
tail from side to side to help me steer
when I change direction.
Charlie: Like a boat’s rudder?
Roadrunner: If you say so. Hmm, maybe
you’re a desert tortoise that lost its shell.
Charlie: I’m not that slow! Can’t you
fly, then?
Roadrunner: Yes, but I’m not great at
it. It quickly tires me out. I might fly if a
predator comes after me, but I’d rather
walk – or dash.
Charlie: Do you really run along roads?
Roadrunner: Yes – or anywhere I
Charlie: Are you like our sneaky UK
can search for prey. I never miss an
cuckoos, leaving your eggs in other
opportunity to hunt!
birds’ nests?
Charlie: Is your prey fast?
Roadrunner: Certainly not – we make our
Roadrunner: Mice are pretty speedy, and own nests. And we both look after the
so are some little lizards. Have you heard eggs and feed our young.
how brave I am?
Charlie: Nothing like our cuckoos, then.
Charlie: No, I thought you’d run off if you
Roadrunner: No, we made a fantastic nest
saw anything dangerous.
in the middle of some prickly cacti. That
Roadrunner: Did you now? Well, should keep those rotten, egg-stealing
sometimes I attack and eat small desert coyotes away. Bye, now!
rattlesnakes!
Charlie: Really?
,¶OOSUDFWLVHP\
Roadrunner: Yes, I’ll let one lunge at me a sprinting to give him
few times, but I dart away out of its reach. a good race if we
That tells me how fast and long its defence ever meet again!
is. On its next strike, I grab it in my jaws
9
Shortfin
Mako Shark
By Josette Reeves

The cheetah of the ocean

Meet the mako! The world would be a
much poorer place without this toothy
speedster. Will humans get their act
together and stop hunting it for good?

Deadly family It’s a good job, too, because makos need

Part of the same family as great white to be speedy. They love to feast on some
sharks, shortfin makos are found across extremely fast fish, including swordfish
the globe in tropical and temperate and tuna.
waters. These whopping predators can
weigh more than 500kg and reach over
four metres in length.
Did You Know?
Makos also eat dolphins, squid, sea
OK, so that isn’t as beefy as their great turtles and other sharks.
white cousins. But when it comes to
speed, the mako is in a class of its own.
It’s the fastest shark in the world, capable Take a leap
of ripping through the water at over 70 These sharks have some seriously cool
kilometres per hour! athletic abilities. They often shoot up
through the water to snatch prey near the
Don’t drag me down surface – and end up leaping about six
metres out of the ocean!
The mako’s torpedo-shaped body is
perfectly streamlined and its tail fin
provides enormous power. But the real
© Nature Picture Library/Alamy

secret to the mako’s super-speediness

lies in its skin.
Shark skin is covered in tiny, tooth-like
scales called dermal denticles. The mako
Stock Photo

has very flexible denticles on its fins and

side, which are brilliant at reducing drag
(the force that slows an object down as it
moves along).
10
 Toasty warm
Most sharks are cold-blooded. So, if
their environment is chilly, they are
as well. But the mako is one of only
a few warm-blooded species. It can
raise its temperature above that of the
surrounding water by using special
blood vessels.
Because warmer muscles are more
powerful, this self-heating skill helps the
mako stay active and speedy.

Did You Know?

Makos can swim over 60km in a
o
single day!
hot
P
k
oc
On the hook
St
y
l am
A
y/ Makos are getting rarer (especially in
ar
ibr
e
L the North Atlantic Ocean) and are now
tur
e
Pi
c endangered. The main threats are:
ur
at
©
N
% Hunting – humans catch them to eat
and for sport.
% Bycatch – they’re killed accidentally
Unfortunately, their leaping skills can
by fishermen trying to catch
bring them into (very) close contact with
other animals.
humans. In November 2022, fishermen in
New Zealand accidentally hooked a mako.
Desperate to escape, the poor shark
hurled itself on to their boat! Thankfully,
no one was hurt, and the mako managed
to wriggle back to freedom.

Blending in
Makos are ambush hunters, skilled at
keeping out of sight before attacking
prey. But how can such huge predators
stay hidden?
They use a type of camouflage called
countershading. The top of the mako’s No fishing
body is dark blue, so a fish looking down
For years, scientists and conservationists
at it from above only sees what looks
demanded an end to catching mako
like water. To a fish looking up at the
sharks. Finally, their voices were heard!
shark from below, the mako’s pale belly
Mako fishing was banned in the North
blends in with the sunlit surface. Now,
Atlantic, but only until 2024. Soon, it could
that’s sneaky!
all begin again. Shark-lovers continue
to fight for more protection for the
Did You Know? marvellous mako. Will it be given more
Female makos give birth to up to 25 time to bounce (or leap!) back from the
babies, known as pups. edge of extinction? We really hope so!
11
EXPERT
Ask the
BIOMIMICRY
Interview by Daisy Fox
AND SPEEDY
INVENTIONS
Animals have inspired lots of speedy inventions. Did you
know that a kingfisher helped to design the bullet train? Or
that a shark inspired a streamlined swimsuit?
Author Etta Kaner’s award-winning books are packed with
facts about nature. She loves to tell her readers all about the
amazing talents of animals and plants.
Here Etta answers our questions about how nature has
inspired inventors around the world.

Alyssa: When did people first think Bella: Are inventions inspired by
of the idea to copy nature? plants, too?
It was probably during the Stone Absolutely! Lotus leaves are self-
Age, when people noticed that fur cleaning. Water droplets pick up
kept animals warm. This might dirt and roll off the leaves like tiny
have inspired humans to slaughter marbles. This has inspired self-
animals so they could use animal fur cleaning paint for the outside of
for warmth. Not great for the animals buildings, as well as self-cleaning
but a bonus for the humans. windows and flooring materials.
Another example is the long roots
of vetiver grass. These inspired
engineers to build an earthquake-
resistant bridge in Greece.

Holly: How do designers know which

animals to study?
A designer first has to identify
a problem. For example, when
Daniel: Is nature better at bandages are removed from
design than humans? the skin of premature babies, the
Nature isn’t necessarily better skin can tear or bruise. Scientists
at design than humans. But it studied the sticky strands of spider
certainly is more eco-friendly. So, webs and gecko feet. They wanted
humans have a lot to learn from to see how they stick to surfaces
nature if we want to do what’s best gently. This allowed them to design
for our planet and its future. a skin-friendly bandage.

12
Harry: Is it true a kingfisher helped Sam: Do inventors and scientists
to design a train? Which other base their ideas on
things have birds helped to design? creatures on the land,
Yes. Engineers studied the wedge- in the sea and in
shaped beak of the kingfisher. It the air?
inspired the design of the nose of one
Definitely!
of the fastest trains in the world.
Scientists are
Kingfisher diving developing better
insulated wetsuits
based on sea otter
fur. The structure of
butterfly wings creates
a colourful iridescence. Bright colours
Japanese
bullet train It has inspired a new of the green
way to colour bank notes swallowtail
so they can’t be forged. butterfly

A bionic arm has been based on the

muscles of an elephant trunk,
which has a wide
range of motion and
excellent grip.
For better suction
cups, scientists
have been studying
The ability of hummingbirds to hover clingfish. These
has inspired the design of drones. animals can stick really
well to wet, slimy rocks.

The structure of gecko

eyes has inspired
new contact lens and
camera lens design.

Max: Which speedy

inventions have been
@
W
ag

inspired by animals?
eni
nge

As well as the high-speed

n UR /Guy Acke

train with a nose like a

kingfisher’s beak, there’s a
spy plane with wings like a
rm

bat. There’s also a swimsuit

an
s

material that mimics

shark skin. This helps
swimmers speed through
water. There’s a drone with RoboSwift in flight
moveable wings called Swift in flight
RoboSwift that’s inspired
by the high speed of swifts.

13
 Grace: What is your favourite
invention inspired by nature?
One of my favourites is mushroom
packaging. It was developed to
protect breakable objects when
they’re shipped in boxes. It is made
of mycelium (mushroom roots) and
agricultural waste like dried corn
stalks. It is totally biodegradable,
unlike polystyrene, which does not
degrade over time and gives off
harmful toxins.

Mariam: Do you think nature will help

with more inventions in the future?
Could it help with space travel?
More and more scientists are using
biomimicry (copying nature) to solve
human problems. It has already helped
space travel. NASA used Velcro in its
Apollo missions. Velcro was invented
by George de Mestral when he found
Connie: Which inventions are being cockleburs sticking to his dog’s fur
after a walk in the woods.
worked on at the moment?
Lots. One interesting invention is NASA uses it to stick equipment to the
unsinkable metal that could be walls of spacecraft, to prevent it from
used to build boats. It’s inspired by floating in weightlessness.
diving bell spiders and the rafts of
red ants, which use tiny air bubbles
to keep them afloat. Scientists are
working on creating metal with tiny
air bubbles inside it.

Ali: Are nature-based inventions

better for the planet?
Nature-based inventions are helping
to deal with environmental issues.
They also help people in their daily Vocabulary
lives. For example, in the field of Biodegradable: Able to decay
medicine, scientists have found a naturally, with no harm to
way to make injections less painful. the environment.
They based the Iridescence: Showing many shiny,
shape of the changing colours.
needle on the
proboscis of the
For more about Etta Kaner and the books
female mosquito!
she has written, see www.ettakaner.com.
14
Patas Monkey
With Young
Kenya

Patas monkeys are one of the

world’s fastest primates. They
can reach speeds of 55kph
by running on the ground on
their four long legs. Gibbons
©Anup Shah/naturepl.com

are the only other primates

that could beat them – by
swinging between branches.
Patas are found in Africa’s
savannahs and grasslands.
 © Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

Cheetah Running
Wildlife This time, animals in the
QHZVLQFOXGHNRDODMRH\VUHG

News!
foxes, wildcats and more!

rts ! N 0. 4 0
a Rep o
Rhon
And don’t forget about me – Rusty!
It’s called World of the Sascha captured the
© RZSS

Snow Leopard and was image during a three-

taken by Sascha Fonseca year project high up in
from Germany. Sascha’s the Indian Himalayas.
camera trap caught the Living in that remote place
big cat in a perfect pose. makes snow leopards one
However cold that thick of the trickiest big cats to
snow is, the leopard won’t photograph in the wild.
care with that dense
coat and furry footpads. Wildlife Photographer of
the Year is developed and
WE ‘HEART’ ANIMALS! The backdrop shows the
produced by the Natural
spectacular mountains of
Keepers at Highland History Museum, London.
Ladakh in northern India.
Wildlife Park in Scotland
gave some of its animals Camera traps don’t sound
special treats on too friendly, do they? NEWSFLASH!
Valentine’s Day. Jack and But they’re just everyday An endangered Pacific
Sarah, a pair of Arctic cameras that take pictures pocket mouse is now
foxes, and polar bear cub whenever they sense the longest-living
Brodie got some heart- movement. They get their mouse in human care.
shaped ice-lolly snacks, name from how they ‘trap’ The tiny rodent is now
plus carrots, apples, hot animals in photographs, over nine years and 209
dogs and peanut butter! but they don’t really days old!
catch them.

NEWSFLASH!
© Sascha Fonseca/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Small cleaner fish

can recognise their
own faces in photos
and mirrors!

WINNING WORLD!
Here’s the winner of the
Wildlife Photographer
of the Year People’s
Choice Award!
17
 bear popped up in the The red fox mating season
NEWSFLASH! camera frame. is in the winter. Pairs are
often seen out and about
Scientists have The photo Fox Affection together before moving
developed drones using by Brittany Crossman is into their dens.
the stuffed bodies of another runner-up from
dead birds. One day Canada. It shows a pair
they may use them to of red foxes greeting NEWSFLASH!
spy on wildlife. Sounds each other with a nuzzle
a bit creepy! on a chilly day on Prince Mammals that live
Edward Island. in groups usually
live longer!
RUNNERS-UP
© Brittany Crossman/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
© Martin Gregus/Wildlife
Photographer of the Year

Some of the Wildlife

Photographer of the
Year People’s Choice
Award runners-up were
PORTRAIT OF OLOBOR Local Maasai herdsmen
had burned the ground
amazing, too. Here’s the last of my around him to encourage
runner-up photos. Marina new grass growth. (The
For his photo Among the Cano from Spain found
Flowers, Martin Gregus Maasai are a tribe that
Olobor the lion resting lives in parts of East
watched a polar bear one late afternoon in
cub playing in a mass Africa. The reserve was
Kenya’s Maasai Mara named after them, and
of fireweed on the coast of National Reserve. He’s
Hudson Bay, Canada. they help to conserve and
one of a five-strong group manage the area.)
Every so often, the cub of males in their Black
took a break from its fun, Rock pride. Marina wanted to capture
stood on its hind legs and Olobor’s majestic,
poked its head up above challenging look against
the high flowers to look for the dark background and
its mum. lowered her camera out of
© Marina Cano/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

her vehicle to get an eye-

Martin wanted to capture
level shot. Yes, she was
the world from the cub’s
safely inside a vehicle,
angle, so he placed his
thank goodness!
camera at ground level
among the fireweed. He
then waited patiently
a safe distance away
NEWSFLASH!
with a remote trigger. Meat-eating Venus
He couldn’t see exactly flytrap plants are
what was happening, so now at great risk
Martin had to guess the of extinction!
perfect moment when the
18
 © RZSS
NEWSFLASH!
Everyone in England
will live within a
15-minute walk of green
space or water. That’s
under new plans to
restore nature over the
next five years!

NEWBORN JOEYS!
Edinburgh Zoo is home to
the UK’s only Queensland
koalas and two koala joeys
were born there recently.
new girls give our charity 7KDW¶VEHFDXVH\RX¶GOHDS
They’ve just come out of an incredibly exciting on me whenever I walked
the pouch where newborn opportunity to engage and SDVW\RX5XVW\
koalas spend their first inspire even more visitors
few months. Now they’ll to help protect, value
spend about a year on their and love wildlife around NEWSFLASH!
mothers’ backs. the world.” Prawn larvae (their
young) conceal their
Animal team leader Lorna You didn’t like it when I
eyes with mirror-like
Hughes said, “With their tried to travel on YOUR
reflectors to hide
species facing many back when I was little,
from predators!
threats in the wild, the two Rhona!

WILDCATS RETURN! countryside for the first danger to humans or pets.

time in 500 years. They’ll live in scrubland
Humans hunted wildcats
(where lots of shrubs
nearly to extinction in Between 40 and 60
parts of Britain back in grow) by the coast or in
will be set free to
the 16th century. Most dense woodland and will
roam in Devon and
of the surviving ones Cornwall’s countryside. flee if they see a person.
live in remote parts of It’s part of a plan to
northern Scotland. But Wildcats look like our pet
cats but are larger and restore our landscape
soon, dozens of these
bulkier, and can grow up to its natural state.
rare animals will be
released into the English to twice their size. Hmm, I
wonder what
our cat Luke NEWSFLASH!
Skywhisker Toad lovers in
would think Cambridge, England,
of them. start their annual
nightly toad patrol
They’ll hunt
soon, helping
and feed on
toads cross busy
rabbits and
roads safely, so
rodents. they can breed in
Experts say Barnwell Lake!
they’ll be no

19
 cat poo Luke Skywhisker
had buried there a few
days before.
And then I dug up a
on Earth! It may even have dinosaur jawbone with
changed what we know some of its sharp teeth
about India’s history. intact! But it was really just
Rhona’s big comb that I’d
Turns out it’s not even that forgotten about. I’d buried
old. It’s just an imprint it myself so she wouldn’t
from a recently rotted find it after I broke it.
beehive! That must have
stung after they created I’d borrowed it to pretend
such a big worldwide buzz it was a guitar, so I could
about it. Stung? Buzz? strum it. Just practising
FALSE FOSSIL! Beehive? Get it? I might for when I’m a top rock
Hi, Rusty fans! use that joke when I’m a star. Oh, yes, and I used
top comedian. it to comb my toy woolly
In 2020, a ‘fossil’ was mammoth’s hair, too.
discovered in a cave in But I know how they feel. That’s what snapped some
Bhopal, India. It was said When I was little, I’d often of its other teeth off.
to be a rare 550-million- dig up stuff in our back
year-old animal. Scientists garden that I thought Rusty
around the world got was valuable treasure. I So that’sZKHUHP\ELJ
totally stoked. They found ancient gemstones comb went!!!
thought it was one of the that I thought were worth
earliest animals that lived millions. But they were just Rhona

I’VE GOT A GREAT

IDEA FOR A
PRACTICAL JOKE!

20
 EYE-CATCHING
COURCHANGERS
Amy’s Helper: Gabby Dawnay

These animals don’t just go red – some

Hello, Eco kids – can turn all the colours of the rainbow!
$P\KHUH They change colour to hide from
predators, scare rivals or woo mates.

I’ve been investigating some truly How do they do it?

amazing animals for this issue. Imagine Most colour-changers have special organs
if you could become invisible. Or in their skin called chromatophores.
communicate by changing your skin These contain sacs full of pigment and can
colour. Or tell someone you like them reveal or hide particular colours.
by changing colour… (Er, isn’t that
called blushing?) Let’s investigate my top six transformers…

As time passes, the right eye migrates

1. PEACOCK FUNDER – masterful to the other side to join the left eye. Now
ambush predator and speedy both eyes are on top and can look for prey.
colour-changer! And they both help flounders see the
colours of their habitat in order to match
them. We know this because if one eye is
damaged, their colour-changing skills are
greatly reduced.
Peacock flounders are fantastically
quick at changing, transforming in under
eight seconds!
Other flounder species can change colour
but none as skilfully as the peacock.
© David Fleetham/naturepl.com

Peacock flounders are flat, coral reef

fish found in the Atlantic Ocean. They lie
camouflaged on the sandy ocean floor;
great for ambushing prey and excellent for
hiding from predators.
The peacock flounder begins life with one Peacock flounder, camouflaged against
eye on each side of its head. sand, Hawaii
22
2. SEAHORSE – upright, armoured, horse-
headed, colour-changing cutie!
Many seahorse species change colour
to hide from predators or put on a show
during courtship.
Tiny muscles in their chromatophores
expand and contract to help them change
into various colours. Seahorses need to razzle-dazzle to find the
right partner!
The transformation of the pygmy seahorse
is amazing. It becomes invisible in its In courtship and breeding, both male and
coral home! female change colours to display their
affection. The little seahorses must dance
See if you can spy the pygmy in and brighten their colours to attract
these photos! a mate.

3. CHAMEON – high-stepping, or a female they like the

slow-moving, ultimate transformer! look of.
These stunning lizards can change colour This is down to
SUPER-fast – in a matter of milliseconds. tiny crystals in
Everyone knows that! But I did learn their skin, called
something extremely curious… nanocrystals.
When chameleons
want to switch colour,
*SPOILER ALERT*
they change the space
I’d always believed chameleons could between the crystals.
blend into any background or pattern. When the crystals cluster
NOT (totally) TRUE! together, they reflect blue and
green light. When the space increases,
the light with a longer wavelength – red or
Chameleons can make small changes to orange – gets reflected.
their colour to match their environment.
For example, in a dark forest, brown Calm chameleon = densely packed
to black pigment cells flood to the crystals = greenish
chameleon’s skin surface. This makes it Excited chameleon = crystals are more
appear darker, and so more camouflaged. loosely spread out = bright red and yellow
Panther chameleons are one of the most See, when it comes to chameleon
spectacular species. They shift their colour-change, it’s more about mood
colour dramatically if facing a male rival – and temperature.
23
4. FROGS – amphibian addition to the
colour-changing pack!
Frogs, too, can change colour. They
can transform in a few minutes or shift
gradually between day and night. And they
do it for various reasons.
The males from many frog species change
colour during mating. Experts don’t know
exactly how many can do this but they
think it’s at least 178 species. Male stony
creek frogs are pretty speedy, transforming
within five minutes.
There’s a giant tree frog in India that
quickly changes between brown and green

They are legendary colour-changers and

5. CEPHAPOD – colour-pattern-texture- shape-shifters. Their epic abilities have
changing chameleons of the sea! even inspired humans to design special
The cephalopod family includes material that can change colour.
cuttlefish, octopus and squid. Again it’s down to the chromatophores.
Cephalopods transform to: Thousands of these organs are just below
the surface of the cephalopod skin. At the
y Communicate – the Humboldt squid centre of each is an elastic sac full of
flashes but who knows what wonders pigment, coloured black, brown, orange,
it describes? red or yellow.
y Warn predators – don’t mess with the
Some cephalopods even have cells in their
deadly blue-ringed octopus!
skin that create iridescent green, blue,
y Camouflage – what? Where? silver and gold. And others that mirror the
y Attract – male Caribbean reef squid colours of the environment, making them
turn red to attract and white to repel! blend in even more.

24
 when disturbed. It could be
that particular hormones
released when the frogs
are stressed trigger the
colour changes.

Gray tree frogs shift

colour depending on
temperature and time of
day. Their colour can range
from green to grey or brown.

As well as predator avoidance and

communication, frogs can change colour to
regulate their body temperature.

That’s amphibiamazing!

6. GOLD R ISE BT –

transparent-shelled, switchable reflector!
These tiny, exquisite beetles look like
they’d make perfect gold charms on
a bracelet. They are also rapid colour-
changers, which is rare in insects.
Also known as goldbugs, they are common
in North America. Their outer shells are
rounded and transparent, and cover the
whole bug, like a tortoise’s shell. Hence
the name!
But goldbugs aren’t always golden. If they
are stressed or disturbed by a predator
(or human), they quickly turn the colour
of a ladybird. Their colouring also changes
with the seasons.
These beetles don’t have the same
chromatophores in their skin as
cuttlefish or seahorses. So how do they
change colour?
Their transparent exoskeleton acts like
a mirror. Layers under their outer shell
are covered in tiny nooks and crannies,
over which liquid flows. When full of fluid,
the shell becomes smooth and reflects
light, making the bug look golden. When
stressed, the beetle dries up the fluid,
revealing the reddish pigment beneath.
So, it makes sense that in the drier
months of the year, goldbugs revert to
their reddish state.
25
 Whizzing Weirdness
and Fast Folklore!
Simon’s Helper: JD Savage
Like a cannon, it blasts them out at

WHIZZING WEIRDNESS! speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour!

The spores reach their top speed in just a
few millionths of a second.

I wanted to discover
some weird examples
of speed in nature –
DQGIRXQGSOHQW\

Fast fungus?
Could a fungus be one of Earth’s fastest
flyers? Well, one dung-dwelling fungus is
the quickest off the mark!
The Pilobolus fungus lives on the poo of
cows, horses and other grazing animals. It
helps to break the dung down, turning it
into plant food, which is great for nature.
Ready, aim, fire!

I reckon I’d travel that fast myself to

escape from a pile of poo! And speaking of
poo, here’s something Rusty asked me to
find out.

Which animal poos the fastest?

Mammals are our planet’s fastest pooers.
Weirdly, however big or small, they all do
it at the same speed. Elephants, pandas,
moles, mice and every other mammal
only take about 12 seconds to do a
number two!

That’s not fireworks, it’s a Pilobolus fungus!

QU ICK QU IZ
When it’s ready to create spores to make
more fungi, it needs animals to eat and In the wild, animals need to poo
poo them out, too. But the fungus lives as quickly as possible. Do you
in poo, and animals don’t eat where they know why? Check the answer at
plop – and who can blame them? So, how the bottom of the next page.
does it get its spores to cleaner grass?
26
 I always thought it weird that humans and
Singing wings? animals don’t feel our planet spinning so
You might enjoy listening to birdsong, quickly through space. Surely we should
but have you ever heard a bird sing with get seriously giddy – but everything seems
its wings? pretty still here.
Club-winged manakins live deep in the
cloud forests of South America. They
raise their wings over their back and
vibrate their feathers back and forth
over 100 times per second. This creates a
sound like a note played on a tiny violin.
Males do it to create ‘love songs’ to
attract mates.
No other bird we know of uses
super-speed to turn its wings into
musical instruments!

I found out why. Earth’s speed always

stays the same, and everything living on
it is moving at that same speed. You only
© Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo

notice motion if your speed suddenly

changes, so it’s like sitting on a smooth
train ride, where you don’t really feel like
you’re moving.
We’d definitely feel it if Earth kept slowing
down, speeding up or making sharp turns!

QUICK QUIZ
discover them.
quickly and get moving before those enemies
Its smell attracts predators, so they must do it

Why don’t we feel

the planet moving?
Mercury is our solar
system’s fastest-
moving planet. It
whizzes around the
sun at a speed of
47.87 kilometres
per second! Earth
orbits it fast, too, at
almost 30 kilometres
per second.

Mercury – the planet

closest to the sun
27
 make the noise by shaking together the
Why don’t woodpeckers hard rings at the tip of their tail. It’s so we
get headaches? can avoid them.
Think of a tree. Now imagine hammering
your face against it about 20 times
per second. Not a good idea, is it? Try SIMON’S ST UMPER
telling that to a woodpecker. It’s exactly What does your hair have in
what they do with their beaks – so why common with a rattlesnake’s rattler?
don’t they get throbbing headaches or You’ll find the answer below.
brain damage?

© David Chapman/Alamy Stock Photo

When they shake their tails slowly, we

can hear every rattle. But they also trick
human ears by rattling their tails much
faster, so the rattle sounds higher. This
makes it sound louder to our ears – as
We used to think they have special head
if the snake is much closer to us than it
bones that absorb the shock – like a
really is. But it’s the exact same volume!
helmet. A new study using high-speed
videos says that’s wrong. They may avoid
harm because their pecks are short, with Fun Fact
their heads and beaks stopping at the A rattlesnake can vibrate its tail about
same time after each peck. Also, because 90 shakes per second!
of their small size, which makes the stress
on their small brains less harmful.
SIMON’S ST UMPER
Do snakes prank humans?
called keratin. So are your nails.
They’re made of the same stuff: a substance
Rattlesnakes rattle to warn humans and
other animals that they’re nearby. They
Vocabulary
Absorb: Take in.

28
 Fast Folklore!
Rabbits are fast animals that use antlers to a jackrabbit’s body. They sold
their speed to escape predators. their fake mounted jackalope to a hotel
Strange stories about them can spread owner and went on to create many more.
quickly, too.
Have you heard of the jackalope, one of Moon rabbit
the world’s rarest animals? It’s said to Chinese, Native
be a cross between a jackrabbit and an American, Mexican
antelope that lives in the American West. and other cultures
My freaky photo is a fake, but that’s what have a legend
they’re supposed to look like: rabbits about a rabbit that
with antlers. They’re said to use those lives on the moon.
branched horns to fight anyone who It’s based on some
hunts them! dark markings on the
moon’s surface that look like the outline
It’s only a myth, but could it be based of a rabbit or hare. See if you can spot
on something true? A virus that affects them when the full moon is bright.
rabbits can cause growths on their face Funnily enough, different people see
and head that sometimes look like little different rabbits!
horns or antlers. Did people see that and
think they were jackalopes? ,¶GORYHWRWHOO\RX
Two brothers, Douglas and Ralph Herrick, about even more
claimed to have created the legend VSHHG\ZHLUGQHVVEXW
themselves in the 1930s. In their teens, I have to dash!
these keen hunters attached a pair of deer
29
Speedster Crossword
1

Down:
1. A very fast member
2
of the cuckoo family
3
2. Solar system’s
fastest-moving
planet
4 5
4. Which bird inspired
the design of the
bullet train?
6
5. The fastest long-
7
distance runners
6. One of the
threats faced by
shortfin makos

Across:
3. A tiny fish that changes colour during courtship
5. One of the world’s fastest monkeys
6. What is the fastest growing plant?
7. Which insect flies the fastest?
8. Mythical creature, which is a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope

Multiple-Choice Quiz
1. Roadrunners are native 2. Which of these animals 3. Which of these
to which continent? run in zigzags to creatures can change
confuse predators? colour the fastest?
a. Australia a. Rabbits a. Golden tortoise
b. Arizona b. Penguins beetle
c. North America c. Chameleons b. Peacock flounder
c. Stony creek frog

30
Jackrabbit Maze Spot 12 Differences
Help this jackrabbit
escape the eagle.

Joke Corner

Find the Correct

Shadow
1 2

3 4
© Cartoonstock.com

5 6

See answers on page 33

31
Over
to You

In January's “Best Builders” issue,

we asked you to send us a drawing
of an amazing animal builder.
Thank you to everyone who sent us
their entries. We were delighted to
see such a wide range of animals!

Congratulations to
our winners!

Alicja, age 14,

Kempsey
Harpy Eagle

H
7KHPDOHÀDP
ds
bowerbird buil
rs
elaborate bowe
to impress
the females.

Willow, age 9,
Whitland
Flame Bowerbir
d

32
 Runners-Up
Bea, aged 9,
Northampton
Burrowing Owl Georgia, aged 11,
Leekbrook
Tawny Owl

Annalisa, age 8,
Broxbourne
Pelican

To see more of your amazing entries, go to

www.ecokidsplanet.co.uk/animal-builders-competition

Answers
Speedster Crossword Spot 12 Differences Jackrabbit Maze
1

R
O
A
2

M D
3

S E A H O R S E
R U
4 5

C N K P A T A S
U N I R
6

R E N O B A M B O O
7

Y D R A G O N F L Y
F G C
I H A
S O T
H R C
8

J A C K A L O P E N H
R S

Find the Correct Shadow

Multiple Choice Quiz
1. c 3
2. a
3. b

33
 What to do
1. Find a straight(ish)
stick and paint it green.
Leave it to dry.
2. Make a square measuring approximately
10cm x 10cm from yellow paper or
thin card.
3. Fold it corner to
corner to make a
cross. Cut down
along each crease
until 2cm from the
centre, so you have
four triangles joined
in the middle.
4. Fold down the
left hand point
of each triangle
Monthly Project to the middle
and glue.

Colourful
5. Make a small
circle of card
and glue it to
the centre to

Daffodil
strengthen
the windmill.
6. Take a push pin and

Windmill
push its point through
the centre of your
flower. Wiggle the
pin to widen the hole
The cheery yellow trumpets of daffodils and remove it.
herald the start of spring, flowering in
woodlands and alongside lakes, rivers
and roadsides. Wild daffodils have an
important role to play, providing an early 7. Glue some orange
nectar source for bees waking up from tissue paper and
their winter sleep. use it to cover
your pin. Make a
This colourful daffodil windmill looks very small trumpet for
pretty as it turns in the spring breeze. the centre of your
Why not make a bunch? flower by wrapping some orange tissue
paper around your finger and twisting.
What you need
8. Push the pin through the centre of the
• Yellow paper or thin card trumpet, then through the hole you
• Orange tissue paper
© Craft by Daisy Fox

made in the centre of the windmill and

• Sticks (one per flower) into the green stick. If you find it tricky,
• Green paint ask an adult for help. Remember not to
• Push pins (one per flower) push the pin in too far, so your flower
• Glue can turn freely when you blow it.
34
Animal Race
Monthly Competition
For this month’s competition, we’d like
you to draw a race between two or more
animals. Let us know who you think is
most likely to win your race.

Send us your entry before 10th April 2023,

and we’ll publish our favourites in the
May 2023 issue of Eco Kids Planet. Plus...

FIVE lucky readers will win this beautiful 5 TO!

colouring book from Batsford.
WIN
Secrets of the Sea
Mini pocket colouring book
By Millie Marotta
Millie Marotta is a hugely popular
illustrator. In Secrets of the Sea, children
will discover wondrous wildlife around the
world, from the Arctic waters to the balmy
Australian coast. Swim with dolphins,
narwhals and manatees. Grab your pens
and pencils, and bring jellyfish, seahorses
and polar bears to life.

This new pocket colouring book features

over 80 wonderful illustrations in a
smaller format to colour in. It is perfect
for colouring on the go.
RRP £5.99
Visit Millie at www.milliemarotta.co.uk.

How to submit your entries: Email a photo of your drawing to [email protected], or send
it to Eco Kids Planet, 41 Claremont Road, Barnet, EN4 0HR. You can add any description directly
on your drawing or send it via email. Your entry must arrive before 10th April 2023.
Make sure you include your full name, age and address, so we know how to reach you.
35
 Terrific
IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF ECO KIDS PLANET

Tails
Issue 102

TAIL LANGUAGE
Eco Kids learn how to ‘talk tail’

TALENTED TAILS
Amazing ways animals use
their tails

A STING IN THE TAIL

Scorpions

SPIDER
MONKEY

OCEAN TAILS
The tails of marine animals

Charlie Meets
a Flat-Tailed
Gecko

ecokidsplanet.co.uk