Earth Touch Blog

Did you know?

Did You Know? Marsh terrapin May 13 2008

The marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa) belongs to the family of side-necked terrapins. This genus is found in Africa, Madagascar and the Seychelles, and the species is the most common terrapin in southern Africa.

Wildlife news from around the world

Caterpillars trick ants Jan 29 2008

When humans make themselves smell more alluring than they really are it’s fairly harmless, but it’s a case of life and death for the larvae of Alcon blue butterflies, which trick red ants into feeding them, leaving the young ants to starve.

Alcon caterpillars dupe the ants by giving off a scent which mimics that of the insects’ own larvae.

From the field

Donna Summer and the Anaconda Aug 7 2007

Photo: Dawson/Wikipedia

The search was on. We were scouting for an anaconda to film and the light – and our hopes – were fading fast. The day had been spent tracking and filming birds in the Pantanal in Brazil and we were now racing to reach an area in which anacondas had recently been seen. We were hurtling along a tooth-shattering and butt-bruising dirt road in a pickup. I was clutching the camera in the cab but my laptop was doing double half twist somersaults on the back