The Express Tribune hi five - November 3

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Saving Species Your Proofness: Sarah Munir Master Storyteller: Sundar Waqar Creativity Analysts: Amna Iqbal, Essa Malik, Jamal Khurshid, Samra Aamir, Talha Ahmed, Munira Abbas and Umar Waqas

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

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Hi light

Saving Species Pakistan has diverse geographical features ranging from mountains in the North to deserts in the South. This is one of the reasons it is home to an even more varied range of species. Be it mangroves, snow leopard or common leopard these species can be found only in a few countries and Pakistan is one of them.

However, over the last few years due to lack of awareness these animals are under a threat. The growing population has led to an increasing demand for land to build houses. Thus, forests have been cleared leading to destruction of natural habitat for animals that can only be found in Pakistan. Let’s take a closer look the threats that endanger some of the animals and what we can do to protect them.

Indus River Dolphin lphin The Indus River dolphin, locally known as bhulan is found in the Indus River, Pakistan. stan. It is characterised by a long beak, rounded belly, very small fins and large flippers. This species es is also referred to as the ‘blind dolphin’ as its eye hasn’t developed a lens. It relies on sound sensors nsors to find fish, shrimp and other prey.

Threats

Vultures White-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis) is a mediumsized vulture, with an unfeathered head and neck, very broad wings, and short tail feathers. It has a white neck ruff. Vultures are ecologically (relationship between organisms and environment) important because they consume dead animals and clean the environment. It has declined by more than 99% in Pakistan, India and Nepal and is now classified as critically endangered.

Shortage of water and water diversion to meet agricultural needs of the country have resulted in elimination of Indus River dolphin from the upper stretch of the Indus River. There have also been reports of accidental mortality of these dolphins as they get entangled in fishing nets as fishermen try to catch other fish. The contamination of river water due to agrochemicals (chemicals used in agriculture) and industrial waste significantly contribute to worsening of Indus River dolphin’s habitats thus leaving them with no home and posing as a great threat to the species.

Threats Diclofenac Sodium, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), used as a pain killer in the livestock, is the main cause of death of the white-backed vulture. When vultures feed on dead animals injected with the medicine, it leads to kidney failure which results in death, thus posing as a great threat.

Common leopard Pakistan is home to two of the world’s biggest cats, the common leopard and the snow leopard.

The common leopard inhabits the lower mountain ranges of Pakistan. The leopard is most easily recognised by its rosette patterned coat and extremely long, dark tail. Four subspecies of the leopard found in Pakistan have been listed as mammals.

Threats The main threats to common leopards include habitat destruction due to development, solid waste and pollution. Clearing of forests to build houses has led to an alarming decrease in the leopard’s natural prey base. Other threats include illegal hunting as well as trade of their body parts. Thir fur, claws and teeth have been reported to be available for sale in markets in Northern Pakistan.

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Send an email to hifive@tribune.com.pk and let us know!

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

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Hi light

MAke a Difference Want to know what you can do to help these animals? Well, first you have to change yourself and then create awareness and change others. You have to understand that these wild species are a gift of nature and should not be harmed.

Even a leopard will not harm you until it feels it’s being threatened. You should also understand the importance of forests and tell your friends as well that forests provide us with a variety of fruits, are home to wild animals and have a lot of benefits. Just like we would not want anyone to destroy our homes, these animals don’t want that either.

We should plant trees wherever possible. You can start by planting different sorts of plants in your home as an initiative towards conserving nature. You should also always recycle paper and paper products. ‘Say No to Littering’ should be applied at all levels and encourage your friends to recycle as well. You can also donate money or volunteer to work with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on one of their projects to help save the animals.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWF WEBSITE: WWFPAK.ORG

WWF Projects Here is a brief outlook at some of the main projects carried out by WWF-Pakistan in order to protect the species we have talked about.

Vultures: WWF-Pakistan launched a breeding programme at Changa Manga forest. Currently there are 18 white-backed vultures in the facility. One of the project’s biggest achievements has been lobbying with the government in order to ban the drugs containing diclofenac sodium.

Common leopard: WWF-Pakistan has been trying to help manage the conflict between local communities around Ayubia National Park area. They have initiated a conservation fund in collaboration with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department, and established a community outreach programme to help them improve the livestock and manage diseases.

Indus River Dolphin: WWF–Pakistan is protecting and conserving the Indus River Dolphin in partnership with the Sindh Wildlife Department through rescuing stranded dolphins and minimising wildlife crime. It is also introducing better management practices in the agriculture sector to minimise water pollution and has been creating awareness about the importance of aquatic species (freshwater animals).

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Activity

4 Halloween Pencil Topper Decorate your stationary! Ayesha Mehmood teaches you how to make pencil toppers.

Supplies needed:

Step 1

Take a piece of paper and draw a witch’s hat using a pencil.

•Felt Sheet •Paper •Pencil •Glue •Scissor •Cutter

Place the sketched paper on a piece of felt sheet and cut it carefully.

Step 3

For detailing, use a different coloured felt sheet and cut it in strips. Use glue to stick them together.

Make two parallel cuts (one centimetre long).

Step 5

Step 2

Your pencil topper is ready. Place your pencil in it and write away.

Want to watch a video guide for this?

Log onto Toffeetv.com and check out the activities section!

Step 4

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Get your weekly dose of the unusual and funny news from across the globe!

Sloth cute These may just be the cutest baby animals ever photographed.

With their doe eyes, button noses and covering of hair, these orphaned sloths could be mistaken for the cuddly toys. They were photographed by zoologist Rebecca Cliffe in Costa Rica.

The 23-year-old said: “Every sloth has its own personality, just like humans. Some are quiet and don’t care too much for human company, while others are needy and love attention.” The abandoned 130 sloths are being taken care of in the sanctuary. The South American sanctuary was established in 1997 by Judy Avey-Arroyo and her late husband Luis. It has successfully released more than 100 sloths back into the wild. Ms Cliffe said: “People who visit the sanctuary always leave with a smile on their faces. It is impossible not to be moved.” METRO.CO.UK

Rocking wedding A couple chose to get married while dangling off the side of a cliff — making for some spectacular wedding photos.

Fang Jing and her husband Lu Zhao are big fans of outdoor sports so they decided to incorporate one of their extreme pastimes into their big day. It involved them taking snaps as they navigated a cliff wall in Liuzhou, in the Guangxi Zhuang region of China. The photoshoot captured the bride with her white dress flying behind her as she climbed the rock with her husband. Photographer Long Tien, who had to complete the climb with the couple said, “I do like rock climbing but not quite at the level of this pair. It was a bit nerve-racking being suspended by ropes and I’ve never really done such a difficult one before, but the pictures really worked out well.” It is a one-of-a-kind photo shoot and a rather scary one in our opinion. METRO.CO.UK

World wide weird

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Doggy Halloween

Dog lovers dressed their beloved dogs in spectacular outfits for the 23rd Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. Costume contests and best-in-show prizes were organised alongside free dog treats and information on adoption from a local rescue centre. All proceeds from the event located in Lower Manhattan were given to the Tompkins Square Dog Run. It was revealed earlier this month that pet owners in the US are expected to spend $330 million on costumes for their animals.

The survey by the National Retail Federation also found that the top five pet costumes are pumpkin, hot dog, cat/devil joint place, witch, and at fifth, superman. What better way to collect money for the dogs than dressing them up? METRO.CO.UK

Height does matter Sultan Kosen, the world’s tallest man who stands at 8ft 3in, has found his soulmate Merve Dibo. The couple wed in Turkey — and even though Kosen, 30, towers over Dibo, who is 5ft 8in tall, the couple couldn’t be happier. “Now I will have my own family and private life,” Kosen told reporters. Recalling his long search for love and happiness, he added, “How unfortunate, I could not find a suitable girl of my own size. But in my fiancee I’ve found the person for me.” Now [that] his dream of finding love has come true, he hopes to find a car big enough for his huge frame so his bride can travel by his side. After becoming the world’s tallest man in 2009, Kosen achieved near celebrity status, and as a result the couple had plenty of VIPs to invite to their wedding. Not surprisingly, Kosen, who also holds the Guinness World Record for the person with the biggest hands (11ins) and feet (14ins) wears size-28 shoes and had to have a wedding suit specially tailored for the event. He is one of only ten people to grow above 8ft. METRO.CO.UK

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Did you know?

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Word Origins Food Pyramid The very first ‘food pyramid’ was a Swedish invention and it was a product of necessity more than anything else. Back in 1970s, Sweden was gripped by high food prices. The government then tasked National Board of Health and Welfare to help the situation. In response to this, in 1972, they came up with ‘basic’ and ‘supplementary’ foods — in a nutshell basic foods were foods considered essential to a person’s well-being and supplementary foods were foods that provided vitamins and minerals which basic foods did not. However, Anna Britt Agnsäter, working for Kooperativa Förbundet (a retail/grocery co-operative), pushed the idea to the next level. Anna felt that the idea could be improved upon and developed a triangular model to better visualize the portions. The scheme was officially unveiled to the Swedish populace in Kooperativa Förbundet’s annual magazine, under the headline “Good wholesome food at reasonable prices.” The pyramid model showed how much of each food was to be consumed and was different from the previously used dietary circle, which did not mention food quantities. Owing to its effectiveness and visual appeal, the food pyramid is still used though the food quantities have varied over time.

How to say ‘playground’ in different languages Azerbaijani Catalan Croatian Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Haitian — creole Hungarian Italian Malay Norwegian Polish Portugese Spanish

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Kort Pati desbarjo Igraliste legeplads Speelplaats Palaruan Leikkipuisto Cour de recreation Spielplatz Lakou rekreyasyon Jatszoter Terreno di gioco Taman permainan Lekeplass Plac zabaw dla dzieci Recreio Patio de recreo

Cool facts Cats are one of, if not the most, popular pet in the world.

There are over 500 million domestic cats in the world.

Cats have flexible bodies and teeth adapted for hunting small animals such as mice and rats.

Cats spend a large amount of time licking their coats to keep them clean.

Cats have powerful night vision.

Cats also have excellent hearing and a powerful sense of smell.

Although a giraffe’s neck is 1.5 to 1.8 metres, it contains the same number of vertebrae as a human neck.

On average, cats live for around 12 to 15 years.

A male giraffe can weigh as much as a pickup truck.

That’s about 1400 kilograms.

Giraffes have bluish-purple tongues which are covered in bristly hair to help them eat the thorny Acacia trees.

The hair that makes up a giraffes tail is about 10 times thicker than the average strand of human hair.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

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Fun & games

Crossword

How carefully did you read this week’s issue of HiFive? If you think you are upto the task, try to solve our special crossword. The answers are all over HiFive! Put on your thinking caps, it is time to put the old noggin to work!

Across 1. A male giraffe can ----------— as much as a pickup truck.

3. The hair that makes up a giraffes tail is about 10 times --------— than the average strand of human hair.

6. Cats have -----------— bodies and teeth adapted for hunting small animals such as mice and rats.

10. Cats also have excellent hearing and a powerful sense of -------.

11. Cats are one of, if not the most, popular -------— in the world.

12. Cats have powerful ---------— vision.

14. The common ----------— inhabits the lower mountain ranges of Pakistan.

Down 1.

White-backed vulture has a -------— neck ruff.

2.

---------— have bluish-purple tongues which are covered in bristly hair to help them eat the thorny Acacia trees.

4.

Pakistan has ---------— geographical features ranging from mountains in the north to deserts in the south.

5.

Forests have been cut down leading to destruction of the ---------— of animals and cutting down of plants that can only be found in Pakistan.

7.

Indus River dolphin is also referred to as the ‘blind dolphin’ as its -----— hasn’t developed a lens.

8.

The Indus River ---------— locally known as bhulan is found in the Indus River, Pakistan.

9.

Cats spend a large amount of time licking their --------— to keep them clean.

13. Although a giraffe’s neck is 1.5 to 1.8 metres, it contains the same number of vertebrae as a ---------— neck.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Notable Entries for the Liberty Books Card Competition

Arwah Yousaf Age: 11

Winner

Ibad ur Rehman Age: 12

Winner

Haiqa Usman Age: 7

Manahil Khailiji Age: 8

Aleena Adel Age: 7