Plants around Us As we look around we would be able to identify almost everything, from food to clothes to furniture, which originated from plants. This proves how important plants are for us. Like the animal kingdom, the kingdom of plants too has over half a million species in it. Though they are found in great variety and in all shapes and sizes, they have three things in common, i.e. all...

Hunter and the Hunted Life is constantly evolving and one living organism or animal is dependent upon another. Every plant and animal is eaten by another living being or animal. Herbivores (plant eating animals) eat plants and they are then eaten by the carnivores (meat or flesh eating animals). Some of the smaller carnivores are then eaten by other bigger carnivores. The illustration on this page shows how a rabbit eats...

Life in the Rain Forests The rain forests of the world are found in the hot and humid regions around the Equator and the largest rain forest is in the Amazon basin of South America. The abundance of warmth, sunlight and rain in these areas ensures the thriving of the greatest variety of wildlife and vegetation. Below the canopy of the tall trees and closer to the ground we have various...

Life in the Savannah Savannah are grasslands in the tropical areas where rain is seasonal and the atmosphere is generally dry and dusty. The African savannah are the most famous in the world and are inhabited by a large number of grazing hooved animals including Deer, Antelopes, Gazelles, Zebras, Wildebeests etc and predators like Lions, Cheetahs, Jackals and Hyenas. Among the birds there are larger ones like the Ostrich and the...

Life in the Deciduous Forests Deciduous forests which once covered vast expanses of land in the northern temperate region have diminished in number and we have very few left today. These forests have a lot of shrubs on the ground around huge trees of Oak, Beech, Ash, Birch, and Alder, and as such they are able to support a lot of wild life like deer, wild boar, wolves, lynx, mountain lions,...

Life in the Coniferous Forests In northern Canada and the C.I.S. there are vast belts of forests called `Coniferous forests’. In the summer months, as the snow melts, ample food for many varieties of birds and animals is available and the otherwise cold forests are suddenly full of life with birds like Woodpeckers, Tits, Cross bills, Jays, Hazel Hen, etc feeding on berries, insects and seeds. There are also a lot...

Balance of Life and Survival Nature has a unique way of maintaining a balance of life and ensuring `Survival of the fittest’. This is based upon the basic fact that all living things and plants are inter-dependent upon each other. Air is the most basic resource we have, if all living things give out carbon dioxide during respiration then plants use the same in photosynthesis and release out oxygen which is...

Wonders of the Animal World On thinking of animals, we can recall them with certain shapes, colours and sizes which are commonly seen. When discussing a spider, we can think of a common household spider, or a poisonous black widow spider, we may even know of the Tarantulas which live in burrows, but we may not know of the ‘Water spider’ which lives it’s entire life under water by making air...