THE BIG FIVE

ABOUT SEA TURTLE

Sea turtles are turtles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic. Sea turtles, along with other turtles and tortoises, are part of the order Testudines. The leatherback belongs to the family Dermochelyidae and is its only member. Sea turtles constitute a single radiation that became distinct from all other turtles at least 110 million years ago.

Sea turtles are large, air-breathing reptiles that inhabit tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world. Their shells consist of an upper part and a lower section. Hard scales  cover all but the leatherback, and the number and arrangement of these scutes can be used to determine the species.

Only females come ashore to nest; males rarely return to land after crawling into the sea as hatchlings. Most females return to nest on the beach where they were born. Nesting seasons occur at different times around the world. In the U.S., nesting occurs from April through October. Most females nest at least twice during each mating season; some may nest up to ten times in a season. A female will not nest in consecutive years, typically skipping one or two years before returning.

WHERE IS THE NILE RIVER

The river Nile is in Africa. It originates in Burundi, South of equator, and flows northward through north eastern Africa, eventually flowing through Egypt and finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, It is the longest river in the world running about 6,650 km   

The River Nile is formed from the White Nile, which originates at Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile, which originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. These rivers meet in Sudan and then go on their long journey northwards towards the sea.

The White Nile is a lot bigger than the Blue Nile, but because of losses along the way the it only contributes about 15% to the flow of the combined Nile. The Blue Nile, rising in Ethiopia, contributes about 85% to the flow of the Nile that passes through Egypt to the Mediterranean.

The course of the Nile in Sudan is distinctive. It flows over six groups of cataracts, from the first at Aswan to the sixth at Sabaloka (just north of Khartoum) and then turns to flow southward before again returning to flow north. This is called the Great Bend of the Nile.

The Yellow Nile is a former tributary that connected the Ouaddaï Highlands of eastern Chad to the Nile River. Its remains are known as the Wadi Howar. The wadi passes through Gharb Darfur near the northern border with Chad and meets up with the Nile near the southern point of the Great Bend.

BLACK CHERRY TREE

The black cherry tree is a woody plant species belonging to the genus Prunus. The tree can grow up to 15-35 metres with a trunk diameter of up to 50 – 130 centimetres, a mature black cherry can easily be identified in a forest by its very broken, dark grey to black bark, which has the appearance of very thick, burnt cornflakes.

Pale green berries begin to form as pea-size balls in late spring, born in long, hanging clusters, Ripening in late summer, The fruit is not truly ripe, however, until it has turned black, usually in August. By then, it has softened and become quite juicy. Edible by humans, the tastes is sweater when ripe, but is still some what bitter.

Because the seeds so easily germinate, this tree can quickly invade in lawns, borders and forests, and grows from a seeding even in underbrush. It prefers deep, moist, rich soil of varying PH levels, but will tolerate poorer soils and drought once established. 

ABOUT WHALES

Whales are the largest animals one earth they are mammals

What hunt for food using a variety of techniques and not all 

species of whale will hunt for or attack their prey in the same way. 

The way it works is as they their prey they send out a series of clicking and busing noises, these clicking and busing sounds bounce off of objects in the area (such as fish or other aquatic lifeforms) and return back to the whale indicating information such as how far objects are, what type of texture it is (hard or soft), and whether or not the object is moving or still.

Unlike most animals, whales are conscious breathers. All mammals sleep, but whales cannot afford to become unconscious for long because they may drown

Whaling is no longer the only threat to whales. The oceans, or rather, human impacts on the oceans, have changed dramatically over the half-century since whales have been protected.

Known environmental threats to whales include global warming, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise such as sonar weaponry, and ship strikes. Industrial fishing threatens the food supply of whales and also puts whales at risk of entanglement in fishing gear.