The Green List
April 2007

1. A loon may have to run as far as several hundred metres on the surface of the water on a calm day before gaining enough speed to take off.

2. New record! A satellite-tracked Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponiaca) has set a new record for long-distance non-stop flight. The bird flew 10,200 kilometres - from the North Island of New Zealand to Yalu Jiang, at the northern end of the Yellow Sea in China.

3. Tired of blaming the dog? Then try the fish! Studies show that some fish fart after eating – just like us. But the difference is that some fish need their farting abilities to survive, not just to be funny. For example, herring make farting sounds to let each other know where they are. And sand tiger sharks gulp air into their stomachs at the surface of the water, then let the air out as gas to help them sink deeper into the water.

4. Rats' front teeth grow 11 to 14 cm each year. They wear them down by gnawing continuously. Rats will gnaw on just about anything – from cement and bricks to other small animals.

5. Ninety-nine per cent of deep-sea animals create their own light. This process is called bioluminescence – it is the most widely used mode of communication on earth.

6. A critically endangered rabbit has been spotted for only the third time in 35 years. Researchers were very happy to see Indonesia’s Sumatran striped rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri), as the species is rapidly losing habitat from threats like farming.

7. 100% of the original wild migratory Whooping crane population breeds in the Boreal forest.

8. Twenty-six million waterfowl are estimated to breed in the Boreal forest.

9. Until the late 1660s, the queen bee was thought to be a king. Dutch scientist Jan Swammerdam dissected the largest bee in a hive and discovered that she had ovaries.

10. After mating with the queen bee, male honeybees die from a ruptured abdomen. Sex detaches their endophallus, which gets stuck inside the queen.

11. At a depth of 4,000m, the pressure that is exerted by water is equivalent to a cow standing on a person’s thumbnail. And your ears hurt a little at the bottom of the pool!

12. South America is the world’s most bird-rich continent. At least 2,500 bird species are known to live there – more than one-quarter of the world’s species.

13. A comeback story for the ages! In 1973, only nine Mauritius kestrels remained on the island. The population is now in the hundreds!

14. Mexico's Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals) contains some of the world's largest known natural crystals - translucent gypsum beams as long as 11 metres.

15. There are more insects in one square mile of rural land than human beings on the whole planet.

16. Starfish have five of them, but what are they? It turns out that the limbs growing from the centre of a starfish are arms, not legs. But in a strange twist, the things growing from the underside of their arms are feet, not hands. Confused yet? Starfish have hundreds of tube-shaped feet, called podia, that they use to walk around on the bottom of the sea.

17. Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight.

18. That’s a lot! There are almost 1,000 bat species to be found worldwide. Bats make up a quarter of all mammal species on Earth!

19. What happens when a bird damages its feathers? Bird feathers are often lost or broken, but it doesn’t mean the end for our feathered friends. New feathers will generally replace old or broken ones when a bird molts. A bird with damaged feathers is likely to survive as long as it can fly and feed.

20. Snowshoe hare can travel as fast as 45 km an hour and can advance up to 3 m in one bound.

21. About 100,000 sea mammals and turtles choke on or get tangled in plastic ocean debris each year.

22. Alligators and crocodiles…what’s the difference? Though similar in many ways, it is possible to distinguish between the two. The fourth tooth of the alligator's lower jaw fits into a pocket of the upper jaw. The same tooth in the crocodile fits into a groove in the side of the upper jaw, and is visible when the croc's mouth is closed. In addition, the alligator’s snout is much broader than that of the crocodile.

23. Should you ever find yourself wrestling an alligator, remember this: The muscles that close an alligator's jaws are very strong, but once the jaws are shut, they can easily be held closed by a person's bare hands.

24. Ever wondered what toll your clothes take on the environment? One single organic cotton tee shirt requires the following resources: 1.7 kilograms of fossil fuel, 4 kilograms of carbon dioxide, 0.45 kilograms of waste.

25. Camels are able to make their desert treks because they store fat in their humps. They can draw from that energy store when food is hard to find.

26. Amazingly acclimatized to desert living, camels have an unusual tolerance for dehydration. Most animals perish when they lose 20% of their body weight, but camels can survive a 40% loss of body weight without serious consequences.

27. A very good reason to compost: The average household produces about 200 lbs of kitchen waste per year.

28. Why do flamingos stand on one leg? For several reasons. One, it keeps one foot dry to avoid the pruning effect that comes with too much time in the water. Second, it helps with hunting as their shadows look more like trees. Third, it conserves body heat and energy that is lost through their blood-rich leg muscles.

29. Money talks: A tree planted today on the west side of your home could decrease your energy bills by 3% in 5 years. In 15 years the savings will be nearly 12%.

30. Just in time for Arbour Day: The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.