Great Job Rob.

C FOR CORAL
This week I am at the letter C and I decided early on in my A-Z of endangered species that C was going to be one of the most beautiful things on the planet, Coral.

Coral reefs can be found all around the world, the most famous being the great barrier reef off the eastern coast of Australia, this stretches for nearly 1500 miles and is made up of 100os of smaller reefs . Coral is actually a calcium skeleton formed by millions of tiny marine invertebrate of which there are over 4500 different types.
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In my sculpture I feature 2 different types of coral, in the background you can see some Sea Fan coral, These are anchored into the seabed and reach up into the strong ocean currents helping the coral to catch plankton for its food. In the foreground I have made some Great star Coral, these can form massive domes up to 1.5 metres across. To make the Great Star Coral I used Antonio's Pinch line twist.

Corals all around the world are really in trouble from many different threats from rising sea levels to pollution and much more, 22 coral species have been added to the official endangered species list in the past few years and I imagine more will be added in the near future. There are plenty of ways to help save these amazing corals, check out the list here – //http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/coralreefs/ways-to-help-coral-reefs/

My main focus of this project is to bring awareness to the many species under threat and one way you can help is to share this post and any of the others from my A-Z series.

If you would like to make a donation towards the WWF-UK then I have set up a Just giving donations page – //https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/EndangeredSpecies

100% of the monies raised on the Just Giving page will go directly to the WWF-UK

Next week for the letter D I am featuring my first reptile of the series.

//http://www.bowtieballoonguy.co.uk/blog/

The sea fan to my eyes is just all sausage dogs............sorry.

It's nice reading up the details you add to the post Rob, thanks.

Quote from: "Graham Lee"The sea fan to my eyes is just all sausage dogs............sorry.

Don't be sorry, I agree with you. After I finished editing it i saw the dogs and now I can't unsee them :-D

Love it!  

'Fan'tastic





I'll get my coat

The A-Z of Endangered Species - D for Desert Tortoise

It is week 4 and that means the letter D for my A-Z of Endangered Species and this week I am featuring my first reptile of the series, it is a Desert Tortoise.

This tortoise lives in the southwestern states of the United States and in northern areas of Mexico, it prefers the softer desert grounds so that it can use its strong claws to dig its underground burrows.
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Desert Tortoises are threatened by various things, poaching and disease are common but other problems include the introduction of litter and landfill sites which attracts ravens, these birds can eat the smaller baby tortoises. Ravens would not normally do too well in the harsh desert environment however with the introduction of litter and water they are now thriving in the desert areas.

Another serious problem is the driving of off road vehicles in the tortoise habitat, the off road vehicles spread invasive weeds making it difficult for the tortoises to travel around, also tortoises often seek shade from the heat during the hottest part of the day and a parked vehicle looks perfect but as you can imagine can be deadly for the poor tortoise.

My main focus of this project is to bring awareness to the many species under threat and one way you can help is to share this post and any of the others from my A-Z series.

If you would like to make a donation towards the WWF-UK then I have set up a Just giving donations page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ ... redSpecies

100% of the monies raised on the Just Giving page will go directly to the WWF-UK

Next week for the letter E I am heading to the jungles of Africa.
http://www.bowtieballoonguy.co.uk/blog/

A-Z of Endangered Species – Eastern Lowland Gorilla

The Eastern Lowland Gorilla is the largest of the four subspecies of gorilla, It has large stocky body, large hands and is covered in jet black hair. In this picture we can see a young male gorilla foraging for food, like all gorillas living mainly on a diet of fruit and other herbaceous materials.
[attachment=0:31956rt6][/attachment]E-ELGorilla-BTBGSM.jpg[/attachment:31956rt6]
Found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the Eastern Lowland Gorilla has been a victim of many years of civil unrest, The gorilla makes its home in the tropical rainforests of the DRC but their habitat has been dramatically reduced in size in recent years. Poaching is also a major problem along with major diseases such as Ebola.

The WWF is working hard to monitor the Gorilla population. Protected areas are being expanded and the WWF are working with the local people, park authorities and the Congolese government to help conserve this amazing primate.

The WWF has some amazing information about the Eastern Lowland Gorilla here – http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/ea ... nd-gorilla , My main focus of this project is to bring awareness to the many species under threat and one way you can help is to share this post and any of the others from my A-Z series.

If you would like to make a donation towards the WWF-UK then I have set up a Just giving donations page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ ... redSpecies . 100% of the monies raised on the Just Giving page will go directly to the WWF-UK

Next week for the letter F I am going to feature an animal that most people will never have heard of.

http://www.bowtieballoonguy.co.uk/blog/

A-Z of Endangered Species – Fossa

This week for the letter F I have made an animal called a Fossa, this mammal is the largest carnivorous animal on the island of Madagascar and they look like a cross between a dog and a cat. The fossa will eat everything they can catch including frogs, lizards, insects, fish, lemurs and other small mammals.

The Fossa is a solitary creature and they live in the dense forests all across Madagascar, usually high up in the hills and mountain forests.  As with a lot of animals on Madagascar these creatures are suffering from the deforestation taking place on the island, there are protected habitats in place to give them a safe home however these are not massive and there is a lot of unprotected land. Another problem comes from local farmers, they regard the fossa as a serious threat to their poultry.

The Fossa can be seen in zoos and wildlife parks all around the world, successful breeding programmes are helping to ensure this wonderful animal does not disappear. if you would like to find out more about the fossa then follow this link - http://a-z-animals.com/animals/fossa/

My main focus of this project is to bring awareness to the many species under threat and one way you can help is to share this post and any of the others from my A-Z series.

If you would like to make a donation towards the WWF-UK then I have set up a Just giving donations page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ ... redSpecies . 100% of the monies raised on the Just Giving page will go directly to the WWF-UK

Next week for the letter G I am going to feature my first bird of the series.

http://www.bowtieballoonguy.co.uk/blog/

Love them all so far Rob, can't wait to see the next one!

It's nice to see the designs but also interesting to read up the little blog from each
of the animals. Makes for a nice interesting read and brings attention to each individual animal.

This week is week number 7 and I am featuring my first bird of the series, It is a penguin, everyone loves penguins and this Galápagos penguin is the only species of penguin living north of the equator. As the name suggests these penguins live on the Galápagos Islands in the Eastern Pacific ocean around 600 miles to the west of Ecuador.

This Penguin survives in the warmer Galápagos Islands due to the Cromwell current bringing cold waters up from the southern cooler regions. They spend their days in the sea eating fish and crustaceans then return to land at night.

The Galápagos penguin is quite small in size and so it is at risk from many predators. On land, the penguins are preyed upon by crabs, snakes, domestic cats, hawks, owls and even rats while in the water they are preyed upon by sharks, seals and sea lions. They also face many dangers such as Illegal fishermen interrupting the penguins' nests and being in fishing nets by mistake. On top of all of those risks they are also in danger from regular volcanic activity.  

I made this Penguin at the Portsmouth Balloon Jam and Graham kindly held back on taking photos of him so that he would be saved for my project, this one was actually my 3rd attempt at getting him looking right.

You can find out more about the Galápagos penguin here - http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/galapagos-penguin
You can donate to the WWF-UK by visiting this link - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ ... redSpecies

Next week for the letter H I am going to feature my first insect of the series.

http://www.bowtieballoonguy.co.uk/blog/

Love that penguin and learning about this one.  Thanks Rob!

Hercules Beetle - I have reached week 8 of my endangered species made from balloons and for the letter H I have decided to feature my first insect of the series, This fascinating creature is called the Hercules beetle and is one of the largest beetles in the world. living in the jungles of south America it spends its time foraging through the leaf litter looking for food.

The Hercules beetle is named for it's sheer size with some being measured up to 18cm in length but it is rare for them to get this big. This amazing beetle can carry up to 850 times its own body weight which makes it one of the strongest creatures on earth for its size. To give you an idea of its strength it is the equivalent of me lifting up a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

There are 13 different types of Hercules beetle and the male beetles all have the distinctive horn pincers, some have horns which are longer than the actual body of the beetle. As is the case with many animals in the jungles of South America these incredible creatures are under threat due to the deforestation of their natural habitat. They are also affected by water and air pollution.

You can find out more about the Hercules Beetle here - //http://a-z-animals.com/animals/hercules-beetle/

You can donate to the WWF-UK by visiting this link - //https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/EndangeredSpecies

Next week it is the letter I and I will be featuring a very popular animal.

Nice!  I didn't know there was such a beetle.  I love learning new things.  You are going to put these all in a book when you are done with all of them aren't you?