Giraffes, Giraffes, Giraffes!

I've said it before: Giraffes are my new FAVORITE animal! I absolutely love them. Their long legs, elegant necks, perfect patterns, and the little nubbins on their ears! Here are some random facts I picked up about giraffes from the National Geographic website...

• Giraffes roam the African savanna in constant search for food, like treetop acacia buds.
• These long legs allow giraffes to run as fast as 35 miles (56 kilometers) an hour over short distances and cruise comfortably at 10 miles (16 kilometers) an hour over longer distances.
• Their average lifespan is 25 years.
• Bulls (male giraffes) usually fight using their long necks and heads, these contests are not so dangerous, and usually results in one giraffe submitting and walking away.
• Giraffes eat most of the time and, like cows, regurgitate food and chew it as cud.
• A giraffe eats hundreds of pounds of leaves each week and must travel miles to find enough food.
• Female giraffes give birth standing up. Their young endure a rather rude welcome into the world by falling more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) to the ground at birth.
•  Giraffes have beautiful spotted coats. While no two individuals have exactly the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar.
• These giraffe infants can stand in half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth.

Ecosystems: What are they and how do they work?

What is an Ecosystem?

There are several ecosystems that make up one biome (region characterized by distinct climate/specific life forms). An ecosystem is a community where populations of different species interact with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy. Ecosystems can range in size from a puddle of water to a stream, or from a patch of woods to an entire forest, the can be natural or artificial as well: human created (Miller, 53).  

All of the earth's ecosystems come together to make up the biosphere, which is the global ecosystem where all life is intertwined and connected. I think it is simply amazing how God could come up with such a complex living system, that would require such balance, but yet supports everything that we live in and what lives around us.

I also learned that Ecotone is basically a transitional zone, where one ecosystem merges to meet another, and this process can involve 2 or more ecosystems. 

Within an ecosystem there are several different types of plant and animal species. Each animal species has a specific niche (their role in the environment) and are part of the flow of energy within an ecosystem.  Each animal and plant are so vital to an ecosystem, because even just missing one species may result in a collapse of other species in the ecosystem.  Our environment is so interconnected, which is why we must be sure to take great care of it.

The Hilton Estate and Quite Time

Beautiful Acacia Trees

During our first Biology Practical it hit me how excited I was just to be walking around in nature, and not just anywhere, but in SOUTH AFRICA.  I cannot say it enough, that I am so blessed to have this opportunity, and how excited I am to be in Biology!

Caryn describing the characteristics of an aloe plant!

There was aloe plant licking and a spitting contest with Impala poop involved (probably the most foreign things I have ever put in my mouth), but I think my favorite moment would have been the quite time we had just to read our Bibles and reflect on the beauty of God's creation.

In life, this is probably one of my most favorite things to do, but I do not do it nearly enough.  It is not always that I cannot find the time, but I occupy myself with other things that I seem to think are more important.  But living at African Enterprise, right next to a nature reserve, I feel that I have no excuse not to get out and experience life as God created it just a little bit more.

A shot of the burned and new grasses with Bethany in the background :]

During our reflection time I did a little bit of reading, some thinking, and a lot of just listening to the sounds of the wind and birds.  I did not hear one hint of human life, no car engines or airplanes, just me and nature as God intended for it to be.  

Besides the time we had to simply be alone, I learned a lot about the cycle of burning grass and why it is effective.  I did not know that burning could be such an effective tool to the regrowth of new vegetation.  In a controlled area the fire is able to wipe out the old and dead vegetation, clearing way for new plant life to grow while fertilizing and aerating the soil.  When something like a tree is burnt down, the roots still remain intact under the soil, therefore the tree is able to grow again.

New grass and Brittany Watson's awesome rain boots.

What is Ecology?

(Miller 50-81)

 Just thought it'd be fun to take a picture of this fly :]

I really love the opening question of this chapter, "Have you thanked the insects today, (Miller 80)? In turn that makes me think more importantly about this question: Have you thanked God for the insects today? Insects are something so small that they usually go unnoticed, but I have seen that they are a vital part of our ecosystems and the cycle of life.  Insects contribute to the environment by pollinating, being food for other animals, and each species performs even more specific tasks.

Ecology, like every other word, stems from the Greek word oikos (place to live).  Ecology, "Is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their non-living environment," (Miller 51).  It is the study of how all of nature connects together, when one component of the ecosystem is out of place, the rest will become out of balance as well. 

The realm of ecology is a broad one, it goes in this order: organisms, population, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere.  Realizing the complexity of the nature around us, I am humbled by the level of creativity our Almighty Creator has. 

The Word of God Stands Forever

"A voice says, 'Cry!' And I said, 'What shall I cry?' All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flowers of the field.  The grass withers, and the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.  The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." {Isaiah 40:6-8}

Flowers at the Eden Garden Center

This is my favorite Bible verse, and mostly because of the flower 

references.  I love everything to do with flowers! But this verse also

reminds me of the fragility of life and nature, and that God is the real

creator who could take away His beautiful creation at any given moment.

God is the only constant, He is the foundation of which we rely on.

In this class (Humans and the Environment), I am excited to see what God's creation has in store for us and the prospect of maybe seeing a giraffe or two :)