Saltwater crocodiles

After learning about Koalas, Kangaroos and Australian Aboriginals i'm learning about Saltwater crocodiles, the Largest reptile in the world!

What do they eat?

A saltwater crocodile diets varies widely. It mainly eats mammals, birds and fish, but will eat mostly anything that passes including other crocodiles! A saltwater crocodiles like to hunt at night they'll hide until something comes ear the edge of the water and then SNAP! They'll bite and when they bite you'll never be able to open there mouth, but you could hold its mouth shut with your bear hands! This is because the muscles that open the jaw are tiny, about the size of a toddlers shoe whereas the the muscles that close the jaws are massive! They are about the size of your foot! The reason their muscles are so strong is so its prey can't get away.  

How big are they?

Saltwater crocodiles usually weigh about 400-600kg! Male saltwater crocodiles can grow up to 7m! But thats very rare, they usually grow from 5m and up. A female saltwater crocodile usually grows up to 3m which seems tiny compared to the males but its about the size of two fully grown men!  

What is its latin name?

The saltwater crocodiles latin name is: Crocodylus porosus but its also called:

Indo-pacific crocodile,

Estuarine crocodile

and by the Australians:

Salties!

Habitat?

Saltwater crocodiles mainly live in south east Asia and northern Australia. They live mainly in swamps and rivers but can be found in open sea. Saltwater crocodiles also live in freshwater.

How fast can they swim/run?

You could probably outrun a saltwater crocodile on land as they can only go 8.7mph but theres no chance you could outrun a saltwater crocodile in the water as it can swim at speeds up to 18mph! The reason why they can swim so fast is because there tail's so strong, it propels them.

Interesting facts about saltwater crocodiles

When a crocodile runs it looks like a rabbit.

Their the largest reptile in the world!

One of the main tactics to hunt is the 'death roll' the crocodile will grab its prey and then roll vigorously so that the prey gets thrown of guard and can't attack.

They can swallow massive bits of meat without chewing it.

You can tell that a crocodile isn't an alligator by looking at its closed jaw, if you can only see its top teeth sticking out then it's an alligator but if you can see some of its bottom teeth sticking out as well as its top teeth then its a crocodile.  

If you'd like to learn a bit more about saltwater crocodiles here's a couple of pages and a documentary:

Active wild: Saltwater crocodile,

The animal files: Saltwater crocodile,

Inside natures giants: Saltwater crocodiles.

Prison colonies

When did humans first arrive in Australia?

The very first humans to arrive in Australia arrived around 53,000 years ago by sea. Today they are known as the Aboriginals (or the indigenous people of Australia.)

What did the Aboriginals do to the land?

The Aboriginals were hunter gatherers which meant they would hunt animals, bring them home, skin them, use the meat for food and the skin for clothes. Aboriginals weren't farmers.

Europeans?

In 1788 the Europeans came to Australia in hope of finding a new place to keep all of their prisoners, at this point there was about half a million Aboriginals in Australia.

Prison colonies?

When the Europeans came to Australia in 1788 they set up colonies for all the prisoners. The way the colonies worked was that if you did something wrong you would be sent to Australia to a colony do do work for however many years and once you had served your sentence you would be set free.

Released prisoners?

You would think that being released from a prison colony after years of work would be amazing! Well it would and it wouldn't, because once you got released you would be free but you would still be stuck in Australia.

How did the Europeans treat the Aboriginals?

When the Europeans came to Australia they tried to befriend the Aboriginals and see if they could be useful but the Aboriginals turned down all offers. Aboriginals feared the white people because they believed they where the returned dead.  After no civilisation from the Aboriginals the Europeans ended up killing them and stealing there land.  

The stolen generation

The good history of Australia is absolutely amazing! But the other history.........not so. So far i've learned so much about Australia! I've learned about Koalas, Red kangaroos, Aboriginals and Aussie slang, but know its time to learn about the stolen generation.



What is it?

The stolen generation is a very sad subject, it happened between 1910 and 1970. What happened was that the Australian government (the Australian government at the time probably wasn't made of Aboriginal Australians but of European settlers) believed they had a right to take mixed race children away from their parents at about age 2 to 5 to mix them into white society and breed their black ancestry out. They were forced to accept white civilisation and where banned from speaking there native language.

When did it happen?

The stolen generation occurred between 1910 and 1970.

Who was involved?

The people who where in charge of this happening where the Australian government of the time.

This quote from Australians Together explains the government policy of Assimilation:

The forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families was part of the policy of Assimilation. Assimilation was based on the assumption of black inferiority and white superiority, which proposed that Indigenous people should be allowed to “die out” through a process of natural elimination, or, where possible, should be assimilated into the white community.  

Children taken from their parents were taught to reject their Indigenous heritage, and forced to adopt white culture. Their names were often changed, and they were forbidden to speak their traditional languages. Some children were adopted by white families, and many were placed in institutions where abuse and neglect were common.

Why? What was the point?

The Australian government didn't believe in the future of the Aboriginals and thought that if they could assimilate the mixed race children into white society by forcing them to accept European civilisation and banning them from speaking their cultural language everything would be perfect...... Well they were wrong, all this caused was trauma for the children and their parents.

Australian slang

Today i'm doing a fun project about Australian slang! Before I start here are a couple of relevant words and what they mean:

Accent: Accent is the way your voice sounds when you pronounce words, a group of people (in a country) will speak in an accent and another group of people (from a different country) will speak in a different accent.

Dialect: dialect is when people in a different areas speak the same language with some slightly different words, for example in Cornwall instead of saying 'see you later' you might say 'see you dreckly.'    

Here is a list of 21 Aussie (Australian) slang words and what they mean.

1. Arvo - afternoon. "See you this arvo?"
2. Barbie - barbecue. " Wanna come to mine this arvo for a barbecue?"

3. Esky - cooler, fridge. " I got some Tinnies in the esky."

4. Mozzie - mosquito. "Annoying mozzies!"

5. Roo - kangaroo, baby kangaroo. "Look at that cute little roo!"

6. Servo - petrol station. "I'm gonna pop past the servo on my way."

7. Sook - to sulk. "If your gonna sook then do it somewhere else!"

8. Ta - thank you. "Ta for the tinnie."

9. Togs - swimsuit. "I'm just gonna get my togs on."

10. Ripper or Bonza - something really great. "That tinnie is ripper!"

11. Grommet - young surfer. "That grommet is good!"

12. Chockers - really full. "I'm chockers!"

13. Tradie - tradesman. "That tradie is doing good."

14. Ute - Utility vehicle, pickup truck. "I'm just gonna pick up the ute."

15. Ambo - ambulance. "Look at that ambo!"

16. Aussie - Australian. "I feel like a proper Aussie now!"

17. Cactus - Useless, broken. "This washing machine is cactus!"

18. Dunny - loo, toilet. " I'm just gonna go to the dunny."

19. Garbo - garbage collector."I need to put the rubbish out for the garbo."

20. Hooroo - goodbye. " Hooroo mum i'll be back in half an hour."

21. Tinnies - beer. " I'm gonna crack open a tinnie want one?"

22. Thongs - flip-flops. "I've lost my thongs!"

23. Shiela - woman. "She's a fine looking sheila!"

24. Singlet - vest, tank top. "I'm gonna get a singlet on its to hot for shirts!"

25. Sanger - sandwich. " I'm gonna pop past the shop to get a sanger."

koalas!

In my last blog i wrote about Red Kangaroos and today i"m going to carry on writing about Australias animals and write about Koalas.

Diet?
A Koalas diet is very boring it consists of eucalyptus leaves and barely anything else.

Habitat?

Koalas are mainly found in southeastern and eastern Australia.

How big are they?

A fully grown koala is only 60-85cm tall and weighs a mighty 4-15kg!!! Imagine being so small and weighing that much!

How many are there?
Theres A very small population of 43,000 koalas left in the world! we need to save them!!!


Can you have a pet Koala?

The answer to that Question isn"t very well known round the world. When people go too pet shops with their kids they probably ask them "what pet do you want?" and they"l probably say "I want a Koala!" But sadly you cant legally keep a koala as a pet.

How long do they live?

A Koalas lifespan in the wild usually varies between 13 and 18 years! Thats a long time.

The Red Kangaroo

This month I am going to be writing about Australia and its wildlife, democracy, history, culture... etc. But today I will be writing about the Red kangaroo and how it lives, what it eats, how far can it jump and all the main facts.

How large is a Red kangaroo?

The Red kangaroo is the largest kangaroo in the world and is the largest mammal in Australia! A male red kangaroo can grow up to 10 feet and weight up to 200 pounds! The female red kangaroo is quite small and only grows up to 4 feet and 80 pounds.

How many kangaroos are there?

There is an astounding population of 50 to 60 million kangaroos in Australia! Imagine having that many pets!

What do red kangaroos eat?

The red kangaroo is a herbivore which means it only eats grasses and plants.

Where do they live?

The red kangaroo is mainly found in western and central Australia.

How far can a red kangaroo jump?

One of the longest recorded jumps of a red kangaroo was up to 30 foot!

FIGHT!
You might think of kangaroos as lovely cuddly animals.....bounce......bounce.......bounce. No. Kangaroos are very strong and fierce, you wouldn't want to get in a fight with one. Male kangaroos will box each other in a fight but if it gets serious they will lean on their tail and kick with both of their feet at once.

Pouch?

A kangaroo is a marsupial. A marsupial is an animal that gives birth very early then the baby stays in its pouch beside the mother until it fully develops. A baby kangaroo is called a joey and is only about an inch when it is first born.

Do they live in groups?

All kangaroos including the red kangaroo live in large groups, a group of kangaroos is called a mob.

Australian Aboriginals

The Australian Aboriginals where the very first people in Australia and they are amazing! At least I think that they are.

When did Aboriginals come to Australia?

The First people to come to Australia where from southeast Asia. Nobody knows exactly when they came but the best estimate is about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago!

How and what did Aboriginals hunt?

Aboriginals hunted a lot, but what they hunted depended of where they lived. Aboriginals tribes near coastlines would hunt big sea life animals like Dugongs, Turtles and Whales, but an aboriginal tribe in desert land would hunt for large kangaroos and Emus. Aboriginals mainly hunted with spears and knives while catching seafood but while hunting for on-land animals they used a strait non-returning boomerang to damage kangaroos legs and to kill Emus. As well as eating meat aboriginals
also ate edible plants and insects.

What's Dreamtime?

Aboriginals Believed that they had human, plant and animal ancestors that created the whole world and everything in it, if someone dies they will be reborn as a plant or another person.

Art?

Aboriginal art is usually about dreamtime and is done at most of the dreamtime ceremonies. Paintings of spirits, animals and humans of dreamtime cover sacred rocks and cliffs near Aboriginal tribes.

Boomerangs?

Aboriginals invented the boomerang around 8000bc but they also invented a non-returning straight boomerang for hunting.

Swimming in Lies

A while ago I entered the Radio 2 500 Words children's writing competition. My story started off over 2000 words long so I had to cut lots of it out, but I thought you might like to see the full version so here it is....

My name is Johanna Ashley Marigold. I’m eleven and three-quarters old and have five older sisters, Lilly and Becky (Twins aged 18), Louise (16) , Ella (15) and Tulip (14).  My mother and Father, Poppy and Charles are world champion synchronised swimmers, as were their parents and grandparents.  All of them expect me to do well like my sisters, but I am no good at synchronised swimming, and want to be a long distance swimmer. My family have 3 cats, Kitty, Lion and Lulu, all ginger long-haired cats.

My life is quite normal all round I wake up in the morning and getting dressed, have breakfast and take the bus to school. My week is casually nice, but I don’t like Sunday. Every Sunday we will all get up very early and have melon for breakfast and go to the pool. Today is Sunday. We, like normal, have melon for breakfast and get in the car to drive to the pool. Once we get there we put on our swim suits and get in the right positions to start swimming.  I hear my father counting backwards from three, I know that is the drill to get ready to dive.  

“Three, two, one,” dive, kick, turn, flip……what next? Oh dear I’ve forgotten the routine again.  

“Johanna!” There’s mum “I need you to remember the routine. The national synchronised swimming competition is in two weeks and we’re representing England. I don’t want you to disgrace the Marigold family in front of thousands of people. “ 

I didn’t answer her, I was busy trying to remember the routine.  

“Johanna, can you hear your mother or are you just being rude?” It was Dad this time. When dad isn’t happy with you, you answer him. 

I quickly made up an excuse, “Sorry Dad , my ears were blocked and I was trying to remember the routine." 

“Well next time, listen harder and remember better, OK?"  

“Yes, Dad.” 

Finally it’s time to go home. Time to go home, just the thought of being home is nice. I have a little bit of time before I have to get ready to go out for Sunday dinner, the good part of Sunday. I wish I could just wear some jeans and a t-shirt but mum's got me a new dress. To mum, dad and my sisters, the dress is beautiful, but to me it’s ugly. It is pastel pink with white dots on, and comes with a pair of slightly raised baby-blue slippers. Alright time to get in the car, and go to my parents favourite restaurant, the Bedbiury. Just like normal we are shown to our seats. The only thing I like about this restaurant is the pudding which is delicious. I decided to chose the toasted sweet potato and feta salad. 

Once we had all ordered what we wanted, mum gave my sisters five pounds each to spend next door on new under-water make-up for the national synchronised swimming competition. Once all of my sisters had gone I was actually quite happy to be in this horrible restaurant after all because I hate make-up, but now I wish I’d gone with my sisters. 

“Johanna darling, me and your father were talking earlier. We don’t think that you are doing so well. We’re going to have to give you extra hours of synchronised swimming every Monday until you improve.” 

I was not happy, I didn’t know what to say, I just said, “OK.”

Once we were home I immediately went upstairs and took off that revolting dress. Now I had time to think properly. What would I do? I don’t know? 

"Girls, time for bed.” Right, thinking time over, I’ll figure something out in time. 

Morning time, normal routine. Almost at school, oh no there’s a test today, they’ll be no time to think about swimming lessons. Finally finished the test, probably did awfully. The rest of the day was awful too, I fell asleep in algebra and did everything in math wrong. The end of the day, must catch the bus. Mum’s waiting at the door for me with fifteen pounds in her hand. 

“There you are! I’ve been waiting forever ! Here is fifteen pounds. Five for the bus and ten for the swimming."

"Thanks, Mum.”  I said with a bit of doubt in my voice.  

"Good girl, go now, I have a meeting to go to.” 

“OK, Mum. Bye.” 

The bus ride to the pool was long and boring. I had a look at the notice board once I got there and was amazed! Starting now was a full lesson of long distance swimming! I couldn’t believe my luck, I would go there now and ask if I could join in for the session. I got there and there was a lovely woman waiting by the pool. 

“Hello” I said.  

“I was wondering if I could join in, I have ten pounds?”  

“Yes of course you can, my name is Anna, what’s yours?”  

“Johanna.”  

“Well Johanna, would you like to stand by the others for me please?” I nodded and walked over to the others. “Alright everybody, let’s get started. Get ready to dive please.” 

Everybody got ready to dive.  

“Now kids, I want you to dive into the pool, swim to the end and back as quickly as possible. Three, two, one, GO!”  

I did exactly as Anna said and dived, swam to the end and back before anyone else. 

“Well done, Johanna! Have you done long distance swimming before?”  

“No but I do do synchronised swimming.” 

“Do you now? Where do you do it?”  

“Here but in the other pool.” 

“Well that’s good, now lets get on with the lesson. Kids this time I want you to do the same thing again but, this time I’m going to time you, OK?”  The rest of the lesson was the best time I had ever had in my life. 

When I got back my mother asked me how my lesson was and I instantly said it was amazing. She seemed very happy.

“Good girl. Now time for bed, you must to tired?”  

“Yes, Mum, I’m very tired.” Not believing my luck I got into my pyjama’s and into bed.

The next morning the test results came in, I expected a B- but I got an A+ ! My parents were very happy. 

Next Monday Anna was giving out letters to all of the kids at the end of the lesson. It was a permission slip to qualify for a swimming competition! But how would I compete? I know! I would tell mum we were going on a trip to a synchronised swimming museum, she would sign the slip immediately! When I got back home I asked mum to sign it, and she asked what it was for so I told her that we where going on a trip to a synchronised swimming museum, and it worked! 

The next week was long but I waited and Monday came. I secretly packed my swimming costume and hopped on the bus. Once everybody had handed in their permission slips we got on the coach to go to the competition tryouts. We got there soon and the man at the desk asked for our names. The man told us to go get changed and wait for the judges. Once all of us where changed we waited for the judges like the man said. The judges came and explained. 

“Children we will be timing each of you one by one but only half of you will qualify. please get in a line.” 

Everybody did as the judges said. Once we had all been timed we where sent back and would hear the results soon. 

The next day the post came, Dad collected it along with yesterday's results. 

“Johanna! What is this?” 

Dad was very angry. I didn’t know what to do, I just walked into the kitchen. 

“Johanna what is this?” dad was waiting for a response. 

I let it out, I couldn’t keep it secret anymore. “I’ve been going to long distance swimming lessons instead of synchronised and last week there where tryouts for a competition and I’m sure there the results.”  

“They are and you qualified but I see no reason why you should be allowed to compete.” 

Mum heard the noise and came downstairs. 

“Whats all this?” Dad explained everything to mum. “I hope what your fathers telling me isn’t true because if it is your in big trouble!”  

“It's all true mum I’m really sorry.”  

"Go to school, you’ll be late. But there’ll be a punishment waiting for you when you get back.” 

I did as mum said and went to school. I spent the rest of my day with butterflies in my stomach wondering what my punishment could be. Once I got back home my parents seemed a lot calmer.  

"Johanna, what you have done is not good, so you are grounded for two weeks. But you clearly don’t like synchronised swimming so, you can enter the competition, carry on long distance swimming lessons and if you want to drop out of synchronised swimming.” 

“Are you serious?” Mum and dad nodded. I was so happy.  

“Thank you so much!” For the first time in a long time I hugged my parents. 

The week before the competition was long but finally the day came. I went downstairs to find my family holding a box. Apparently it was for me and inside I found an amazing sports swim suit. “Surprise!” Everybody shouted 

“We're all coming to see you swim at the competition!” I was so happy I couldn’t say anything. “Now time to get ready” said my mum. I did as my mother said and got ready to go. We got in the car and drove to the competition. 

Once we got there I got changed and ready to swim. After everybody had swam It was finally my go. I got in swam to the end and back then got out. Once I was dry me and my competitors got on stage awaiting the results. Finally a man came onstage. 

“In third place Tamara Johnson, in second place Opal Hill and in first place…….. Johanna Marigold"

Should Britain have a royal family?

Here is a powerpoint I made about the Royal Family. I think that we should keep the royals because I like the idea of having a royal family but there are lots of arguments on both sides. 

What do you think?

Left: The British Monarchy Explained
Right: The True Cost of the Royal Family Explained