EY Y01 L03 Animals

Tell me about an animal that is native to, beloved in or closely associated with your country.
Have you ever seen one in the wild? If yes, how? If no, why not?
Do you have a pet or have you ever had a pet? If yes, tell me about that animal. If no, why not?
Do you ever watch wildlife documentaries? If not, why not? If yes, tell us about an animal that you find impressive, shocking or fascinating.
Have you ever been hurt or narrowly escaped being hurt by an animal? Tell us about it. If not, which animal scares you the most? Why?
If you had unlimited time and money, of all the animals in the world, which would you most like to see in the wild? Why?

Question 1

I am lucky to come from a country that has a large animal population. South Africa has over 300 mammal species and more than 800 bird species. If I have to pick one I will go with Giraffes. They are beautiful animals and always appear to be so laidback and relaxed. Giraffes have tongues that are bluish-purple in colour and about 45cm long! They are the tallest mammals in the world, averaging 4-5 meters in height.

Question 2

Yes, I have been fortunate to see many animals in the wild. My husband and I worked and lived on a wildlife reserve for 4 years and giraffe sightings were a daily occurrence for us.

Question 3

Yes, I currently have 3 cats. Tama is a 6 year old street cat we rescued while living in Dubai and she came with us to Japan. Tora, 2 1/2 years old and Kinako 14 years old are street cats we rescued while living in Okinawa. All 3 of them are now happily living with us in Kizugawa. My cats are all indoor cats and are not allowed to go outside.

Question 4

I have watched wildlife documentaries in the past but not in recent years. I love meerkats! They have such an amazing family structure and all members have jobs to do to help keep one another fed and safe. Sometimes the families join together to form a mob (community) and are led by the dominant female.

Question 5

When we lived on the nature reserve I came face to face with a spitting cobra in my lounge! Luckily I saw it in time and was able to get out of my house without being sprayed with venom. I had to call a game ranger to come and catch and release the snake in a safe area.

Question 6

Even though I come from South Africa where we have many wildlife reserves, I have not seen elephants or lions in the wild. The reserve where worked was not big enough for these animals. I would love to spend time watching elephants and lions in their natural habitat. Lions are magnificent animals and elephants are very intelligent and have amazing memories.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
wildlife reserve	禁漁区
mammal	哺乳類
structure	体質
laid back	のんびり
sightings	目撃
occurrence	出来
habitat	生息地