Question 1

The national bird of the Philippines is the monkey-eating eagle. It's one of the largest type of eagles. It's so huge that its regular prey are monkeys! Its wingspan can reach over 2 meters!

Question 2

No, I've never seen on in the wild, but my parents and younger sister recently went to a nature reserve in Davao and were able to see one.

Question 3

Yes, I do, I have a shih tzu! He was originally a gift from my parents to my younger sister on her 7th birthday, but since she was too young to properly take care of him, I took care of him instead for many years. He's pretty fat but super cute and smart! He knows how to communicate with us and is very well-behaved at home. I miss him a lot.

Question 4

I used to watch wildlife documentaries all the time when I was a child. One of my favorite channels was the Discovery Channel, they always had such interesting shows. I think the most fascinating animal documentary I could remember was about the box jellyfish in Australia. They're extremely dangerous and the venom their stingers produce is one of the most poisonous in the world!

Question 5

It's really funny, but I have once been bitten by a shih tzu! My friend's shih tzu used to chase me whenever it saw me. One time it got out again and I didn't notice until it was too late and it bit me! I still loved dogs after that incident, I was just afraid of that one dog, haha! I can't stand snakes and cockroaches, though, I find them absolutely repulsive!

Question 6

I would love to see a Koala! They're so cute and cuddly.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
repulsive	汚らわしい

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

Question 1

Australia has so many unique animals to choose from. If I have to pick one, I guess I'll go with the platypus. It looks like a cross between a beaver and a duck. It's a mammal but it lays eggs. It isn't aggressive but it's poisonous. What a crazy creature!

Question 2

No, I haven't. The platypus is very shy by nature. You'd be very lucky to see one in the wild. I have seen them when I've visited wildlife sanctuaries though.

Question 3

I don't have a pet now but my family always had dogs and cats when I was growing up. As an animal lover, I loved them all, but I spent the most time with my dog Floyd. He was awesome. Very clever, very loyal. He passed away shortly before I came to Japan.

Question 4

Yes, sometimes. I haven't seen a wildlife documentary for quite some time though. I think the octopus is a pretty impressive animal. They can change colour to camouflage themselves. They can fit through tiny spaces much smaller than you would believe. They can use tools and they are intelligent enough to solve mazes.

Question 5

I got scratched up pretty badly by one of my cats when I was about six or seven years old. We were having a family barbecue at our house and everyone brought their dogs. Long story short, the dogs chased after the cat and the cat ripped up my face when I tried to rescue him.

Question 6

I would like to see a pangolin in the wild. I know nothing about this animal but when I look at photos of them online, they look amazing. Like real-life Pokemon!

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
so many to choose from	から選択するようにたくさん
if I have to pick one	私が1つ選ばなければならないならば
shy by nature	恥ずかしがり屋
wildlife sanctuary	野生動物保護区
pass away	亡くなる
not for quite some time	しばらくの間ではありません
long story short	要するに
real-life	実生活