October 06, 2007

What is home? A home is where the heart is, a place where love and affection abound. It’s where laughter rings merrily through the air, and rich warmth embraces each and everyone within its encompassing walls. Blessed be this home!

Likewise, our planet Earth is, also, home. It is home for not only us the humans, but for creatures that belong to the animal world. They range from the elephant right down to the tiniest ant. These creatures too, take pride in their dwellings, and rear their families, providing them with food and protection.

Animal homes are of various kinds, depending upon the type of animal. The home caters to the specific needs of the creature, and so is built accordingly. Various factors are taken into consideration. Proper terrain, favourable flora and fauna, protection from enemies, are just some of the examples that animals — great and small — keep in mind before construction.

Many grazing animals, such as deer, do not have a settled home. They wander in herds across the plains. Some animals, such as birds, build temporary homes (in which to rear their young). Other animals build permanent homes, with great care. Animals such as rabbits and badgers dig a network of underground tunnels in which to hide from their enemies.

Perhaps the best of animal builders are the beavers. They are called ‘master builders’ and are usually found in Canada, USA and in Northern Europe.

Their house is called a lodge, and they build their homes in a pond or lake. Firstly, they construct a platform of logs and mud until it is above the water level, and then on top of it they build a dome-shaped room. The beavers enter their home by swimming through underwater tunnels. In this way, the lodge is safe from enemies, such as wolves and bears, who cannot get in.

Besides the beavers, lots of other animals make their homes in or near a pond. Rivers and ponds surrounded by trees, reeds and grasses provide safe homes for not only fishes, but many other creatures such as frogs and snails.

Sticklebacks flourish in their water abode. They are one of the few fishes to build nests. They first suck up mouthfuls of gravel to make a hole at the bottom of the pond. Then they line the hole with pond weeds to prepare it for their young.

Insects such as water spiders spin webs of silk underwater. Air bubbles are carried on their bodies from the surface into the underwater web. This gives the web its dome-like shape. Diving beetles also dwell in the water, using their powerful back legs as oars to manoeuvre.

Many other creatures, too, live in water, while others find food in water but build their homes on land. Have you noticed how dragonflies hover above pools of water? Whirling and twirling, they buzz and hum while hunting for food, ready to pounce on hapless insects that dare to venture close to the surface. Did you know that a dragonfly’s early life is spent as a grub in the pond?

Pond birds include kingfishers, reed warblers and geese. The kingfishers dig long holes (called burrows) into the bank, and the reed warblers weave their nests among the stems, well above the water level. The sand martin digs a hole in the side of a sandy bank.

Another bird, the woodpecker, flies high above, pecking away at the tree trunk, using its chisel-like beak to drill a hole for its home. Some birds like sparrows and weaverbirds weave a hanging nest with a funnel-shaped entrance at the bottom, so enemies such as snakes cannot get in.

Did you know that one of the cleverest nests is made by the tailorbird in Eastern Asia? Using its beak as a needle, it sews the edges of the leaves together to make a bag for its home.

The sandy shoreline of the sea provides a home for a number of birds. While the tern nests in a little hollow on the shore among rocks and sand, the eider duck builds a nest of seaweed, moss and twigs on the seashore. The duck has downy feathers which people once used to make eiderdowns (or duvets) for their beds.

With the ebb and flow of tides, you are able to view the habitat of other dwellers of the seashore. Crabs can be seen scurrying about as they hurriedly spiral their way down into the sand. The barnacle anchors itself to a rock with a kind of cement, whereas the mussel holds on to rocks with strong threads from its body.

The rocky sea bed is home to an even wider range of creatures, many of which spend much of their lives hidden in holes or underneath rocks. The starfish and sea-cucumbers bury themselves deep in the sand or hide in rock pools. Tiny periwinkles wedge themselves in rock cracks, and beneath the rocks resides the spiny sea urchin.

The next time you visit the beach, look out for shellfish and observe their behaviour. Watch and learn. If you’re lucky, depending on the season, you may get to see a turtle or even a dolphin! The sea plays host to a great variety of sea creatures in different shapes and sizes. Whales, sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, swordfish and the ever fascinating octopus, are just some of the sea dwellers.

It’s certainly interesting to study how various animals put together their ‘living quarters’ building them with great care and skill. Whether it is weaving a nest, digging a burrow, or spinning a web, they all have one thing in common — a desire to have a place called ‘home sweet home’.

Thus, for man and beast, dwelling either on land or existing in water, Earth is home. So let’s be kind and considerate to the planet. Endeavour, we must, with all our might to stamp out every kind of pollution. Let us vow to keep it green and clean, and, united, let’s preserve and conserve this beautiful world of ours.