If you're looking to do something different in 2019, how about volunteering for the Canal and River Trust?

The Trust looks after and brings to life an incredible 2,000 miles of waterways and is a strong believer in making life better by water.  

The 2,000 miles of waterways connect hundreds of wildlife habitat, which means it gives people the opportunity to get closer to wildife - and to help wildlife, as well.

The Trust's environment team are always looking for ways to help waterways wildlife to thrive, to preserve habitats and to create new ones.  

Volunteering for the Trust is a great way to get active, meet new people, make new friends and to do your bit!  And it's certainly something different to do with spare time!  Get outdoors, and make a difference.  There's nothing like spending time with others who want to do something positive for the community around them - it's a great feeling. 

The Trust has a Spotter's Guide to Waterway Wildlife so that you can spot different species on the waterways.

They are also appealing to people to feed ducks something better than bread - find out more about feeding ducks here.  They've even got a free duck-feeding guide but you need to sign up for it and they'll email it to you. 

If you want a challenge in 2019, then how about volunteering with bears or elephants? 

World Animal Protection have got a couple of terrific challenges.

Volunteer with Bears for World Animal Protection and help bears!

World Animal Protection have a sanctuary for rescued bears.  Based in Romania, it provides rescued bears with a forever home.  They have suffered terrible cruelty.  This is a chance to contribute directly towards improving their lives and make things better for them.

All you need to take part is energy and enthusiasm.  The registration fee is £295 and you need to fundraise (or pay yourself) £1,455.00,  

You'll be doing things like helping to plant fruit trees, building an education trail for school children, making toys for the bears or fixing the boardwalk.  And you'll be able to sit back, chill out and watch the rescued bears as they enjoy life at the sanctuary. 

Find out more here from World Animal Protection or....

If elephants are your preferred species, check out their Elephant Adventure Trek.   

Elephant Adventure Trek 2019 with World Animal Protection

Elephant Valley Thailand is a very special development for both elephants and tourists.   Tourists can see elephants behaving naturally and freely as part of a herd.  During your time at the sanctuary, you'll be involved in activities such as...

• Maintenance of the grounds
• Cleaning and food preparation depending on the sanctuary’s greatest need at the time
• Plenty of observing and learning about the elephants at the sanctuary.

But on this elephant experience, there's also time to go trekking in the jungle in search of wildlife and hidden waterfalls and take safari drives and visit wildlife hides to spot species such as gibbons, deer and macaques.   

Again, there's a registration fee and fundraising pledges you make to do this, but what an opportunity to get active with animals and do something to help! 

Find out more about the Elephant Adventure Trek in 2019.

As always, please ensure you are fit enough to travel and do these experiences so read the info World Animal Protection provides and check with them & your GP. 

Don’t miss this!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, 18 and 19 December 2018, don’t miss the opportunity to see Gordon Buchanan as he re-habilitates six orphaned grizzly bears into the Russian wilderness.

The programme is called Grizzly Bear Cubs and Me and it’s at 9pm on BBC2 and it should be absolutely amazing.

Gordon joins the Pazhetnovs, a family of biologists, who work to re-habilitate orphaned baby cubs.

There are over 100,000 grizzlies in Russia but there is increasing conflict with humans as people encroach into the wilderness.  Cubs are abandoned every year as their mothers are disturbed in their dens.

Bear Almanac: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bears of the World from Amazon

The Pazhetnovs have been helping bears for 30 years and when Gordon arrives in February, they have rescued 6 cubs. 

They are five weeks old and weigh less than a bag of sugar each.  Two of them were dumped in a bin in Moscow.  Two were found outside a vets in a box in St Petersburg.  Two were handed in by loggers who scared their mum away.

So the task at hand is to introduce the cubs to the wild in nine months.   Will Gordon succeed?

The second episode shows the bears going through a training programme, learning how to forage and how to swim.  They also have to put on enough weight to make it through the Russian winter.

And what’s more, there’s a test at the end to see if they are ready to survive in the wild.   Will they all make it?

Visit the Grizzly Bear Cubs and Me’s website – there are some clips from the episodes you can watch if you can’t wait. 

PS You can meet a bear at Dartmoor Zoo in Devon with a Bear Encounter for Two - Virgin Experience Days have a gift experience for two people for £129.00.   This is a great chance to meet Hayley the bear, watch a training session and provide food and enrichment for her.  Find out more here from Virgin Experience Days

Bear Encounter for Two at Dartmoor Zoo
from Virgin Experience Days

Looking through the newsletter from the NAWT (the National Animal Welfare Trust), it had a very helpful cut out and keep guide to rabbit winter care.

The NAWT operates 6 re-homing centres across the south of England in Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Cornwall, Essex, Hertfordshire and Somerset.  As well as cats, dogs, birds and field animals, they also have rabbits and guinea pigs looking for homes.  

At the time of writing this,
Snowy was looking for a new home
Look at the rabbits and guinea pigs wanting a home here

I hope they won’t mind but I’ve put some of their tips on winter bunny care which featured in the newsletter here:

• Watch the weather – make sure you’ve got blankets at the ready to safely cover the hutch if we have another cold snap
• Check the inside of the hutch for signs of leaks
• Move the hutch so a sheltered position where there’s protection from the elements
• Keep it off the ground to stop damp and cold
• Make sure it’s the winter run is secure – foxes get hungrier in winter
• Line the bottom of the hutch with blankets or newspapers in cold spells – you could even use a rabbit-safe heat pad for the colder times
• Check bedding for damp patches so that the hutch stays dry
• Watch your rabbit’s water bottles – they can freeze in cold weather.  Keep spares at the ready just in case.
• Ask your vet if your bunny needs bigger portions in the winter months.

If you get a chance, do hop off to visit the NAWT’s website. 

There’s lots of helpful information there and also details on what to do if you or you & your company want to volunteer!   

What's more, they've got some very helpful advice for young people who want to do something to help and really volunteer, which is great - there's lots of things that young people can do.

They have some great products in their shop, including those fabulous cards from the Little Dog Laughed range – I love those, they are so clever.

And if you’re looking for meaningful gifts for an animal lover, they have Animal Sponsorships – you can sponsor an animal for a year, feed an animal for a year and provide animal training and enrichment training for a year. 

The Shire is one of Britain's rare breeds and the beautiful Shire horses above live at the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire.

They are busy doing carriage rides, experience days and ridden work, such as musical ride displays. 

This is Lady at Wimpole Estate

They spend their days in the field or working, or on display at the farm, so visitors can say hello.  The plan is to expand their work into agricultural jobs such as harrowing and ploughing.

This is Queenie

Visitors love them, and the National Trust needs your help to care for them.  They all reuqire food, bedding, dental visits, vaccinations and new shoes to keep them happy and well. 

This is Murphy at Wimpole Estate

So if you're looking for a gift for a horse lover, why not consider sponsoring one of the Shire Horses or donating to the Estate's Heavy Horse Appeal?  

Here's Jasper at Wimpole Estate

and Harry (who loves a good gallop)

So the weather has really been very changeable here in Sussex - either so boiling hot that I didn't want to move, or very wet and windy indeed. 

If you don't feel like doing anything because of the heat or you just feel like lazing about as the rain lashes against the window, here's a word search - Spot the wildlife! 

There are 22 animals to find. 

I hope you enjoy it, though you'll need to print the word search off to do it.  

Spot the wildlife in this word search! 

The international charity have produced this delightful video with advice on how to Beat the Heat like a Moon Bear...

Animals Asia's mission is to end the farming of bears for bile in Vietnam and China. to provide sanctuary for bears, end the suffering of wild animals in captivity and to ensure the humane treatment of cats and dogs.

There's plenty you can do to help them in their mission, from donating to volunteering, attending events and spreading awareness. 

Visit Animals Asia here - and beat the heat like a moon bear!

So the temperatures are rocketing in England and Wales this week.  Just looking at a newspaper, there's talk of 31 degrees in the south east of England by next weekend.

The RSPCA is urging pet owners and farmers to keep their pets cool as temperatures rise, and please let's not forget wildlife and make sure we fill bird baths and create opportunities for thisty widllife to have a drink. 

Keeping cool at the RSPCA Block Fen Animal Centre in Cambridgeshire

Top tips from the RSPCA:

1. Ensure all your animals have access to shade and fresh drinking water - don't forget the sun moves and so will the shade during the day.
2. Keep fish tanks out of direct sunlight 
3. Top up pond water levels.  
4. Watch for wildlife when you're using lawnmowers and strimmers
5. Keep pesticides out of reach of animals
6. Wrap an ice pack or a frozen water bottle in a tea towel for your pet to lie on
7. Use cold treats from the fridge for added moisture or make an ice lolly from pet-friendly ingredients
8. Avoid exercising pets in very hot weather - do it when it's cooler.  Pavements can get very hot in warm weather - if it's too hot to touch wtih your hand, it's too hot for a dog's paws.
9. Don't transport in hot weather unless absolutely necessary
10. Make sure buildings animals are housed in are adequately ventilated and monitored regularly
11. Check daily for flystrike
12. Don't let your pet get sunburnt - use a pet-safe sun cream.  Some colours are more apt to suffer in the sun than others e.g. white cat
    
    

If it's hot for your hand, imagine what it will feel like to your dog's paws.  Leave walkies until it's cooled down.

Remember, your pet cannot turn a tap on (unless they have taught themselves) so always ensure you've left your pet plenty of water - they should have a fresh change of water daily. 

If you're out and about with your dog, don't forget he or she will get thirsty as well so take some water for them and something to put it in with you.

If you're away overnight, get someone responsible to check on any pets at home - guinea pigs and rabbits can quickly run out of water for instance.

Keep an eye on elderly pets, the young and pets with special needs or medical conditions.  Older dogs may need much shorter walks for instance or they may not want a walk at all.

Never, ever, ever, ever, leave your pet in a car in hot weather.

If you see a dog in a hot car, click here.  It's always worth printing out these instructions or linking to this from your mobile so that if you see a dog in a hot car while you're out and about, you know what to do. 

Seen a dog in a hot car?  CLICK HERE

Images ©RSPCA

I've just found this on You Tube and wanted to share it with you.   It's wonderful to see such a rescue taking place.  Thank you to Majestic Tuskers for sharing it with us all. 

Thank you too to everyone in Kerela, India, for helping this baby elephant get out, and thank you to all the other elephants for your salute.