The PDSA is a charity that cares for sick and injured pets whose owners cannot afford vet care. 

Now before I go any further, I must stress that you have to be eligible and if you’re looking for free vet care, take a look at whether you qualify for it here.

(You could take a look at the Blue Cross as well, as they do some free vet care too, subject to certain criteria you must meet.)

©PDSA

Anyway, back to the PDSA.  They are a remarkable charity aiming to do 3 things

• Educate owners
• Preventing disease
• Carrying out life-saving operations

They are a charity and are dependent on donations etc but there are many ways you can support them, from volunteering (this may need to be something you do down the line when the coronavirus lockdown is over), donating, fundraising, spreading the word etc.  Visit their website here to fetch ideas as to how you can help

One of the things they have is a special corner for young people.   It’s called Pet Protectors HQ and young people can find out all about taking care of pets, discover more about the PDSA and also find out how to get into a career in veterinary care, whether you want to become a vet or a vet nurse!

 ©PDSA

Pet Protectors is a membership club for young people – but actually it’s full of useful information about pet care for anyone of any age.                               

Lockdown could be a good time to look at how you are looking after your pet and whether there’s anything you should be doing differently to help improve their welfare. 

©PDSA

And there are some wonderful photos of pets, such as cute puppies, kittens, gerbils, hamsters, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, rats, and goldfish.

Get 10% off the PDSA's pet insurance from 11 May to 24 May 2020 and help support the PDSA!  Use the code 10% at check-out!

Use the code 10% and get 10% off your pet insurance.
The code is valid until 26 April 2020

This June is a very busy month for the Wildlife Trusts – and there’s plenty to get involved with, wherever you live!

Wildlife Trusts are all over the UK, and they’re busy standing up and protecting wildlife and wild places in your area.  They connect people to nature, restore diverse wild places and look after nature reserves; and they inspire people to take action for wildlife.  Find your local Wildlife Trust here.

The more we can all appreciate nature and the beauty of it, and its importance in our lives, the more likely we are to want to look after it and protect it.

It’s 30 Days Wild all month.

The Wildlife Trusts are challenging us all to do something WILD every day!   That will be 30 fun, exciting Random Acts of Wildness.

There’s a free pack of goodies to help you plan your month, and your Wildlife Trust have lots of ideas to help.  You’ll get emails too from your Wildlife Trust, and a chance to get involved on social media.

The first thing to do is to sign up and get your FREE 30 Days Wild Pack.  It’s got a wallchart, a poster, an interactive booklet and some stickers to help you GO WILD!

You need to select who is taking part:

• Me and my Family
• My class/school
• My workplace
• My care home

SIGN UP FOR 30 DAYS WILD HERE

Baker Ross have up to 34% off their  creative animal world collection so that you can keep the kids entertained with a range of farm animals, jungle animals, sealife and more!

Baker Ross cover all sorts of animals – sloths, llamas, rats, pigs, hedgehogs, farm animals, blue tits, koalas, chickens, snakes, woodland animals, dogs, bats and mice! 

This offer ends on 10th May 2020, so take a look at their amazing animal craft collection today!

Bored at home?  

The lovely folk at the World Land Trust have created some word-searches and crosswords for us all to do – and what’s more, they’ve even provided links to the answers as well!

Go to tease your brain here

They have just announced that their fundraiser to save 642 acres of land in Columbia has been successful and that the land has been saved!  They hit their target of £295,000 in just a few weeks which is all the more remarkable because of what was happening in the world – the coronavirus began to make its impact felt shortly after the fundraiser was announced.   Anyway, it’s a great way to get involved in conservation and to donate to something where you really can make a difference.

Thanks to the World Land Trust’s supporters, Fundacion Biodiversa Colombie (FBC) will be able to protect more of the amazing network of habitats in Barbacoas, middle-Magdalena Valley, home to many of Columbia’s most threatened species.  The Lowland Tapir, Brown Spider Monkey,  and West Indian Manatee all call this home, along with many bird species.

Take a look at the news from the World Land Trust here.

If you think you're going up the wall with lockdown, then take a look at these ibex climbing a dam. 

And if you've got no head for heights, like me, the incredible way in which these ibex climb this dam wall is even more amazing.  I felt dizzy just looking at the view from the top...

Take a look at this  4 minute clip from the BBC  - Brian Cox is narrating.   The ibex are quite amazing. 

 

From the BBC's Forces of Nature with Brian Cox

The 3^rd May is Wild Koala Day so why not take the chance to immerse yourself in all things koala and see if you can lend a hand to help these adorable animals at the same time? 

And here’s a chance to enjoy six minutes of koalas in the wild ...

From Koala Clancy's You Tube Page

There are lots of things you can do to help koalas  on Wild Koala Day – apart from spreading the word!  Enjoy more koala videos here, for a start.

Koalas have been badly hit by wild bushfires in Australia and also by human activities, destroying their forest and trees as development for people pushes them out. 

Wild Koala Day has plenty of ideas of ways to help, several of which you can do wherever you are, such as sharing the fact it is Wild Koala Day on social media.  There are petitions you can sign, you can wear a gum leaf (make one!) and frankly discover more about koalas and the challenges these adorable animals face.

Meantime, why not check out two orphaned koala babies who made friends after rescue?

 
Subscribe to Save Your Paws You Tube Channel here

The Scottish Wildlife Trust has an Osprey Webcam so take a few minutes and enjoy the sight of ospreys at the Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve and Visitor Centre in Highland Perthshire. 

Fly off to the Scottish Wildlife Trust's You Tube page

They have other webcams as well - you can see what's happening in the natural world in Scotland!  Lose yourself in nature! 

They also have lots of information about how you can encourage wildlife to your garden.  Give them a home, and they will come!  We’ve done that in ours and there’s nothing I love more than listening to and watch the results.  It’s like having our own nature show!  It’s only a small garden but hey, even a patch makes a difference to wildlife. 

Visit the Scottish Wildlife Trust's website here - its wonderful!   There are lots of ways you can get involved and help, too.   Find out more here

Have you been watching Secret Life at The Zoo?  It's on our screens on Thursdays on Channel 4 at 8pm.  The enthusiasm and love the keepers show for their animals never ceases to amaze me, and there's good news from them from the animals at Chester Zoo!

A rare Asian elephant was born. 

The female calf was born to 15 year old mum Sundara Hi Way, after a 22 month gestation.

And the birth was caught on CCTV cameras!  The rest of the family herd welcomed the new born, including 1 year old half brother Anjan and 3 year old sister Indali.

Asian elephants are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  Sadly the species is threatened by habitat loss, poaching and human-wildlife conflict - like so many animals.   A deadly herpes virus threatens them as well.  

Chester Zoo is working hard to help elephants in the wild, focusing on human-wildlife conflict in Assam, India.   The zoos' conservationists are working to prevent the deaths of elephants and to help find ways in which elephants and people can live side by side.

And they are also working to search for a viable vaccine to help rid elephants of EEHV.  Progress is being made - and hopefully one day this threat will be dealt with. 

Plan your visit to Chester Zoo here - you'll find all the information you need!

The 27th February every year is International Polar Bears Day!

It's a chance to raise awareness of the status of the majestic polar bear;  a chance for us to find out more about these beautiful animals and the charity dedicated to them and their conservation. 

That charity is Polar Bears International, and they have a team of scientists working hard to preserve this incredible species.   Polar bears are well suited to living in the Arctic - you can see why on the video below:

One of the things they do is to track polar bears - and you can track the bears too and find out where 11 of those being tracked are.  The tracking is delayed to protect the polar bears.  

There are a number of things you can do to help polar bears - exploring Polar Bears International website is a good place to start! 

Why not adopt a polar bear (you can do an eco adoption for $25)

The RSPB Shop has a great offer on at the moment for those of you looking to stock up for your garden birds.

Get a FREE Premium suet bird feeder worth £12.75 when you buy this box of 50 Sunflower hearts super suet balls.

Free fat ball feeder with 50 sunflower super suet balls -
£13.50 from the RSPB

Wild garden birds love super suet balls, and they are particularly helpful to them in spring as they build nests and rear their young - all tiring work!  Mealworms (preferably live) are also great food sources for the birds - they are a versatile food as they can go on the ground or in a feeder or on a high table.  

Favourites suet cakes - plastic free box of 6
£12.99 from the RSPB

This is a new product from the RSPB, who have been hard at work to produce a bird food recipe for suet cakes - and deliver it in PLASTIC FREE packaging!  The card and paper packaging is compostable and recyclable.  Cakes are individually wrapped in greaseproof paper and boxed 6 to a box in FSC cardboard.

The cakes are high in fat and protein and consist of garden birds' favourite foods - sunflower hearts, dried mealworms, and suet!  Yummy!  You can use them on the ground, on a bird table or in an RSPB suet bird feeder, so they are versatile.  They do have peanut flower in them - please check the RSPB's Allergens information.

What's more, you can save more when you buy their twin pack of 12 Favourites suet cakes - plastic free..