When we heard that a wildlife club had been playing our ‘Survival’ app we couldn’t resist getting in touch to see what they thought. We spoke to Kate MacRae (WildlifeKate), who runs the Water Orton Wildlife (WOW) Club to find out more.

So, who is ‘WildlifeKate’?

People often ask what I do… and I hope they don’t expect me to have a quick answer, as my days are crammed packed with so many different roles; teacher, naturalist, writer, photographer, education consultant….and mum!

Primarily, I am a naturalist and educationalist. I am a trained primary school teacher and I now teach part time in a Warwickshire school where I am the IT manager. I have been teaching in the primary sector for over twenty years, but my passion for natural history started a lot earlier than that!

Although I grew up in London, I have been obsessed with just about all aspects of the natural world for as long as I can remember. I spent many happy hours in Greenwich Park as a child, feeding the squirrels and watching the wildlife there.

My enthusiasm for the natural world is now spreading into just about all the work I undertake. I run my own consultancy business when I am not teaching and specialise in writing education materials.

I am lucky enough to live in a pretty rural location, with a garden full of wildlife.  It was a nest box camera system that really got me ‘hooked’ to using cameras in the garden and my desire to share these with others was the driving force behind my WildlifeKate website.  A year and a half later, I now have nearly 20 cameras in the garden which I live stream on my website and have been astounded by the interest all over the world.

A male kestrel caught on camera at a nestbox

Working with young people and teaching them about the natural world has always been close to my heart. I run the ‘WOW’ Club at school (Water Orton Wildlife Club) and I have a long waiting list of kids keen to join. We are lucky enough to have lovely school grounds and we work hard to include foster learning opportunities in the outdoors. We have hens at school, as well as a school garden and wildlife area. We meet once a week and get involved in all sorts of activities from making wildlife homes, bird feeders to exploring our local grounds for wildlife, then we blog about what we get up to. We have a camera on our bird feeders and in a nest box in the spring, which lives stream on our school website. I love sharing my enthusiasm with young people and feel it is essential to foster a knowledge, love and appreciation of the natural world – these pupils are the naturalists of the future!

ARKive in the Classroom

As a teacher, I have often used the ARKive website. The comprehensive collection of images and videos makes it a perfect choice both as a teaching resource in the classroom on the interactive whiteboard and as a research tool for pupils. It is great that pupils and teachers can embed images and videos into their own presentations and I have used lots of the videos and images within work on life cycles. The games have been very popular with my kids at school too.

Battle for ‘Survival’

When I saw that ARKive had released a ‘Survival’ app, I was keen to try it out with my WOW Club. We have a couple of iPads in school and it works brilliantly on those. The group were soon swiping, double tapping and pinching their way through the challenges and it was generating loads of discussion… ‘that can’t be a mammal, it lays eggs…’ ‘It’s gotta be a fish, it hasn’t got fur…’

WOW Club students playing Survival

The bright cartoon graphics, combined with vibrant coloured photos made it visually very appealing and the competition element meant the kids were keen to improve on their last survival score and beat their friends. Battles were fought to unlock photos and characters and then the kids were keen to go onto the website to find out more about some of the endangered species that were appearing… some of which they were unfamiliar with.

Here’s what the WOW Club thought… 

‘I like the game because I love animals but you are learning at the same time… I did not know if some were mammals, birds or fish, but now I do….’

‘I love this game, especially trying to tap, swipe or pinch. I give this game 5*s and 100 out of 100!’

‘I think this is a great game because you learn about animals and you have to act really quick and I was too slow… it is totally EPIC!’

‘I like the ‘Survival’ app because it helps you remember things as the knowledge comes back to you each time you play’

WOW Club students working together to play Survival

The kids are still trying to beat me in the game … I reign as the supreme ‘Survival’ champ, but it won’t be long before they have caught me up… they were already planning on uploading it on their devices at home. Their enthusiasm for this game was infectious and with a growing knowledge of endangered species, they will be giving me a run for my money very soon… I won’t be the WOW Club ARKive Survival Champ for long, I fear!  

Kate MacRae, ‘WildlifeKate‘

Survival is available for free now on the App store and Android Market.

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It’s only the 1^st December but it is already feeling very festive here at the Wildscreen office. Why not get in the holiday mood and join us as we count down to Christmas with ARKive’s interactive Advent Calendar.

Indulge yourself with ARKive’s festive treats. From animal-themed crafts and virtual gifts for family and friends to Survival goodies and seasonal blogs, our calendar is packed full of wild surprises.

Behind each of the virtual doors is a new fun and festive treat everyday. Learn about the world’s endangered species as you count down to the big day.

Visit our Advent calendar every day and let ARKive add some sparkle to your Christmas. What’s behind the Advent door today?

We wouldn’t want you to miss any festive treats, so sign up to our Advent email for daily reminders!

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I’ve been Online Marketing Officer for Wildscreen’s ARKive project for 18 months now. I work with Ellie Dart to help get the word about the wonders of ARKive and other Wildscreen initiatives out there. Whether that’s on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, tumblr, Flickr, YouTube or anywhere else online. I love being able to share amazing photos, videos and facts every day to help raise awareness about endangered species.

What are you currently working on?

It’s all about Survival – our new endangered animal mobile app game. This fun, free game for iOS and Android launched last week which was just so exciting. I’ve been busy chatting to you all on social media about this quick-fire wildlife game, its cool characters and the facts you’ve learned.

Thanks for helping us to promote it too. We couldn’t reach as many people without you so keep tweeting and sharing it with your friends. You can also join in our Top Survivor Challenge. I’m updating our leaderboard on Facebook and tumblr with all your highest scores. Now I just need to work on my own Survival time – only 56s! So far the highest score is a magnificent 900s. Can you beat that? Tweet or post your top scores!

What animal skill would you most like to have?

The firefly squid’s skill of bioluminescence, the ability to produce light, would be pretty cool. What better way to add a bit of glitz and glamour to a night out and find your way home in the dark. Gymnastics aren’t my strong point, so I think I’d also like the acrobatic skills of the agile spider monkey.

Which three people would you invite to the ultimate dinner party?

Good dinner party guests need to bring conversation and giggles to the table, so let’s go for:

- Margaret Atwood to chat books and nature

- Pedro Almodóvar for Madrid and movie tales

- Joan Rivers for witty one-liners

Where in the world would you most like to go?

So many countries still to see but I’m going to opt for a trip from Russia to China on the Trans-Siberian express. There would be the chance of spotting wonderful wildlife, perhaps even a panda or a Przewalski’s horse. And the lure of romance and dinner carriage mysteries onboard just completes the picture! Where’s my ticket?

Which celebrity do you most look like?

Wouldn’t like to say…

What’s the best wildlife encounter you’ve ever had?

I don’t think I’ve had a wildlife encounter with real wow-factor…yet. I’d probably say spotting seals on the coast or deer in my back-yard where I grew up in Scotland.

What’s your favourite thing on ARKive?

So tough to choose one favourite so I’m going to cheat. Here are my current top 3:

• The golden frog is my Survival character of choice. What’s your fave?
• Sri Lankan frogmouth – I’d never even heard of this until I spotted it on ARKive
• Awesome footage of an osprey fishing  – ARKive’s no. 1 video. Who am I to argue?

Tell us an animal related joke

Q: What do you get if you cross a fish with an elephant?
A: Swimming trunks!

I think I need a bit of help with my animal jokes so post yours in the comments section. Surely you can do better!

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Name: Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

Stats:

Status - Vulnerable (VU)

Length - Up to 2 metres

Weight – Up to 90 kilograms

Interesting Fact:

Whilst it might be unable to breathe fire, this dragon does have a highly venomous bite. The largest lizard in the world, it can eat up to a staggering 80% of its own body weight in one go!

Where am I found?

Found on the volcanic islands of Komodo, Rinca and Flores in Indonesia, the Komodo dragon inhabits lower monsoon forests and savannah.

What do I eat?

A powerful predator, the Komodo dragon has a voracious appetite. It feeds on both carrion and live prey; adults ambush deer, water buffalo and wild pigs, and carcasses can be detected from up to 10 km away!

How do I live?

Recent research into the feeding behaviour of the Komodo dragon has shown that it is actually venomous, possessing complex venom glands in its jaw, which excrete a variety of toxic substances that prevent blood clotting and lower blood pressure in its prey. This means that even if the injured animal escapes, it will rapidly succumb to shock and blood loss induced by the venom.

The mating season for the Komodo dragon occurs between May and June, with males wrestling to compete for females. Around 25 eggs are laid by the female in a depression dug in the ground. These are then incubated for nine months before hatching, with the small, vulnerable juveniles spending their first year living in trees to avoid predation.

Why am I threatened?

The Komodo dragon population is thought to have declined in the last 50 years, with habitat destruction, loss of prey species and hunting of this giant reptile being blamed.

Play Survival today!

Survival is available for free now on the App store and Android Market.

Find out more about ‘Survival’ or watch the ‘Survival’ promotional video on YouTube.

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Name: Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

Stats:

Status – Critically Endangered (CR)

Length - up to 100 cm

Height – up to 50 cm

Weight - up to 15 kg

Interesting fact:

The world’s most threatened species of cat, this elegant looking lynx is a very specialised predator with rabbits accounting for 80-100% of its diet!

Where am I found?

This magnificent cat once used to roam through Spain, Portugal and the south of France. The Iberian lynx can now only be found in a few areas in Spain where it prefers to live and hunt in Mediterranean woodland and scrub-like habitat.

What do I eat?

The preferred prey of the Iberian lynx is the rabbit, which forms 80 to 100% of its diet. It will occasionally take rodents, hares, partridges, ducks, geese and small deer, but these do not form an important part of the diet.

How do I live?

A nocturnal species, the secretive Iberian lynx is generally active at night, emerging from its daytime shelter at twilight. Both the male and the female Iberian lynx are territorial, with male territories overlapping those of several females. The mating season peaks in January and February, and the female gives birth to between one and four kittens around two months later. The young are cared for by the female in a lair, which may be located under a thicket or in a hollow tree. Weaning occurs at around eight months old but the juveniles stay in their natal territory until they are around 20 months old.

Why am I threatened?

There are now thought to be less than 200 Iberian lynx left in the wild, with habitat loss being one of the main threats to this species. Much of its habitat has been converted for agriculture and development, such as dams and highways. The Iberian lynx’s main prey, the rabbit, has also dramatically decreased in number due to hunting and the introduction of disease such as myxomatosis and Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease. Illegal hunting is also a problem, with some lynx being accidentally caught in rabbit traps.

Play Survival today!

Survival is available for free now on the App store and Android Market.

Find out more about ‘Survival’ or watch the ‘Survival’ promotional video on YouTube.

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