The platypus is a unique animal that lives in Australia. Although it lays eggs like a bird, it's a mammal. A platypus mother feeds her babies with milk from her body. The platypus spends much of its time in the water. It paddles with its front feet and steers with its back feet. The platypus scoops through the sand with its bill in search of worms and small water animals that it eats. The male platypus has sharp spurs and venom sacs on its back feet. It can scratch its enemies and poison them with its venom.
The mighty falling
The mighty falling Oak trees in Europe have been ravaged by disease
and decline over the last decade. Between 1992 and 1997, 51 percent
of European oaks deteriorated significantly. Although oaks have
declined in large numbers in the past, the reason for their recent
degeneration still remains a mystery. Air pollution, fungi, drought
and insect pests are thought to be to blame, though the causes for
decline differ from country to country. Researchers found that oak
trees suffered most on soils that had nutrient imbalances, but the
worst declines were in northern Spain and southwest France where
there is relatively little air pollution, and nobody knows
why. 14 NOVEMBER 1998, P. 14
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