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Amy Darvill

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Amy Darvill last won the day on January 28

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About Amy Darvill

  • Birthday February 6

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    Female
  • Interests
    Doctor Who, Star Wars, Crocheting (terribly), cooking, writing (not quite as terribly)

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  1. I will give you two prompts, choose 1 (and only 1!) to write about in 150 words. Prompt 1: You, a witch/wizard, have been tasked with creating a better reservation for giraffes, as part of a muggle-wizarding kind program. Describe to me what you would do to make this reserve, and what kind of magic would you use for it. Prompt 2: You are a finally a full grown giraffe and it is time for you to decide if you are going to strike off on your own, or hang around with your nursery group for a little longer. Write a letter to your mama, explaining your decision. Earn 25 Diamonds when you reply in here. Please be sure to have at least 150 words in your reply to get full count of Diamonds. You have until the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds.
  2. Here's to hoping the jigsaw works. https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=22f856305bbc If not: The image is basically three mama or adult giraffes around one calf, all seeming to be looking at this one calf, who seems pretty chill with the attention. Tell me a story of them in at least 125 words. Post your screenshot of the completed jigsaw below before the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds. Remember that all your graphics need to be 600x600 or smaller. Be sure to include the amount of time it took you to complete the puzzle as well as the number of pieces it has. Solve this Jigsaw and earn 30 Diamonds! (or write the story, and earn the same amount)
  3. So how do giraffes group up? Well research is still very much ongoing, and hampered by the fact due to a mix of their endangered status and limited range, the groups that can be studied are mostly in isolation. But we do know a few things. Most of which can be boiled down to, giraffes like to keep it casual. The groupings with the most stable, long term members are what's called nursery groups. Basically, mama's and babies, though it's not uncommon to see the adult children of mama giraffes hanging out for a little bit longer. But basically, the moms get together and help each other out with watching the calves and watching out for predators. Otherwise, the groups are loose. Females are more likely to group up for longer, but it's not uncommon for a few to separate on to their own or one to join for another time. Young males will roam together in groups, but they just as quick to roam on their own also. What seems to motivate most of this? Food. Giraffes actually spend alot of time foraging for food. Like majority of their day. And males, being larger and sometimes more aggressive, eat more. So while you have some intermixing, it's usually easier if there a seperation of genders. Also, grouping up makes it easier to share, and it's actually been noted that giraffes who like the same leaves, are more likely to group up. I guess it's like if you're going for pizza, you might call your bestie who likes pizza, but not the one that always goes for sushi. Less arguing in the car on the way. So your turn. Does your research brings up the same stuff, or are you able to find some more definitely details? Or maybe tell me more about the mama and calves, since that's the most stable group. Or tell me more about these foraging patterns, since that dicatates their groupings. Earn 25 Diamonds when you reply in here. Please be sure to have at least 150 words in your reply to get full count of Diamonds. You have until the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds.
  4. First of all, if you attempted the first time on any of the puzzles that had broken links and wrote me about them, I'll give you credit for them, and 10 beans for doing the new puzzles that Prof. Tarma Amelia Black made. I apologize for not being around to get the messages and fix it for you all, so a major thanks to Tarma for helping out. I will attempt to try to do a jigsaw puzzle for the final week, but if it breaks, I'll post an alternate task/question in the same thread so that you don't have to wait for me to fix it. The last task will be a creative writing task, to avoid this issue for now, until I can figure out what happened. Thank you for not giving up on this month, you all are rock stars!
  5. So as I posted up in the discussion post, these spots can mark the difference between different subspecies of Giraffes. However, I know I would struggle to pinpoint the difference, so I've elected for finding these different species in another way. A word search! Angolan Kordofan Luangwa Masai Nubian Reticulated Rothschild SouthAfrican WestAfrican Solve this Word Search puzzle, and earn 25 Diamonds when you send me the solution in a Sett PM titled 'Week 3 - Word Search' on or before the end of January (HOL time).
  6. So what's even more unique than a giraffe's spots? How about one born without? That's the story behind Kipekee, the solid color foal born at a Tennessee zoo just last year. And here's one of her photos for you to put together! https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=00369a5f1425 Solve this Jigsaw and earn 30 Diamonds! Post your screenshot of the completed jigsaw below before the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds. Remember that all your graphics need to be 600x600 or smaller. Be sure to include the amount of time it took you to complete the puzzle as well as the number of pieces it has.
  7. I wonder, can you really see a difference between these patterns? Some of them I can, some are much harder to see a distinctive difference. And yet, not only does each subspecies of giraffe have a distinctive coat, but each giraffe has their own individual pattern? Not only can they use these patterns to recognize each other, but even scientists and conservationists have been able to use these unique patterns to follow certain giraffes in the wild. It's said that it is the equivalent to a fingerprint for humans, in how unique they can be. But why spots in the first place? The most common reason is that it serves as a camouflage. The savannahs have a mix of tall grass, no grass, and trees, which makes a more dappled shadow. The spots are suppose to serve as a mimicry of this dappling effect, particularly for foals. The adults can usually take more advantage of their height to spot danger and move quick enough to get to safety. But that's not the only reason. And that's where you come in. You can either discuss the specific difference between species or about the potential other reasons as to why they're spotted in the first place. Or maybe there's some giraffes out there that are especially unique in their markings? Earn 25 Diamonds when you reply in here. Please be sure to have at least 150 words in your reply to get full count of Diamonds. You have until the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds.
  8. This week is talking all about the cultural and artistic imprint of giraffes, so here's your chance to make an artistic imprint yourself. Post your screenshot of your coloring page below before the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds. Remember that all your graphics need to be 600x600 or smaller. Choose any of the pictures you wish - you earn 30 Diamonds for it!
  9. Crux is not the only constellation associated with Giraffes. in the 1700s, a Dutchman, Petrus Plancius, essentially created the constellation Camelopardalis. The name comes from the ancient Greeks however, as they viewed the giraffe as a unique combination of a camel and leopard. This is a section of a map from 1624, that features this constellation. https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=26df41b5d239 Solve this Jigsaw and earn 30 Diamonds! Post your screenshot of the completed jigsaw below before the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds. Remember that all your graphics need to be 600x600 or smaller. Be sure to include the amount of time it took you to complete the puzzle as well as the number of pieces it has.
  10. Giraffes are native to only continent, Africa. But as we can see on this map, both historically and even now, giraffes roam quite a large part of the continent. So it's very reasonable to see how they can become such a cultural icon in many African countries. In fact, they are represented in some of the most ancient of art and literature of the continent. In ancient Egypt, not only did they keep them in captivity and used them for trade, they even went so far as to have specific hieroglyphics for them. The Kiffians (a prehistoric culture that was present during the Holocene Wet Phase) have a large scale rock engraving of two giraffes that date over 8,000 years ago! And they are still an impact in today's world. The Twsana people of Botswana see the constellation Crux as a pair of giraffes in the sky. The Tungen people of Kenya still use a giraffe to represent one of their gods, Mda. I would like for you to expand on these cultural icons of giraffes. Feel free to share a tale (if you picked a tale for last week discussion, please pick a new one for this). Or you can share one of these images of the rock carvings or artistic interpretation of the giraffe from this continent and tell us about them. So what do you think? Feel free to report on another theory, give some pros and cons to these theories, or make up one of your own even, realistic or outlandish. Earn 25 Diamonds when you reply in here. Please be sure to have at least 150 words in your reply to get full count of Diamonds. If you choose to do an image, please write 75 words with it and remember HOL image posting rules. You have until the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds.
  11. These are the clever folks that have figured it out! River Fenwick Prof. Tarma Amelia Black Lex Green Artemisia Thorne
  12. Giraffes do seem to stand out amongst creatures, and it's not all just due to height. This novelist was able to put it a concise way. Now it's up to you put her words back together. link to larger puzzle here. Solve this Letter Tiles puzzle, and earn 25 Diamonds when you send me the solution in a Sett PM titled 'Week 1 - Letter Tiles' on or before the end of January (HOL time).
  13. In January, we were be exploring one of the truly amazing and unique animals on the planet. Get ready to lean all the way back in order to take in the majestic heights of the Giraffes!
  14. This image is somewhat hyperbolic (giraffes cannot actually have their heads in the clouds), but it is a great example of just how tall these awesome animals are. Head in the Clouds...Literally! Solve this Jigsaw and earn 30 Diamonds! Post your screenshot of the completed jigsaw below before the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds. Remember that all your graphics need to be 600x600 or smaller. Be sure to include the amount of time it took you to complete the puzzle as well as the number of pieces it has. *** 1/18/2024 - EDIT Dibyarup wrote saying that the link appears to be broken. (Thank you, Dibyarup.) We'll come up with another puzzle to do, or somehow fix that link, or both. In the meantime, though, watch this spot for changes AND go do the rest of the Wonders of Giraffes here! Tarma ****** 1.24.2024 - Edit the Second I went looking for that Jigsaw, whose link disappeared, and didn't find it. So here's another 80 piece GIRAFFE jigsaw for folks to do! Head in Trees
  15. Is there anything more adorable then a baby animal? Even if said baby animal is tall enough to play basketball...at birth? Yep, when giraffes are born, they are already 6 feet tall, and they will grow up to be between 14 (most female giraffes) and 18 feet (most male giraffes) by the time they are 4 or 5 years old. And we wonder why they earn the rank of the tallest land animals in the world. (Blue whales tend to be technically much longer but who's measuring?) It's not just height that makes them so distinctive however, it's also the length of their necks that's unusual. Oddly enough, though you can kind of see if you've ever watched them move, it's not longer because they have more vertebres, it's longer because those vertebres are themselves longer. Each vertebra is one inch short of a whole foot, or 11 inches. That is massive. It's still only 7 vertebra, so you can kind of see that their necks can be a bit stiff. There are many theories as to why they have such long necks. One of the most commonly accepted, pushed by Charles Darwin, is that it allowed them to beat the competition when it came to grazing. Most of the other grazing animals can only reach a maximum of little over 6 feet, but the giraffe can easily double that and more. It's also theorized that since bulls (male giraffes) do fight using their necks (called in a not romantic fashion here as 'necking') that basically the longer the neck, the more 'handsome' the bull. However, there are some trade offs for such traits, and currently, scientists are not a hundred percent sure that these are the right or only explanations. So what do you think? Feel free to report on another theory, give some pros and cons to these theories, or make up one of your own even, realistic or outlandish. Earn 25 Diamonds when you reply in here. Please be sure to have at least 150 words in your reply to get full count of Diamonds. You have until the end of January, HOL time, to earn your Diamonds.
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