animals

ANIMALS PERCH, SAIMAA RINGED SEAL

AND WHOOPER SWANBy grades 4-5 in the Swedenfinnish school

PERCHThe national fish of Finland

Apperance and size • The perch weights

50-350 g and the length is 15-30 cm.

• The perch is grey and green. It has 14 vertical bars.

Reproduction• Perch spawns in the

southern Finland in the beginning of May.

• In the other parts of Finland the perch can spawn later depending on the temperature.

• The perch spawns in the 0.5-3 m depth.

Food

• The perch eats plankton and fish.

Distribution and habitat• Perch is a usual fish in the lakes and

the oceans. • It is a famous fish in Sweden and

Finland.• Perch lives in all kinds of water in

Finland except Northern Finland.

Enviromental threats• Even thou the perch is the most

usual fish in Finland and is good at adjusting it cannot reproduce if the Ph of the water is below 5. This is why it is important to monitor the waters and see that the habitat of the fish is good.

SAIMAA RINGED SEAL

Appearance and size• Saimaa ringed seal

is in length 130-145 cm and weights 50-90 kg.

• The base colour is dark gray.

Nutrition

• Saimaa ringed seal eats roach, smelt, perch and vendace.

Reproduction• Saimaa ringed seals become mature

at the age of 4 to 5.• Female gives birth to one pup or

baby seal in average two times in three years.

Prevalence and habitat• Ringed seals are found only in the Saimaa

waterways. • Read about and listen to a finish song

which tells a story about a lonely man and a seal living near by Saimaa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanhojapoikia_viiksekk%C3%A4it%C3%A4http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:Juha_Vainio_-_Vanhojapoikia_viiksekk%C3%A4it%C3%A4.ogg

Enviromental threats• Fishing with nets is a danger for the

Ringed seal of Saimaa. The seals get stuck and die.

• Due to the climate changes the habitats of the seal is threatened, since the nesting and reproduction period is depending of a icy and snowy winter.

• Since there are few of the seals left they are threatened by epidemics.

WHOOPER SWANThe national bird of Finland

Appearance and size• Length 140-160 cm• Weight 6-11 kg• A large white water bird

Diet

• Aquatic plants including pondweeds, sweet-grasses and water horsetails

Breeding

• May-June laid 4-6 eggs. • Breeding pairs nest away from other

swans usually by water.

Migrigation• Some birds winter in

Finland. • Some migrates to

Southern Sweden, the Danish Straits or North Sea coasts.

• Listen to whooper swan: http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/linnut/whooper-swan

Enviromental threats• In the early 20th

century the whooper swan was in danger of extincion due to hunting and egg robbing by people

• Today the whooper swan is protexcted and prospering again.

References• http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahven• http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laulujoutsen• http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saimaannorppa• http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/fi/kalat/ahven• http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/fi/linnut/laulujoutsen• http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/linnut/whooper-swan• http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kalat/perch• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanhojapoikia_viiksekk%C3%A4it%C3%A4• http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:Juha_Vainio_-_Vanhojapoikia_viiksekk%C3%A4it%C3%A4.ogg