Weather and Nature

Animals, pets and plants

Educational pages on what each animal eats, dog and cat breed groups, pruning and planting calendars, and plants that are toxic to pets — with a source for every figure.

What each animal eats

  • What do turtles eat?Turtle diets split by species: green turtles graze seagrass, leatherbacks eat jellyfish, hawksbills eat sponges. Figures from NOAA Fisheries.
  • What do sharks eat?What sharks eat, using the white shark as the worked example: fish and squid when young, seals and scavenged whales when large. NOAA Fisheries figures.
  • What do rabbits eat?A rabbit diet is 85% hay and grass, 10% leafy greens and 5% pellets, per RSPCA and PDSA guidance — and muesli mixes are the thing to avoid.
  • What do pandas eat?Giant pandas eat 70 to 100 pounds of bamboo a day and spend 10 to 16 hours a day feeding, because their gut is built like a carnivore's. Smithsonian figures.
  • What do owls eat?Owls eat mostly small mammals — rats, mice, voles and other rodents — hunted at night by hearing. Figures from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
  • What do hummingbirds eat?Hummingbirds live on flower nectar for fuel and insects and spiders for protein. Flower list and prey from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
  • What do frogs eat?Adult frogs are carnivores eating insects, spiders and worms; most tadpoles are herbivores eating algae and plant matter. NPS and USFWS sources.
  • What do foxes eat?Red foxes are omnivores, but most of the diet is rabbits and mice, with berries and insects when available. National Park Service sources.
  • What do ducks eat?Ducks dabble for seeds, aquatic plants and invertebrates, and the mix changes with the season. Why bread is harmful and what to feed instead.
  • What do deer eat?White-tailed deer are browsers: forbs, browse and mast, with acorns dominating the autumn diet. Penn State Extension and USDA Forest Service figures.
  • What do bats eat?Insect-eating bats eat half their body weight a night and prefer moths, spiders and beetles over mosquitoes. National Park Service figures.
  • What do hedgehogs eat?Hedgehogs eat invertebrates: beetles, caterpillars and earthworms above all. Safe supplementary foods, and why milk and bread are harmful.
  • What do bees eat?Bees take sugar from nectar and protein, vitamins, minerals and fats from pollen. Larval diet, beebread and why variety matters. USDA ARS sources.

Dog and cat breeds

  • Small dog breedsFifteen small dog breeds with the height and weight written into their official breed standards — from a 2.7 kg Chihuahua upwards — and what size does and does not tell you.
  • Large dog breedsThirteen large and giant dog breeds with the heights and weights in their official standards, from a 71 cm minimum Great Dane down, plus measured life expectancy.
  • Hypoallergenic dog breedsThere is no truly non-allergenic dog. What exists is low-shedding breeds — here they are, with the allergy facts from AAFA and the official coat descriptions.
  • Dog breeds listA sortable reference of 36 dog breeds with the height, weight, coat and measured life expectancy behind each one — and how many breeds there really are.
  • Smartest dog breedsA peer-reviewed study of 1,002 dogs found breed differences in some cognitive traits and none in memory or logical reasoning. There is no IQ ranking.
  • Dog breeds with a long lifespanMeasured life expectancy at birth by breed, from the VetCompass UK life tables: Jack Russell Terrier 12.72 years at the top, French Bulldog 4.53 at the bottom.
  • Dog breeds for apartmentsWhich measurable traits actually matter in a flat — size, coat, exercise need — with official standard figures, and the three questions that matter more than breed.
  • Dog breeds for familiesWhy "best family dog" lists are opinion, what the official standards and measured life expectancy do tell you, and the questions that matter more than breed.
  • Hypoallergenic cat breedsAll cats produce Fel d 1, so no breed is hypoallergenic — the CFA says so about the Devon Rex itself. What low-shedding breeds do and do not change.
  • Largest cat breedsThe Maine Coon is the largest pedigreed cat breed per the CFA, with mature males often over 9 kg. Weights for the other big breeds, and the Guinness records.
  • Cat breeds listSixteen cat breeds with coat type, published adult weight and, where measured, life expectancy — plus why cat breed counts are so much lower than dog ones.
  • Cat breeds for apartmentsFor an indoor cat, breed matters less than the room does. What the CFA pages do tell you about coat and size, and the four changes that matter more.

Pruning, planting and harvesting

  • When to prune rosesLate winter for repeat-flowering roses — February or March in a mild winter, March or April where winters are cold, and six months later south of the equator.
  • When to prune hydrangeasMopheads and lacecaps are pruned in late winter to mid-spring, panicle hydrangeas every spring. Why the wrong month costs you a whole season of flowers.
  • When to harvest garlicLift garlic when the lower leaves have browned and the top four or five are still green — late June to late July in most of the northern hemisphere.
  • When to plant tulip bulbsPlant tulip bulbs in autumn, about four weeks before the ground freezes — September to November in most temperate areas. Tulips need 15–17 weeks of chilling.
  • When to plant potatoesPlant potatoes in early spring once the soil reaches 45°F and can be worked — up to two weeks before the frost-free date. Cold wet soil rots seed potatoes.
  • When to plant grass seedFor cool-season grass the best window is roughly 15 August to 15 September. Spring is the second choice, and warm-season grass goes in before summer.

Plants toxic to pets

  • Plants toxic to catsWhich houseplants and garden plants are toxic to cats, ordered by severity — lilies first, because the whole plant including pollen can cause kidney failure.
  • Plants toxic to dogsWhich plants are toxic to dogs, ordered by severity: sago palm and oleander at the top, common houseplants with calcium oxalates lower down.
  • Are lilies poisonous to cats?True lilies and daylilies are deadly to cats: the FDA says stem, leaves, flowers, pollen and even vase water are toxic, with kidney failure in 24–72 hours.
  • Is monstera toxic to dogs?The ASPCA lists Monstera deliciosa as toxic to dogs and cats: insoluble calcium oxalates cause intense burning of the mouth, drooling and vomiting.
  • Is aloe vera poisonous to dogs?The ASPCA lists aloe as toxic to dogs and cats: saponins and anthraquinones cause vomiting, lethargy and diarrhoea, and sometimes red-coloured urine.

How long they live

  • How long do dogs live?Life expectancy at birth for UK dogs is 11.23 years, from VetCompass life tables built on 30,563 dogs — with breed figures from 12.72 down to 4.53 years.
  • How long do cats live?Life expectancy at birth for UK cats is 11.74 years, from VetCompass life tables on 7,936 cats — females 12.51, males 11.18, Burmese and Birman 14.4.
  • How long do parrots live?Parrot lifespan depends entirely on species: the San Diego Zoo gives a range of 10 to 60 years, with the largest species at the top end.
  • How long do goldfish live?The RSPCA records goldfish living up to 25 years and growing over 30 cm. Most die far younger because of tank size and water quality, not age.
  • How long do tortoises live?Tortoise lifespan depends on species: radiated tortoises 40–50 years, desert tortoises 50–80, African spurred 80–100, Aldabra giants up to 150.