In some countries, business owners can go their way in the happy knowledge that government officials won’t be hitting them up for bribes or tossing them in jail on trumped-up charges. But in other parts of the world, public sector corruption is a fact of life. Hoping to shine a light on this widespread problem, Transparency International, a non-governmental organization …

In remote parts of the world, where animals might easily get lost among craggy mountains or in deep forests, bells are tied to them. In Switzerland, beautiful carved and painted bells are hung around the necks of cows as they graze. Some herders believe this gentle sound keeps the cows contented. Falcons often hunt with two tiny bells attached to …

The animal which is bigger than all others when fully grown – the whale. When baby blue whales are first born, they weigh over 3,000 kg (3 tones), about the same weight as a fully grown hippopotamus. Once born, a baby blue whale takes two years to reach a weight of 26,000 kg (26 tones). No other living creature grows …

Several animals can move by jet propulsion, and they are all mollusks belonging to the class Cephalopod. This group of mollusks include the octopuses, squid and cuttlefishes. Cephalopods draw in water from the sea by means of slits in the body wall. The water is then drawn over the gills so that the animals can breathe. When the water is …

The glutton is an alternative name for an animal called the wolverine, a lumbering bear-like predatory animal which lives in the Arctic wastes. It is one of the least fussy feeders in the animal kingdom, devouring a wide range of prey including berries, frogs, fishes, lemmings – even animals as large as moose. Any food it encounters is greedily gobbled …

In a foot race the fastest land animal is the cheetah, a member of cat family. Over a long distance the pronghorn antelope of North America holds the record.

Trap-door spiders are to be found just under the surface of the earth. They belong to the class of spiders called mygalomorphae which includes the bird-eating spiders on the tropics. All these spiders tend to be rather large they have four lungs instead of two, and their jaws work vertically instead of sideways. The trap-door spider has perfected the art …

They are found in the African Continent. The Tuareg are Muslim nomads who inhabit the Sahara. Ashantis live in the dense forests of West Africa. The tall Masai people herd cattle on the open plains of Kenya.

If you want to sound extremely clever you can confuse your friends by telling them that the real name for truffles is Ascomycetes. That’s what the botanists call them. But you are most likely to come across truffles in the very best French pates-for examples, in the famous pates of the Perigord region of France. The Perigord truffles becomes famous …

Blue whales are the largest living animals. They are cosmopolitan creatures and are found in most of the seas, from the polar caps to the equator. Normally those which inhabit the colder seas will migrate to warmer waters in winter. Their dimensions are almost beyond belief. Although figures can never be quite accurate, a blue whale can weigh more than …