Animals and insects

1. INTRODUCTION
Hi! I’m Alba. I’m twelve years old. I love animals. At home I have a lots of
fish, four turtles and two quail. I live in Baeza with my mum, dad, my sister
and my twin. My favourite drinks are milk and Coca Cola. My favourite food
are chicken wings. My favourite animal is wolf.
Hello! I’m Gema. I’m twelve years old. I love animals but I hate some insects
like cockroaches. There are many in Spain, specially in summer. At home I
have one bird called Beethoven. I live in Baeza with my mother, my father
and my brother. My favourite food is pasta. My favourite drink is the Coca
Cola and juice. My favourite animal is the dolphin.
A lot of people in Spain have pets at home, usually dogs and cats. In the
city – on the streets, you can also see a lot of dog poops, because people do
not clean up after. It's really disgusting...
ANIMALS AND INSECTS.
Ladybugs can be different colors, but most of them here are red or orange
with black spots. They are usually very small and can fly. They could be
food for ants.
Cockroaches are insects that usually are disgusted to some people, specially
if they find them in restaurants or at home. There are many different
species of cockroaches in the world, but in Spain the most abundant species
are normal cockroaches. They can be brown or red and usually measure
from three to seven and a half centimeters. In summer is very common see

2. them on the street. Surprising thing is that some of them they can fly, so
if you live in first, second, third or fourth floor they can easily fly into
your flat. They are really fast and unpredictable, so that´s why people are
afraid afraid of them. Despides all of poison and insecticidal sprays is
really hard to get rid of them.
Dragonflies can be different colors, specially they could be bright colors.
They are characterized by their large eyes, two pairs of strong
transparent wings and elongated abdomen. They eat mosquitoes and other
small insects like flies, bees, butterflies and moths. Its natural habitat is
near lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands.
Maybugs are common insects in Spain. They have short and fat body. When
they need to defend they transform into a ball and at the same time they
release a special liquid that smells very bad. They are usually dark black
color and its body is divided into many parts. It has five legs on each side
of its body.

3. Bulls - Spanish Fighting Bull (Toro Bravo) are very common animals in Spain.
Actually they are known as a symbol of Spain. There are many different
breeds as Toro Bravo, toro de lidia, toro lidiado, ganado bravo, Touro de Lide. But
all of them they have mostly the same characteristics, they are known by their
aggressive behavior, especially when solitary or unable to flee. Many are colored
black or dark brown, but other colorations are normal. They reach maturity slower
than meat breeds as they were not selected to be heavy, having instead a well-
muscled "athletic" look, with a prominent morillo, a complex of muscles over the
shoulder and neck which gives the bull its distinctive profile and strength with its
horns. The horns are longer than in most other breeds and are also present in
both males and females. Mature bulls weigh from 500 to 700 kg (1100-1600 lb).
Fighting cattle are bred on specialised, wide-ranging ranches, which are
often havens for Spanish wildlife as the farming techniques used are
extensive. It is raised by its mother until one year old, after which it is
separated from the mother regardless of gender. Afterwards it is branded
and kept in single-sex groups. When they reach two years or so, they are
sent to the tienta, or testing.
For the males, this will establish if they are suitable for breeding, the
bullfight, or being slaughtered for meat. But females are more thoroughly
tested. If the bull is not appropriate, then is returned to the ranch where
he will live out his days in the fields. In these circumstances a bull's
lifespan can be 20 to 25 years.
The aggression of the bull has been maintained by selective breeding and
has come to be popular among the people of Spain, France and Portugal for
the purpose of bullfighting. It was later introduced to Latin America by the
Spanish settlers who wished to hold bullfights in their colonies.

4. But not all of Spanish people are proud of our bullfighting-tradition.
Bullfighting was banned in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia
by a vote of the Catalan Parliament in July 2010. The ban came into effect
on 1 January 2012. The last bullfight in the region took place in Barcelona in
September 2011.
The ban, which ended a centuries-old tradition in the region, was supported
by animal rights activists but opposed by some, who saw it as motivated by
political nationalism rather than animal welfare.
There is a movement to revoke the ban in the Spanish congress, citing the
value of bullfighting as "cultural heritage." The proposal is backed by the
majority of parliamentarians.
The Spanish brown bear is an animal that usually lives in forests of Iberian
Peninsula. His body measure from 1, 6 meters up to two meters. Adult males
weigh 110-270 kg, and females can weigh up to 150 kg. Normally, they live
between 20 and 25 years. Their sight is not very developed compared with
other senses, although they can see colors at night. But still, people are
afraid of them a lot, because of their appearance – they are very big and
aggressive.

5. The Iberian lynx lives in Spain. It is a carnivorous animal that feeds on
meat of other animals. They are endangered, they live in national parks,
such as Doña Ana, where are protected. They have long legs and a short
tail. Their ears are spiky.
The Spanish Canary Island ring is a proper Canary Islands Gran Canaria in
Spain. The color is yellow or green too. Is usually about thirteen feet long
from beak to tail. Males sing a melody (which is always the same) to attract
females, while females do not sing though.