Dear Australian friends,

During these latest weeks with our English teacher, Mrs. Fruttero, we watched a video about Australian wild animals and then we decided to create some cards that represent them and we used to play pelmanism. We call that game “memory”, here in Italy.

Later we created cards with our Italian wild animals (animals which live in our area).

We would like to send you our cards, so that you can play, too.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

The English Club

Cari amici australiani,

In queste ultime settimane con la nostra prof. di inglese, la signora Fruttero, abbiamo visto un video sugli animali selvatici australiani e dopo abbiamo creato delle carte che li rappresentavano e le abbiamo usate per giocare a “memory”.

Piú tardi abbiamo creato delle carte con gli animali selvatici italiani della nostra zona.

Vogliamo spedirvi le nostre carte, così potete giocare anche voi.

Speriamo di sentirvi presto,

Con affetto,

English Club

WILD ANIMALS IN OUR AREA

(VERBANO-CUSIO- OSSOLA)

Near our school there are a lot of famous mountains like Monte Rosa, Monte Cervino, Mottarone.

The most common wild animals from our mountains are : Stone martens, Foxes, Dormice, squirrels, etc. There are also wild animals in or near our lake: Carps, Herons, Hawkes.

Here are some descriptions of our animals:

AIRONE

ENGLISH NAME: Heron

The Heron is a Bird. There are 64 different species of herons.

BODY: it has got a long beak and long legs; it's not very big.

WHERE (our area): it lives near lake Maggiore (Fondotoce is a birdwatching point)

SPECIAL FEATURES: strong wings and short tail feathers .

CINGHIALE

ENGLISH NAME: Wild boar

BODY: The wild boar is a big terrestrial mammal. It's got short legs and tail, but dangerous fangs!

WHERE (our area): You can see it all around the mountains in VCO.

SPECIAL FEATURES: females are aggressive when they're with their piglets (between 4 and 8 p.).

TASSO

ENGLISH NAME: Badger

BODY: small and chubby, with black and white fur. Badger has elongated head, small ears, stocky, wedge-shaped body, short legs

and broad feet equipped with long claws.

WHERE (our area): in all VCO (VERBANO CUSIO, OSSOLA)

SPECIAL FEATURES: long black face, with white markings

CERVO

ENGLISH NAME: Red Deer

BODY: It's very elegant. Male adults have got long, strong horns, similar to branches.

WHERE (our area): throughout the Italian Alps.

SPECIAL FEATURES: In Spring male young adults fight to find a partner.

CAMOSCIO

ENGLISH NAME: Chamois

BODY: It's got a strong body, two long, hook-shaped horns and strong claws.

WHERE (our area): In Valgrande and in Val Formazza (VCO)

SPECIAL FEATURES: It's a fantastic rock climber.

VOLPE

ENGLISH NAME: Fox

BODY: It's medium-sized , it's got black ear top , a long fluffy tail, a white chest.

WHERE (our area): throughout VCO ( Verbano – Cusio – Ossola )

SPECIAL FEATURES: It's got a long, red fur, it's very fast and clever.

FAINA

ENGLISH NAME: Stone marten

BODY: it's got a very long tail, a nice fur and a tight and stretched body.

WHERE (our area):throughout VCO (Verbano-Cusio-ossola)

SPECIAL FEATURES: sharp nails, long whiskers. They love eating chickens.

FALCHETTO

ENGLISH NAME: Hawk

BODY: it has got two big, strong wings, and it is a predator.

WHERE (our area): Throughout Verbano Cusio Ossola

SPECIAL FEATURES: it has got a excellent eyesight, it can see 8

times better than humans.

MARMOTTA

ENGLISH NAME: Marmot

BODY: It's similar to a squirrel, but it's chubby, with very short legs. Its tail is small and flat.

WHERE (our area): In Alta Val Formazza, in Valgrande (VCO).

SPECIAL FEATURES: a high and loud whistle.

CARPA

ENGLISH NAME: Carp

BODY: It's got a silver grey body; It's quite long and slim.

WHERE (our area): It's very common in our lake (Maggiore l.).

CURIOSITIES: Old people from Baveno usually fish it in their free time, but it isn't very tasty...

SCOIATTOLO

ENGLISH NAME: Squirrel

BODY: it's small , with a long, white, enormous tail and small furry ears.

WHERE (our area): in our mountains.

SPECIAL FEATURES: they love nuts and they sleep all winter long.