Otatso Wetlands The Field Trip

The albino smiled at the exploring pup. "Excellent senses," She returned with a happy grin. She walked over there to sniff out what the pup had found. She wondered if she also knew what it was. Scarlett would be impressed. The female sat down and raised her muzzle. "About the wetlands in general at first. Then try and find some plants and species that we don't know or might do know." Scarlett looked around the wetlands and tried to gather the information she was learned when she was little. Wetlands were really interesting ecosystems that could be useful at times. "The main thing how you can recognize wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, that adapted to its unique hydric soil. Sounds so difficult doesn't it? 'Hydric' basically means that the plants are permanently or seasonally underwater! Super cool right? I mean we can't stay that long underwater we would drown!," Scarlett educated. She was in her element.

"Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, most importantly; water purification, flood control, and shoreline stability. This is very useful to know, Néa. If you encounter wetlands you always know that the water is clean of bacteria. If you have a wound or cut it might be wise to visit these lands and treat it with the right herbs of course. But it seems you know more about that than me," the white female chuckled. Scarlett liked to know about what plants where dangerous and what not. Or which plants would be typical for a prey animal to eat. The female had not shown interest in the healing functions of plants. It might be wise in the future, but for now her interests were laying with weather patterns and wildlife mostly.

" Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Some vegetation you can only find in these lands. So I'd say lets sniff out some plants. Maybe we find some tracks in the mud and if we are lucky we can try and sneak up on a prey animal! Lots of fun!" Scarlett waded into the water which was getting pretty deep. She stopped to wait for Néa. The water got more shallow a bit further up but she stayed to help Néa through the small distance she had to swim. Scarlett was on sharp for other wolves, knowing that was her job. Néa should feel safe enough to explore.