maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 FEBRUARY 2021
7
NATURE
Maltese mammals under the spotlight
at Heritage Malta webinar
THE mammals of Malta
will come under the spot-
light during a webinar that
Heritage Malta will be
livestreaming on Facebook
on Tuesday 9th March at
6.30pm.
Entitled Mammals in
Malta – From the Ice
Age to the Present, the
webinar will consist of a
20-minute presentation
by John J. Borg, Senior
Curator for Natural His-
tory within Heritage Mal-
ta, followed by a shorter
question and answer ses-
sion. The presentation
will be delivered in Mal-
tese, but there will be
English subtitles.
Participants will be tak-
en on a virtual tour in
and around Għar Dalam,
Wied Dalam and the Na-
tional Museum of Nat-
ural History to discover
our mammalian fauna.
The topics covered in
the presentation include
the arrival in Malta of Ice
Age mammals such as ele-
phants and hippopotami;
the extinction of a num-
ber of species due to ris-
ing water levels, isolation,
food shortage and the ar-
rival of the first humans,
among other factors; and
the survival of other spe-
cies which are still with us
today.
John J. Borg will also
give a brief overview of
the work currently un-
derway in the compilation
of the first National At-
las of Maltese Mammals,
describing the different
techniques used in find-
ing and recording mam-
mals, explaining the dig-
itisation process involved
and how to submit one's
findings on the National
Museum of Natural His-
tory's Facebook page.
More information may
be obtained via this link:
www.heritagemalta.org.
A brown rat (above) and an
Algerian hedgehog (right),
photo heritage malta
