February 12 – Youth Day in Venezuela

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nThenSpanish forces attacked the city of La Victoria on this date in 1814.nGeneral Ribas, who was fighting for independence, didn’t have enoughntroops to hold the city against the Spanish. So he rallied 85nstudents from colleges and seminaries in the city and nearby towns,nand he gave them weapons and led them in battle. n

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nOnnthis date in 1947, February 12 was declared Youth Day in honor of thenstudents who helped the Patriots achieve this victory, especiallynthose who gave their lives in the effort. Unfortunately, a couple ofnyears ago Youth Day was marked by youth protests of the currentnVenezuelan government – and the protests turned violent, evenndeadly. I’m not sure how many of the 87 students fell in 1814, but inn2014, two youths died in the Youth Day protest.

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• nVenezuelan is one of the biodiversity hot spots, considered “mega-diverse.”n Theren are only 17 nations in the world with that label. 

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• nTheren are 43 national parks that are, in part, dedicated to conservingn that diversity of plants and animals.

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The tallest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls, is located in Canaima National Park in Venezuela.

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• nTheren are about 1,400 species of birds in Venezuela.

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• nTheren are about 25 THOUSAND species of orchids in Venezuela.

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• nSome of the mammals that live in Venezuela are the 2-toed sloth and the 3-toed sloth.

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• nOnen of the weirdest insects in Venezuela is the poodle moth. It was onlyn discovered in 2009, and we don’t know a lot about it yet. It looksn like a relative of the Chinese silkworm moth.

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Venezuelan poodle moth, above, and Chinese silkworm moth, below.

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• nSpeakingn of weird,n In think that Mount Roraima looks pretty weird. From the flat top ofn this ancient mountain, you can often look downn on clouds. Trees don’t grow on the mountaintop, because mostn nutrients are washed away and down the steep cliffs. (There aren nutrients enough for smaller plants to grow, of course.)

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nDarwinnDay

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• nFebruaryn holidaysn n

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• nFebruaryn birthdaysn n

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• nHistoricaln anniversaries in February

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• nMarchn holidays

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• nMarchn birthdays

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• nHistoricaln anniversaries in March

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