2025 · Wildlife Wednesday

Koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus)

Koi fish at the Japanese Garden in Fort Worth, Texas

Koi fish are colorful, ornamental versions of the common carp. Although carp domestication is believed to have begun in China as early as the 4th century, modern Japanese koi are believed to date back to early 19th-century Japan, where wild, colorful carp were caught, kept, and bred by rice farmers. There are now dozens of different color varieties of koi. Wild koi are native to the fresh bodies of water around the Black, Caspian, and Aral Seas. Domesticated in the 19th century, carp have now been introduced throughout the world. Koi are omnivorous feeders who will eat food found at all depths of water. The Japanese koi at the Kids’ Farm are fed a floating pellet, though they will also eat aquatic insects and algae.

:https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/japanese-koi

2025 · National Day Calendar

World Water Week 2025 💧

Water is essential for human existence and life in general. This inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance is the main constituent of Earth’s hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms. The origin of water on Earth is the subject of a body of research in planetary science, astronomy, and astrobiology. Earth is unique among the rocky planets in the Solar System because it is the only planet with oceans of liquid water on its surface.

Water also plays an important role in the world economy. Approximately 70% of the freshwater used by humans goes to agriculture. Fishing is a major source of food for many parts of the world. Much of the long-distance trade of commodities is transported by boats through various bodies of water. Large quantities of water, ice, and steam are used for cooling and heating, in industry and homes. Water is an excellent solvent for a wide variety of substances, both mineral and organic; as such, it is widely used in industrial processes, and in cooking and washing

In reverence to practically the most important resource to human existence, World Water Week in Stockholm originally began as the Stockholm Water Symposium in 1991 and has been convened annually ever since. A different theme is selected each year, ultimately geared at tackling the world’s greatest challenges, such as the climate crisis, poverty, and the loss of biodiversity.

: https://nationaltoday.com/world-water-week/