28/03/2016 Newsround

Good morning, I'm Jenny, live with your Newsround update this

bank holiday Monday.

You won't want to miss all this!

The UK is battered by Storm Katie, and...

why less-than-cute animals are missing out.

It's Newsround.

First this morning, Storm Katie has hit the UK,

leaving thousands of homes without power.

Southern England and Wales have seen the worst of the storms,

with some flights cancelled because of very strong winds.

The bad weather is expected to ease later on today.

Now, on the news we often hear about animals that are endangered

or facing extinction.

But have you noticed how most of those animals

are usually pretty cute?

Well what about the not-so-cute animals?

A study has found that ugly animals are struggling to get

the same attention.

Here's Hayley.

SQUEAKING.

It's like something from a nightmare.

A gargoyle face, a crumbling nose, fleshy wings and a loud,

high-pitched squeak!

SQUEAKING.

This is the orange leaf-nosed bat!

And it's probably not going to win a beauty contest anytime soon.

But Australian researchers say this endangered mammal,

and many others like it, deserve a lot more attention

than they're getting.

A new study has found a lot of animals in Australia are missing

out on funding and research, because, well, they're just

not pretty enough.

The study looked at 331 Australian mammals and put them into three

categories - the good, the bad and the ugly.

We all know the good ones - the cute animals that people

tend to love.

Creatures like kangaroos, koalas and echidnas.

The bad ones are often pests - they need to be watched

so that they don't harm other animals or the environment.

They include cats, rabbits and foxes.

And then there's the ugly.

They're the animals that often come out at night and we normally don't

pay much attention to them.

Creatures like bats, rats and flying foxes.

It's this last group that could be in danger of becoming extinct,

which is a big problem, because every animal plays

an important role in the ecosystem.

For example, small bats can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes an hour.

So fewer bats could mean more mosquitoes!

Scientists think the country's ugly animals deserve just as much

attention as the cute and cuddly ones.

So, Australians are being asked to be citizen scientists -

regular people who help keep tabs on the animals living around them.

Have a look for yourself.

Up close, you might discover even the so-called ugly ones can actually

be pretty cute!

Fancy getting yours hands on your very own virtual-reality system?

Well, deliveries of the long-awaited Oculus Rift headsets are being made

to homes around the world this morning.

The goggles allow users to enter a completley

computer generated world.

They've been available to pre-order since January.

But with a price tag of ?500, you'll have to start

saving your pocket money.

Next - are you addicted to tech?

That's the question the latest Newsround special is asking.

We set a year 7 class an epic challenge to find out if technology

is taking over their lives.

Here's a taster of what to expect.

Could you handle it?

We're going to split this class into three different groups.

Now, the first group is going to be able to use technology

whenever you want.

The second group will only be allowed to use technology for two

hours a day over the next three days.

The final group won't be able to use any technology whatsoever

for the next three days.

It says here that using tech before bedtime can also affect your sleep.

Mum!

Mum!

I can't join in.

I miss it a lot.

I don't know what to do with myself, I'm just so bored.

I haven't missed them as much as I thought I would.

Maybe we should take a step back from it and...go outside.

That Newsround Special - Is Tech Taking Over?

- is on CBBC today at 4.25, so don't miss it.

And there's more tech online!

Head to the Newsround website for loads more -

including top tips on making the most of your tech-time from some

top vloggers, including this from Yogscast's Kim.

Tech can be such a great platform for teaching you,

for kind of opening your eyes and kind of learning new things

and adding to your skill set.

We live in a fantastic technological age.

Use these tools to do something creative and

express your creativity.

And also use these tools to learn new skills.

You sort of have to take a look at yourself, going,

is it really that important for me to check in on what the latest

cat video is?

Probably not.

Finally, a koala has received a police escort to save it

from being injured.

This furry little guy wandered onto a busy road in Brisbane,

Australia.

2 motorists captured this footage of the koala taking a casual stroll

along the road, stopping all the traffic.

The police helped shepherd it to safety, staying closeby

until the koala climbed up into a tree.

That's all from me, Newsround's back right here at 4.20.