Jan. 31/2018

Feature:

Could the World’s Oldest Living Land Creature Be Gay?

“At 186 years old, Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, is believed to be the oldest living land creature on Earth. He’s spent most of his life on the British colony island of Saint Helena where, since 1991, he’s enjoyed the company of Frederica, an Aldabra giant tortoise.

Before Jonathan met Frederica, the tortoise was a bit of an 500-pound terror…

To help mellow Jonathan out, he was introduced to Frederica, & the 2 seemed to hit it off. They eat their meals at regular times & take daily afternoon naps in the island’s tall grass…

Jonathan & Frederica have not produced any offspring during their 26 years together…

Male tortoises typically have a plastron- a concave indent- on the lower part of their shells so they can mount females. During recent surgery to repair a legion on Frederica’s shell, island veterinarian Catherine Man discovered she has a plastron…

Or does she? Because of Frederica’s slightly deformed shell, Man told Fox News it’s difficult to determine whether or not the tortoise, who’s now called Frederic, is male or female.

Jonathan has already far outlived the average 150-year lifespan of a Seychelles giant tortoise. While he’s lost his eyesight & sense of smell, he can still hear well. And he’s still enjoying a healthy sex life. There are 2 other female tortoises on St. Helena, yet Jonathan seems to prefer the company of Frederic. Does this really mean he’s gay?

Same-sex relationships are not all that uncommon in animals. They’ve been observed in more than 450 species around the world. These relationships have evolutionary advantages for animals in the wild, according to Yale Scientific, which explains that same-sex pairing ‘curtails the pressure on the opposite sex by allowing members to exhibit more flexibility to form partnerships, which in turn strengthens social bonds & reduces competition.’

As for tortoises, males aren’t particularly discerning when it comes to their partners… The mostly male population was observed mounting males more often than females…

…As Joe Hollins, St. Helena’s former veterinarian, said…

‘I’m not sure he would really know whether he was satisfying his libidinous desires on top of a male tortoise or a female tortoise,’ Hollins told Fox News. ‘He, like most animals, has his erogenous zones & hopefully it gives the old fellow great pleasure either way. And at 186 years of age, I applaud him. It is an enviable feat.’

Laura Goldman

Oct. 31/2017

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Jan. 23/2018

Feature:

4 Animals Who Can Survive a Year Without Food

“...1. Snakes

Snakes have only been around for about 100 million years, but they already comprise about half of all reptile species. This shows how amazingly successful they’ve become at surviving & adapting... They are very efficient when it comes to using available resources, & scientists have known for a while that some snake species could survive for up to 2 years without a meal...

‘Snakes are very evolutionarily successful,’ University of Arkansas researcher Marshall McCue said...

Snakes, as cold-blooded animals, or ectotherms, gather heat from their environment, & can control their body’s thermostat to a certain degree. Ectotherms don’t need to eat regularly to warm their bodies- &, thus, save an enormous amount of energy that warm-blooded animals cannot.

2. Crocodiles

In a similar vein to snakes, the crocodiles’ ectotherm status is a huge factor in its long-term survival without food... These animals have outlived the dinosaurs & are the best freshwater predators in the world... they have few natural predators, strong jaw muscles that can crush cast iron, & can survive injuries like torn off limbs.

As for going without a meal, though, it all comes back to the metabolism. A crocodile’s metabolism is so evolved that its body uses & stores nearly the entirety of the food it consumes. They can regularly go for months without food- & in extreme situations, crocodiles can live off their own tissue for up to 3 years.

Another interesting fact about crocodile eating habits is that their stomachs are more acidic than any other vertebrate. Thus, they can digest bones, horns, & shells. In fact, those pieces act as “gizzard stones” to help grind up coarse food.

 

3. Lungfish

African lungfish can go without food & water for 3 to 5 years- in suspended animation, that is. They are ready & prepared so that when water becomes available, they wake up. This adaptation is especially useful in habitats where there is seasonal drought. African & South American lungfish, for instance, burrow themselves into the mud each year & wait for the rain to return.

In suspended animation, animals enter a state of torpor, which is effectively a lighter hibernation. And that slows down their internal clocks until more beneficial conditions appear. Changes in physiology allow lungfish to slow their metabolism to as little as 1/60th of their normal metabolic rate.

...The lungfish’s protein waste during suspended animation is converted from ammonia to a less toxic urea.

Lungfish can live for a long time, too. One lungfish at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago was part of a collection from 1933, until it was euthanized in 2017 due to health problems.

 

4. Olm

Unlike most amphibians, the olm eats, sleeps & breeds underwater. Delightfully, their existence was first recorded in 1689 by a local naturalist in Slovenia, Valvasor, who reported that olms were washing up from underground waters after heavy rains. Local people believed that they were a cave dragon’s offspring, which led to even more rumors.

Olms have lived in the caves of Slovenia & Croatia for more than 20 million years. These creature are mostly blind, & though they can detect the presence of light, they hunt with other enhanced senses.

The olm’s resistance to long-term starvation is another result of living underground. Since the arrival of food can’t necessarily be counted on, these animals have adapted to eat large amounts of food when available- & then store those nutrients in the liver as large deposits of lipids & glycogen.

That way, when food is scarce, olms can reduce their activity & metabolic rate. In extreme situations, olms can also reabsorb their own tissues. Controlled experiments have shown that an olm can survive up to 10 years without food...”

 

Laura Burge

July 23/ 2017

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Jan. 17/2018

Feature:

Piou-Piou the parrot returned home after a night out in N.D.G.

     “When Piou-Piou the parrot flew the coop on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Notre-Dame-de-Grace, his owner was certain he had lost his beloved pet forever.

     ‘I was putting some sheets on the cord, & I forgot to close the door,’ said Claude Cadieux...who has had the 19 year-old white-capped pionus for about 7 years. ‘Suddenly, I turned my head, & I saw the bird flying away.’

     ...More than 24 hours later...the parrot touched down 6 blocks away, landing on a 5th floor penthouse terrace where Tania McIntosh was having dinner with her in-laws at their home. McIntosh...has long worked in veterinarian offices & she volunteers for the SPCA...

     'He was very, very happy to be picked up by people,’ McIntosh recounted. 'He acually ran toward us. I picked him up, brought him straight into the kitchen, shut all the doors so he wouldn’t fly awaty & gave him some dinner. He had some blueberries, some grapes, some cashews...

     Once Piou-Piou had eagerly eaten his fill, he tucked himself into a tiny nook above the fridge & promptly went to sleep. That’s when McIntosh launched a search for the owner...

     ...she contacted rescue organizations & nearby vet offices while posting a photo to Facebook...

     McIntosh put her name down as a potential foster parent, planning to buy the  necessary equipment to house the bird until a solution was found, but little did she know, her social media post would eventually land in the right person’s news feed.

     The friend who originally gifted Piou-Piou to Cadieux saw the post...&, from there, it wasn’t long before the adventuring parrot was returned home.

     'I’m really happy to have him back,’ Cadieux said. 'It’s like a miracle.’

     ...SPCA spokesperson Anita Kapuscinska said pet birds are returned more often than people think they tend to seek out humans when they are hungry...

     If a pet is lost or found, Kapuscinska encourages people to contact the SPCA. The SPCA, she said, will provide advice & support. There are teams of volunteers & staff standing by ready to help.

     Of the found pets that are physically brought to the SPCA, more than 500 are returned to their homes every year...

     'If you lost your bird, don’t lose hope,’ Kapuscinska concluded. 'A lot of people get reunited with their lost pets, & parrots are definitely no exception.’

Isaac Olson

in The Gazette, Montreal

Aug. 21/2017

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Jan. 10/2018

Feature:

These Wild Dogs Vote by Sneezing

“…According to a new study conducted by an international team of researchers working at the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, African wild dogs have developed a very democratic system of voting to decide whether to head out on hunting ventures…

The study’s lead author, Dr. Neil Jordan, a research fellow at the University of New South Wales & Taronga Conservation Society Australia, explained…that these dogs gather at highly energetic greeting ceremonies, otherwise known as social rallies,after rest periods before they move off together again.

For the study, which was just published the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers watched 5 packs at 68 of these rallies in Botswana, which would end either with the dogs going back to rest, or moving out to go hunting.

‘I wanted to better understand this collective behaviour, & noticed the dogs were sneezing while preparing to go,’ said Dr. Jordan. ‘The more sneezes that occurred, the more likely it was that the pack moved off & started hunting. The sneeze acts like a type of voting system.’

Even more interesting is that not all votes were found to carry the same weight. Researchers also found that if dogs other than the dominant male or female initiated the vote, more sneezes were needed – usually at least 10 – before everybody would head out…

According to National Geographic, the study’s authors also hope it will raise more interest in African wild dogs, who are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species…

‘They’re absolutely gorgeous animals focused on cooperation & their pack family unit,” said co-author, Reena Walker of Brown University. “The more people who are aware [of] how amazing these animals are, the better.’”

Alicia Graef

Sept. 6/ 2017

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Jan. 3/2018

Feature:

5 Animals Who Love the Cold

“…Here are 5 compelling reasons to combat climate change.

1. Musk Ox

The wooly musk ox weathers the frigid Arctic with the help of its insulating fur.

Layers of hollow hair keep the 300-pound ox warm…The herd animal survives by foraging for mosses, roots & lichens.

2. Wolverine

The fierce wolverine has a unique connection to winter…these creatures raise their young in springtime snowpack, ‘sometimes no lower than 8,000 feet high in the mountain peaks.’

…the wolverine has a population of only about 300 in the lower 48 states…

                                                       

3. North American River Otter

The cold doesn’t slow down the playful river otter…they rely on layered fur to stay cozy, with a water-repellent outer layer & soft insulating hair underneath.

Otters are extremely resilient during the winter. As the Shedd Aquarium notes:

During the winter day, when temperatures are highest, river otters may travel more to find open bodies of water where they can fish. When fish aren’t readily accessible, river otters may root out hibernating frogs & turtles buried in the mud…

If they can’t find openings in the ice for fishing, river otters might tunnel into beaver dams for access to open water. In late winter, water levels sometimes drop below the ice, leaving an air space that lets them swim & hunt beneath the ice.

                                            

4. Arctic Ground Squirrel

…the Arctic ground squirrel hibernates during the winter…

As the Scientific American notes, their bodies can drop ‘below the freezing point of water’ when they’re curled up in burrows more than a meter underneath the tundra. And winter’s effects on the squirrel’s brain is also intriguing…

                                             

5. Beluga Whales

Thick blubber is one of the distinctive traits that keeps a beluga whale going in freezing temperatures.

These marine mammals also have a dorsal ridge instead of a fin to avoid heat loss & injury by ice.”

                                        

Emily Zak

Dec. 14, 2017

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