Pumas are known by 80 different names around the world. Some of the ones you may have heard of are – Cougar, Panther, Mountain Lion, Catamount & Shadow Cat.
Puma cubs are born with spots on their fur, which they lose as they begin to age.
Big cats roar, while small cats snarl. Unlike lions & tigers, puma can’t roar, but they can snarl. This makes them small cats, despite being the fourth heaviest cat species in the world.
There are only 50,000 breeding Pumas in the wild, making them “Near Threatened” according to the IUCN Endangered Species list.
Puma cubs start hunting small prey at 6 months of age. That’s the fastest of all the cats.
Bonus
Pumas are excellent jumpers. They can jump as high as 5.4 meters upwards onto a tree. That’s almost twice as high as the World Record high jump of 2.45 meters by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor.
A puma resting
A puma hunting a bear cub. The mother bear runs to save its cub.
Wolverines belong to the Mustelidae family, which includes badgers, otters, minks and beavers.
Wolverines secrete a very foul-smelling liquid from their anus to throw-off predators and marauders. This liquid has given them the name “skunk bear”.
Wolverines use a unique tactic to hunt. They climb onto tall trees and pounce onto their prey from the top. Sometimes, the force of the fall is enough to maim or kill the prey.
In a fight between a bear and a wolverine, the bear will more likely be the first to back-off. Why? Wolverines are known for their nasty temper and nastier bite.
The word “wolverine” means “glutton” in Latin. Wolverines will hunt/scavenge anything that comes in their path and pick the bones clean within hours. They’re also great at sneaking food out of traps set by researchers.
Bonus
A “wolverine” is actually the male of the species. The female is called an “angeline” and wolverine cubs are called “kits”.
An adult wolverine in captivity
A newborn kit
Video: Wolverine kits with their mother
So now that you know these amazing facts, which wolverine do you prefer? Comment below.
Armadillos swallow large quantities of air to inflate themselves into a balloon-like shape and float across water bodies.
The three-banded armadillo is the only one of its species that can form into a complete ball. Its shell is so hard that even dogs can’t break it.
When startled, armadillos jump 3-4 feet vertically into the air. This is the biggest cause of fatal accidents between cars and armadillos.
The nine-banded armadillo becomes mother to 4 genetically-identical quadruplets each time it gives birth. Why? It produces a single egg that divides into 4 equal and completely identical parts.
Armadillos are the only animals other than humans which can contract leprosy.
Bonus:
Armadillos are a delicacy in the United States. In fact, there’s a special dish called the Hoover Hog which locals in the southern United States make, using roadkill armadillo, fresh veggies and spices.
However, I strongly discourage you to try this dish, as it is one of the causes of leprosy transmission between armadillos and humans.
A three-banded armadillo rolling into a complete ballGlyptodon; an extinct animal believed to be one of the ancestors of the modern-day armadillo
A baby armadillo being fed milk
Three banded armadilloScreaming hairy armadilloAndean hairy armadillo
Minke whales have two V-shaped blow-holes on their heads. They can hold their breath up to 15 minutes.
Minke whales are very shy and typically swim alone. But they are also curious and can be spotted swimming up to ships and looking up at people.
The killer whale is the minke whale’s natural enemy.
Minke whale pregnancies last 11 months long and calves spend up to 5 years with their mothers.
Minke whales live up to 50 years of age.
Bonus:
Minke whales are the second smallest whales on the planet, measuring only 24 feet in length and weighing just under 4.3 metric tonnes. This is just a fraction of the world’s largest whale, the blue whale, which swims at 98 feet in length and weighs 180 metric tonnes.
Size of a Minke whale compared to other whales
A killer whale attacking a Minke whaleA pod of Minke whales
Chevrotain are super small in size. The various sub-species of the mouse deer range in size between that of a Chihuahua and a Jack Russell Terrier.
Although they resemble deer and have mousey faces, the chevrotain are not related to either of the animals. In fact, they belong to a separate, mostly-extinct species called Tragulidae, of which they are the only surviving members.
They have very long and sharp fangs which they use during battle for territory and mates. Their bites can put even Dracula to shame.
Female chevrotain are pregnant for most of their adult lives. They mate and get pregnant within a few hours of giving birth.
Bonus
Chevrotains walk down into the river bottom and remain submerged for up to 4 minutes at a time when they sense the presence of predators. They may also create secondary burrows for themselves underwater where they stay until the danger passes. To see what this is like, watch the video below.
A chevrotain’s fangs are very sharp and long. Males have longer and sharper fangs than females.Chevrotain matingA mother chevrotain feeding a fawn. Mothers stand on three legs, lift a leg in the air and feed their fawns. Fawns are one of the smallest creatures in the wildA mouse deer in the Thai forest
The Bald Uakari are very unique to look at, with their completely hairless, red ballooned faces and extremely short tails. Their fur ranges from pure white to reddish-brown to orange.
Uakari have one of the most powerful jaws in primates and can cut open a hard Brazilian beetle nut with a quick bite.
Uakari females give birth just once every two years.
Uakari live in groups called ‘troops’ which can contain up to a 100 monkeys.
Uakari are considered vulnerable according to theIUCN Red List, due to extensive hunting by indigenous tribes in its native habitat of South America.
Bonus
Uakari are very susceptible to malaria and often fall ill, which reduces the redness of their faces. Animals with paler red faces are rejected by potential mates as they indicate traces of ill health. This can be especially hard for Uakari who have never had the disease, but have pale faces due to genetics.
Okapi have tongues that are 30 cms long, which is approximately double the length of a standard television remote and three times the length of the average human tongue.
Okapi diet is as diverse as it is colourful. Okapi eat over 100 types of plants & fungi, red clay and charcoal. This type of diet ensures they get all the nutrients they need to be healthy.
New born okapi don’t poop until they are four to ten weeks old. Researchers believe this may be a tactic to avoid drawing predators through smell.
Mother okapi speak to their babies in infrasound, sounds that are too low for humans to hear.
Okapi release a black tar-like substance from their feet, which leaves marks when they walk. This could be a way of marking territory.
Bonus
Okapi are extremely shy and live in secluded areas of the forest. Apart from calf-mother pairs, they seldom interact with any species, including their own. Till the time they were discovered in 1901 by British explorer Sir Harry Johnston, Okapi were called ‘African Unicorns’ because people thought they were a myth and didn’t really exist. It was only the indigenous tribes living in the Congo-Ugandan region who had occasionally seen the animals till then. Now they are found only in the Congo and are the country’s national animal.
Video: An okapi in the wild
An okapi
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve established in Congo helps safeguard this Rare & Endangered species. There are currently only 25,000 documented okapi in the wild. The Congolese franc uses okapi as the image for their 50 franc notes.A mother-calf pair feeding
Adult elephant seals can grow up to 20 feet (6 meters) in length and weigh 8800 pounds (3991 kgs). That’s almost twice the length & weight of a midsize truck or SUV!
Elephant seals can hold their breath underwater for more than two hours straight.
Elephant seals get their names from their large trunk-like snouts called “proboscis”. These appendages grow only on males and develop during puberty. Males use this appendage during mating to attract females (using a series of snorts & grunts) and as shields to protect themselves during fights with competing males.
Elephant seals produce concentrated, jelly-like urine when there is a lack of drinking water in their surroundings. This concentrated urine helps them conserve water in the body for later use. But the moment they drink water, their urine becomes normal and more liquid-like.
Beachmasters are the alpha adult males in a group of male elephant seals. They are the ones who are the strongest of the lot and who possess the best spots on the beach. It is important for the beachmasters to create a big space on the rookery (the beach selected for breeding) if they wish to attract & control a large harem of females.
Bonus
Elephant seals usually mate a few months before winter. This is to ensure that the pups are born during the ideal breeding season when the weather isn’t too cold or too hot. But, females have what is called a “delayed implantation”.
The normal gestation period for elephant seals is 9 months. However, due to the delayed implantation it takes up to 12 months for pups to be born. So, if the weather is not right for the pups’ birth or males haven’t established their territories on the rookery in time, this delayed implantation gives them sufficient time to create or wait for better breeding conditions. This is nature’s way of ensuring greater number of live births during the harsh winter.
Video: Epic fights and all the excitement of the breeding season
A harem of female elephant seals. Each harem can cross a 100 females.Just-born seal pup. Sea gulls feed on the placenta and broken umbilical cord of the newborns.A seal pupSeal pups feeding. The milk is extremely nutritious and helps the pups gain three times their birth weight in blubber, in under a month.
Hippos are one of the most aggressive animals on the planet and they ‘yawn’ to show their annoyance or aggression towards another animal. Hippos kill an estimated 500 people each year in Africa.
The ‘red blood’ hippos sweat is actually a natural sunblock and moisturiser which hippos secrete to keep their skin hygienic and healthy.
Hippos rise every 3-5 minutes from underwater to take a breath of air. They do this even when they are asleep, rising automatically and submerging again despite being semi/unconscious.
Hippos are extremely fast and can run at speeds as high as 30 kms/hour. This is faster than the average human!
Hippo calves suckle from their mothers underwater by closing their nostrils and ears.
Bonus
Hippos are actually related to whales and porpoises and not other land-based organisms!
Hippo mother and calf pairs stay together for 8 years, until the baby enters adulthood.
Hippo mums gently nudge their babies to the surface for the first few days after birth, to help them swim to the top.
What do French bulldogs, Scottish terriers, Clumber spaniels, German wirehaired pointers, Mastiffs and Pekingese have in common? 80% of their species are born via C-section!
Puppies are born blind and deaf at birth and only get their eyesight and hearing around the 7 week mark. They get their sense of smell at 3 weeks.
Puppy dog face is a real phenomenon. Research shows puppies deliberately make puppy eyes and cutesy expressions when they’re being watched by owners. This is a tactic to get attention, hugs and treats.
There are instances of identical twin pups, although they’re very rare. In 2016, an Irish wolfhound in South Africa delivered twin pups who shared the same placenta.
Puppies learn important lessons from other dogs and humans before 7 weeks of age. They must be introduced to humans and other animals by this age or they’ll never get over their fear of other creatures and become anti-social.
Bonus
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is training a Weimaraner pup named Riley to find and hunt pests that may damage irreplaceable artwork.
Cheetahs are super-fast and can reach 112 kms/hour in just 3 seconds. Top speeds have been recorded at 120 kms/hour in 3 seconds!
A cheetah’s body is designed to run. The thick rudder-like tail, muscular legs, non-retractable claws, flexible spine and wide chest make it the ultimate lean, mean running machine.
There are only 7100 cheetahs left in the wild. The cheetah is on the Endangered Species List and is considered extremely vulnerable to extinction.
Bonus:
Ancient Sumerians, Egypt’s King Tut and the Mughal emperor Akbar trained thousands of cheetahs as guards and hunters for their royal houses.
(But this didn’t mean they could keep up with the Cheetah during chases and hunts. Take a look at this video which pits two of the fastest creatures on the planet in a race against each other, to know what we mean)
They are 98% human! 98% of the Gorilla’s genes are the same as the genes found in humans.
They live only in Africa and no where else in the world.
They make up to 25 different sounds, which is the highest level of vocalization by any great ape after humans. One gorilla named Koko even knew sign language and could make 1000 different signs!
Want to identify a gorilla? Take its nose print. They’re unique (just like human fingerprints).
Homosexuality exists in gorilla families and often females pair together and engage in sexual activity.
Bonus:
When we refer to “Silverbacks”, we mean “male gorillas who’s over the age of 12” and who are often troop leaders. “Blackbacks” are “males under the age of 11”.
Pretty fun to sing isn’t it? And a wonderful sight it would be too. Especially in the wild.
Nature has her fair share of spectacularly beautiful animals and plants. Super colourful and oh-so-inviting, your only wish would be to touch the creature and feel it under your fingers. But do so and that may be the last thing you ever do.
If there’s one thing you need to remember about the wild, it’s that Colours = Poison.
Say hello to Aposematism
What do they call an animal that uses bright colours to ward-off danger? An aposematic animal of course. Aposematism is the biological process of using colours as signals to repel predators.
Animals brighten their skin pigments or even change their colours as warning to other animals not to cross their path. Plants, flowers, fungi and seeds use bright colours which indicate high levels of toxicity (which animals learn indicate ‘Don’t Eat’).
Aposematic animals & plants work in weird, but wonderful ways. While some are genuinely poisonous and use unique colours to their advantage, others are non-poisonous and mimic their more dangerous cousins to confuse and scare-off their predators, who otherwise may attack them.
But here you have below the list of 5 animals who really are poisonous and who use colour as a warning sign in the wild. Remember, they may look enchanting and you may want to touch them or pet them. But trust me, it’s better you stay away.
Now, without further ado, here are our top pics for pretty but potent animals in the wild:
1) Amazonian Poison Dart Frog
This one is most certainly the poster boy for ‘colorful but potent’ category in the wild (hence the feature image ;D)
Poison dart frogs are one of the most toxic creatures on land. Dart frogs don’t make their own poisons, but store the poison of the insects and smaller animals they eat. They then process these poisons and combine them to make a very potent toxin…something which can be severely painful for humans.
Local Amazonian tribes use the tree frog’s poison to coat their darts, which they use to hunt monkeys and birds. The most toxic of all Amazonian tree frogs is Phyllobates terribilis.
Red Striped Poison Dart FrogBlue Poison Dart FrogYellow-Banded Poison Dart FrogPhyllobates terribilis aka Golden Poison Frog
2) Caterpillars
The Monarch Butterfly and the Pipevine Swallowtail store and use their prey’s toxin as a defence mechanism when they are older. Birds know they can be deadly to eat and avoid them. But other than a handful of these winged critters, most butterflies and moths aren’t poisonous. But the same can’t be said of their offspring.
Many caterpillars have a poisonous coating on their body, which protects them from being eaten by predators when they are young & helpless. While some poisons only knock the predator out for a few hours, others kill. A case in point is the formidable N’gwa or ‘Kaa caterpillar, which is found in Africa and whose toxin, according to researcher David Livingstone, which is a mixture of snake venom and plant toxin, has the capacity to kill an antelope.
Saddleback CaterpillarStinging Rose CaterpillarGypsy Moth CaterpillarSpiny Oak Slug Caterpillar
3) Hooded Pitohui
Did you ever think a bird would be on this list?
The Hooded Pitohui, scientifically called Pitohui dichrous makes its home in the lush forests of New Guinea. The size of a dove, the Pitohui is the only documented poisonous bird in the world.
It’s toxin is a neurotoxin which numbs and paralyzes the victims. Luckily, this toxin isn’t fatal to humans, although the effects can take hours to wear-off. Sadly, the same isn’t true for its prey which are insects.
The Hooded Pitohui is part of a 3-species family, which also includes the Variable Pitohui and the Brown Pitohui, which are poisonous too, but not to the level of toxicity as their hooded cousin. The toxin has been found to be the outcome of the birds’ consumption of the choresine beetle. Such a nuisance is this bird to the surrounding tribes, it had been nicknamed Pitohui or ‘rubbish bird’ by the locals, which then was adopted as its official name.
Here’s an animal that can (and has) kill(ed) a human. Puffer fish are one of the most venomous animals on the planet and a single sting can bring down the mightiest of men. Often, human deaths occur when people unwittingly consume puffer fish organs in their meal. In animals though, its often a result of the puffer’s hunting or defence strategy.
The toxin the puffer fish contains is called Tetrodotoxin, which is a highly potent neurotoxin. The toxin slowly blocks all the neural transmitters in the body, essentially paralysing the victim, one organ at a time. At its peak, the Tetrodotoxin closes the wind pipe, slows down the lungs and stops the heart from working. Soon, the brain dies due to asphyxiation and lack of blood flow, killing the victim. Scientists believe Tetrodotoxin is 200 times more lethal than cyanide!
Want to know something even more unbelievable? The Japanese have a very special dish called Fugu which is made of puffer fish and is served during very special events. And guess what? Chefs deliberately leave a bit of the poison on the fish as an adrenaline-inducing treat for the guests.
They look harmless, inviting even. But pick one up and you’ll be stung faster than you can say ‘Oh no!’. Cone snails are another sea dweller that even humans need to beware of, if they don’t wish to be hurt or worse, dead.
Coming in a variety of shapes and sizes, cone snails contain a variety of neuro venoms (depending on the species) and can range in toxicity that’s akin to everything from a bee sting to a fatal hit. These snails shoot out harpoons, which are teeth-like organs which they use when hunting underwater. Any animal that has the misfortune of brushing against the cone snail will be the unfortunate recipient of the harpoon.
One species of cone snail that are extremely potent to humans is the Conus geographus or the Cigarette snail, whose toxin is said to be so quick-acting that victims have only time enough to smoke a small cigarette before dying.
Another gastropod that is poisonous – Nudibranch. You can read all about them here.
Conus Geographus, aka the Cigarette snailMarbeled Cone SnailTypes of Poisonous Cone Snails
In the next article, we’ll focus on the Top 5 Most Colourful & Poisonous Plants and Fungi.
P.S: * This article may be disturbing for some. Reader discretion is advised.
If you thought baby humans were tiny and vulnerable, think again. Baby orangs take first place as one of the most fragile and breakable newborns on the planet.
A baby orangutan needs round-the-clock care up until at least 1 year of age. Just like human babies, they are absolutely helpless and powerless and need their mothers (or carers in captivity) to feed them, bathe them and give them lots of hugs. In the wild, babies stay with their mother for 8-9 years, learning how to be an orang.
But these days, due to increasing commercial activity in Borneo and Sumatra, orangutans are being ripped apart from their homes; many apart from their families. Deforestation, coupled with human-orang conflicts which at times leads to mum’s death, can be quite traumatic for baby orangutans.
Often, workers and resident villagers keep orphaned baby orangs illegally as pets. They even sell them on the black market to make a quick buck. This can be especially devastating for baby orangs. Fed the wrong food and kept in unhygienic and harmful conditions, these babies find themselves spiralling down towards abysmal health.
It has been found that baby orangs that experience trauma at a young age often develop PTSD and may go into depression or have anxiety attacks as adults. In extreme cases, this manifests itself as self-harm. It has been noticed how traumatized orangs bite or scratch themselves, pull out their fur and hurl themselves against the wall when unable to overcome the frustration and anxiety they have building within them.
This is where orangutan care centres are especially important. These centres help vets, animal experts and volunteers care for baby orangs and rehabilitate them back into the wild. Take a look at this video below of baby Joss, who was rescued from a house that kept her as a pet where she was ill-treated the entire time.
Many orangutans may even find it very difficult to forge meaningful relationships with other orangs and their human caregivers.
A case in point is Pony, a 17 year old female orangutan who was rescued from a brothel, where she was sold as a sex slave when she was a baby. Pony was trained to perform unnatural acts with humans and this resulted in her developing serious PTSD and an intense aversion to humans; something which is slowing down her treatment.
Unwilling to interact with humans, Pony is isolating herself from other orangs and her caregivers. Not taught how to forage when young and having been alienated from her natural psychological development, she has made no progress in her healing and the prospect of her release into the wild looks bleaker by the day. Although rescued at age 7, Pony was too old to provide the care her younger cousins (like Joss in the video) were given. Now caregivers use a combination of medication and routine activities to keep her calm and help her regain her trust in humans. To know more about her, follow this link*.
Awareness about these endangered creatures and how they are being abused can help us find ways to save them and protect them. We may not be able to do much for Pony, but we may certainly be able to save others from this terrible fate if we try. Share this post and spread the word about the harrowing journey these little ones face.
“Anorexia nervosa is a complicated disorder and genes aren’t everything. The genes load the gun but the environment pulls the trigger.”
-Dr. Janet Treasure
When Dr. Janet Treasure, senior lecturer at the London Institute of Psychiatry conducted her research into the origins of Anorexia nervosa in humans, she found herself following a path not many knew about; but which could explain how Anorexia functions in human beings.
This path less travelled by, was the study of a disease that only few knew existed and which hardly any understood – Pig Anorexia.
It was in 1962 at a farm in Ontario, Canada that the resident pig keeper noticed something amiss with the new litter of piglets. The tiny creatures had been recently weaned from their mother and were being fed by hand by the farm boys.
While things seemed fine at first, the pig keeper noticed the piglets had stopped eating soon after, often starving themselves for days until they were just skin and bones. With this starvation came the vomitting, the weakness and the weight loss.
The hunger, combined with the deteriorating condition of the body, soon grew too much for the tiny piglets to cope with and the entire farrow lost its life.
This was the very first case of ‘pig anorexia’ as it soon came to be called and it is a disease that has affected pigs the world over.
The Hemagglutinating Encephalomyelitis Virus (HEV) is a RNA virus that affects porcine, aka pigs. As an RNA virus, it affects the pigs’ RNA, infecting the animal at the cellular level.
In every living creature, the DNA is the genetic blueprint of the body and it dictates the physiological and psychological make-up of the creature. The RNA is an acid present in the cells, which carries messages from the DNA and stimulates the production of proteins. These proteins are used by the cells to develop and control the functioning of the various organs inside the animal’s body.
Multiple RNA strands work within the cells of an animal’s body throughout its life. Ultimately, the RNA are responsible for the health of the proteins, the cells and the animal itself.
Now imagine if the HEV were to infect the RNA of the piglets. Each and every time an infected RNA would stimulate the production of proteins in the body, the proteins and by extension the cells, would be infected too.
Slowly over time, the HEV starts infecting the piglets from the cellular level by making their cells and organs diseased.
How does HEV spread?
HEV is just like any other virus and it spreads from contact with body liquids. These liquid spread between snout-to-snout contact and can also spread to pigs through indirect contact with boots, jackets, farm equipment etc. if pig saliva or mucus is splattered on them.
It’s been observed that most porcine populations are exposed to these viruses everyday. But only 1% – 4% of the population ever experience an active attack. Piglets are the most vulnerable to the virus, given their lack of immunity and strength.
Infected piglets will often have microscopic lesions inside their snout, on their tonsils and on the walls of their stomach. When the virus spreads, it moves to the lungs, small intestine and finally the brain through the sensory nerves. It is when the virus reaches the brain that piglets exhibit full-fledged anorexia-like symptoms.
The HEV has been observed re-writing the signals sent to the brain, changing the behaviour of the piglets. The affected piglets display low hunger levels at first and soon start skipping meals. During later stages of the disease, they may vomit extensively and may start dehydrating as a result. The muscles start to wear-out and soon, the piglet is just skin and bones. Death is an inevitable result of the disease.
The HEV-induced infection is a porcine-only infection and does not spread to humans.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in humans, where the sufferer stops eating or refuses to eat and starts exhibiting a variety of symptoms including:
Sudden loss of weight
Listlessness
Depression
Constant vomiting and diarrhoea
Extreme weakness and lethargy
Hormonal imbalances
Low tolerance to heat or cold
Pigs infected by the HEV display symptoms so close to Anorexia nervosa, that the disease has been named Pig Anorexia.
It can get extremely challenging to diagnose the presence of HEV in pigs. For one, symptoms resemble other diseases like Encephalitis, Vomiting & Wasting Disease or the Classical Swine Fever (or Hog Cholera). The only way now to identify if a porcine herd is a victim of the HEV, is to understand their origins and their environment.
Of birth and breeding
Pig pens are extremely fertile incubation areas for the Hemagglutinating Encephalomyelitis Virus (HEV). Once the virus takes root, it cannot be eliminated. The reason for this is the lack of a cure. To this day, there is no clinical cure available to help affected piglets.
But, there is something pig breeders can do to reduce herd vulnerability.
Piglets get high immunity from the colostral antibodies found in the mother’s milk. Putting piglets onto the teat at the earliest can reduce chances of an infection by half. Second, keeping the pen clean and free of fecal matter can reduce chances of infection further.
But this still won’t be enough. It’s been observed that susceptibility to the HEV is also affected by genetics. Pigs birthed naturally, without human intervention have the highest chance of survival as they have the most natural genetic structure which is designed to combat fatal illnesses.
However, with humans preferring leaner bacon cuts over thicker ones, pig farmers are deliberately isolating and promoting those genes which give rise to thinner piglets. This type of genetic manipulation, makes the piglets weaker and more susceptible to infections, including the HEV.
Dr. Janet Treasure said, anorexia is as much about genes as it is about the environment. When combined with the weak genes, the poor rearing environment and pathetic post-birth care practices can double the chances of piglets developing anorexia-like symptoms post-weaning.
Physically, the impact of HEV-induced pig anorexia is nightmarish. Thousands of pigs die each year because of the lack of veterinary care. Exposure to infected piglets often puts other healthy animals too at risk and increases the headcount.
A 2013 research∗by Reimert, Bolhuis, Kemp, & Rodenburg showed how untrained pigs when introduced into a new pen of trained pigs, adopted the behaviours and mannerisms of their trained counterparts, after sustained exposure to them. These behaviours and mannerisms included everything from the way the tails were held to the vocalizations made to the choice of food the pigs were making. This could be an attempt at social acceptance by the pigs or a mimicry of a positive stimulus-response behaviour.
Now let’s apply the same logic here. Imagine if new pigs are introduced to an infected herd which displays signs of starvation, depression and social isolation. The new pigs too are more likely to mimic this refusal of food and they may socially isolate themselves, following the example of the herd.
This psychological impact that the HEV has on healthy pigs, can lead to true pig anorexia, with pigs refusing to eat out of fear, anxiety or depression.
The idea that pig anorexia could bring about a breakthrough in the study of anorexia in humans was unthought of. But during her study, Dr. Treasure realized how similar pigs were to humans in terms of psychology and social behaviour.
Her study into pig anorexia helped her understand a key component about Anorexia nervosa – while genes do play a vital role in indicating susceptibility to the disorder, it is the environmental factors that finally trigger the condition. Essentially, people may be pre-disposed to anorexia through genetics, but this pre-disposition is unlikely to have a major negative impact so long as the person’s upbringing is filled with love and support.
Just like fecal matter in pig pens, constant negative feedback from family can make people more likely to suffer from anorexia. Remove this environmental contamination and you reduce the subject’s vulnerability to the disorder. This insight is now helping medical professionals find lasting treatments for anorexia in humans.
Biomimetics, also known as biomimicry, is a branch of science that uses nature as inspiration to find solutions for human problems. One of the biggest uses of Biomimetics is using animal and plant defensive strategies as the foundation for technology. Here are 5 amazing inventions that are inspired by the wild.
Sharkskin and catheters
Catheters are so important for a variety of medical treatments. But for long, doctors had to contend with dirty-catheter-induced infections in patients. To combat this problem, scientists looked towards sharks.
Sharks have tiny, V-shaped sharp bumps on their skins called dermal denticles which prevent algae, barnacles and slime from collecting on the shark. This keeps them clean, healthy and free from dermatological afflictions.
Using the sharkskin concept, a company called Sharklet Technologies developed a specialized plastic wrap with sharp bumps along the surface, which could be coated on catheters. Once coated, the wrap prevented the accumulation of germs and pus on the catheter, reducing the threat of infections in patients.
These denticles also reduce drag in shark and help them preserve energy when swimming. That’s why swimming costume and bodysuit manufacturers are using the same concept to create efficient sportswear for athletes.
Sharklet, the technology derived from the shark denticles (Image Source)
Tardigrades and live vaccines
Suspended animation is a concept that’s enthralled us for decades. Movies like Space Odyssey and Avatar have further rejuvenated our interest in the concept. While humans are still experimenting with suspended animations, one animal has been living the concept for centuries.
Tardigrades are tiny, microscopic eight-legged animals that resemble arthropods. They’re called water bears or moss piglets because they spend their entire lives in water. If however, the water dehydrates, tardigrades find it difficult to survive. But instead of dying out, the tardigrades go into a state of suspended animation and remain in this state until their environment becomes re-hydrated. They do so by coating their DNA with a type of sugar-protein.
Scientists have used this concept to develop a method to preserve vaccines that expire in very short periods of time. They wrap the vaccines in sugar proteins similar to the ones used by tardigrades, putting them in a frozen state (without actually refrigerating them), which keeps them in perfect condition for up to 6 months. This ensures that the vaccines remain ‘live’ and ‘fresh’ much longer.
You can see tardigrades in the flesh here. If you want to find your own tardigrade, be sure to check out this video.
Butterflies and e-reader colour display
E-readers have renewed the habit of reading in many parts of the world. One of the best features that set e-readers apart from other technology is the colour display – light that enables users to read in extreme glare and in the dark.
It would come as a surprise to many that e-reader colour display has been inspired by butterflies. The iridescence of butterfly wings has inspired the development of the Mirasol, a full-colour e-reader that can churn out high-quality LCD-worthy colour pictures and text.
Butterfly whose sheen wings inspired the Marisol (Image Source)
Butterfly wings shine in the sunlight by reflecting light off themselves, instead of absorbing and transmitting light. The display of the Marisol is based on this very feature. Sunlight is reflected off the screen ensuring that glare is reduced and the colours appear brighter and sharper; as opposed to in LCD screens where light is transmitted from within to produce colour.
Beetles and water harvesting
Found in the dry Namib desert in Africa, the Namib beetle is a master at collecting water. Living in an environment that faces a dire shortage of hydration, the beetle has evolved to keep itself hydrated even in the face of the most scorching summer.
The beetle’s shell is made of a flexible, waxy Teflon-like material which contains tiny grooves capable of trapping fog and condensing it into the water. The beetle indulges in what is known as ‘fog-basking’; where it turns it’s back towards the wind/fog and collects the fog in the grooves on its back. The fog condenses into water and is pushed-off the slippery waxy-back and directed towards the beetle’s mouth.
Following the beetle’s ingenious water collection methods, researchers have developed water collection nets and drinking bottles (Dew Bank Bottle) whose surface resembles the beetle’s grooved back. These technologies are used in the arid Chilean and Israeli desserts to collect water for indigenous residents.
Boxfish and automobiles
When Mercedes-Benz was designing its new state-of-the-art energy-efficient Bionic car, it derived its design inspiration from a small, uniquely shaped fish. The boxfish, found in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, is a fish that has a honeycomb-like triangular/squarish-shaped body. But its shape isn’t the only thing unique to the boxfish. Its body is covered with bony plates called ‘carapace’ which reduce the drag underwater, while the fish swims.
This unique body structure with its almost snout-like mouth makes the boxfish extremely aerodynamic. Underwater currents move over the fish’s body, reducing turbulence and allowing it to move fast.
Mercedes-Benz applied the boxfish’s anatomical structure to their Bionic car which was quirky to look at and extremely aerodynamic. The car’s structure also made it extremely energy efficient. Today, the Bionic is one of the most talked-about cars.
They’re like nothing you’ve ever seen and they draw you in with their secretive lives. Meet one of nature’s weirdest creatures – The Naked Mole Rat. Found only in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, the naked mole rat, a.k.a. the sand puppy is a biological and medical marvel.
10 Highly Interesting & Funny Facts about the Naked Mole Rat
The naked mole rat isn’t a mole or a rat. It’s actually related to the porcupine and Guinea pig.
Naked mole rat colonies are eusocial – there is a queen, there are workers, soldiers and nurses (just like bees, wasps and ants). Some colonies can number in the 300s.
Hierarchy in the naked mole rat colony (Image Source)
Unlike other eusocial queens (read bees, wasps and ants), naked mole rat queens are warriors and fight for the throne. Even after the victory, the queen needs to be on guard and be ready for a fight, to avoid being dethroned by a competitor.
In a naked mole rat colony, the Queen is the King, Emperor and Tzar rolled-into-one. (Image Source)
Naked mole rats almost never come above ground, choosing to live in tunnels for their entire lives. This is why their eyes are super-tiny and they are virtually blind, relying on their hearing to live and work.
A pictorial representation of life inside a naked mole rat tunnel colony (Image Source)
A mole rat’s incisor teeth can move independently of each other, like two antennas that can operate separately when digging. But they can be made to move together like chopsticks when foraging for food.
A naked mole rats incisor teeth (as depicted here) can move independently of each other. (Image Source)
When under attack, soldier mole rats climb one on top of the other to form a barricade to the tunnel entrance. They open their mouths and display their sharp teeth towards the entrance, gnashing them in the process. Any marauder entering the tunnel is greeted by a wall of deadly teeth.
How naked mole rats confront marauding mole rats who try to force their way into the tunnel (Image Source)
Punishment of misbehaving members of the mole rat community includes biting and shoving. The worse the behaviour, the worse is the bite; and it’s usually the queen who metes out the punishment.
A misbehaving mole rat gets a bite for every bad behaviour exhibited. (Image Source)
Naked mole rats can’t feel pain! Their skin doesn’t contain ‘substance P’ which is the key neurotransmitter which acts as a receptor for pain. Experiments show that pouring capascin or acid on the rats don’t elicit a response at all.
A naked mole rat’s skin is completely unique. It can’t feel pain and it doesn’t age. (Image Source)
Naked mole rat tunnels are divided into ‘rooms’ and are allocated for specific purposes such as the queen’s chamber, nursery and food storage area. There’s even a specific bathroom where all colony members go to poo.
Naked mole rats have separate bathrooms, bedrooms and storage rooms within their extensive tunnelling system. (Image Source)
The naked mole rat has a superpower – immortality (or close to it)! Mole rats can live without oxygen for up to 18 minutes and they are the only known animals completely immune to cancer.
Animals can catch a cold, they can also get arthritis and obesity-related illnesses. But here are 5 scary diseases plaguing animals in the wild, which resemble something right out of a horror movie. If we don’t act fast, we may end up losing these animals for good.
All living creatures fall ill. But for the most part, knowledge about animal diseases is scarce. Research into this niche area has always been challenging. For one thing, scientists need to know what clues to look for, when diagnosing an animal with a disease. For another, enough numbers in the species need to exhibit the same symptoms, for the illness to be even considered an illness and not a chance affliction.
Here is a list of 5 animal diseases that scientists didn’t know existed, but which now are changing the face of science and animal conservation:
Chytridiomycosis
Species affected: Frogs
Considered to be the deadliest disease in recorded animal history, Chytridiomycosis is caused due to exposure to the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungi. They are a type of zoosporic fungus which infects frog species and causes hyperkeratosis i.e. thickening of the skin.
Frogs breathe, drink and consume electrolytes through their skin and when the fungus causes the skin’s pores to clog and the skin to thicken, the only available airway of the animals closes. This causes skin infections, cardiac arrests and finally results in death.
As of today, Chytridiomycosis has resulted in the extinction of almost half the frog population in the world. Any colony that faces this disease sees a 100% mortality rate within a few months. Unfortunately, scientists don’t know why or how this disease spreads, leaving us without any means to protect our amphibious brethren.
Image: Top – A Healthy Frog; Bottom: A Frog Infected With Chytridiomycosis
Snake fungal disease
Species affected: Snakes in Midwestern and Eastern USA
Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, aka, Oo is a fungus that not many know about. A keratinophilic fungus from the family Onygenaceae, it feeds on keratin, a substance that makes up fingernails, rhino horns and snakeskin.
The epidermis of the snake is covered with scales which are made of keratin. The Oo attacks the snake when it’s at its most vulnerable, infecting it with a fatalistic disease. Snakes tend to have a very weak immune system post-hibernation and it is then that the Oo enters the body of the body and eats away at the scales. Without the scales, the snake’s skin starts to disintegrate, exposing it to harsh weather and other infections.
This fungus has been recorded as having decimated massasauga and timber rattlesnake populations by 50% and has also put these animals on the endangered species list. Not much is known about this fungus and its impact on other snake species.
The 1980s saw starfish populations facing a fatal infection. Lesions appeared on their arms, leading to severe infection. This infection caused the arms to fall off, making their bodies turn into a mushy, paste-like substance. A few days after the lesion first appeared, starfish wound up on the beach, wasted away to death.
Image: A Starfish Afflicted By The Wasting Syndrome
The sea star wasting syndrome has since the 1980s been a cause for concern for scientists. For long, there was no known cause visible to them. But in 2014, researchers discovered a virus they named ‘sea star associated densovirus’ on the bodies of the starfish. But studies of starfish fossils show that the species have been living with this virus for millennia. Research is still ongoing to understand if this virus is the cause of the disease or not.
As of now, the virus has led to the extinction of 3 American starfish species and has culled the population of 19 other species by half. The worst part, this disease has now spread to sea urchins, which are the starfish’s prey.
Image: Time Frame Within Which Wasting Happens; In This Picture, Wasting Occurs Within 4 Hours
Colony collapse disorder
Species affected: Bees
Bee colonies around the world have been dying out and the reason isn’t clear why. The colony collapse disorder results in the traditionally conscientious worker bees deserting the queen bee, nurse bees and larvae, leaving them to fend for themselves. Unable to find sustenance and protection after food runs out, the queen, nurses and larvae die, leading to a complete collapse in the colony.
Assumed to be a rare occurrence at firsts, scientists were shocked to see the disorder affecting thousands of colonies in North America and Europe. Researchers believe this disorder could have occurred due to a variety of reasons, starting from invasion by parasitic mites called varroa destructor to a change in the chemical constitution in the bees’ bodies due to a viral infection. Scientists have also speculated that pesticides containing neonicotinoids may also be a reason for this disorder.
The colony collapse disorder has far-reaching consequences apart from the loss of billions of bees. The thread that rejuvenates the ecosystem, bees help humans in multiple ways. With the worker bees’ refusal to indulge in their normal behaviours, we may find ourselves in serious trouble.
Hemorrhagic septicemia
Species affected: Saiga antelope
Saiga antelope, renowned for their unique appearance, have made headlines again. But this time, it’s for a rare disease that’s wiped out one-third of the species in the past few years. This is a cause for concern, as the species population is teetering on the edge of extinction. More than 15 years of poaching and habitat loss have resulted in the death of 95% of the saiga population in the wild.
Assumed to be caused by a virus or a tick, the saiga antelope suffer from hemorrhagic septicemia or blood poisoning that results in internal haemorrhaging. This disease was noticed to have spiked during the calving season, a time when both mothers and calves are at their most vulnerable. The deadly disease took out almost 134,000 mothers and calves within a span of two weeks.
Thankfully, research has been able to confirm the exact cause of the disease and now we know the culprit is the Pasteurella multocida type B bacteria. Studies show that the bacteria reside in the antelope’s noses from birth. But the humid conditions in the nostrils act as a fertile breeding ground for the bacteria, leading to the formation of large colonies in the saiga’s bodies. These bacteria release deadly toxins into the animal’s bloodstream, resulting in blood poisoning and then death.
Image: A Saiga Mother and Calf Die Due to Septicemia
Armed with this knowledge, we may finally be able to save this critically endangered species from extinction. Now, all we need to do is find a solution for the other diseases and lend a helping hand to these endangered creatures.
-NISHA PRAKASH
Featured Image: Thousands of saiga antelopes lie dead in a field in Khazakstan of blood poisoning.
We all get a visit from Aunt Flo once a month and it’s safe to say none of us really look forward to her visit. After the routine “Why God, why me?!” cries, we soothe ourselves with the thought that there are other animals that have periods too. But the question remains. Why do only 6 species have periods? Why not the rest?
Periods are a natural process that occurs in every woman’s body. Correction, every human woman. Correction again, every woman of 6 specific species.
For long, it had been assumed that menstruation was a purely human process. Soon, scientists discovered that other animals bleed too. As of today, apart from humans, there are 5 species that have been found menstruating:
Three are primates:
Chimpanzees
Orangutans
Monkeys
Two non-primate mammals:
Bats
Elephant Shrews
Now the question arises – why do only these 6 species have their periods? What’s the truth? This World Menstrual Hygiene Day, let’s try and find out.
The estrus cycle
Before we dive headlong into menstruation, we need to understand another biological process that is closely related to it.
A few decades ago scientists began observing female pigs, cows, cats, dogs and other non-primate mammals bleeding at periodic intervals. Stunned at the thought that they could be menstruating like human women, scientists conducted a thorough scientific inquiry.
What was thought to be menstrual blood, turned out to be vaginal discharge during estrus.
Estrus is the time of an animal’s life when it is in heat. Once a non-primate mammal female reaches sexual maturity and is physiologically ready to bear young, she undergoes a hormonal transformation which not only tells her body to get her womb ready but signals the males (through the release of pheromones) that the female is ready to mate.
During this time of estrus, due to the excessive production of hormones in their bodies, females display multiple external (visible) physiological changes in the form of a swollen perineum, changes in genital colouring and light bleeding.
This bleeding is only an indication that the female is ready and willing to receive a mate. It does not indicate that she is menstruating. (An interesting fact to note is how non-primate mammal females mate only when in estrus .i.e. during bleeding. Unlike menstruating females who do not engage in sexual intercourse when on their periods.)
The endometrium is the main participant of the menstrual cycle of female animals. In females, the endometrium – which is the thick, jelly-like lining of the uterine walls – is the layer in which the egg will implant post-insemination.
In animals that undergo estrus, the endometrium is produced at the start of the estrus, in anticipation of the fertilized egg. But when insemination fails to happen, the body re-absorbs the uterine lining and keeps it in reserve for the next time the female is in estrus.
But, in menstruating animals, this endometrium layer is shed and expelled out of the body. During this process of shedding, the body also discharges blood.
Scientists have been putting forth theories about why only certain animals shed their endometrium and menstruate, while others don’t.
Theory #1: Complicated gestation process and number/nature of offspring
One theory is that the gestation process of menstruating animals is more complicated and drawn-out than those that don’t menstruate. For starters, this theory does hold true for most of the animals on our list.
Orangutan mother and baby
Human pregnancies last 9 months, a chimpanzee’s and orangutan’s are around 8 months, a bat’s can go up to 6 months and a monkey’s is 5 months. These pregnancies are much longer than those faced by animals in estrus. Additionally, humans, chimps, orangutans and bats all give birth to just one baby (most of the time) during each pregnancy.
The explanation behind this theory is that menstruating animals require the best, most nutrient-rich and hospitable endometriums to support the birth of their babies. These babies, many of whom have immense intellectual capabilities, require additional support of nutrients in the womb, to develop completely.
Theory #2: Endometrium absorption expends too much energy which certain animals cannot spare
This theory connects with the first theory of the gestation process and the nature of the offspring. If we are to believe this theory, then we need to accept the fact that animals which have long gestation periods, which produce highly-intelligent young and which rear only single offspring during each pregnancy need greater amounts of energy than animals that are in estrus.
Chimpanzees
This particular theory subscribes to the belief that absorbing the endometrium is just an energy-wasteful task; one that can be avoided and the energy re-directed to meet the requirements of complicated pregnancies. The body can save tons of energy by shedding the uterine lining and making a fresh one in time for the pregnancy (which is a better option than using a stale lining).
Counter evidence?
The only animal that doesn’t subscribe to either of these theories is the elephant shrew. The shrew has a gestation period of 1-2 months and produces multiple litters of 3-4 pups each pregnancy during the year. It doesn’t spend too much time or energy giving birth; yet bleeds during its period.
Elephant shrew
Additionally, these theories dampen a little in the face of evidence that highly-intelligent animals like elephants, whales and dolphins who all undergo very long gestation periods and bear intellectually mature young do not menstruate in their lifetimes.
What does this all mean?
Well, just like with their human counterparts**, things aren’t clear why or how chimpanzees, monkeys, orangutans, bats and elephant shrews menstruate. For now, scientists believe this to be a biological enigma, a riddle that remains unsolved, despite decades of study.
For now, we leave animal menstruation as it is – a blatant question mark, a brain teaser, a stumper of the animal kingdom.
**Here’s some extra info if you’re interested:
Why do women bleed?
For long scientists have wondered why the shedding of the endometrium happens in humans. Scientists believed that the reason women bleed and the endometrium sheds may be because there was something inherently wrong with women’s bodies. They thought that the complex biological processes in humans may produce unwanted chemicals in the body which needed to be thrown out as often as possible.
1920s physician Bela Schick believed women menstruated to get rid of poisonous chemicals called Menotoxins, which filled their bodies just before their period.
Dr. Schick conducted experiments on menstruating and non-menstruating women, asking them to carry flowers in their hands. He observed that the flowers held by menstruating women wilted faster and lost their fragrance within minutes. He even supported claims by other scientists that women on their periods sweated out these menotoxins from their bodies while menstruating. He claimed that these toxins were responsible for bread not rising and beer not fermenting when menstruating women touched them (reminded of persistent taboos, anyone?).
This belief in Menotoxins continued all the way to the 1990s when another theory was proposed – menstrual blood may be a way to get rid of pathogens, stale sperm and bacteria in a woman’s body, cleansing her in the process.
But this theory too did not hold good. If it meant that stale sperm was toxic to women’s bodies, surely it meant that stale sperm not ejaculated by men could be poisonous to them too. So why don’t men menstruate?
Till date, neither of these theories has been proven. Nor has there been any other theory that can explain the mystery that is menstruation.
Suitors in the animal kingdom do quite a lot to get a lady’s attention. While some spin lilting melodies, others decorate their bachelor pads with ferns, flowers and foliage. Then there are those that break out their prized, stage-worthy moves in a jaw-dropping dance-off. Whoever said courtship in the animal kingdom was dry and uneventful certainly hasn’t seen these eventful courtship rituals.
Dance has been a symbol of romance for long, and this isn’t just with humans. From time immemorial animals have been using dance as a way to bond with potential mates. While little is understood about what each movement actually represents, these lovely spectacles definitely are a must-watch.
The choreography of love
Love in the animal kingdom is a tricky affair. With so many suitors and such little time, it becomes difficult for females to make a split-second decision. Luckily, females have the art of dance to help them separate the top crop from the average.
Penguins pair bond for life. They recognize each other after almost a year apart by their vocalizations and dance, which are unique to each couple. (Image Source)
The dance between a male and a female in the wild is usually initiated by the male. The male has just one shot at winning his beloved and he certainly puts this chance to good use by implementing his sexy moves and smouldering charm to win the lady (or ladies in some cases).
To understand how dance truly works in the wild, let’s take a look at 5 animals who are the masters (and mistresses) of the art of courtship dance:
Humpback whale
These giants of the oceans may look ill-equipped to be elegant, but let me assure you that there is no animal as graceful and spectacular than a humpback whale in the midst of a courtship ritual. In a movement resembling a slow waltz, the male and female humpback start circling each other, showcasing themselves to their suitor.
The humpbacks make a series of enchanting and almost melancholic vocalizations while indulging in a gentle duet with spiral movements. A few minutes into the dance, it all but seems the female is willing to mate.
But sadly for the male in this video, the romantic evening comes to an end. A group of marauding male humpbacks looking for a female have no qualms ruining a perfectly lovely evening.
Ostrich
A leggy bird with an immensely powerful kick, you wouldn’t think those muscular limbs could be flexible enough to perform some of the trickiest legwork you’d have ever seen. Male ostriches perform a very unique dance movement as part of their courtship ritual, complete with its very own intense head bang.
The females are mute spectators in the dance and are often the judges who decide if their suitor is worthy to mate with them, based on the finesse of his moves.
This spectacular video shows a male ostrich wooing his woman with his feather-fluffed, fast-paced quirky moves. Will he succeed? Take a look and find out.
When the male peacock spider decides to woo you, he does so with flair. The peacock spider, famous for his flashy and colorful exoskeleton is also renowned for another thing – his courtship dance.
Not only does the male have a vibrant abdomen, he also has a personality that’s equally radiant. When with a prospective mate, the male peacock spider extends his legs out upwards and moves them in very quick side-to-side shakes. So fast does he move his limbs, they appear to almost vibrate from the movement.
The male then contorts his body, lifts up his abdomen towards the sky and flashes his colorful back to the female. He enlarges himself to make the colors appear bolder and brighter and make the markings on his body bigger. Next, he quickly runs from one side to the other, moving closer to his mate with every step.
Want to see this flamboyant male in action? Well take a look at the video below.
Seadragons
Vibrant, elaborate and exotic to look at, seadragons are one of the ocean’s most spectacular creatures. Supremely colorful with the most brilliant of markings on their leafy fins, seadragons are one of nature’s true works of art. They are also animals that share a love of dance. During courtship, the male and female gently mimic each other in a well-coordinated movement.
A light bob of the heads, a gentle flutter of the fins and a soft entangling of the tails all accompany the slow and serene spiral-formation swim the pair embark on. The seadragons engage in this dance throughout the night. If they remain in-sync hours after the start of their romantic adventure, the male and female give each other their permission to mate.
Grebes
The last pair on our list is hands-down one of the most romantic animals in the wild. Grebes are freshwater diving birds that form pair bonds and mate for life. Each pair meets every year to mate and rear young. Once the mating season is over, the partners sometimes go their separate ways, only to find their way back to each other every mating season.
When grebes come together, the courtship dance transforms into something more beautiful and meaningful – a renewal of vows. Before they mate, the grebe pair engages in a complicated choreography replete with feather-ruffling, coordinated head movements and a spectacular, running finish that’s a wonder to behold.
Take a look for yourself. Words fail to capture the beauty of the grebe dance.
Another bird species that mates for life are the Japanese Crane. So strong are the bonds of love between Japanese crane pairs, this species is considered a ‘symbol of fidelity‘ in Japan. Beautiful isn’t it?
Gender has always been assumed to be a binary concept. You’re either male or female. There is nothing in-between. But as research shows, gender is beyond just the physical and often pervades the psychological and the emotional. The environment also plays an active role in gender adoption and identity.
Gender identity has always been a topic that has been extremely controversial. But thanks to more investment in gender studies and a greater tolerance towards our brethren (a consequence of the rich multi-cultural environment we live in), today, people are opening their hearts and minds to the concept of gender identity. We are a lot more open to the idea of people choosing the genders they best identify with; as opposed to living with the one they were assigned.
It is a wonder that we humans have such a difficult time grasping the concept of ‘gender as a spectrum’ when our animal cousins have for long exhibited gender fluid traits. Maybe it’s time we revisited our long-held notions and straightened-out our crooked understanding of gender.
5 gender notions redefined in the wild
We have certain pre-conceived notions about what males and females are supposed to be. Unfortunately, not all of these notions are true. The animals in this list are challenging accepted (stereotypical) notions about what it means to be male and female.
Let’s take a notion, one-at-a-time and see the animals that blow these theories out of the water.
Notion #1: Males are bigger and stronger than females
One of the most mesmerizing creatures of the deep seas is the Anglerfish. One look at them and you’ll remember a character from your favourite horror movie. With extremely large heads and dark, glassy eyes, they look like true-blue aliens.
When it comes to the anglerfish, it is the female that reigns supreme. She is almost 10X larger than the tiny males and can reach lengths up to 3.3 ft. Her large, sharp jaws are designed to annihilate prey of all sizes and are flexible enough to chow-down on prey double their size.
Temperamentally, the females are crankier than the males and can turn on each other and other animals in an instant. The males, on the other hand, are submissive and steer clear of the females until it’s time to mate.
This rare footage shows a pair of anglerfish during mating.
Notion #2: Animals remain the same gender they were born with throughout their lives
It’s safe to say that sex-change surgeries haven’t been developed for animals. But this hasn’t stopped these fish from taking control of their bodies. Clownfish have a matriarchal society with the largest female being the alpha. When she dies, the largest male physically transforms into a female and takes her place. This process of changing from males to females is called protandry.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have the wrasse, where the largest females change physiologically into males when the resident dominant male is no more. We call this phenomenon of females transforming into males as protogyny. In the picture below, the female (with the small head) changes in colouring and develops a large bulbous head in its place when transforming into a male.
Source: A male and female Asian sheepshead wrasse pair – the male has a large bulbous development on his head
Then there are animals like the coral-dwelling Gobiodon (aka goby) which engages in what we call serial bidirectional sex change. If three female goby are placed in an aquarium, the most dominant female transforms into a male, to create opportunities to mate. However, the moment a male is introduced into the group, the newly-turned goby changes back into a female and displays traditional feminine characteristics. Animals like the goby can undergo sex changes numerous times in their lives, whenever they want, wherever they want.
Notion #3: Only females get pregnant and bear young
Well, to be fair, this notion is true for most species. Most species, except the seahorse. Seahorse mothers produce eggs just like other mums. But instead of having the eggs fertilized and incubating them in their own bodies, they transfer the eggs to the males when it is time to mate.
A small slit in the male’s torso acts as a pocket to collect the tiny eggs. Once inside his body, the male fertilizes the eggs with his sperm and moves the fertilized eggs into an incubation pouch within his body.
Fast-forward 24 days and you’ll see thousands of tiny baby seahorses jetting their way out of dad’s tummy. Take a look at this video to see a live seahorse-birth in action.
Notion #4: Only males have penises and they will display them proudly
While penises are predominantly a male appendage, a look at the female spotted hyena will have you doubling back in shock. In the world of the spotted hyena, the female is the one that wears the pants. She is the one who makes the decision, who decides the pecking order and who also possesses a scrotum and an elongated penis. These appendages are actually the clitoris that gets re-shaped due to excessive testosterone in the female’s body. These masculine physiological characteristics give her a very short fuse and a horrifying bite.
This video gives great insight into the female hyena’s pseudo-penis.
If at one end of the spectrum we have a woman with a penis, at the other end we have a male with an all-too-feminine perineum.
Females of the colobus monkey species remain in the family group all their lives. The males, on the other hand, are kicked out when they reach puberty. During mating season, the females display a swollen anus, indicating they are in heat. This then becomes an invitation to all the males to woo the females. At this time, adolescent males are turned out of their homes by older males, in an attempt to reduce competition for females. To avoid this sorry fate, adolescent male colobus monkeys develop the faux-female-perineum in an attempt to confuse the troupe. This tactic of masquerading as females helps them avoid eviction for a few weeks.
Notion #5: Only males are sexually aggressive and fight for rights over females
It’s long been believed that males of all species are the only ones who have a high libido and that they are the ones who chase after the ladies. But Rhesus monkey females will definitely put this theory to rest. The females of this group have a raging libido and sometimes force males into coitus. The females have been noticed making lewd gestures at males and at times even raping them.
If there are women who force their way into a man’s bed, there are others where the females duel with their sisters for the right to mate; and make no mistake, there’s nothing gentle-womanly about this catfight.
Or maybe we should call it the antelope fight, instead. Female antelopes can get exceptionally aggressive during mating season. They interrupt couples in heat while mating and challenge the females to a fight to the finish. The winner gets the man and the loser moves on. Every man’s dream isn’t it?
Moms…what would we do without them? Across the animal kingdom, it’s the materfamilias who rears the young. This International Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate the spectacular force of nature that is – Mom.
There are all kinds of moms in the world and each of them has a unique parenting style. This Mother’s Day, let’s take a look at some of these powerful women and how they impact their young’s life.
In this article, we’ll look at 3 categories of animal moms and their relationship with their young. Be sure to watch the videos of these moms in action. Here we go:
Mom #1: The Single Superstars
The moms under this list are the lone warriors of the animal kingdom. They single-handedly raise their young and train them to survive in this cruel, wild world:
Orangutans
Of all the mothers in the animal kingdom, Orangutan moms are the most patient, gentle and forbearing. Although they reside in groups where there are both males and females, the father seldom takes any interest in rearing his young.
The Orangutan mother is devoted to her baby’s upbringing right from birth. She builds the baby her nest in a tree (every night a new nest!), picks berries for her to eat, teaches her how to use tools, shows her ways to stay safe in the forest and essentially, makes her a responsible and contributing member of the group.
Orangutan mothers do have one fault though. They love their kids a little too much and spoil them rotten. So much so, that many orangutan babies stay with mom until they’re 10-12 years old.
Ruby-throated hummingbird
The female ruby-throated hummingbird is one of the most diligent birds in the animal kingdom. She really works very hard when raising her young. A single mother by all definitions, her mate’s role ends at egg fertilization.
Once she’s ready to lay her eggs, the ruby-throated hummingbird sets about building the nest. It’s an arduous process, which can tire even bigger animals. Once her nest is built, she lays the eggs and gestation takes up to 2 weeks. Once the eggs hatch, the mother visits flower-upon-flower collecting nectar for her young. She makes repeat visits for days until the young are ready to take flight and fend for themselves.
For a mom this size, that’s a lot of work.
Mom #2: The Gritty Girl Gangs
Strength comes in numbers and these moms understand the immense benefits of community child rearing:
Elephants
When it comes to elephants, there is no such thing as a ‘single parent’. One cow-elephant having a baby equates to the entire herd having a baby. For elephants, the birth of a calf is a monumental occasion. The entire herd comes together to raise the baby after the mother’s 22 month gestation period. In fact, elephant calves spend more time with their aunts and siblings than their mothers. When a calf is threatened, each member of the group stops what she is doing and answers the baby’s call.
Elephant herds have designated babysitters (adolescent females a year or two from maturity, practicing their mothering skills), who take an active role in educating the calf and teaching it how to use its trunk, how to select the right leaves and how to be an asset to the herd.
Orcas
Have you ever seen an orca pod teaching the calf to hunt? No? Well, you should. Orcas are one of the most fearsome predators of the oceans and they are one species that believe in giving their young a hands-on learning experience.
When a calf is born, the entire pod (which is matrilineal) works together in caring for, feeding, cleaning and protecting the young from danger. When the calf is old enough to hunt, the mother (with her sisters, nieces and mother), takes the calf on hunting tours and teaches it to hunt seals and penguins.
This girl gang sticks up for its babies and there’s nothing they won’t do to keep the calves safe from harm.
Mom #3: The Paragons of Sacrifice
If the rest of the animal kingdom believes in staying alive for their young, there are those moms who willingly embrace death to give their wards a better chance at survival:
Octopus
When it comes to maternal devotion, no animal can beat the octopus. After laying her brood of eggs (that number in the tens of thousands), the mother octopus painstakingly works on keeping the eggs dirt-free. She gently blows freshwater on the eggs to keep them hydrated and nourished and spends up to 14 months protecting her eggs from predators.
During this time, the octopus does not leave her nest even for a second to feed and in the process wastes away into nothing. By the time the eggs are ready to hatch, the octopus mom will literally be a shell of what she once was.
A parent eating their young is common in the wild. But Matriphagy, where a young devours its own mother is rarer still. But spider babies seem to find nothing unnatural about this arrangement.
The spider mother gives the new hatchlings her unfertilized eggs to eat during the first few days post-birth. Once this repository of eggs gets over, the mother offers herself up to her babies for their next meal. The baby spiders pierce the abdomen of the mother and greedily suck out her bodily fluids; killing her in the process.
There’s something intrinsically disturbing at the thought of an animal lying on a gurney, its insides cut open for the entire world to see. Something unsettling at the thought of seeing what they last ate for lunch or how their hearts look, underneath all that fur and feather. Welcome to the underbelly of science – animal autopsies, aka, necropsies.
Lolong, the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity, made his entry into the National Museum of Natural History, Manila in November 2011. Everything seemed to be going well at the outset. Staff who worked closely with Lolong was elated at how well he had adapted to life in captivity.
Image: Lolong, the World’s Largest Crocodile in Captivity
This is why everyone at the Museum had been shocked when in February 2013 Lolong was found dead in his enclosure. His necropsy (animal autopsy) report showed that he had succumbed to congestive heart failure. The report also revealed that he had lipidosis in his liver, had fungal pneumonia and suffered from kidney failure.
But the most significant results of the necropsy report had nothing to do with the illnesses. The reports helped researchers understand why exactly Lolong developed these problems and helped them find ways to prevent the same happening to other crocodilians.
What is a necropsy?
Autopsies are performed on people to identify the cause of death. Necropsies are autopsies performed on animals.
As with human autopsies, necropsies start with an external examination of the specimen’s body to understand if there are any indicators of the cause of death. Next, the body is dissected and each organ is examined systematically. Tissue samples are collected from all major organs, the stomach contents are checked to understand diet (and if the food was poisoned) and the blood is tested to understand what enzymes and chemicals are present and in what quantities.
Image: Skeletal Display of Whale at the Nantucket Whaling Museum
In some animals, like whales and elephants, the skeleton is preserved and is sent to museums and veterinary schools for further study and display. Specimen organs may also be preserved for further tests.
3 Benefits of animal necropsies
Necropsies may sound gruesome and morbid (they certainly look so), but they have a number of benefits:
They help understand little-known creatures
In 2014 a completely-intact colossal squid was brought into the New Zealand Museum in Te Papa Tongarewa. This was just the second fully-intact colossal squid specimen in the world; a rare specimen and an even rarer opportunity to take a better look at these mysterious creatures.
A necropsy was conducted to understand their diet, mating habits and hunting strategies. The physiology of the squid was analyzed to understand if the animal had any special features which made it different from other squid species. The necropsy was also used to understand why the colossal squid grows to mammoth proportions and how it sustains itself in deep waters.
They help pinpoint and stop epidemics
2009 saw the Tasmanian Devil being listed on the Endangered Species list. This wasn’t due to poaching. Researchers discovered that the marsupials suffered from an unusual, highly-fatalistic and extremely contagious form of face cancer, called the Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD). Cancerous tumors would form on the face and neck of the animals, leaving them physically unable to hunt or eat. A few months into the illness, the Tasmanian Devils died of starvation and weakness.
Necropsy reports showed how the cancerous tumors spread across the body and how they looked and felt structurally. Blood tests gave scientists insight into the chemical changes taking place in the bodies of afflicted animals. The reports helped conservationists plan the Devil Ark project, which sought to breed 1000 genetically clean Tasmanian Devils with an immune system that was pre-designed to recognize and eliminate the DFTD. Recent research shows how human cancer treatment drugs may be able to treat DFTD.
They help identify cases of medical negligence and malpractice
We assume that zoos are the right places for displaced and orphaned animals. But little do we know of the horrors that take place behind closed doors. The Cleveland Zoo found itself in the midst of controversy when the chief of veterinary services was caught asking members of the zoo community to support medical experimentation on animals.
This isn’t the only time zoo authorities have abused their power. Scarborough Sea Life Sanctuary was found having subscribed the Humboldt penguins in their care anti-depressants because of the birds’ inability to adapt to the zoo’s climate. While the authorities claim that the penguins are healthier and happier than before, if not used judiciously, this could lead to an overdose and then death.
Necropsies conducted by court-authorized pathologists help uncover the hidden truths behind these animal-friendly facades. They help act as evidentiary support in medico-legal cases.
The messy nature of necropsies can overshadow the good they do for animals, wild and captive. But, with awareness, we can begin to accept and appreciate their role in conservation.
They aren’t reptiles, but they lay eggs. They aren’t amphibians, but some do take to the water. They aren’t birds, but they have webbed feet. They also produce milk and rear their young. Is this a case of an identity crisis or are we dealing with an oddball from the animal kingdom?
If you had to differentiate a mammal from its Animalia cousins, you would look for two specific characteristics:
Their warm blood
Their ability to give birth
Any animal that doesn’t check these two boxes is automatically disqualified from the mammalian classification. For the large part, this would be a good test to administer. But not when the animals under consideration are Monotremes.
The platypus resembles a cross between a beaver and a duck. They have beak-like snouts which are actually sensory tools that contain electroreceptors. These receptors allow the platypus to sense the electrical pulses generated by other animals as a result of muscle contraction. The platypus uses these electrical pulses to find and feed on small fish and invertebrates.
Currently, there is one species of platypus in the world.
Venom and toxicity
Platypus spurs are connected to a venom sack found on their hind legs, near the ankle. The venom is a combination of b-defensins proteins which are designed to destroy viral and bacterial pathogens. While the toxin isn’t fatal to humans, it will cause excruciating pain when injected.
Scientists have observed that platypus use the venom only during the mating season when battling other males for females. During the non-mating season, the platypus’s body does not produce the poison and remains dry.
The Echidna
Image: Echidna
Size
Males & females: 30-45 cms.
Weight: 2-7 kilograms.
Body structure
The four species of echidna are land-based animals and they resemble the porcupine, given their spines. The short-beaked echidna is an ant-eater, feeding exclusively on anthills and termite mounds. Its long-beaked cousins also feed on earthworms and bugs, in addition to ants and termites. They use their electroreceptors-filled snouts to find food.
Both the monotremes have a short build and large shoulder muscles which give them the physical force to dig into the ground. They are also ‘cold’ blooded, having a body temperature of 32C, which is 5C lower than other mammals.
Venom and toxicity
The echidna’s spurs are non-poisonous and completely harmless; it may sometimes be used for defensive purposes.
Not much is known about these mysterious animals, but here are a few facts that we do know:
They are neither mammalian nor are they non-mammalian
Like birds, monotremes have webbed feet, possess beak-shaped snouts and have no teeth. Like amphibians, the duck-billed platypus is an excellent swimmer, staying close to water bodies and spending most of its life in cool rivers and lakes. Additionally, like reptiles, they have a cloaca (a single opening that is used as the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tract) and they lay eggs. But this doesn’t make them solely non-mammalian.
The spiny anteater (echidna) and the duck-billed platypus possess certain physiological characteristics, like – the single bone in the lower jaw, the three small bones in the inner ear, hair on the body, high rate of metabolism and the ability to produce milk – all of which are endemic to mammals.
Image: Physical Differences Between Platypus & Echidna
They lay eggs, but have premature births
The duck-billed platypus resembles reptiles and amphibians in its reproductory characteristics. Females lay 1-2 eggs at a time and burrow 20-30 meters below the ground to lay their eggs. The eggs hatch within 10 days of laying.
The echidna, on the other hand, resembles marsupials. They lay up to 3-5 eggs per batch and they store these eggs in a pouch that grows on their bodies. The eggs are gestated in the pouches and they hatch between 10 and 14 days.
When born, the newborns resemble fetuses (as seen in placental mammals). This short gestation period, coupled with the young’s need to physically develop outside the womb, is what is called a premature birth.
At this point, both monotreme species rear their young like birthing mammals. They produce thick, vitamin-filled milk out of their sweat glands that the young can suckle on.
This video of a monotreme birth is a rare insight into the reproductory behaviors of these little-known creatures:
The platypus is the echidna’s ancestor
Research shows that about 200 million years ago monotremes split from the line of traditional mammals and evolved physiological traits that differentiate them from placental mammals. Some scientists believe this could be an evolutionary reaction to competition to resources like food, land and mates.
Marsupials made their way to Australia 71 to 54 million years ago, creating stiff competition for the monotremes. By evolving different characteristics – like the ability to swim and lay eggs – monotremes were able to find new places to occupy and new ways to continue their bloodline.
The first ever monotremes were platypus-like animals. But over a period of 15-25 million years, a change was noticeable, with the body of certain species of platypus becoming more like that of the echidna. Scientists can only speculate that this was again an evolutionary requirement, to help monotremes adapt to the various geographical and environmental conditions of the new lands they were occupying.
Image: Re-constructed Image of Steropodon galmani, The Earliest Known Ancestor of the Monotremes
Living fossils
As of today, the duck-billed platypus and the echidna have remained physiologically the same as they first were when evolved. Little is known about why they remain in this stunted evolutionary form. But, with new monotreme fossils being discovered, there is hope that the veil shrouding these mysterious creatures may finally be removed.
They call them the ‘gentler sex’, but these powerful ladies from the animal world are anything but gentle. Strong and resilient, the matriarchs in this list are empresses; deadly and doting rolled-into-one. If you thought the men were accomplished, you won’t believe the prowess of the women. It’s time to meet the mistresses of the game.
The males of any species have always been considered more powerful, more creative, more strategic and more ruthless. But a look at these animals and you’ll wonder at the powerhouses that are females. You will admire them for their courage, their ingenuity and their desire to turn the odds in their favor.
This International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the power, the beauty and the talent of the ladies of the animal world.
Meet the doyennes of the animal kingdom
Praying mantis
They say love hurts and love with a praying mantis is a definite stinger. Just ask a male praying mantis and he’ll tell you all about it.
Volatile in the extreme, the female praying mantis needs a satiating meal to willingly get into the bridal chamber; and who does she ask for as the sacrifice, but her lover. During mating, the female praying mantis cuts off the head of the male and eats it; and saves the body for nourishment when laying the eggs.
Dangerous creatures to begin with female praying mantis are the original femme fatales of the animal world.
Spotted hyena
‘Ballsy woman’, that’s what they call a girl who has the courage to counter the men. But when it comes to the spotted hyena, we may need to take this address a bit literally.
Female hyenas are the leaders of their canine packs, resembling their male counterparts in their mannerisms, behavior and also (wait-for-it) anatomy. That’s right, anatomically speaking, female hyenas possess genitalia that resembles the male sexual organs.
Called ‘pseudo-penises’, these organs are enlarged clitoris, that resembles the male reproductive organs. The pseudo-penises are a result of high concentration of androgen in the body, which results in the development of masculine characteristics; most notably the female’s vicious temper and mean bite.
Whiptail lizard
Who thinks women need men to procreate? Well, the whiptail lizards of South America certainly don’t. These lizards are truly the ‘Amazonians’ of the vertebrate world and they’re skilled in ‘virgin births’.
The possession of an extra pair of chromosomes (compared to their lizard counterparts) allows the all-female gang of whiptail lizards to lay eggs that don’t need sperm to fertilize. These self-fertilized eggs hatch into more females, who possess the same genetic make-up as their mothers.
This type of asexual reproduction is impressive even in invertebrates (where this is common), but for vertebrates like the whiptail lizard, this is positively biblical.
Bonobos
When Aristophanes wrote Lysistrata, he may have derived inspiration from the Bonobo. If there is one thing the pygmy chimpanzees can teach us, is that More Sex = Less Conflict. Mistresses in the art of seduction, the female bonobos use sex as a tool for maintaining peace in the troop.
But when this doesn’t work, they rely on their strong sisterhood. If a male harasses, victimizes or hurts one female, the entire band of girls gang up on him and strike back. They even go as far as refusing sex for an entire lot of eligible bachelors; finally forcing the males to intervene and punish the bad-mannered member.
When things simmer down and the men behave, the females ‘swing’ into action and treat them to some sweet loving.
Elephants
When it comes to females who break the glass ceiling, nothing beats the elephants. Their organizational ability and leadership skills will put an A-list CEO to shame. If there’s something we can learn from them it’s – girl power and perseverance.
The matronly matriarchs of the animal world, female elephants lead groups of up to 100 across the vast savannah in search of food and water, all the while managing a bunch of boisterous whippersnappers. Most of the matriarchs in the herd are over 50 years old (quite old in elephant years) and they take an active interest in collectively raising the calves.
The best way to describe a herd of female elephants is as a ‘self-reliant society’. There are no males allowed in this group.
Orcas
All of the greatest lineages in history have one thing in common – they’ve all been led by powerful and enterprising women. The same is true with the killer whales.
Orcas form bonds for life and when a daughter is born, she stays with her mother until the very end. Often, daughters and mothers stay together even after the daughter has daughters of her own. These ladies form large pods called ‘matrilines’, which include hundreds of female killer whales.
The mothers teach their daughters to hunt, to raise young and to even toy with the emotions of the males. If there’s ever an orphaned baby or an adolescent she-calf, you can rest assured she won’t be alone for long. Protective in the extreme, a mother orca will never let anyone hurt a young female.
Honeybees
What can you say about a colony that spends its life serving the Queen? A completely matriarchal society, life in a honeybee colony revolves around their female sovereign.
Right from the time they are born, all drones (synonyms – good-for-nothing and hanger-on ;)) are trained to serve the queen. The females in the colony take center stage and spend their lives selecting a single queen bee, raising her on royal jelly and taking care of her every need.
If the queen dies, don’t worry. Chances are, the females have already identified an heir, who is also a woman; and are in the process of transforming her from a pauper to a princess.
There are many more females who deserve a mention on this list, but we’ll leave them for next time. Till then, long live the Queen!
Artfully Wild 