Martyr Mothers & Other Animal Parents Who Make The Ultimate Sacrifice For Their Babies

On Mother’s Day, as we talk about the supremely important role that our mothers (and other maternal figures) have played in our lives; it’s important to acknowledge that maternal emotions aren’t the sole kingdom of humans. Animals are very maternal too, sometimes to the point of self-destruction.

Here are a few animal mothers (and fathers who take on maternal responsibilities), who deserve a special mention for their extreme devotion to their babies:

Octopus

Octopi are semelparous .i.e. animals that give birth only once in their lives. Why only once you ask? Because they die right after they give birth.

Octopus eggs can take up to 10 months to hatch, depending on the species. When pregnant, the mother octopus finds a secluded cove to lay her eggs and then spends the entire gestation period never leaving the eggs’ side. She constantly blows a steady stream of freshwater on the eggs to keep them oxygenated and to get rid of parasites.

During this time she doesn’t leave the eggs to feed. The octopus momma starves herself to death. But it’s worth it in the end. Her martyrdom ensures that her thousands of babies hatch safely.

Sea Otters

Are you a swimmer? What stroke is your favourite?

It wouldn’t surprise me if you didn’t choose backstroke. Not many people like it. But, if you are a sea otter mum, then you may have no choice but to swim in backstroke – especially right after the birth of your baby.

Sea otter pups can’t swim right after birth. In fact, they don’t learn how to swim until they are 6 months old. So, mothers turn themselves into the pups’ personal paddleboard.

For the entire duration of 6 months, the sea otter mum places the pup on her chest and swims on her back. During this time, she doesn’t swim like she normally does – on her tummy.

If she needs to feed, the mother blows air into the pups’ fur to make the pup buoyant. As an added measure, she wraps a blade of kelp around the pup’s body as a life jacket to make sure the pup stays afloat.

This constant backstroke swimming can take a lot out of the mother and she needs to feed at least 25% of her body mass each time she goes to forage for food.

Dolphins & Orcas

The most-fun mammal of the sea and her deadly cousin are two mothers who sacrifice a lot for their babies.

Both dolphin and killer whale (orca) newborns don’t sleep for an entire month after they’re born. Not even a wink of sleep.

Since they can’t leave their calves unattended in the dangerous waters, dolphin and orca mothers stay awake 24/7 for the entire month.

Most other species sleep for long periods of time right after birth. So, this wakefulness is something extremely rare. Studies show that lack of sleep can kill in some animals – rats being an example.

In humans, this type of insomnia is plain torture. I mean, can you imagine what sleep deprivation will do to you right after your delivery? Not to mention the added stress of a wailing baby. Plus, just like rats, we too can die due to sleep deprivation.

But, dolphin and orca moms take this in their stride and remain awake and alert as long as their babies need them to.

Bottlenose dolphin (Source)

Killer whale (Orca) (Source)

Emperor Penguins

Emperor penguin dads are the model fathers. You could even say that they’re better parents than mothers.

You see, for four bone-chilling months, Emperor penguin fathers quite-literally stand guard over their developing eggs. The penguins have a small pouch in their body where they can store the egg, keeping it warm and protected from the cold Antarctic snowstorms.

This is no mean feat. Temperatures in the Antarctic can drop below (-4) degrees Fahrenheit, and sometimes go as low as (-30) degrees Fahrenheit! For four straight months, Emperor penguin dads protect the eggs from the freezing cold, making sure that the temperature doesn’t drop below 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

During this gestation period, the dads don’t go out to feed and brave the storm together as a starving community. Around July, the eggs start to hatch, the mothers return from their feeding session and finally, dad gets to shake off the thick blanket of snow and go out to feed.

Orangutans

If you thought human parents had it tough raising their kids till the age of 18, you’ve got it wrong.

Orangutan mothers have it worse.

Female orangutans are single parents. Apart from donating sperm, the fathers play no role in the upbringing of the baby. It is the mother who needs to do everything, right from birth. And let me tell you, it isn’t easy raising a baby orang.

Orangutan babies are just like human babies – utterly and completely vulnerable. They don’t have any skills and need constant care. The mother orang nurses the baby and carries it around on her back for 3-4 years. In some cases, the baby nurses from the mother and uses her as transportation until he/she is 7 years old. Can you imagine if your kid did that to you?

Once the baby is weaned, the momma orang teaches it to climb trees, to identify edible fruits, to avoid predators, and sometimes (if the baby is a girl) to raise her own baby.

Overall, the baby orangutan spends 15-16 years with its mum. Things don’t get easier when organ babies reach adolescence and adulthood. Orangutans experience massive separation anxiety after getting separated from their children. So, you can imagine how the orang mother may be feeling once its time for her child to leave the nest.

Thankfully, some orangutan daughters do visit their mothers, even after leaving home. So there’s some hope after all.

So, before we end Mother’s Day 2020, let us give a big shoutout to all the moms out there – human and animal.

-NISHA PRAKASH

(P.S: Featured Image: World Wildlife Fund)

The Story of How Crocs and Gators Thrive When They Starve

They outsmarted & outmanoeuvred a gigantic burning comet, they outlived powerful dinosaurs and they overcame the challenges of a changing planet. Today, they’re two of the most formidable animals in the wild, who’s physiologies have hardly changed since the past 80 million years.

The best part about their ancient bodies – they’re capable of going without food for up to three years. Here’s the story of how crocodiles and alligators evolved this phenomenal ability.

Being cold-blooded helps you when you’re starving

Like all animals, alligators and crocodiles love to eat. In fact, they’re voracious eaters and very un-picky ones at that. Give a croc or a gator anything to eat – large mammals, small birds, snails, carrion – it’ll be gone in minutes.

The food that crocs and gators eat is digested and the energy is stored in their bodies. These reptiles actually have one of the strongest and most-effective digestive juices of all animals on the planet. Absolutely every part of their meal gets digested – bones, scales, hooves, nails etc. Anything that doesn’t get fully digested is used as a gizzard stone – a rock/rock-like object in the gastrointestinal tract, which is used to break down tough-to-digest food.

This powerful digestion helps crocs and gators generate tonnes of energy. But when it comes to actually using this energy to survive, these reptiles hardly ever tap into these food-derived energy cells.

Why?

 

 

Well, alligators and crocodiles are reptiles. Most reptiles are cold-blooded animals (the mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs are three extinct reptiles that were warm-blooded; the Tegu lizard is one of the rare, living, warm-blooded reptiles in the world).

Cold-blooded animals use the heat of the sun to warm themselves up. Crocs and gators indulge in a behaviour called “basking”, where they sit out under the sun, soaking in the warm rays. When absorbed, the sun rays warm their blood and increase their body temperature.

These animals can bask for hours at a stretch and when their body temperature becomes too hot to handle, they head back into the water for a cool swim or they lay down under a large, shady rock.

Basking helps alligators and crocodiles generate a lot of body energy; energy which these animals use to walk, swim, hunt and protect (their young). So, when gators and crocs need to use a lot of energy, their default, go-to fuel will be the energy they have stored from basking. It is only when they have depleted this energy, that they tap into their food-derived energy.

Each time they have a meal, crocodiles and alligators store additional energy in their body. Over time, this energy accumulates and their bodies become massive storehouses of power. This is why, when faced with starvation, crocs and gators hardly ever feel hungry or weak. In fact, they can go without eating – literally starve themselves – for up to three years!

Amazing isn’t it?

What happens after their energy is depleted?

At the end of the day, crocs and gators are just like other animals and they do need food to survive. If the entire energy storehouse in their body gets depleted, these reptiles start burning their excess tissues (which aren’t absolutely essential for survival) to make more energy (this is similar to humans burning their muscle tissue to survive during starvation). Once these tissues are also depleted, the animal actually begins to starve and it has to eat right away.

Did you like what you read?

Here are a few more fun facts about crocs & gators:

• Despite having the ability to survive without food for so long, crocs and gators never miss an opportunity to have a meal. They are very opportunistic eaters and researchers have found some groups actually having up to 50 meals a year. Now that’s a lot of energy.
• Crocodiles and alligators are the most social of all reptiles. They form long-term relationships with other members of their species. Even though they lead solitary lives most of the time, these group-mates join forces during the egg-laying season and protect their broods together.
• Of all reptiles in the world, crocs and gators are the smartest. Their brains are extremely complex and adapted to quick thinking (funnily enough, their brains are really small, about the size of a small walnut). If a croc or a gator encounters a challenge and overcomes it, chances are it will remember how to solve the same problem the next time it happens. This is why scientists need to devise new techniques to outwit these fabulous living fossils, each time they want to capture them for their on-field studies.

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

 

Humans Aren’t The Only Ones To Use A Midwife During Birth, Other Animals Do Too

Midwives have been a part of every culture for centuries. Many places of religious worship celebrate midwifery through paintings, sculptures and Bas reliefs.

Apart from easing the actual birthing process, midwives helped ensure the newborn was healthy, had no trouble breathing and was able to suckle well. In short, midwives ensured both the mother and baby survived. While midwives were the only option for women of yore, today they are one of the most preferred methods of birthing assistance and reproductive care.

When we talk of midwives, we envision a staid, calm person, urging the mother to push, encouraging her with kind words and helping her cope with her pain. When we think about the midwife, we envision a woman and sometimes, a man. Essentially, we envision a human being. 

Till as late as the late 1990s, it was believed that the practice of midwifery was developed by people. Surely animals did not, could not, possess a mind so sophisticated, that they could come up with a practice like midwifery. How would they know that another animal needed assistance during birth?

After all, wasn’t the one, defining difference between man and beast, the ability to empathize and help? 

 

A Djungarian hamster (Source)

 

Animal midwifery: Where animals help other animals give birth

Nature is magnificent and one of the miracles of nature is an animal that acts as a midwife. 

Researchers were stunned to see when male Djungarian hamsters chipped-in to help their mates give birth. Provided they didn’t turn their offspring into a meal first, male Djungarian hamsters consciously pulled the pups out from the females’ birth canals. They proceeded to lick the pups clean and then shared the afterbirth with their mates. If their pups looked asphyxiated, the fathers would lick the amniotic fluid off their nose, clear their airways and help them breathe.  

Scientists believe that Djungarian hamster males experience a severe fluctuation in hormones just prior to birth and this results in an increase in cortisol and oestrogen in their bodies. This, they believe, could be one of the reasons for this unusual behaviour. The other theory has to do with the hamsters’ living conditions. Unlike other wild hamster species, Djungarian hamsters live in dry, desert environments and they spend a lot of time in their burrows with their mate, to escape from the harsh climate. This could make them more willing to help their mates during birth (compared to other hamster species where the males are nowhere near the birthing area). 

 

A Black snub-nosed monkey (Source)

 

But it isn’t just Djungarian hamsters who make excellent midwives. Researchers have observed female black snub-nosed monkeys in South China also playing midwives to their bandmates during delivery. 

When a female black snub-nosed monkey is about to give birth and contractions start, she cries out using a very distinct sound. Upon hearing this sound, another female joins her and waits for the infant to crown. When he does, the midwife gently eases the baby out of the mother’s birth canal, tears open the amniotic sac and hands the infant back to the mother. Once she’s done, the midwife heads back to forage for food or take care of her own infant. The same behaviour was noticed in golden snub-nosed monkeys. 

Female bonobos too practice midwifery. This behaviour has been seen often in captivity and once in the wild. Just like the black snub-nosed monkey, the bonobo mother makes a soft, high-pitched squeal.

When she hears this, another female bonobo accompanies the pregnant mother and helps her give birth. Here too, the afterbirth was shared between the mother and the midwife.

 

A Bonobo (Source)

 

A primate speciality?

Djungarian hamsters aside, both the snub-nosed monkey and bonobo are primates. This makes us wonder whether their primate brains – significantly more developed than other animals’ – could be the reason for midwifery behaviour. 

But this may not be the case.

Chimpanzees, who are the closest to humans (and who possess far superior brains compared to bonobos and snub-nosed monkeys), prefer to give birth in isolation. So too other primates like gorillas and orangutans. 

But if you consider the research by primatologist Pamela Heidi Douglas, only 5 out of the 39 live births (across 31 primate species) she recorded, were done in isolation. The rest were in the company of band/troopmates. 

What makes this behaviour particularly difficult to observe, is how these animals typically give birth at night. Additionally, with these animals so adept at hiding from predators (including humans), it becomes even harder to track birthing animals. 

Empathy, intelligence or instinct?

The practice of midwifery developed in humans as we became more aware of the birthing process. Our highly-evolved brains, capable of high empathy, added to this progress. 

What we don’t know today, is if animal midwifery stems from the same reason. It could also be the desire to partake of another female’s placenta (after all, it is rich in life-saving nutrients). Or, it could just be pure instinct. 

No matter how we reason it, the concept of animals playing midwives will throw up more questions, than they answer. Only time and extensive research will reveal the truth. 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured Image: Golden snub-nosed monkey 

 

 

What’s In A Name: The Colourful (& Sometimes Hurtful) Profession of Naming New Species

Elephas maximus borneensis, Funambulus palmarum, Ajaja ajaja, Oryza rufipogon…you may have come across these or something similar in your biology textbook or an article about wildlife. They are scientific names of animals & plants – Borneo elephant, Indian palm squirrel, Spoonbills and Wild rice, in that order.

At first read, we may not really decipher which species the name refers to. But when we do, we are pleasantly surprised.

One of the most exciting activities in the scientific community, is taxonomy – the science of grouping a newly discovered species. A part of this job involves naming the species.

While enjoyable, the process of naming a new species is also a very complicated task; which involves a lot of research, word play and sarcasm. If you’ve ever wanted to know how plants & animals get their scientific names, you’re at the right place.

 

Source: Pixabay

 

The rules of naming

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is the governing body which has complete control over all things taxonomy. It is the Code which spells out how an animal can be named and what rules must be followed while naming.

According to the Code, there are 3 cardinal rules that all taxonomists need to follow when naming an animal:

• Don’t use a used name – The name must be completely unique.
• Don’t be insulting – The name must not be rude to anyone.
• Don’t name the species after yourself – The final name cannot include the name of the taxonomist.

Sounds simple enough? Unfortunately it isn’t.

There are many cases in the past when scientists named an animal to either gain recognition or to take a dig at a competitor.

There was Dr. May Berenbaum, the VP of Entomological Society of America, who named a species of urea-eating cockroach after herself – Xestoblatta berenbaumae. Of course, she did say that fame wasn’t her focus when she did this. Dr. Berenbaum was already a highly-reputed scientist in the community and she only wanted to showcase her passion for creepy crawlies by naming one after herself.

 

Xestoblatta berenbaumae (Source)

 

Then there was famed 1700s botanist, the Father of Taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus. He is renowned today, not just for his contribution to taxonomy, but also for being unbelievably petty and mean towards people he didn’t like. At the height of his career, he used fellow botanist and friend Johann Georg Siegesbeck’s name as inspiration to name a foul-smelling genus of weed – Sigesbeckia orientalis – after Siegesbeck publicly criticised Linnaeus’ method of species classification. This, many believe, was meant to be a dig at Siegesbeck’s  jealousy at Linnaeus’ success.  

 

Carl Linnaeus, the Father of Taxonomy (Source)

 

Sigesbeckia orientalis aka St. Paul’s Wort (Source)

 

And who can forget Daniel Rolander, Linnaeus’ most-hated protégé?  After Rolander refused to share his field study results and samples from his trip to Suriname with Linnaeus, the latter promptly went ahead and got him banned from leading scientific and academic institutions of the time. To add salt to injury, Linnaeus also named a type of dung beetle – Aphanus rolandri – after Rolander. Ouch. 

Loosely translated to English, Aphanus rolandri means “inconspicuous Rolander”. Now that’s what I call a double whammy.

 

Aphanus rolandri (Source)

 

Here’s one more – Famed palaeontologist O.A. Peterson named a species of prehistoric pig as Dinohyus hollandi, after Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History W.J. Holland, for the latter’s annoying habit of hogging the limelight. Holland was known in scientific circles for taking credit for every research paper published by his students, irrespective of whether he contributed to it or not.

 

Fossil of Dinohyus hollandi

Representative reconstruction

 

Okay back to the rules of taxonomy

Barring these and a few other instances of inspired, but hurtful name-calling, taxonomy has for the most period, been a civilised affair.

When naming an animal or a plant, taxonomists are told to consider the specialty of the species as inspiration. So, when scientists found a new genus of tiny sea snails, they named them Ittibittium; given how they were much smaller in size compared to another genus of sea snails – Bittium.

 

Genus Ittibittium (Source)

 

The second way to name a new species – find another creature that looks exactly like it and name the new species after that. Enter Scaptia beyonceae, a species of horse fly which is renowned for possessing a giant, golden bottom. Who else in the animal kingdom had such a big, tanned, booty? Why, Beyoncé of course.

 

Scaptia beyonceae & Beyoncé (Source)

 

TV shows and story book characters have inspired species names too. A newly discovered species of jellyfish was named Bazinga reiki after The Big Bang Theory’s protagonist Sheldon Cooper’s famous catchphrase “Bazinga”. The bacteria genus Midichloria was named after a fictional alien species called “midichlorians” described in the cult classic Star Wars.  Then there’s the fossil of a large turtle, discovered in 1992 – Ninjemys oweni, named after the hit show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 

Bazinga reiki jellyfish

Bacteria genus Midichloria

Fossil of Ninjemys oweni

 

So, to encapsulate

Scientific names must be unique, kind, not self-glorifying and clever. They must take inspiration from the species itself or another, just like it.

Can only scientists name a new species?

Although scientists who discover the species usually get the honour of naming them, some scientists allow members of the public to send their suggestions.

In 2000, Dr Nerida Wilson discovered a species of nudibranch in the Indian ocean. She didn’t have a name for the animal. So, she decided to let the people decide. She invited names from the public and the submissions were reviewed by a panel of expert taxonomists. Finally, the entry by Patrick from New South Wales was chosen and the nudibranch was named – Moridilla fifo.

 

Moridilla fifo (Source)

 

Oh yes, here’s something else…

The names don’t need to be in Latin.

Although Latin was the language of taxonomy in the 1700s, today, there’s no strict rule requiring taxonomists to name species in Latin or Greek. You can provide a name in any language of your choice and taxonomists will tweak the spelling to resemble Latin or Greek, without actually changing or translating the name itself.

Want to name a species yourself?

Go on and keep your eyes peeled for opportunities. Who knows, the next big discovery could be named by you.

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

 

PS: Featured image: Hierarchy in taxonomy , Dinohyus hollandi – Fossil; Representative image, Bazinga reiki, Midichloria, Ninjemys oweni 

5 Fun Facts About Crabs

Crabs are crustaceans, marine animals which have a thick exoskeleton made of a chemical called chitin (which is chemically derived from glucose). Crabs belong to the class Malacostraca, which means “soft shelled animal” and to the order Decapoda, which mostly includes marine crustaceans (like lobster, shrimp and prawn) that scavenge for food, as opposed to hunting them. This makes crabs soft-shelled scavengers.

Here are five fun facts about them: 

1. There are two types of crabs in the world – true crabs and false crabs – classified so because of their differing physiology. True crabs have the traditional body structure of a crab – a short and shallow abdomen curled underneath the shell and 4 pairs of legs excluding the pincers. False crabs on the other hand, look a little like crabs, but not completely. They have longer abdomens and less than 4 pairs of legs. True crabs include spider crab, blue crab and ghost crab. False crabs include king crab, hermit crab and porcelain crab. There are a total of 5000 crabs in the world – 4500 true crabs and 500 false crabs. 
2. The largest crab in the world is the Japanese Spider Crab, which measures 13 feet or almost 4 meters from one end of the body to another. In comparison are the Coral Gall crab, Pea crab, Marsh Fiddler crab and Flattop crab – all of which measure in at a teeny-tiny half an inch at adulthood. If you kept 4.5 standard sized mail boxes one-on-top-of-the-other on one side and a small pea on the other side…well, that’s how the size difference would look between these crabs.  
3. A small species of crab called Lybia or boxer crab, carry stinging anemones in their pincers anywhere they go. Why?  Lybia are very small in size and they don’t have venom to protect themselves from predators. They use the anemones in a mutually-beneficial partnership where the anemone acts as their defensive, venom-filled gloves. If an animal were to attack the Lybia, the anemone would sting the predator, protecting the crab. In return, the crab takes the anemone to different water bodies, allowing it to feed-off various sources and gaining valuable nutrients not found in its native environment. 
4. If a crab loses its limbs in a fight, it can grow them back in a matter of months. This is a feature that is also found in starfish and lizards. 
5. Crabs walk sideways because their legs are positioned to the sides of their body and their joints bend outwards and sideways. The reason for this type of evolution traces back to the crabs’ feeding behaviour. As sand-digging scavengers, crabs never needed to move forwards or move fast. This meant they didn’t need forward bending legs (which are one of the reasons animals can walk or run fast) and could make-do with sideways legs and sideways walking. However, not all crabs walk sideways. Frog crabs and spider crabs belong to the handful of crab species that walk forwards. 

 

 

Bonus

There is a type of parasitic barnacle called the Sacculina, which injects itself into the crab’s body, takes control of the crab’s will and makes it do its bidding. Crabs infected by Sacculina can’t control their own body mechanisms and are forced to become walking, breathing incubators of Sacculina eggs. Read this highly-informative article to learn all about the relationship between the Sacculina and its crab host. 

Here’s what a crab infected by Sacculina look like: 

 

Sacculina before it expels its shell

Sacculina after it expels its shell

 

Video: Coconut tree crabs are the only type of crabs that can climb trees. Watch this monster of a crab climb a tree, bend coke bottle caps and more. 

 

 

A Lybia with anemone in its pincers (image source)

 

True crab – 4 sets of limbs & shallow abdomen

False crab – 3 sets of limbs & rounded abdomen

 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image – The Sally Lightfoot crab from the Galapagos Islands. Sacculina – Mental Floss & Wikipedia.

 

I’m Celebrating My First Anniversary At WordPress & Stories So Wild!

Hey everyone! It gives me great pleasure to announce that today – October 9th 2018 – is My 1 Year Anniversary at WordPress.

It was a year ago that I decided to pick up my laptop and start blogging about a topic that I was most passionate about – wildlife. I thought I’d take this time (and use this post) to talk about my experience so far and the amazing journey I’ve been on during this eventful year. 

I have always loved wildlife. As long as I can remember, I’ve picked up books that dealt with animals, plants, rocks, water bodies…the list is endless. Be it stories by Enid Blyton or memoirs by Jane Goodall, each book held my fascination and still do so today. Although I don’t have an academic background in wildlife and I don’t have much field experience, apart from the ocassional safaris and treks through protected parks, I have always felt the only prerequisite needed to write about wildlife is – passion. And that’s something I have in excess of. 

My journey this year has been amazing and I’ve gone through such a growth curve. I’ve learnt what kind of material ticks in the blogging world, what type of writing format I’m good at, what type of work my readers love to read and most importantly, what type of content gets the word out about the wonderful plants, animals & arthropods that occupy our world. I hope I’ve been able to (and hope to continue to) do my bit to help reduce ignorance and increase empathy towards the wild. 

I have been inspired by so many writers, painters, bloggers, photographers – both on WordPress and those outside it – the list of people whose creative work has inspired my creative juices to flow, is endless. I have gained immense knowledge about the different kinds of science writing in the literary world and I’m now more aware about my responsibilities as a science writer. I am discovering new ways to discharge these responsibilities with care and finesse. 

I have experimented with multiple blog formats over the course of this year and I am now beginning to understand where my future lies in the world of wildlife blogging. For this, I have my readers to thank. Your feedback has helped me find my voice – a voice that works for both you and me – a voice that hopefully works in favour of the wild we are working together to protect, preserve and promote. 

I’d also like to thank my family – my parents & sister – for their constant encouragement, without which I would never have had the courage to channel my passion into words. This blog is a source of comfort and joy to me today. Your critique and directions have helped me hone my writing and they challenge me to take on more challenging topics of discussion each day. 

Finally, I’d like to end by thanking everyone of my readers & followers for being with me on this exciting journey. I hope we can walk arm-in-arm for years to come, learning about the wild we all love so much. 

Have a great evening!

Lots of love, 

Nisha Prakash