Sex in the animal kingdom is messy and sometimes a man just doesn’t know how to take ‘No’ for an answer. While some females resort to the protection of the herd to keep insistent males at bay, others stand their ground and refuse to let the men touch them. But, what this species of avian does, takes the battle of the sexes to a whole new level.
Mating season can be a difficult time for everyone. Males can get very handsy during mating, forcing themselves on unwilling females. While some animals give in to the subjugation, others join forces with one male, forcing other marauders to keep away. But there are few animals that take things to the next level and develop unique physiological mechanisms to keep out unwanted advances. This is the story of one such animal.
For plume and penis
Male ducks are annoying. They’re a bunch of irritable, insistent and hormone-driven creatures that can become truly trying during mating season. Just ask the females and they’ll vouch for this.
Male Muscovy ducks, in particular, can be difficult partners for females. These ducks can turn from calm and collected to crazed and commanding in a second during mating. They are one of the few creatures in the animal kingdom who turn rapists during mating season.
When a female refuses to allow an unwanted male to impregnate her, the Muscovy duck uses his abnormally long penis to force himself into the female. The penises of the Muscovy ducks measure 40 centimeters long; which is approximately half their body length. During insemination, they forcefully eject the penis into the females, pushing through and navigating the vaginal walls, until they reach the egg.
The entire process takes such little time; the males everting their penis and entering the female in less than half a second; that females have no power to stop the males from inseminating them. The video below shows how long and fast a male duck’s penis can actually be, during mating. Take a look.
Labyrinthine ladies and their convoluted coition
Evolution of physiological traits is a matter of necessity. Female ducks choose their partners based on various criteria, right from the health of their plumage to the way the males complete the courtship ritual. But marauding males often circumvent tradition and go straight to the act; necessitating females to take matters into their own hands and protect themselves.
To prevent unwelcome males from inseminating them, female Muscovy ducks have evolved counter-clockwise vaginas, which are designed to trick males into thinking they were successful in mating with the females. So how does this work?
The inverted and twisted vaginas of female Muscovy ducks are made of constricted muscles, which face in the direction opposite to the clockwise male penises. They contain dead-ends and empty cul-de-sacs which are designed to receive the sperm of unwelcome males. When a male forcefully enters a female, the female tightens her vaginal walls and guides the penises into the dummy chambers and dead ends. When the male ejects, he does so believing that he is ejecting into the female’s egg chamber, when in fact he is ejecting into an empty, dummy chamber which is located far away from the egg. This helps the female preserve the egg for a more deserving and chosen partner, while also removing the threat of a roving rapist.
A study conducted by Dr. Patricia Brennan from Yale University showed how the Muscovy ducks’ reproductive anatomy actually looks like. The results of the experiment showed how males find straight vaginas easier to navigate, but find it extremely difficult to evert when the vaginas are twisted. This could explain how female Muscovy ducks are taking back control over reproduction through ingenious reproductory evolution.
If it’s a mate she’s chosen for herself, the female relaxes her vaginal muscles, turning the inverted and counter-clockwise vagina into a straight tunnel-of-sorts, allowing the male to inseminate her egg with ease.
Ah baby animals…these bundles of joy have been lighting up the wild for millennia. While everyone has been raving about their cuteness, not a lot of people have spoken about their size. Let’s face it, when it comes to size, some animals are impressive…impressively small.
Here are 3 animals whose babies are way smaller than you thought they would be:
Kangaroos
Kangaroo adults can reach heights of 5.25 feet (1.6 meters) and can weigh 90 kilograms (200lbs). But their newborn joeys are smaller than gummy bears, often smaller than 25 millimeters.
An adult female kangaroo
A newborn joey
Watch the incredible journey this little joey makes to reach the safety of its mother’s pouch:
Pandas
At their heaviest, adult pandas can weigh 160 kilograms (350 lbs). But their tiny cubs weigh only 1/900th of their mother’s weight! Now that’s really tiny.
A panda mom with her newborn cub
See that little pink floppy thing on the left side? yup, that little nugget is the cub.
Here’s a fun question; what do you call a group of pandas? An embarrassment! Ha ha, all jokes aside, a group of pandas is called “an embarrassment” because of the boisterous way in which panda cubs play when they’re together. It could embarrass any mum.
Now indulge in some cub time by watching twin panda cubs embark on their first 100 days of life.
Elephants
One of the most intelligent animals on the planet, elephants have longest gestation period in the wild. It takes their bodies 22 months to fully develop the calf (imagine being pregnant for almost two years!). But surprisingly, baby elephants when born are only 90 kilograms (200 lbs), while their heavy-weight mothers, aunts and sisters (and not to forget, their brothers and fathers) can reach ridiculously high weights of 3600 kilograms (4 tonnes)!
Adult elephants
A newborn elephant calf
Watch as this newborn calf, just hours old, meets his herd-mates, learns how slopes are not a baby’s friend and discovers the forest he is to grow up in.
There are more than 25,000 documented species of orchids in the world and they’ve been around since before the continental drift 200 millionyears ago.
The smallest orchid in the world is in Ecuador. It is only 2.1mm long and it requires a microscope to examine. It’s petals are so thin and transparent, scientists believe they resemble the size and texture of human cells.
There is an orchid called the Bee Orchid, whose petals and fragrance resemble a bee. The orchid uses its unique appearance and fragrance to attract male bees, to stimulate pollination.
Orchid seeds are really tiny – smaller than a dust particle. That’s why some orchids take up to 15 years just to germinate. Many of the full-grown potted orchids found in stores are often decades old!
Rare orchids can get really expensive. Some of the most expensive orchid plants are – Rotchschild’s orchid ($5,000 per plant), Fire lilies ($10-$20 per stem), Yellow And Purple Lady Slipper (Critically endangered – Priceless) and Ghost Orchid (Critically endangered – Priceless).
Bonus
That vanilla-flavoured ice cream you love so much? It’s derived from an orchid. The Vanilla planifolia is a type of orchid, whose leaves are used to derive the vanilla flavouring used in food and beverages. Additionally, when someone talks about “vanilla beans”, they’re actually referring to orchid seeds.
Vanilla bean orchid pods
Vanilla bean orchid flower
Rothshild’s slipper orchidGhost orchidPurple lady slipper orchid Rare blue orchidsPraying Angel orchidBee orchid
Red fire lily
Blue fire lily
Platystele Jungermannioides – the smallest orchid in the worldMoth orchid Monkey orchid
Zorse is a real animal. It is the cross-bred offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare.
The combination of the horse and zebra genetic material has given the Zorse a stunning genetic blueprint. A Zorse is always immune to the genetic diseases that are common to both its parents.
Although its fur colour can come from either of its parents, most of the physical features of the Zorse come from the Zebra father, making it a very strong & hardy animal, fit for the wild. However, its personality and temperament are exactly like its Horse mother, making it very easy to train. That’s why the Zorse is used as a pack animal in certain places of North America.
The Zorse has a 360-degree vision and can turn its eyeballs completely around to see. However, it has two blind spots – one behind the head and one directly below the nose.
The Zorse is by birth sterile and can’t reproduce. However, mating behaviours have been observed in the animals, both in the wild and in captivity.
Bonus
Unlike Ligers and Tigons, which come from different combinations of lion and tiger mating, Zorse foals are born genetically the same irrespective of whether they are reared through a zebra stallion-horse mare mating or a horse stallion-zebra mare mating. However, since zebras are rarer and scientifically more valuable to breeding programs than horses are, no zebra owner voluntarily wastes time on having their female zebra give birth to a Zorse.
Each African wild dog has a unique spotting/marking on its fur. These markings serve the same purpose as human fingerprints and help researchers and gamekeepers keep track of individual pack members.
Unlike in other animal groups where males leave and females stay behind; male wild dogs stay in their birth pack for life, while females leave and join other packs after reaching sexual maturity. This ensures there is no inbreeding.
African wild dogs follow a community-based rearing of their young. Every adult member of the pack is responsible for the safety & upbringing of the pups and both males and females share babysitting duties.
Wild dogs packs are extremely loving and caring, often taking care of the injured members of their packs for years. Healthy, adult dogs give feeding priority to pups and injured pack members, even before feeding themselves.
Wild dogs are extremely intelligent and plan hunts well in advance. In fact, it’s this intelligence, coupled with team work and endurance that makes them successful in 80% of all attempted hunts. In comparison, lions are successful only 17%-19% of the time.
Bonus
Humans have tried to domesticate wild dogs like they did other canids, but have remained unsuccessful. Why? Wild dogs have an inherent suspicion towards any animal apart from their own pack-members and they have an intense dislike towards being touched. All domesticated dog species on the other hand, were very friendly and liked being petted, even when wild.
Wild dog pups, just weeks old
Wild dog pack in the midst of a hunt
Every adult wild dog in the pack is responsible to teach pups the ways of the wild
Wild dogs are very curious about their environment
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.
Fruit flies can’t stand carbon dioxide. It makes them woozy and unfocused.
Fruit flies’ chromosomes look like barcodes.
Fruit flies have 100,000 neurons, which is a very high number for flies and it is this large brain matter that makes fruit flies so intelligent.
Fruit flies love their beer and males often get drunk on both alcohol and fruit. Female fruit flies have been observed rejecting males who get drunk often. (here’s an addition: humans like the same beer and wine as fruit flies…go figure)
Fruit flies enjoy sex as much as the human whose house they are in. Turns out sexually-deprived males go into depression and look for alcoholic drinks/food, while their sated counterparts steer clear of alcohol.
Bonus
Fruit flies are a boon to science. They have a whopping 14,000 genes in their bodies (humans have 24,000…so that should tell you something) and extremely fast life cycles (fruit flies can mature from eggs to adults in as less as two weeks), which makes them perfect for genetic experimentations. In fact, fruit flies have contributed to 6 Nobel Prizes between 1933 & 2017.
So, what did fruit flies help us understand?
Role of chromosomes in heredity
Role of radiation in genetic mutation
Control of embryonic development through genetic experimentation
Ladybugs aren’t really bugs. They’re beetles – insects that chew solid food and have hard wings. In fact, they are (correctly) called Ladybird beetles in Europe.
When a ladybug is under threat of danger, it releases a yellowish liquid called hemolymph from its knees. This liquid has a truly horrendous smell which deters predators from attacking.
Ladybug moms lay two sets of eggs – one set which is hatched and the other set which acts as food for the new borns.
Not all ladybugs are darlings. One species, the harlequin ladybug, indiscriminately kills all insects it comes in contact with by infecting them with a deadly parasite called Nosema apis.
Ever had wine that tasted like peanuts or asparagus (shudder!)? This was probably the fault of a ladybug. Sometimes ladybugs that reside in vineyards are accidentally collected with the grapes and crushed in the machines that extract grape juice for wine. The hemolymph released by stressed-out ladybugs taints the wine and gives it a foul flavour.
Bonus
Legend says that ladybugs first made an appearance in farms that were plagued by plant-eating insects, after farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary (The Lady of Sorrows) to release them from their sorrows. That’s where they get their name from – The Lady’s Bug. According to stories, the red colour of the ladybug represents the Virgin’s cloak and the seven polka dots, the seven sorrows.
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.
When we refer to plecos, we refer to the 138 species of fish that come under the genus Hypostomus.
The plecos’ skin may look slimy, but its texture is like that of a rocky armour.
Plecos are gentle with most fishes except their own species, who they can be very aggressive towards.
Plecos never reproduce in captivity, but females can lay up to 300 eggs in the wild!
Bonus
Veteran aquarium keepers never write or say aloud the plecos’ full name “plecostomus” because of an old superstition that says “speaking or writing the name will cause the fish to die”.
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.
Found in South America, the Rhea bird is one of the largest flightless birds in the world. Research shows that Rhea dads could be the most devoted fathers in the world of the feathered.
Basic info:
Name: Rhea
Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Rheiformes
Family: Rheidae
Genus: Rhea
Height: 3-5ft
Weight: 55-80 pounds
Diet: Broad-leafed plants, roots, seeds, fruits, small insects, baby reptiles and small rodents
Mating: Polygamous
Nest size: 10-60 eggs
Flight: Flightless; can run at speeds up to 40 miles/hour
Found in: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay
Rhea dads take on the sole responsibility of building the nest. This includes finding the right spot, procuring the right materials and building a good quality nest (and they do this for every female they mate with – which can be anywhere between 2 & 12).
Rhea fathers are a lot like penguin dads. They incubate the eggs and hatch it themselves (they usually attract the females to the nest – a shallow hole in the ground lined with leaves and moss – and have them deposit their eggs there).
These birds are great at using decoys. They use rotten eggs, mouldy fruit and other animal bait as decoys to distract predators from the nest. These decoys are lined around the nest and are replenished whenever they are consumed. This helps keep the clutch safe from harm.
Once the eggs hatch (after 6 weeks of incubation), the Rhea father spends the next 6 months caring for the chicks. The chicks burrow into their father’s feathers and revel in his feathery warmth. So possessive is he of his clutch, he even keeps the mothers at bay by attacking them with a ferocious charge and vicious bite.
Often, when they aren’t fulfilled by their existing brood, Rhea dads charge adolescent males as stand-in fathers, while they mate with more females and create a new nest. They then rotate between the nests, caring for the young and making sure they are properly protected.
Want to know more about this not-so-deadbeat dad? Take a look at the video below:
When it comes to fatherhood, its safe to say that the Rhea male is extremely devoted. He is one of those exceptions, who joins ranks of those animal dads who outrank mom in the art of child rearing.
What happens when you roam the seas for 400 million years? Why you become a Coelacanth of course! Meet the fish that have baffled scientists with their unexpected return from the dead.
10 mind-blowing facts about the Coelacanth
*(pronunciation: SEEL-uh-kanth)
They were thought to be extinct
Up until 1938, it was assumed that Coelacanths were extinct. The handful of the specimen caught by fishermen was all dead and the rest were fossils; but, in 1938, a live specimen was caught off the coast of South Africa. As of today, there are two known species of Coelacanths in the wild – one near the Comoros Islands, Africa and the other in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Coelacanths are endangered species. Research suggests that there are just between 230 & 650 coelacanths in the wild today.
They are the key piece in the puzzle about the Earth’s first terrestrial vertebrates
Fossil records of Coelacanths show that they originated during the Devonian Period which ended 419.2 million years ago. This was the era in evolution when the first terrestrial animals made an appearance.
The Coelacanths’ physiological characteristics resemble in part those traits we observe in land-based creatures today. Scientists believe that Coelacanths may be the missing link that might point us to the exact moment in evolution when the world’s first underwater vertebrates made their foray to the land.
Evolution of vertebrates from the sea to the land (Image Source)
They have some very unique organs and some vestigialones
While Coelacanths may be the clue to the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates, they don’t have a vertebral column themselves. Instead, they have a hollow, oil-filled tube called the notochord. The notochord is the embryonic vertebral column that evolves into a full-fledged spinal cord when the embryo develops.
They are also one of the only animals today that have an intracranial joint in their skull, which allows them to unhinge their jaws from the rest of the skull and consume prey almost three times their own size.
While on the one side these fish can’t do without their notochord and intracranial joint, on the other, they canlive without their lungs. Coelacanths’ are the only known fish to have lungs and these lungs develop normally (as in vertebrates) as embryos. But as they grow older, the lungs become smaller and finally stop working, becoming completely useless. To breathe, the fish uses the scaly plates on its body as gills.
Notochord in an embryo. The notochord develops into a full-fledged vertebral column in most species. (Image Source)
Their brains contain more fat than actual brains
Coelacanths give the term ‘small-minded’ a completely new meaning. Only 1.5% of their cranial cavity constitutes their brain matter. The rest of the cavity is made of fat. Scientists are still unsure what these fish do with the fat in their cranial cavity. But it has been observed that younger Coelacanths have larger brains and lesser fat and this proportion inverts as they age.
They are nocturnal
Coelacanths spend most of their days in cool and dark caves sleeping. They only come out at night to feed. They are drift-feeders, meaning they let the current drift them along the ocean floor. They hunt fish and cephalopods like squids, nautilus, cuttlefish and more. They aren’t very competitive when it comes to territory and food and are quite willing to share their belongings with fellow Coelacanths.
Coelacanths huddling in the shadow of a cave (Image Source)
They use an electrosensory system to navigate the seas
Coelacanths possess a rostral organ in their snouts just like Anchovy which is a gel-filled cavity surrounded by a layer of adipose fat tissue. This organ is extremely sensitive to underwater electromagnetic signals and Coelacanths use this organ to navigate the seas, find prey and avoid obstacles.
The females are one-man women during the mating season
Female Coelacanths are serial monogamists and mate with just one select mate during breeding season. This mate may or may not change across the seasons and may or may not be shared between two females.
Once, the gender ratio in the world of Coelacanths was so off balance, it was noticed that the young of two females living in close quarters were sired by the same father.
They give birth to live young
Coelacanths are the only fish in the world to have live births. In 1975, researchers at the American Museum of Natural History dissected a dead specimen to find it pregnant with five embryos. The embryos resembled full-grown Coelacanths in shape and scale-texture, with just a few differences that they were smaller in size and the embryos had a small yellow film covering their bodies and a large yolk sack protruding from their pelvic fins. It’s believed that Coelacanths’ eggs hatch within the mother’s womb and the ‘pups’ are then birthed live.
Coelacanths are foul tasting, to say the least. Their scales secrete copious amounts of mucous and their bodies contain toxic oils, urea and wax compounds which are both inedible and harmful to the human body. So don’t be in a hurry to get one on your plate.
They are the only species of fish to have an operetta to their name
Remember the dead Coelacanth with the five embryos in her womb? Well, as it turns out, she was the muse to a musically-inclined scientist’s operetta.
Dr Charles Rand, a haematologist from Long Island produced his quirky ode to the pregnant fish in an operetta entitled Quintuplets at 50 Fathoms Can Be Fun, also called A Coelacanth’s Lament. It was set to the music of the Gilbert and Sullivan song ‘Tit Willow’ and is one of the American Museum of Natural History’s best creations.
The first coelacanth sketch made by Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, the museum curator who discovered the first live coelacanth specimen. (Image Source)
Now that you know so much about the coelacanth, it’s time to meet one in person.
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.
June 5th is celebrated as World Environment Day each year. While some years focus on saving wildlife, others focus on cleaner water. This year, 2018, the theme for World Environment Day is:
#BeatPlasticPollution
Here are 5 facts about this year’s World Environment Day celebrations:
India is leading the charge with their campaign #BeatPlasticPollution and is hosting the global celebration and observation of this all-important day. Pan-Indian plastic clean-up drives are being organized and schools are being mobilized to conduct neighbourhood marches, to spread the word about the terrifying impact of plastic on the world. In fact, in states like Gujarat, companies are reusing the 200 metric tonnes of plastic by-product from their paper manufacturing plants to power cement production plants across the state.
Peru has come up with a supremely unique solution to ending plastic pollution while helping their poor. The country recycles its plastic bottles and makes out of them – ponchila – which is a combination of “poncho” and “mochila”, a coat-bag amalgamation, made specifically for the poor children in the Andes. The product is a bag/poncho which can be used to carry books and transformed into a poncho to wear. The children, most of whom do not have warm clothing and who must travel several miles to reach their schools, are given these weather-proof and recyclable ponchila to use. Watch this video to see a ponchila in action.
Samoa recently had one of its own receive the Environmental Award for the Asia-Pacific Low-Carbon Lifestyles Challenge from the United Nations. Angelica Salele was awarded US$10,000 for her invention – the reusable cotton sanitary napkin. Not only are Salele and her partner Isabell Rasch normalizing conversations about menstrual hygiene in Samoa, but they’re tackling a big issue – the 44.9 billion plastic-coated pads that fill-up landfills globally each year. The reusable cotton pads are made from skin-friendly material and do not contain any trace of plastic or related materials.
The International Olympic Committee has made a commitment to reduce the production and usage of single-use plastics from the institution’s offices and events. The committee has also partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature to make sports environmentally sustainable. As part of this project, the IUCN has provided the IOC route maps of all the places that will be touched during the Summer and Winter Olympics, in each of the countries who have applied to host them till 2026. The maps indicate plastic disposal sites and waste management sites, amongst other places, which can help the IOC curb plastic waste.
The United Nations Secretary-General Mr. António Guterres has made a global appeal asking for the end of usage of single-use plastic. As you’ll see in this video, Secretary-General Guterres makes a compelling argument why plastic should be banned. Just to re-iterate, here is his message:
A healthy planet is essential for a prosperous and peaceful future. We all have a role to play in protecting our only home, but it can be difficult to know what to do or where to start. That’s why this World Environment Day has just one request: beat plastic pollution.
Our world is swamped by harmful plastic waste. Every year, more than 8 million tonnes end up in the oceans. Microplastics in the seas now outnumber stars in our galaxy. From remote islands to the Artic, nowhere is untouched. If present trends continue, by 2050 our oceans will have more plastic than fish.
On World Environment Day, the message is simple: reject single-use plastic. Refuse what you can’t re-use.
Together, we can chart a path to a cleaner, greener world.
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?
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