As it is known, that humans get drunk or intoxicated by drinking alcohol or consuming drugs or narcotics. Due to this, they feel unusual like feeling elevated etc. Reasons would be for fun, under frustration,addiction etc.
But, there are a share of other animals too who are no exception in getting high like humans.
Tasmanian territory of Australia boasts poppy fields where opium poppy occurs. Alarmed farmers were shocked to discover crop circles in the fields. They suspect aliens behind the damage. But, the weird truth is right here. Wallabies or mini kangaroos consume opium flowers and get so much drugged that crop circle formation begins as their mob (group) begins to hop round and round in the fields. Thanks to the intoxicating effect in them.
As dolphins are known as the intelligent marine creatures, they do get nicely stoned. Puffer fish is the source of their drug to produce venom. But, here is the catch. The fish's venom would kill any organism if taken in large bouts. This means that these street smart mammals might use their brains to make the fish release minor amounts of venom. One member of the pod gets intoxicated due to its ingestion. Passing of this venomous fish to the entire pod is the end result. Quite akin to a group of humans having alcohol at a gathering.
Animals prefer another plant known as catnip. Going by its name, cats prefer it. Its chemical named Nepetalactone doesn't harm but causes temporary effects like drooling, hyperactivity, restlessness, which vanish after 15 minutes. Not all, but around 74% with a particular gene do react. Yes, Nepetalactone doesn't fail to produce reactions even in wild kitties ( lions, tigers, pumas etc.) too. Akin to catnip, yage plant of South American rainforests evoke these reactions in jaguars.
It is not just these mammals but there are others like reindeer getting intoxicated due to Amanita muscaria mushroom, dogs getting high on pot brownies etc. Even, there are insects like bees becoming intoxicated on fermented liquid who become more aggressive,less social, less busy and more idle.
So, from these facts it is crystal clear that humans aren't the only species to get high or stoned.
Take a nice look at this image. If this was made compressed even more, one would think these are crowd of people with black woolen clothes walking on snow as if some special person came here. But, if one enlarges the image, then these are colony of penguins ,one of the iconic avians (birds) of the Southern hemisphere not just from the frozen Antarctica but also from the temperate coasts of South Africa, New Zealand etc.
On the occasion of World penguin day i.e. today, this post gives really fascinating trivia and also creates awareness about some of these adorable birds on the planet. In fact, they are so much loved that the country of Norway once knighted a real one.
Beginning with the introduction, many people are aware that penguins aren't a single species of birds. Though the numbers are under debate, there are around 20 species of penguins ranging from the tall and bulky Emperor penguin standing (49-99 lbs;up to 41-52 inches tall) to the small little blue or fairy penguin (2 lbs;12-13 inches tall) shown in the image on the left.
One would think of deepest diving bird as gannets or boobies. But, the emperor penguin clinches the trophy for the deepest diving bird with total depth of 1,800 ft deep inside the ocean. So, not only an emperor of penguins in terms of size and height but also in diving.
Penguins do boast two kinds of talents. When in water, they porpoise i.e. cut through the waves and jump akin to dolphins. When out of water, they engage in behavior of tobogganing when they leap out like launched missiles and land and then slide on their tummies surprisingly without wounding them.
Coming to their diet, penguins feed on variety of items like fishes, krill etc. And yes, penguins themselves are prey species to many animals like leopard seals, killer whales (orca) and sharks. Surprisingly, they drink plenty of seawater without consuming salt. Thanks to one of their glands i.e. the supra orbital glands near their eyes to filter out salt.
Living wise, all penguins are monogamous living with one partner. Wondered whether there is any other animal (apart from humans) who propose their fiance. Yes, is the baffling answer as penguins do it. For Gentoo penguins, the pebble is the wedding ring as the males use it to woo. For King penguins, the long duration songs of males are the wedding rings to their mates. Sounds really romantic!!
Lastly, about their adaptations. Wonder how Antarctica's penguins stay warm? Apart from blubber which is a fat to stay warm, species like Emperor penguins huddle together to stay really warm in such a frozen environment.
Finally, about their awareness. As it is known that penguins too are susceptible to global warming or climate change like polar bears, walruses etc. population declines have been reported. Many species of penguins are in danger of vanishing either in this century or by the end. Its not just warming, but humans who collect them for food is also quite alarming. So, its time to act now on these causes before the disappearance of these much loved birds.
It is fully known that we humans break open many food items like coconuts when doing prayer and during other processions.
But, in the world of animals there are animals who have the habit of breaking open things when hungry.
Mongooses who are talented for killing snakes even the venomous ones also boast another talent which is cracking open hard eggs. Yes and they do it by holding the egg through their hind legs and cracking it against a hard surface. It not only sounds weird but also one would go into thoughts about its position while doing that.
Primates like monkeys really deserve to be in this category. Thanks to their intelligence. In case of these animals, the Capuchin monkeys of tropical American rain forests are genius in these tasks breaking open nuts and other creatures namely crustaceans like crabs by banging them against a rock or any hard surface.
Raptors (birds of prey) are quite crafty in using these techniques. The bearded vulture is known to throw bones from heights to let the bone crack open for bone marrow. Another raptor, the Egyptian vulture tosses stones to crack open hard shelled eggs.
Finally, the most eminent animal of this technique is the sea otter. The iconic way these animals float makes us think that their backs are more akin to swimming tubes for sitting and floating. When hungry, these marine mammals take a shell from their pouch and a stone on which they hit it to feed on the soft meat which is inside the shell. How remarkable! Check out the link below to see its remarkable feeding technique.
http://www.arkive.org/sea-otter/enhydra-lutris/video-ne08b.html
Its quite fascinating to see these animals using these remarkable techniques for their survival.
Tasmanian territory of Australia boasts poppy fields where opium poppy occurs. Alarmed farmers were shocked to discover crop circles in the fields. They suspect aliens behind the damage. But, the weird truth is right here. Wallabies or mini kangaroos consume opium flowers and get so much drugged that crop circle formation begins as their mob (group) begins to hop round and round in the fields. Thanks to the intoxicating effect in them.
As dolphins are known as the intelligent marine creatures, they do get nicely stoned. Puffer fish is the source of their drug to produce venom. But, here is the catch. The fish's venom would kill any organism if taken in large bouts. This means that these street smart mammals might use their brains to make the fish release minor amounts of venom. One member of the pod gets intoxicated due to its ingestion. Passing of this venomous fish to the entire pod is the end result. Quite akin to a group of humans having alcohol at a gathering.
