Watch your tongue

It is true that a person who sticks out his/her tongue is considered to be immature,childish etc. But in case of some animals, it is a matter of  their survival.

The reptiles, like snakes, who frequently flicker their tongue, are doing it for the reason of smelling (to capture scent particles) and not because they are hungry.

Image courtesy of [by africa] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Chameleons do have their own uniqueness about their tongues. Their chief weapon which they use for hunting is not the tongue but the sticky adhesive on their tongue which helps them in catching insects. Also, there are species of chameleons whose tongues are longer than their bodies giving them enough flexibility to catch far away insects.Again in this list, amphibians are no exception. Batrachians ( frogs and toads) use tongues only single utility- for catching their prey.
 Moving now from amphibians and reptiles, there are some mammals who use their tongues for even better purposes. Towering beasts - giraffes extend their black colored, prehensile tongues from their mouth for plucking the Acacia leaves from the tree.Also, they use their 18-20 inches long tongue to clean their ears.


Scaly anteaters called pangolins have incredibly long tongue to feed on ants and termites and they can stretch their thin, long tongues into very narrow lanes of termite mounds. No need to use its claws to break open the termite mounds. This makes them one of the animals with longest tongues.

Both domestic and wild cats do have another rough feature on their tongues called as horny papillae used for grooming and rasping the liquid part of the flesh.

Leave the baby alone!

This post is on request from one of my blog readers. The question was whether animal's parents reject their young ones if touched by humans.

The answer is - in general, no. It is common in rodents but rarely a case occurs in large animals. Yes, they will reject only if too much human handling is done.

I recently read about this incident that happened in Yellowstone national park of US. A young bison calf was rejected by the entire herd after some silly tourists picked it up and stored at the back of their vehicle thinking to protect it from cold. But, when the park rangers were reuniting the animal back with the herd, very sadly the herd rejected it. Later, park rangers euthanized the poor animal as it would have had come in contact with vehicles on the road. How sad!!

In all national parks and sanctuaries people are prohibited to not only hunt wildlife, but to touch and feed also. However, licensed (controlled hunting) is allowed in specific countries.

But, being touched by humans cannot be the only reason why female animals reject their young ones. Other reasons could be undernourished young ones or lazy to be a mother etc.

The female leaders

There is talk of स्‍त्री शक्‍ति all around. As such it is Devi's Navaratri too. Even, USA is  gearing up to have their first female president.  So, why not talk about how females fare in animal world! To begin with, the saying goes by- " The female of the species is more deadlier than the male".

A hyena's group is called as clan.  The leader of clan of spotted hyenas is always a female hyena. Interestingly, a female hyena is larger than the male. What is even more amazing is that they can lock (proverbial) horns with the top predator in their habitat- the lion. Truly, they aren't scared of lions as they are even famed for stealing prey from a pride of lion. When the female hyena arrives with her entire clan, the pride will usually give up.


There are several other critters where the females outweigh the males. The Great horned owl (inset) is a famous example where the females are larger than males and have a deeper hooting call than males. Also, great horned owls aren't named because they have horns. They are called so as they boast tufts of feathers on the top of their head.

The female green anacondas, also outweigh their male counterparts. These bulky ophidians inhabit near swamps of rainforests and wetlands lurking for prey like capybara (world's largest rodent),deer, tapirs, caiman alligators and even surprisingly jaguars. But, aren't much aggressive towards humans.

The oldest cow elephant is the leader of the herd. However a herd of elephants does not have older male elephants (bulls) as they tend to lead solitary lives after the age of 13 years.  

So that's my tribute to the female fraternity, er... sorority!

We can easily catch you-1

Not all the animals are said to be the fastest runners, but they are crafty enough to catch you. 

Today, I will list animals, running against whom is useless.

Not all the wild cats, but many of them are said to be deadly to humans. All the large, wild cats like tiger, lion, leopard and, of course, cheetah  are capable of bursting at fast speeds. They do have other perfect senses like acute vision, smell and hearing.
Even though tigers are the heavy weights, their speeds are clocked at (35-40 mph) 49-65 kmph.


Puma and snow leopard shouldn't be challenged by running away. Do it and they are just close to you with their paws with claws opened ready to strike as they are known to be the highest jumpers in the animal kingdom. So, running away from them means you are still inviting death. Staying away from them is the only way to stay safe.

It is not only the light to medium weighing animals that are capable of zooming fast, but we shouldn't feel free even to stay near wild, bulky ones.

The large species of bears come under this group. A brown bear can reach even close to a running horse. Even though, polar bears use striking strategy to catch their prey like seals, they too are faster with their speed being as fast as an Olympic sprinter.

The same goes for the bulky herbivores (rhinos, hippos). They are surprisingly faster than a human being.

So, don't get fooled by bulk of these heavy weights!

Off Beat

Some animals have been noted for their off beat characteristic features and behaviors. This blog illustrates some examples of this topic.
Small,cute mouse like Arctic rodents known as lemmings are known to commit mass suicide by jumping off high clips into the waters. Don't get horrified as this is a part of their migratory behavior.  If you are curious about how they do, click this link and watch them in action https://youtu.be/AOOs8MaR1YM 


One of those species of mountain vultures, the lammergeier (bearded vulture) has a weird habit of dropping bones from massive heights.They aren't playing any game. When a bone is dropped and it cracks open, their diet emerges - the bone marrow. 

Crocodiles too are known to produce tears just like us.Don't get emotional as it happens naturally to them when they swallow too much air while eating. 

The lumberjacks of the animal kingdom, beavers are known for their behavior of cutting trees and building their homes, the lodge with them. The lodge almost looks like a cave made from collection of straw, logs ,mud etc. Nice, cozy homes for them to guard from predators. They are also known for the dams built by them.

We do have the right to thank God for creating such animals which can benefit the ecosystem. See below, serially, Beaver, Beaver dam and Beaver's lodge.


 
 

Frogs

Darren Sammy had said this before the ICC World T20 2016 semifinal, "The guys who predict the results, I think they say it's 80-20 to India, so it feels like a David and Goliath. But people tend to forget that David won the fight."  
Well, people might have had different reactions to it, but I possibly had unique reaction - I was thinking of Goliath frog!!  
The largest specie of frogs is the Goliath frog, native to Africa.  Remarkable feature is that it has webbed feet! It is also the rarest species of frogs, thanks to the habitat destruction and collection for exotic pet trade.

There are many large number of species of frogs available all over the world. But, for now, let's talk of a couple of them here.
 
The  rare Indian purple frog of forests of Sahyadris looks gross with its weird characteristics. It is also rare and endangered by habitat loss. Look at its picture at your own risk. I will give you the link here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_frog

Poison frogs are again remarkable for boasting venom on their skin. Inhabiting the dense rainforests of Neotropic regions (Central and South America). There are many species that fall under this category and colors range from red to larger blue ones. So, don't dare to get close to these beautiful and cute amphibians.

Together, we are called...

We have often heard about collective names given to animals. Few things are simple.
 
Herd is used for deer, antelopes, zebras, giraffes etc.
Pack is used for wolves, jackals, dogs etc. 
Pod is used for whales, dolphins etc. 

Things start getting bizarre, now

Dinosaurs get two different nouns - herd is used for herbivores and pack is used for carnivores.

Crocodile's and alligator's groups have got different names. Crocodile's group is called as bask, whereas alligator's group is called as congregation.  And a group of calf alligator is not congregation but a pod!

Image courtesy of [njaj] 
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Apes are tailless primates like, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, gibbons and orangutans. Group of apes is called shrewdness. But no ape species use shrewdness as collective noun. 

For ex. band of gorillas, cartload of chimpanzees and bonobos, buffoonery of orangutans!!

Well, if this not enough, imagine an animal using several collective nouns. Yes there are few of those oddities. 

A group of zebra can be called a herd, crossing, zeal or a dazzle.

A group of elephants can be called a herd, parade, memory or even a crash.