Category Animal World

What are homoeothermic animals?

Living organisms thrive in different kinds of habitats, including acquatic environments. An important factor that helps some creatures adapt to changes in the external environment is the regulation of their internal environment – physiological processes. And body temperature plays a crucial role in this adaptation. As you may be aware, warm-blooded animals – such as birds and mammals – are those that maintain a high body temperature, and this temperature does not change with any change in the environment. On the other hand, cold blooded animals – such as fish, amphibians, and reptiles – tend to have temperatures that change depending on their surroundings. While warm blooded animals are generally called homeotherms, cold-blooded animals are called poikilotherms. And then there are heterotherms. These are creatures – such as some species of birds and mammals – that generate their own body heat but whose temperatures are also regulated by their environment. They have variations in temperature within different regions of their body, and during different times of the year too. In such cases, the body temperature is usually warmest at the core and much lower in the extremities. For example, the feet of penguins are cold to match their surroundings so that their feet are not stuck to the ice they are on. But their core body temperature is conserved by warning the blood returning from the extremities. Also, during winters, penguins are said to have body temperatures lower than normal, and this helps them conserve energy. Though heterotherms are usually small creatures, a study has shown that the king penguin – a large bird weighing about 10 kg – too exhibits heterothermy.

 

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Why is Chilika lake famous?

The largest brackish winter lagoon in Asia, the Chiluka Lake in Odisha spreads across more than 1,000 sq km comprises wide areas of manhes, lowlands and plenty of islands The fresh water from inland rivers and saline water from Bay of Bengal mix together to result in a unique ecosystem that supports rich biodiversity One of the largest wintering grounds in the country for migratory birds Chilika attracts tens of thousands of winged visitors even from as far as Mongolia and remote parts of Russia. The binds are ably supported by marine life marked by a variety of small fishes. The Chilika Lake comprises the chilika Bird Sanctuary and Nalbana Island also a bird sanctuary.

Wildlife

The birds one can spot in the region include ducks, geese, shelducks, pochards, flamingoes, grebes, doves, swifts, cuckoos, rails, crakes, storks, pelicans, bitterns, herons, egrets, ibises. cormorants, plovers, lapwings, jacanas, godwits, sandpipers, stints, snipes, redshanks, gulls, terms, vultures, kites, buzzards, eagles, owls. barbets, bee eaters, kingfishers, falcons, weavers. pipits, wagtails, larks, warblers, swallows. bulbuls, babblers, starlings and mynas, The area nurtures not just birds but also mammal species such as cheetal blackbuck mongoose and porcupines, and reptiles such as snakes, turtles and lizards. Some of the marine creatures found here are sharks, dolphins, stingrays, eels, herrings, anchovies, carbs. catfish, seahorses, mackerels, tunas and barracudas.

A million splendid birds!

The annual bird count held by the Chilika Wildlife Division early this year brought ecstatic news to bird lovers and conservationists. More than 11 lakh birds spanning as many as 184 species had arrived in Chilika. This is an increase from the previous years 10-lakh-odd birds from 183 species. Reports said that five rare great knot (a small wader) were sighted after a gap of five years in the region. The birds found hearty meals such as fish, prawns, frogs, snakes and molluscs in the open wetlands. The increase in bird numbers is said to be a reflection of a certain change in the lake. Previously, illegal prawn cultivation had taken up a part of the waterbody. This is believed to have ended after a high court order, resulting in more space for the birds.

The dolphin story

The Irrawaddy dolphin is an endangered species. And according to the report of a monitoring survey 2018, the Chilika lake emerged as the “single largest habitat of Irrawaddy dolphins in the world. The number of the dolphin population was estimated to be 155. Meanwhile, in May this year, media reports indicated that a research project undertaken the Indian Institute of Technology Madras helped in “tripling the population of the Irrawaddy dolphins”. in addition to a seven-fold increase in the fish population at Chilika. The sand bars were widening and the position of the sea mouth was changing, leading to the gradual degradation of the lake and calling for an urgent need to save its ecosystem. The researchers developed a dredging methodology and performed it with minimum impact on the ecosystem”, to successful and happy results.

 

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What are minks?

Minks are small mammals, native to the Northern Hemisphere. They belong to the weasel family. Both the European minks and the American minks are valued for their luxurious fur.

Why is coronavirus in minks a concern?

Scientists say minks may be more susceptible to the coronavirus than other animals due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In mink farms, where thousands of animals are kept in close proximity, COVID-19 can spread rapidly from animal to animal.

Unlike dogs, cats and some other animals, which show only mild symptoms, minks can get very sick and even die from the infection. So far, minks are the only animals known to both catch the virus from people and transmit it to them.

Which are the other places where minks have contracted COVID-19?

Coronavirus cases have also been detected in farmed minks in four other European countries: the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Italy. Millions of animals have been culled in these places too. In the U.S., more than 15,000 minks have died of the coronavirus since August, and authorities are keeping about a dozen farms under quarantine while they investigate the cases.

 

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What is culling?

Denmark’s decision to cull millions of minks over coronavirus fear has shocked animal lovers around the world. While the scientific community is divided over the validity of the concern, we will take a look at what is culling and why it is carried out in the first place.

Denmark began culling millions of minks over coronavirus fear last month. A mutated form of coronavirus that can spread to humans was found among minks in hundreds of fur farms in the country. More than a dozen people were found to have caught the infection from the animals. However, there is no evidence that the mutations that originated in minks pose an increased threat to humans.

Denmark is the world’s biggest producer of mink fur and its main export markets are China and Hong Kong. Mink farms have been found to be reservoirs of the coronavirus with over 200 of the 1,200 farms affected. Danish scientists are worried that genetic changes in mink-related form of the virus have the potential to render future vaccines less effective. Global health officials are now considering minks a potential risk, particularly in the midst of a resurgence of the virus in the human population. Denmark decided to cull all the minks in the country (instead of just the ones in the affected farms) as a precautionary step to protect people from contracting the virus. But later rolled back the order as it did not have the legal basis to kill all the animals.

While some scientists feel the concerns over mutated strain are exaggerated, others think the virus could jump from minks to other animals. Let’s take a look at what culling is and why is it being done…

What is culling?

Culling is the organised and systematic elimination of sick or surplus farm or wild animals and birds, Culling or the selective slaughtering is carried out by authorised wildlife officials with proper permits and approvals.

Why are they culled?

• Mass killing of birds and animals are carried out when they are infected with a contagious disease. It is done to avoid the spread of the disease to other animals and humans. For instance, in the United Kingdom badger culling has been carried out for years to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Badger is a carrier of bTB.

• Aggressive invaders, such as invasive birds that take over nesting sites or attack native birds, are culled to save the local ecological balance.

• Culling is carried out to keep certain animal and bird populations in check. Unusual population growth may cause an imbalance in local ecology, disrupting food sources and other essential resources. In certain parts of Australia, kangaroos are considered vermins (pests), because they damage crops and compete with livestock for scarce resources. Kangaroos are involved in more than 80% of vehicle animal collisions there. In some places of the country, kangaroos are said to outnumber humans.

How is culling perceived by experts?

Culling has always been controversial. On one side, conservationists support it for the common good of all the species in an ecosystem. They perceive culling as a necessary means to protect native biodiversity. But on the other side, animal activists protest over the effectiveness and humaneness of different methods of culling. They oppose when governments resort to culling as a short-term measure Opposition also comes from the perception that every animal should have the right to live.

 

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Why do lions lick their prey a lot before they start eating it?

Like all felines (including the domestic cat), the lion’s tongue is covered in small, hook-shaped growths called papillae, which point towards the back of the mouth, and are used as a brush to separate flesh from fur and bone, particularly when the cat is feeding on a humongous kill (wildebeests, buffaloes, zebras…) – in the case of smaller prey items (rabbits, rodents, birds…), the carcass is devoured whole, with only a few or no bone splinters left.

Moreover, these papillae have the feeling of a hairbrush, resulting in the tongue becoming a rough surface – they’re sort of like hairs because they’re made of keratin, which is the same protein a human’s hairs and fingernails are composed of.

In the process, the feeding lion consumes the skin completely, and ensures itself that it never swallows (even accidentally!) small, pointy bones that could rip the cat’s throat, and that the meat is tenderized, which renders it efficiently digested.

Now, a lot of lions have seen to be licking prey they’ve just hunted, before killing and eating them. This mostly happens when the prey (usually an ungulate youngster) is brought alive by the lionesses to their cubs, so that the latter can hone their hunting skills – in the process, these cubs are too young to understand the art of hunting and the throttling bite that is essential to make a kill, so they instead resort to play with the animal by chasing it around; and when they subdue it, they don’t immediately kill it, but rather lick it, possibly as a means to display youth innocence.

This behavior mainly occurs with lion cubs (the youngsters, naturally), but it’s seen in adult lions too – in this case, it’s not always clear why. In my opinion, it could be psychological, in a way that the hunting lion either resorts to licking the animal in order to calm it – either it’s something done prior to giving the prey a quick death, or because something snapped inside the lion, a friendly, empathetic thought that made it reconsider its ferocious behavior, particularly since the hunted animal frantically panics from being attacked by a predator, emitting gut-wrenching cries for help –, or it’s just playing with its food (like house cats do), perhaps to torment the prey or simply tire it out so as to not risk injury. But I’m just speculating.

In the end, no one knows exactly why lions (the adults, to be precise) resort to licking their prey a lot while it’s still alive, prior to eating it.

 

Credit : Quora

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What does a mother cat do with a dead kitten? Will she mourn it or just let it go?

Do you really want to know if a mother cat would suffer if she loses one of her kids?

Mama left her kittens inside a box at around 7am but when she returned, just five hours later, she discovered that her two kittens were already dead.

She was found by locals pacing back and forth, meowing incessantly near her lifeless offspring.

Both kittens were stabbed to death by an unknown assailant.

The mother refused to leave, even after locals tried to help her.

So, back to the question…

There are some typical behaviors that a mother cat may exhibit when dealing with the death of a offspring. One of the first things she would to is licking her kitten(s).

You see, licking the kittens is the mother cat’s instinctive behavior after giving birth. It will rigorously lick and groom each kitten. Licking the kittens stimulates breathing, helps to remove any remaining placenta and helps to remove liquid from the kitten’s lungs. The grooming can look quite violent and vigorous but it is normal and necessary.

When a mother cat sees its kitten not moving or breathing, she will lick and cuddle the kitten to try to get it to respond. It may do it for quite some time until she gives up and abandons the kitten to take care of the surviving ones.

Some cats are very trusting to their owners in times of grief or loss. Not all cats do this but some may lay their kitten at your feet for help or empathy. Many cat owners have experienced this and interpret it as their cat’s way of showing that she trusts you to fix her young.

In contrast, some mother cats are overprotective of their young. They will not allow anyone, even their pet parent to come near their kittens, dead or alive.

Sometimes a mother cat will dig the ground where she will bury her dead kitten. She will then cover the body with mud and might lay on the spot for several hours. Some mother cats who have other kittens to attend to, however, will simply remove the dead kitten and abandon it. This is to separate the dead far from the live ones to avoid any health risks.

And sometimes, she would eat her kitten. It may sound gross but some mother cats eat their kittens when they seem to be dead. Eating their dead kittens will provide nutrients that will be dissolved in the mother’s milk and will be beneficial for other kittens. It is very rare but surely it happens and, although this is a distressing sight for humans, this is a normal behavior for animals.

So, answering the question: she surely will suffer. A lot.

 

Credit : Quora

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