Category Plants & Animals

How the bladderwort catches its victims?

Early in the summers pretty little bunches of golden yellow flowers about a centimeter across appear floating on the water of ponds and ditches. This is the bladderwort, or Utricularia, a planet that keeps most of its body under water and looks very innocent. However underneath its leaves the Utricularia has lots of little bladders which turn into deadly traps should any unwary insect go too near them.

These bladders have a small opening surrounded by short hairs. When an insect explores the opening the plant swallows the insect and closes the opening with a special little lid. The plant then digests the captured animal through millions of microscopic tubes in its tissue.

This plant grows all over the world, on land as well as on the water, but the bulk of the species are found in tropical regions and only about four occur in Europe.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Which are the pets owned by famous personalities in history?

Pets have always been special to us. A dog is great company, a cat is a precious little bundle, a parrot is a delight, an alligator is a… well, an interesting companion, a bear… probably is unusual! Let’s look at the pets owned by famous personalities in history!

A very important horse

Roman emperor Caligula had a bad reputation for cruelty, but even he had a soft spot for his pet – a horse. So special was

his horse, named Incitatus, that it got to live in a marble shed, drink from a golden bucket, wear a jewelled collar and have gold flakes mixed with its oats! Caligula didn’t stop there – he gave his pet a saddle with a red border. What’s the big deal? It turns out that only the ministers of his court wore a robe with a red border, so Incitatus was promoted as a senior official!

An alligator in the White House

When President Quincy Adams was gifted an alligator by the French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette, he took a quick decision regarding the reptile’s living arrangements: it would live in a bathtub inside the East Room bathroom of the White House. Unsuspecting guests who entered the bathroom were in for a horrifying shock and fainting fits!

Too fond of dogs

Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, an Indian maharaja, loved dogs. Nothing strange because many people love dogs, right? But he loved them so much that he had nearly 800 dogs! Each dog had its own room, complete with a telephone (though how a dog would use it is not clear) and a personal attendant. Marriages between his dogs were grand affairs and he even invited the British viceroy at the time to attend one such event!

A wise friend from the sea

The French poet, Gérard de Nerval, rescued a lobster and adopted it as a pet, fondly naming it Thibault. He would take Thibault for a walk with an elegant blue ribbon as its leash. When people argued that it was crazy to have a lobster, Nerval calmly explained the pluses of having a crustacean as a pet: it was calm, serious, didn’t bark and knew the secrets of the sea.

An artistic pet

Salvador Dali was famous for his unique moustache, his surreal paintings and his bizarre choice of pet – an ocelot. Babou went with him everywhere, proudly flashing its special studded collar. This included a journey on a luxury cruise and even a visit to a restaurant in Manhattan, much to the alarm of other diners.

No dogs allowed? How about a bear!

Lord Byron, the famous poet, was well-known for his eccentricities. When he enrolled in Trinity College in Cambridge, dogs were forbidden as pets on the campus. So Byron kept a tame bear instead! This flummoxed the college authorities, but Byron had a solid defence. For nowhere in the rulebook was it mentioned “no bears allowed”, was it? Apparently, nobody could legally expel the bear and it stayed on while Byron studied there.

A pet-plus messenger

Much before the serial Game of Thrones made ravens cool, the 12th dynasty pharaoh, Amenemhat II, thought ravens were awesome and he had a pet raven he loved dearly. But this was a special raven that also served the pharaoh faithfully as a messenger. It was apparently the swiftest of messengers, well aware of where to deliver its messages and where to pause on its way back. So fond was he of his pet that Amenemhat II had a tomb built for his loyal raven.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Do animals sweat?

Sweating or perspiration is a natural way for the body to regulate its temperature. Humans have sweat glands in many parts of the body. What about animals? Sweat glands are found in most mammals. But they do not produce large amounts of sweat (exception being horse). For instance, dogs and cats produce small amounts of sweat through their paws. The overall distribution of sweat glands varies among primates – while the rhesus monkey has them on the chest, some macaque species and baboons have them over the entire body. But they do not sweat as much as humans, as their fur serves as the temperature regulator.

Mammals also resort to other methods to regulate body temperature. Pigs and hippopotamuses roll in the mud to cool themselves, while dogs pant.

Have you ever wondered about the secretion on the skin of the hippopotamus? It is not sweat.

Hippos secrete a reddish oily fluid, sometimes called blood sweat, from special glands in their skin. This fluid functions as a skin moisturiser and antibiotic.

 

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What are the threats to sloth bears?

Threats

Increasing human population is said to be the greatest threat to these bears. This leads not only to the loss and degradation of the bears habitat but also human-bear conflict. And, this is not good news. Sloth bears tend to avoid humans. However, they can also be intolerant of them when the two meet face to face. And their aggressive behaviour coupled with powerful claws and canines don’t help. So, a human-bear conflict may not end well. For instance, a media report says that “in Odisha, between 2014 and 2018, 716 attacks by sloth bears on humans were recorded. Out of the 716 attacks recorded, 627 humans were left grievously injured – with many victims severely impaired for life”. Which means, there are retaliatory killings too. Other worrying factors include hunting and poaching for meat and body parts for medicinal purposes. It is said that there are no specific numbers for the deaths of sloth bears. This is of concern because there are only rough estimates for their population, meaning we may not know exactly how many bears live and die, and what sort of conservation mechanism should be put in place to save this vulnerable species. Another reason for concern is that these animals have traditionally been captured and made to perform “dances” for human entertainment. Though this has been largely brought down in India and some of the animals have even been rehabilitated, it is believed to be continuing in places such as Nepal.

Though sloth bears are found in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal too, India hosts its largest population in the world. They appear to be extinct in Bangladesh since no sightings have been confirmed in the region for years now. Within India, they are found in many States, including Karnataka. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and central India. Among the sanctuaries for the species are Ratanmahal Sloth Bear Sanctuary and Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary in Gujarat, and Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary in Karnataka. According to the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it is a “Vulnerable” species.

Sloth bear facts

  • Sloth bears are small bears, and usually have a black coat (and sometimes, a brown coat). What helps identify them is their distinctive whitish or yellowish chest patch in the shape of a wide U or Y.
  • They are a lowland species, and occupy different types of habitats such as wet and dry tropical forests, savannahs, scrublands, and grasslands.
  • These omnivores feed primarily on termites, ants, and fruits. Apparently, they are fond of honey too.
  • Cubs stay with their mothers for roughly two-odd years, and for about nine of those months, they ride on their mother’s back.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Are spiders insects?

Technically speaking, spiders are not insects! Why aren’t they exactly? We’ll look into a few main reasons why spiders and insects are so different. But first, let’s break down what spiders and insects have in common, which is actually quite a bit.

To understand the similarities and differences between spiders and insects, we have to cover a bit of taxonomy. Taxonomy is the science of classifying all living things. Spiders, insects, fish, birds, and humans all fall into the Kingdom Animalia. Pretty much every animal is able to breathe and move, unlike plants and fungi. Additionally, animals are multicellular, unlike bacteria. Let’s dive deeper into the world of taxonomy and discover more about the classification of spiders and insects.

The next taxonomic level down is where spiders and insects lose their similarities. Spiders are in a class of animals known as arachnids. Spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks are all different kinds of arachnids. Perhaps the biggest difference between arachnids and insects are the number of legs they have. One of the defining characteristics of spiders and other arachnids is that they have 8 legs. Insects, on the other hand, only have 6. This difference may not seem that significant, but it’s one of the most important things that separate these two classes of animals!

Next up is the number of body segments. Spiders have two segments – the abdomen, and the cephalothorax (which is a combination of a head and thorax). Insects boast three distinct segments – an abdomen, a thorax, and a head. Although they serve essentially the same functions, the body segments are another characteristic that spiders and insects do not have in common.

 

Picture Credit : Google

How do people work with Animals?

People Who Work with Animals

Do you love animals? There are many kinds of jobs for people who do. A few of those jobs are listed here.

Veterinary surgeons, or vets, keep animals healthy. City vets deal mostly with pets, giving them injections to keep them well. Country vets take care of farm animals, such as cows and horses.

Zoologists study animals to find out where and how they live, how they get along with people and other animals, and how they change over time. Zoologists work in laboratories, zoos, or museums. Or they work at wildlife refuges in the jungle, at sea, or wherever animals live.

Naturalists study nature by watching it carefully. They hike in the country to watch birds, or they visit museums, parks, and zoos. Many naturalists keep notes, sketches, and photographs of everything they see. You don’t have to wait to be a grown-up to be a naturalist! Many areas have nature-study programmes for children.

Game wardens and rangers help protect wild animals in National parks and game preserves. They rescue animals stranded by floods or fire and make sure people obey fishing, hunting, and camping laws.

Farmers and ranchers raise livestock that provide food for people all over the world. Farmers raise such livestock as chickens, pigs, and dairy and beef cattle. Ranchers raise sheep and cattle on huge farms.

Picture Credit : Google