My Science School

Vulture is a bird of prey. The Old World vultures include 15 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; and New World vultures are restricted to North and South America. Most of the species have a bald head, and a neck devoid of feathers.

It has a strong, sharp and hooked beak and a long wingspan, which allows it to stay in flight for long periods of time, without flapping my wings. It scavenges on carrion and sometimes feeds on newborn and wounded animals. It can go without food for days and when it does find something to eat, it has its fill.

It has a throat pouch called a crop, which is used to store food to be consumed later or to feed young ones. It has strong stomach acid, which allows it to safely digest decaying carcasses.

It is a myth that vultures circle dying animals waiting to feed. These birds are powerful fliers and soar on thermals (columns of rising air) while they look for food, but they cannot sense when an animal is dying. When they locate a carcass by smell, sight, or the sound of other birds feeding, they approach it quickly before other predators find it.

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Cuscus is a marsupial that lives in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and on the nearby islands. It can survive in tropical rainforests, mangroves and dense forests at high altitudes.

Its body is covered with thick, woolly fur that can be black, brown, white, tan or grey in colour. The fur can be covered with spots. It has a rounded head with small ears and large eyes. Its eyes are adapted for night vision.

It lives on treetops and eats leaves, nectar, flowers and fruits. Sometimes, it eats small animals, and occasionally eggs. Pythons, hawks and owls are its predators. It is a shy and territorial animal.

Common spotted cuscus natural habitat comprises rainforests with trees like mangroves and eucalyptus. Cuscus who lives in the mangroves will migrate to the tropical forest during the winters. Cuscuses create their habitat in hollow trees. They also tend to create a platform on branches of a tree for resting during the day. Common spotted cuscus can be found sleeping under a canopy of leaves when the weather gets really hot. During summer time, they prefer resting inside a hollow log of tree. They prefer living in regions where their food requirements are taken care of by easy availability of fruit.

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The mockingbird was given its name because of its ability to mimic the calls of dozens of other bird species. In fact, the mockingbird's Latin name, Mimus polyglottos, means many-tongued mimic. The mockingbird has even been known to mimic the sounds of dogs and sirens!  The mockingbird is especially vocal on moonlit spring nights.

It ranges from the northern United States to Mexico—or to Brazil, if the tropical mockingbird (M. gilvus) is considered a race rather than a separate species—and has been introduced into Hawaii. It thrives in suburban areas. This bird sings from high perches and vigorously defends its territory; it may even sing at night.

Other species of Mimus range from Central and South America to Patagonia, and the blue mockingbird (Melanotis) inhabits much of Mexico. The Galapagos mockingbird (Nesomimus) has various races or subspecies on the different islands, showing an adaptive radiation similar to, but not as extreme as, that found in the Galapagos finch.

Credit : Britannica 

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Have you ever wondered why mockingbirds mimic other birds? Scientists believe that mockingbirds imitate the calls of other birds to deter them from settling in their territory, by giving them the impression that the place is already crowded. It is said that a mockingbird is capable of mimicking over 200 songs. In addition to bird songs, the bird can replicate dog barks, sirens and other sounds in the environment.

Scientists aren't sure about why mockingbirds mock, though. Gammon says that robins and cardinals don't change their behavior when northern mockingbirds imitate their calls. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the mockingbirds are trying to manipulate other species through vocal mimicry.

An adult male mockingbird can emit up to 200 distinctive noises. You might be surprised to learn that these birds do have songs of their own, melodies that are not lifted from other avian species. Mockingbirds are most likely to imitate sounds — like titmouse cries, cardinal chirps, and yes, even car alarms — that are acoustically similar to the rhythm and pitch of their own voices. Nobody knows why that is.

Credit : How Stuff Works 

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The opossum’s breeding season begins at the end of winter – in this area January and February. While foraging during the night, the male opossum smells a female in heat. Female opossums will accept a male only once during the estrus period. However, if a pregnancy does not result during the 36 hours or so that she is in heat, she will continue to come into estrus in 28 day cycles until breeding is successful.

The opossum gives birth to 16-20 (often more) babies, only 12-13 days after mating – the shortest gestation period of any North American mammal. Newborn opossums are about the size of a grain of rice. They cannot see, but will scramble from their birthplace under their mother’s tail, and wriggle across her hairy belly to the safety of her pouch. Most do not survive the journey, as the youngsters must find a nipple, and there are only 13 nipples. Neonates who do not locate a nipple will perish – each infant opossum must attach itself to one of her nipples.

After just 1 week of suckling, the babies triple their size. In 1 week the birth weight increases ten times. After about 60 to 70 days in the pouch, the youngsters’ eyes finally open, they have some control of their body temperatures, and they have grown to the size of a white-footed mouse, weighing about an ounce. At this time they occasionally release their hold on the nipple. Soon they will venture out of the pouch. When they reach 75 to 85 days of age, they are weaned and seldom go back in the pouch. They will stay with their mother until they are about 3 to 4 months old.

Credit : Wildlife Rescue League 

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The opossum or possum pretends to be dead when threatened. It lies on the ground with its mouth and eyes partially open, baring its teeth and foaming at the mouth. It can play possum' for a few hours-long enough to put off its predator. This enables the marsupial to make good its escape.

The animal doesn’t feel any pain and has no reflexes when this occurs. It even stops blinking its eyes. A possum won’t respond no matter what a predator does, even if swats, bites or breaks the possum’s bones.

Many wild animals are turned off by dead prey, an evolutionary tactic that likely keeps carnivores from consuming diseased food. Most predators will give up on prey that plays possum.

It can take the marsupial anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to become mobile again. While they can survive these types of encounters, they can still be injured. Scientists have found many possums in the wild wandering around with healed wounds and fractures, likely from being attacked.

In addition to seemingly feigning death, possums have other remarkable traits. They have prehensile tails to climb tree branches, and they’re immune to pit viper venom. Females give birth to up to 18 babies at once just 12 to 14 days after conception.

Credit : Ripleys 

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It affects them like alcohol affects humans, resulting in flying accidents. They also find it difficult to get back to their hive. Not just that, they are prohibited from entering their hive by the other bees at the hive.

After sucking on fermented limes, a drunken bee will return home to its hive (if it can make it back, that is).  Because of the honey bee’s complex and intricate way of communicating through their waggle dance, it is not very difficult for the other members of a colony to detect the drunken bee.  Once spotted, the guard bees of the hive will immediately begin their investigation and punishment.  The rules of the honey bee society are quite strict, and without much thought, the guard bees will begin to bite off the drunken bee’s legs as punishment.  One by one the bee’s legs are torn off, and the poor drunk honeybee doesn’t have much of a chance of living after her traumatic leg removal.  This sort of punishment serves as a warning to the rest of the hive to never stray away from their duties to their colony.

"On the molecular level, the brains of honey bees and humans work the same. Knowing how chronic alcohol use affects genes and proteins in the honey bee brain may help us eventually understand how alcoholism affects memory and behavior in humans, as well as the molecular basis of addiction,” stated Julie Mustard, a study co-author and a postdoctoral researcher in entomology at Ohio State University.  Mustard studied the effects that ethanol (the intoxicating agent in liquor) had on honeybee behavior.  This study could eventually prove the long term and social effects that alcohol has on human behavior.

Credit :  Ripleys 

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Brookesia micra at less than one inch is the smallest chameleon on record. Found in Madagascar, it's also one of the smallest vertebrates on Earth. The Parson's chameleon, also found in Madagascar, is the largest chameleon species on record. It can grow up to 27 inches long.

For nine years, Brookesia micra, a cousin of B. nana described in 2012, clung to the title of tiniest chameleon. B. nana is smaller than B. micra in body size, measured from snout to cloacal opening at the base of the tail. But it sports a longer tail. Differences in how size is determined make it complicated to definitively claim that a species is the planet’s littlest.

A branch of Brookesia chameleons exhibits extreme miniaturisation, leaving scientists scouring dictionaries for synonyms for small. There is already a Brookesia minima, so the researchers settled on nana, derived from the Latin word for dwarf. Glaw and his colleagues published their findings in a recent paper in Scientific Reports.

Credit : Mongabay

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Resurrecting animals from extinction may sound like a wild dream. But scientists have been nurturing this dream for nearly a decade. In 2012, biologist George Church, now a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, the U.S., mentioned the possibility of bringing back an extinct species "by rewriting the genes of a living relative". And the extinct species he had in mind was the woolly mammoth whose living relative happens to be the Asian elephant. They share 99.6% of DNA and a common ancestor that lived about six million years ago. Though the idea gamered a lot of attention back then, the same could not be said about its funding. But that has changed now.

Colossal, a new bioscience and genetics company, has come forward to back this de extinction project with an initial funding of a $15 million investment.

What is de-extinction?

De-extinction is the process of resurrecting species that have died out or gone extinct. Three primary methods have been proposed to resurrect extinct animals. They are cloning, genome editing and selective breeding. Apart from the woolly mammoth, the passenger pigeon, the thylacine and the gastric-brooding frog are some of the organisms that have been considered for de-extinction. What about dinosaurs? Reintroducing the prehistoric reptile giant is out of the question, mainly because of the extreme old age of specimens and hence the possibility of DNA degradation.

What is Colossal?

Colossal is a bioscience and genetics company co-founded by George Church, who has pioneered new approaches to gene editing, and Ben Lamm, a technology entrepreneur. It is focused on advancing the field of species de-extinction, using CRISPR and other genome editing technologies. Colossal has set its sights on creating an elephant-mammoth hybrid by making embryos in the laboratory.

How will they resurrect the woolly mammoth?

Scientists already have fragments of DNA retrieved from fossils of the woolly mammoth. They will edit elephant DNA and add "genes for mammoth traits like dense hair and thick fat for withstanding cold". An artificial mammoth uterus will be created to carry the embryo. This is certainly one of the challenges because the uterus has to be large and strong enough to host the foetus for nearly two years when it is likely to weigh about 200 pounds. Colossal aims to have something similar to a woolly mammoth calf within the next six years.

What do we know about the woolly mammoth?

• Woolly mammoths are Ice Age herbivores, whose closest living relatives are the Asian elephant.
• They were among the last members of the mammoth species that roamed the planet during the Pleistocene epoch.
• They lived on northern continents and went extinct about 4.000 years ago. They had a thick furry coat that protected them against the extreme cold Their tusks were very long, about 15 feet and were used for fighting and digging in the deep snow. Their ears were smaller compared to those of today's elephants. This was probably an adaptation to minimise frostbite and heat loss. They kept their ears closer to their heads, which in turn kept them warmer.
• They were probably about the size of African elephants.
• They ate grass other types of plants and flowers. The cause for extinction is believed to be a combination of factors - including the disappearance of habitat and hunting by humans.
• In 1796, French biologist Georges Cuvier was the first to identify the woolly mammoth as an entirely new species.

What are the positives of this de-extinction initiative?

The project is framed as an effort to help conserve Asian elephants by equipping them with traits that allow them to thrive on the vast stretches of the Arctic known as the mammoth steppe. The hybrid will be a cold-resistant elephant, but it will look and behave like a mammoth and do all the things that elephants and mammoths do. in particular knocking down trees.

If a few woolly mammoth babies do manage to emerge successfully in a few years, they will raise hopes for several endangered species teetering on the edge of extinction. Since species re-introduction can revive vegetation, and even ecosystems, it's good news for more than just animals. For instance, once woolly mammoths-large grazers - vanished the tundra gradually came to be dominated more by shrub rather than its original grasslands. So, bringing them back could mean the increase in the area of grasslands too. Again, in the absence of large animals such as these mammoths to "scrape away thick insulating layers of winter snow, the extreme winter cold does not penetrate the soil any more. This, along with warmer summers, has increased permafrost melting and the resultant release of greenhouse gases trapped underneath. So, in a way, woolly mammoths could fight global warming and climate change too.

What are the ethical questions?

While the woolly mammoth project has its positives, it is still riddled with questions on ethics.

• Is it right to create or bring back an animal we know very little about?
• Or any animal for that matter, since extinction is a natural process?
• What if it negatively affects the ecosystems in ways we could not predict?
• Importantly, studying any impact on ecosystems is a long-term endeavour, and what if irrevocable damage is done by the time the impact is evident?
• As we know, elephants are highly intelligent and emotional beings. In the absence of a real mother and the long-lasting bonding, where will the little ones get their support, care, and learning from?
• Is it morally right to put these animals in answers to these questions?

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Hibernation is a way for many creatures – from butterflies to bats – to survive cold, dark winters without having to forage for food or migrate to somewhere warmer. Instead, they turn down their metabolisms to save energy.

Animals in hot climates also undergo a form of hibernation called aestivation. This works in a similar way and enables them to survive extreme heat, drought or lack of food.

Hibernating is much more profound than simply sleeping, though. Depending on the species, it can vary from long, deep unconsciousness to light spells of inactivity.

Small mammals, such as chipmunks, dormice, hamsters, hedgehogs and bats hibernate. Also, many insects, amphibians and reptiles hibernate

Just one bird is known to be a true hibernator: North America’s common poorwill. This beautifully camouflaged nocturnal bird is a relative of the nightjar found in Britain, and in winter often hibernates among rocks. It can slash its oxygen intake by 90%, while its body temperature plummets to 5°C, barely registering signs of life.

A hibernating animal’s metabolism slows and its temperature plunges – in ground squirrels it can fall to -2°C. Breathing slows and, in bats, the heart rate can fall from 400 to 11 beats per minute. Some cold-blooded animals, such as wood frogs, produce natural antifreezes to survive being frozen solid.

Credit : Discover wildlife 

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Echolocation, a physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by means of sound waves reflected back to the emitter (such as a bat) by the objects. Echolocation is used for orientation, obstacle avoidance, food procurement, and social interactions.

Echolocation is known to be employed by most bats (all members of the suborder Microchiroptera and one genus, Rousettus, of the Megachiroptera); most, if not all, toothed whales and porpoises (Odontoceti), but apparently no baleen whales; a few shrews; and two kinds of birds, the oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) of northern South America and certain cave swiftlets (Collocalia) of Southeast Asia.

In microchiropteran bats and some toothed whales, a mutated form of a protein called prestin increases their sensitivity to high-frequency sounds and thereby facilitates the detection of return echoes. The nearly identical molecular structure of the Prestin gene in these animals, which differs from the structure of the Prestin gene found in all other mammals, is an example of convergent evolution, in which the two groups independently evolved the same form of the echolocating protein in response to similar environmental pressures.

Credit : Britannica 

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Preening is common among arachnids and consists of cleaning the legs and palps by passing them through the chelicerae. In some species protection and escape from predatory enemies is made possible by the ability of a seized limb to detach from the body.

The uropygial gland, or preen gland, is an essential part of preening. This gland is found near the base of the tail and produces an oily, waxy substance that helps waterproof feathers and keep them flexible. While preening, birds spread this oil to each feather so they are evenly coated and protected. Some types of birds, including owls, pigeons, parrots, and hawks, lack a uropygial gland. Instead, these birds have specialized feathers that disintegrate into powder down, which serves the same purpose as preen oil. Birds that produce powder down are less likely to bathe or immerse themselves in water and do not require the stronger waterproofing that preen oil provides.

Birds use their bills and feet to preen each feather on their body, methodically nibbling or stroking every feather from its base to its tip to get it aligned just so. Birders are familiar with different contortions birds will use in order to reach every feather, and it is not unusual to see a bird in an unusual and odd position while preening. 

Credit : Spruce 

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Mobbing behavior is an antipredator behavior which occurs when individuals of a certain species mob a predator by cooperatively attacking or harassing it, usually in order to protect their offspring. A simple definition of mobbing is an assemblage of individuals around a potentially dangerous predator. This is most frequently seen in avian species, though it is also known to occur in many other animals. While mobbing has evolved independently in many species, it only tends to be present in those whose young are frequently preyed on. This behavior may complement cryptic adaptations in the offspring themselves, such as camouflage and hiding. Mobbing calls may be used to summon nearby individuals to cooperate in the attack.

Birds that breed in colonies such as gulls are widely seen to attack intruders, including encroaching humans. Behavior includes flying about the intruder, dive bombing, loud squawking and defecating on the predator. Costs of mobbing behavior include the risk of engaging with predators, as well as energy expended in the process. Black-headed Gulls are one species which aggressively engages intruding predators, such as Carrion Crows. Classic experiments on this species by Hans Kruuk involved placing hen eggs at intervals from a nesting colony, and recording the percentage of successful predation events as well as the probability of the crow being subjected to mobbing. The results showed decreasing mobbing with increased distance from the nest, which was correlated with increased predation success. Mobbing may function by reducing the predator's ability to locate nests, in other words as a distraction, since predators cannot focus on locating eggs while they are under direct attack.

Credit : Fandom 

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Schooling behaviour, Activity characteristic of clupeiform fish (herrings, anchovies, and allies) in which many fish swim together, appearing to act as a single organism. A school of herring may contain many millions of individuals of roughly similar size. Fishes above or below the size limit break away and form schools among themselves. The primary advantage to the fish seems to be safety for the individual. When threatened, a school of thousands of anchovies, spread over several hundred metres, will contract to a writhing sphere only a few metres across, thereby thwarting the attempt of a natural predator to catch a single individual.

Herring are among the more spectacular schooling fish. They aggregate together in huge numbers. The largest schools are often formed during migrations by merging with smaller schools. “Chains” of mullet schools one hundred kilometres long have been seen migrating in the Caspian Sea. Radakov estimated herring schools in the North Atlantic can occupy up to 4.8 cubic kilometres with fish densities between 0.5 and 1.0 fish/cubic metre. That is about three billion fish in one school. These schools move along coastlines and cross the open oceans. Herring schools have very precise arrangements which allow the school to maintain relatively constant cruising speeds. Herrings have excellent hearing, and their schools react very fast to a predator. The herrings keep a certain distance from a moving scuba diver or cruising predator like a killer whale, forming a space which looks like a doughnut from a spotter plane.

Many species of large predatory fish also school, including many highly migratory fish, such as tuna and some ocean going sharks. Cetaceans such as dolphins, porpoises and whales, operate in organised social groups called pods.

Schooling behaviour is generally described as a trade-off between the anti-predator benefits and the costs of increased competition for food.

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Frilled lizard is a type of reptile found in Australia and New Guinea. Its name comes from the large frill around its neck, which usually stays folded against its body. It opens the neck frill when it feels threatened, during courtship or to eliminate excess heat.

It spends the majority of its time in the trees. Its diet consists mainly of insects and small vertebrates.

When faced with danger, it raises its hind legs, unfold the frill, open its yellow mouth and start to hiss. If it doesn’t work , it runs to the safety of a tree without looking back.

The Frilled Lizard is a diurnal lizard meaning that they are active during the day and are resting in the night-time.

The lizard is arboreal and spends most of its time on trunks and limbs of standing trees. Due to its excellent camouflage, it is usually observed only when it descends to the ground after a rainfall or to search for food.

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