My Science School

Boredom is not unique to humans. Animals get bored too. If you look at pets, even if they are healthy and cared for, they could still feel bored if left alone. Being confined in the same space can lead to a lack of stimulation and boredom. Pet owners can help their pets by giving them extra time, attention, more inventive toys or food puzzles.

One reason determining if animals get bored or not is difficult is the tendency of human observers to assign human emotions and expressions to their non-human test subjects. Some animals may display a glassy-eyed stare or apparent disinterest in their outside environment, but this does not necessarily translate to the human concept of boredom. Some animals spend hours at a time simply waiting for a promising food source to arrive. While these animals may appear to be listless or disinterested, it might be more accurate to describe their state of mind as dormant or semi-conscious.

Other animals, especially those with higher functioning brains, can indeed become bored following an extended lack of mental stimulation. When higher functioning animals get bored, they may invent stimulating games or visit unexplored sections of their habitats. This behavior is remarkably similar to the pointless but mind-stimulating projects humans often engage in when faced with hours of inactivity.

Some may argue that an animal's attention span can be extremely short in general, which means what humans might consider signs of boredom may simply be a temporary lack of mental stimulation. While some animals may display signs of boredom, they may not actually have the capacity to form such a complex emotion. It is possible that many animals live more in a more delineated "excited/not excited" state of mind, which would still allow for a sense of boredom, but not the same sense of frustration humans associated with true boredom. When many animals get bored, they simply live in a disconnected emotional state until something new arrives to break the monotony. Animals living in zoos, for example, may sit quietly for hours until visitors arrive.

Credit : All thing nature 

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Weighing a little over 100 gm, the pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world. Its body is covered in dense fur. It's so small that it can fit into our palm.

The pygmy marmoset, genus Cebuella, is a small genus of New World monkey native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. It is notable for being the smallest monkey and one of the smallest primates in the world, at just over 100 grams (3.5 oz). It is generally found in evergreen and river-edge forests and is a gum-feeding specialist, or a gummivore.

The pygmy marmoset is one of the world's smallest primates, being the smallest true monkey, with a head-body length ranging from 117 to 152 mm (4.6 to 6.0 in) and a tail of 172 to 229 mm (6.8 to 9.0 in). The average adult body weight is just over 100 grams (3.5 oz) with the only sexual dimorphism of females being a little heavier. The fur colour is a mixture of brownish-gold, grey, and black on its back and head and yellow, orange, and tawny on its underparts. Its tail has black rings and its face has flecks of white on its cheeks and a white vertical line between its eyes. It has many adaptations for arboreal living including the ability to rotate its head 180 degrees and sharp claw-like nails used to cling to branches and trees. Its dental morphology is adapted to feeding on gum, with specialised incisors that are used to gouge trees and stimulate sap flow. Its cecum is larger than usual to allow for the greater period of time gum takes to break down in the stomach.  The pygmy marmoset walks on all four limbs and can leap up to 5 m (16 ft) between branches.

About 83% of the pygmy marmoset population lives in stable troops of two to nine individuals, including a dominant male, a breeding female, and up to four successive litters of offspring. The modal size of a standard stable troop would be six individuals. Although most groups consist of family members, some may also include one or two additional adult members. Members of the group communicate using a complex system including vocal, chemical, and visual signals. Three main calling signals depend on the distance the call needs to travel. These monkeys may also make visual displays when threatened or to show dominance. Chemical signaling using secretions from glands on the chest and genital area allow the female to indicate to the male when she is able to reproduce. The female gives birth to twins twice a year and the parental care is shared between the group.

The pygmy marmoset has been viewed as somewhat different from typical marmosets, most of which are classified in the genera Callithrix and Mico, and thus is accorded its own genus, Cebuella, within the family Callitrichidae. The biggest threats are habitat loss and the pet trade.

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Among bird-like dinosaurs such as the Troodon, Oviraptor and the Citipati, it was the male which guarded the nest and brood. This came to light when scientists who studied the fossil remains of these dinos found the males with large clutches of eggs.

For the new research, paleontologist David Varricchio of Montana State University in Bozeman compared three species of birdlike dinosaurs--Oviraptor, Citipati, and Troodon--with birds and crocodiles. All three types of dinosaurs were found on nests, and those nests contain large clutches of eggs, as many as 30 each. Varricchio and his colleagues investigated whether they could discern the nesting behavior from the relationship of the clutch size and the animal's body size. Measurements in 433 living birds and crocodiles revealed that, for a given body size, species in which males took care of the nest tended to have the largest clutches. The next-largest clutches were cared for by mothers. Mom-dad partnerships had the smallest clutches. Extrapolated to dinosaurs, the data revealed a pattern of paternal care in the ancient beasts.

Another line of evidence in the paper comes from Gregory Erickson, a biologist at Florida State University in Tallahassee. His studies of dinosaur bone tissue showed that none of the seven specimens associated with nests showed signs of changes associated with egg laying, such as medullary tissue . That's not sure-fire proof the nest-caretakers were male, he notes, but it's consistent with the hypothesis. The findings are reported in tomorrow's issue of Science.

Richard Prum, an ornithologist at Yale University, says he never expected paternal care in dinosaurs. But with their dinosaur ancestors showing more and more traits once thought to be exclusive to birds, such as feathers, he says the finding makes sense. It also points to a question on the reproductive frontier: Did dinosaurs practice polygamy?

Picture Credit : Google 

Animals have been a very important factor in the progress of mankind. You know that, right? How did man make boats? How did he catch fish? How did he build homes in difficult places? How did he fly? All of that came from keen observation of animals. Birds have taught pilots to fly in formation. It is not just what animals can do physically, there is a lot to leam from their emotional behaviour, says Dr. Vint Virga, a vet.

"Late one November evening a dog [brought to my clinic] in an unconscious haze forever changed the course of my life as a vet." he said. "Pongo, a two-year-old retriever struck by a [speeding] pick-up lay before me on a blanket." He was badly hurt. There was nothing modern medicines and the vets training could do for him. The doctor did all he could and then put his arm around him and sat down, frustrated and exhausted. "Yet, from this simple act of caring, in less than an hour, I watched him recover in body and spirit." Moved by the animal's will to live and his response to care, Dr. Virga researched into animal behaviour and wrote the book The Soul of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human.

Dr. Virga has listed 10 lessons we can all leam from animals

1. Savour the moment

Animals live focussed on the moment. Their thoughts do not wander about the past and future. By noticing more of each moment, we can fully appreciate what is happening right now in our lives.

2. Pay attention to your instincts

Animals are alerted by their senses. They respond to cues about the world around them by trusting their instincts and acting on them. As we attend to our senses and acknowledge our instincts, we open ourselves to new choices and opportunities.

3. Keep focussed on what's most important

On those days when it seems everything has gone wrong, when we feel down and out, our animal companions greet us with unfailing love and affection. They do not judge us on our success and failure. Even when we speak harshly to them or ignore them completely, they wait for the right moment to come to us. And in their patient devotion, they serve as reminders of how vital it is to connect with others and share our thoughts.

4. Don't get bogged down in words

Don't you feel comforted when your dog trustingly puts its muzzle on your lap? As we communicate with family and friends, most often we think of relying on words. The tone of our voice, our facial expressions, our posture, our movements, can all communicate our thoughts, emotions, and intentions. They're often more reliable than the words we choose. How about a hug?

5. Take time to rest

In the hurried pace of our daily routines, it's easy to fill our days with a steady stream of activities. Take a hint from our dogs and cats, the panda in the zoo, a hawk perched on a tree. We need those quiet moments to rest for a bit and give ourselves time to relax and reflect.

6. Remember to play

When we feel pressured by work or at home, a well-deserved break-even for just a few moments from the task at hand can lighten our load. From Labradors to Bengal tigers and timberwolves to leopards, creatures around us routinely play to invent, discover, and bring joy to their day.

7. Don't take yourself so seriously

Whether chasing their tails or pouncing on strings, our cats are fully absorbed in their game. They do not worry about how they may appear to others. When our dogs chase a ball, sniff at lampposts, or gnaw a bone, they relish their pastimes without concern for how they may look to passers-by. Ignore the judgments of others, and enjoy those playtimes.

8. Let go of attachment to being right or wrong

Evolution favours those creatures that focus on what matters most: finding food, remaining healthy, resting, caring for the young. When we keep thinking of our sense of pride and self-importance, we risk losing the outcomes and results we want most. Letting go of our attachment to personal pride frees us to align ourselves with what we value most.

9. Love unconditionally

In the silent presence of the creatures around us-all alone on the sofa with our dog by our side or cat resting cosily curled in our lap-we sense their regard for our thoughts and feelings, and we feel comforted. We too can do this for others.

10. Forget and forgive

Animals do suffer grief, misfortune, and misery. But unlike humans, animals have an incredible ability to forgive. Despite extreme trauma they may have experienced in the past, they manage to remain optimistic and not hold on to grudges. There are any number of stories of animals becoming ambassadors of hope and forgiveness even after being subjected to unspeakable cruelty. Continuity of life is more important to them than reliving the past.

Picture Credit : Google 

Kitti's hog-nosed bat or bumblebee bat is the world's smallest mammal and the world's smallest bat. Weighing just 1.7-2.0 gms, with a head-to-body length of 1.14-1.29 inches and a wingspan of 5.1-5.7 inches, the bat is found only in a select few limestone caves on Khwae Noi River in Kanchanaburi Province of southwest Thailand.

The population of the bats is very small and the slow reproduction of the species can form a problem in the future. Females of the Bumblebee bats are giving birth just once a year during the summer in April. For a long time their recently born youngster will stay attached to the belly of its mom. It takes quite some time before the wings of the super tiny bat are well-enough developed to fly. The slow reproduction of the spices can become a threat for the future as places were (and still are) disturbed by scientists, tourists, monks and new developments like the deforestation and a new pipeline being built from Thailand to Myanmar. However it is hard to tell to which extend these developments will affect the population of the species. Many caves – inhabited by the Bumblebee bat – are hard to access; therefore it is difficult to estimate their total population.

Not like other bat species, these bats are only seen in very small groups of sometimes just 10 bats. Larger groups are consisting of 100 to max. 500 Bumblebee bats. The bats are to be found in limestone caves mostly located close to the river, as it provides the tiny bats with many insects. They are also living in the forests but it is very difficult to spot them there. So-far the tiny bat is spotted in Kanchanaburi, the West of Thailand and since 2001 the bat is also discovered in a Southeast region of Myanmar. In Thailand’s Bumblebee bats are living in the caves along the river Kwai and in the Sai Yok National Park. If you want to see this little guy you may be lucky at the Lawa Cave near the river Kwai. Close by accommodations are the River Kwai Resotel (a stylish bungalow resort) or the Float House (luxurious floating on the river Kwai).

Credit : River Kwai Resotel 

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The inland taipan is the world’s most venomous snake, but this Australian taipan is so shy that hardly anything was known about it by Western science for nearly a hundred years after it was first described in 1879.

The inland taipan’s alternative name, ‘fierce snake’, points to the potency of its venom rather than its behaviour. The other Australian taipan that it shares a common ancestor with, namely the coastal taipan, is far more aggressive.

The inland taipan lives in the remote black soil plains of the outback where the borders of South Australia and Queensland meet.

The inland taipan is most active in the early hours of the day, when it surfaces to hunt for prey and to bask in the morning sun. After a few hours it retreats back into its shelter for the remainder of the day, although in cool weather it may show up above ground in the afternoon too.

The inland taipan has adapted to the extremes of the outback climate by dramatic seasonal changes in its coloration. The color of its back varies from a dark brown to almost black in winter. During the summer months it changes to a pale straw color.

These color changes allow the inland taipan to control its temperature, with the darker markings efficient at absorbing heat and the lighter ones good at reflecting it. The head of the inland taipan is much darker compared to the rest of the body, which makes it possible for the snake to warm up quickly by exposing only its head to the sun.

The inland taipan is one of the few Australian snakes to specialize in eating mammals. It will mainly prey on small to medium-sized rodents, especially the native long-haired rat (Rattus villosisimus), though it will also eat the plains rat (Pseudomys australis) and the introduced house mouse (Mus musculus). The venom of the inland taipan is considered to be the most lethal of any snake, surpassing even the venom of sea snakes. It has evolved over time to be especially effective in killing mammals, which also makes it extremely toxic to humans.

The venom from a single bite is said to be enough to kill at least 100 men. On top of its extreme neurotoxicity, the venom also contains an enzyme called a ‘spreading factor’ that speeds up the absorption. An untreated bite has the potential to kill a person in 30 to 45 minutes, which makes immediate medical attention critical. If provoked, the inland taipan curves its forebody into a raised S-shape in an attempt to fend off the offender. This threat display also prepares the snake for striking.

Credit : Active wild 

Picture Credit : Google 

Have you heard of Nature's eating machines? They are nothing but caterpillars. What are they and why do they eat so much? Come, let's find out

You may have heard your mother give a small shriek when she is shelling peas and flinging away the offending pod. The culprit is a tiny green worm-like creature with miniature bristles - a caterpillar - the larva of a butterfly or moth!

Caterpillars are the animal kingdom's most voracious eaters. They range in size from 1 mm to 75 mm. They grow phenomenally, moulting or shedding their skin several times before they spin a cocoon around themselves in the last stage. The tobacco hornworm, for instance, will increase its weight by ten thousand times in less than 20 days!

Hairy horrors

The name derives from the Latin term for hairy cat. That's because most caterpillars are covered with spiky bristles, fine hairs or spines that are usually connected to venom glands. The secretion from the glands situated at the base of the spines can cause intense irritation and burning. The hairs can also detach and lodge in the skin.

A species of American moth caterpillar carries a sting which can cause temporary paralysis. The Brazilian flannel moth caterpillars sting is so painful, it has been christened 'bizos de fuero' or 'the fire-beast!

The caterpillar of the lasiocampid moth has spiny hairs hidden beneath the folds of skin on its back. When threatened by danger, it arches its back porcupine-like and attacks the predator with its sharp quill-like hairs.

More defences

Besides hair and venom, caterpillars have evolved a variety of tactics to deter predators.

Plants have toxins to defend themselves against herbivores. Some caterpillars have managed to get around this. The caterpillars of the monarch butterfly feed only on the poisonous leaves of the milkweed plant. Not only do they remain unaffected, they are able to store the poison in their bodies unchanged! Even as pretty orange-and-black butterflies, they make a nasty mouthful and predators avoid eating them. Some caterpillars vomit acidic digestive juices on their attackers and some produce bad smells from glands which they can extrude.

A few caterpillars wiggle long, whip-like organs attached to the ends of their bodies to frighten away flies or spin a line of silk and drop off from branches when disturbed. Many species thrash about violently when disturbed to scare away predators. One species called amorpha juglandis lets out a high-pitched whistle that scares away birds.

Clever camouflage

To escape detection, caterpillars can take on the appearance of bird droppings, leaves or twigs. Some lunch in peace within a woven silk gallery, or roll up inside leaves, or mine into the leaf surface.

Do or Diet  

A majority of caterpillars feed solely on plants, but there are others that feed on decaying animal matter such as wool and the hooves and horns of dead ungulates. Predatory caterpillars eat the eggs of other insects, aphids, scale insects, or ant larvae or even caterpillars of other species. A few are parasitic on cicadas and leaf hoppers. Hawaiian caterpillars use silk traps to capture snails.

Farmers' Pe(s)ts

Caterpillars are extremely destructive and can chomp their way through fruits, vegetables and other food crops, mainly feasting on the leaves. However, there are some species of moth caterpillars that are cultivated by man for their ability to spin lustrous silk.

Picture Credit : Google 

The mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a large Old World monkey native to west-central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males have a larger body, longer canine teeth and brighter coloring. Its closest living relative is the drill with which it shares the genus name Mandrillus. Both species were traditionally thought to be baboons, but further evidence has shown that they are more closely related to white-eyelid mangabeys.

Mandrills mainly live in tropical rainforests but will also travel across savannas. They are active during the day and spend most of their time on the ground. Their preferred foods are fruit and seeds, but mandrills will consume leaves, piths, mushrooms, and animals from insects to juvenile antelope. Mandrills live in large, stable groups known as "hordes" which can number in the hundreds. Females form the core of these groups, while adult males are solitary and only reunite with the larger groups during the breeding season. Dominant males have more vibrant colors and fatter flanks and rumps, and have more success siring young.

The mandrill lives in west-central Africa, including southern Cameroon, mainland Equatorial Guinea (Río Muni), Gabon and parts of the Republic of the Congo. Its range is bounded by the Sanaga River to the north and the Ogooué and Ivindo Rivers to the east. It does not appear to share habitat with the drill, as the two species are separated by the Sanaga River. Mandrills live in tropical rainforests, generally preferring primary forests over secondary forests. They may live in gallery forests surrounded by savanna and travel across grass areas within their forest habitats. They have also been recorded in mountainous areas, near rivers and in cultivated fields.

The mandrill is an omnivore. The core of its diet consists of plants, of which it eats over a hundred species. One study found the mandrill's diet was composed of fruit (50.7%), seeds (26.0%), leaves (8.2%), pith (6.8%), flowers (2.7%), and animal matter (4.1%), with other foods making up the remaining 1.4%. During the wet season, mandrills forage in continuous forest, when fruit is most available, while during the dry season they feed in gallery forests and between savannas and forests.

Mandrills are mostly diurnal and are awake around 10 hours per day from morning to dusk. They often pick a new tree to sleep in every night. Mandrills have been observed using tools; in captivity, they used sticks to clean themselves. In the wild, mandrills appear to live 12–14 years, but captive individuals can live 30–40 years.

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Ungainly as it is, the hippopotamus is the world's deadliest large land mammal. Hippos are aggressive creatures, and they have very sharp teeth. And you would not want to get stuck under one; at up to 2,750kg they can crush a human to death.

Hippos do attack humans. When it comes to these large river horses , there are about 500 deaths per year in Africa. The number is shockingly large and outpaces nearly any other animal on earth. In fact, hippos are known as some of the deadliest land animals in the world, with the mosquito being the overall winner for a long time now (currently, it’s 725,000 per year).

Generally, it’s best to avoid hippos totally. If a hippo does happen to attack, the odds of living through it depend on whether you can get away or not. Sadly, if a hippo is able to grab you, the odds of escaping alive are slim.

Hippos really only attack people that have entered into what they consider their territory. On land, hippos aren’t generally territorial, but getting close is still a bad idea. Despite their stocky legs, an angry hippo can easily outpace a human, averaging 20 mph in short bursts, whereas a human can typically only run 6-8 mph.

When you enter a hippo’s territory in the water, however, things can turn nasty fast. They typically keep to sections of rivers that are around 55-110 yards of shore (that number triples when it comes to lakeshore). They will relax and patrol their territory, readily displacing trespassers.

The most common hippo attacks come from the water with humans on boats. Since hippos are submerged, it can be incredibly hard to see them from the surface. If a human floats by while fishing, it’s easy to miss the massive animal at rest. Suddenly, the hippo will launch itself at the boat, usually capsizing it. Once a human is in the water, there is little they can do to stop the attack.

Besides humans, hippos are known to attack lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. Lions and hyenas generally avoid hippos with how easy it would be for a full-grown adult to kill a pack of either of them. Still, there are occasional instances where desperate lions and hyenas will find an isolated hippo and try to kill it. It doesn’t usually result in much, but a hippo usually doesn’t have a problem defending itself.

The most common interaction that hippos have is with the crocodile. Since they share territory, conflict is more common. Generally, there isn’t much friction between the two species. Still, there are occasional instances of violence. If a female hippo has a calf, any encroaching crocodiles are likely to be chased away. If they don’t learn their lesson, it isn’t uncommon for a hippo to outright kill an annoying croc.

Credit : A-Z Animals

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Rats may dream of where they plan to go tomorrow, suggests new research from University College London. The rats were shown a food treat that they could see but not get to, and then were encouraged to sleep in a cosy nest while their brain activity was monitored. The neurons representing the route to the food in their brains fired as they sleep, suggesting that they were dreaming about running down the path to the treat.

"It's like looking at a holiday brochure for Greece the day before you go – that night you might dream about the pictures," says Hugo Spiers of University College London.

Does a bigger brain automatically equal greater intelligence? In guppies, females with larger brains appear to be better survivors and have greater cognitive abilities than counterparts with smaller brains. Researchers from UCL, Stockholm University and Helsinki University have identified one single gene that directly influenced brain size, much to their surprise.

Judith Mank from UCL Biosciences, said, “We were surprised to see that only a single gene was up-regulated in the large-brained guppies. Given the complexity of the brain, we expected that the genetics would be very intricate, but this suggests that changes in brain size are underpinned by relatively simple genetic mechanisms.”

Blood pressure drugs that also create plasticity in the brain could be used to treat addiction, according to new studies in rats.

Researchers from the University of Texas found that isradipine, a drug which is currently on the market for the treatment of high blood pressure, erased all memory of addiction-triggering cues in rats previously addicted to cocaine and alcohol.

Male and female mice process pain differently which could have implications for how chronic pain is treated in humans. The study looked at immune cells called microglia which help kick the feeling of pain into gear and regulate how severe the pain is, depending on the type of injury. It showed that microglia play a more important role in the processing of pain for male mice than for female mice. Some drugs that aim at relieving pain, target the microglia, but the study shows that this relief is only visible in male mice. This study suggests that a crucial biological process is being governed in an entirely different way in males and females and more often than not, medications and treatments are being tested on male mice, not female mice. 

Credit : Google 

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