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Animal Facts that are surprising/amazing/weird

Rodafina said:

Do all houseflies hum in key?​


by Larra Morris
fly_header.jpg
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I actually have thought this while listening to the little buggers ^o^
 
tree said:
"Like us, dogs can identify sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Unlike us, they also have special taste buds aimed at tasting only water. So for dogs, water is probably not “tasteless,” as we usually describe it. These water receptors are located at the tip of the tongue—the part the dog dips in the water and curls under when drinking.

In people, the tip of the tongue is most sensitive to sweet tastes, which is why you like to roll candy around your tongue’s tip. In dogs, the rear of the tongue is most sensitive to sweets. That may be why they seem to gulp them down.

Dogs also have taste buds in the back of their throat, so they can actually taste that food they seem to inhale without chewing!"
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/accounting-taste-probing-mysteries-dogs-find-delicious/


View attachment 97060

https://www.dogspot.in/dog-blog/dog-senses-iv-tongue-an-account-into-dogs-taste-buds/
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The flavours we taste by our tongues are just the most basic information about sweet, sour, salty and one other. All the nuances of flavour are sensed in the nose, and a dog's is vastly superior to ours. They just have a different notion of what's palatable. I know that I enjoyed some things as a toddler that I wouldn't try now. Dogs' mouths contain far less bacteria than ours, which may help with tolerance.
 
georgiagalaxy said:
I actually have thought this while listening to the little buggers ^o^
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Mosquitoes take on a heavy load of blood if they can, so their pitch goes up several notes to generate the lift for a getaway. If I hear that, I get serious about the hunt, lest hundreds more eggs get laid.
 
At any given point in time Australia has more than 2 billion flies. They only live for 48 hours, so where do all the dead ones go?

Up old men's noses, you can see their legs hanging out. :)
 
Thanks for this thread! I love stuff like this.

Humans typically feel superior to other animals because we have language. However, language is abstract, using symbols and vocalizations that must be learned, and is only a representation of what is being communicated. It can never be perfect.

I have known for a while that dolphins and many others in the whale family can echolocate like sonar. Recently I have learned that echolocating is only a minuscule part of their sonar capabilities. From the book, "An Immense World" by Ed Yong, I have further learned that dolphins use their sonar to "see". Not only to locate or navigate but to "see" objects in far greater detail than human vision. For example, they can find metal balls buried two feet deep in sand. Not only can they find them, they can identify what they are made of. They can distinguish whether the balls are made of steel or brass.

They can "view" two cylinders manufactured exactly the same and consistently point out that one is smaller than the other. This was confusing to the researchers, because both cylinders were manufactured exactly the same. So, the researchers measured the two cylinders and found that indeed the one the dolphins insisted was smaller was smaller by less than a millimeter. I don't believe any human could determine that by their vision.

They can also "see" internal organs of other animals - including humans. They can determine the shape, mass and condition of internal organs more precisely than our technological ultrasound equipment.

We like to think we are superior because we have abstract language, but dolphins don't need that, they can communicate in "pictures". One dolphin can "say" the very "picture" they saw to another dolphin, directly. Nothing abstract to learn or interpret.

We also like to think we are superior because we have technology. I think this only means the human race, or at least the majority, are narcissistic. At least in communication, dolphins don't need any technology.

I also believe that our narcissism blinds us in witnessing the amazing abilities of other animals. Such as elephants ability to communicate over many miles of distance with infrasound. Mice actually sing like birds in ultrasound. Etc. Etc.

I believe it was Douglas Adams that pointed out that humans are actually the third most intelligent being on the earth. Dolphins are the second. ;)
 
Good post on the Dolphins. One time, a pod was hanging out with friends on a sailboat, and they all got very agitated. They could hear that someone's heart had stopped beating in their bunk.
I wonder what would happen if we made a robot hand that Dolphins could control with whistles.
One time, some researchers got interested in a pod of Sperm whales in the Indian ocean that were rarely seen. They just turned off their motor, got into wetsuits, and went overboard. After waiting about two hours, the whales came up to get acquainted. One guy got his arm numbed by their sonic ability, and they all knew to go easier afterwards.
 
Outdated said:
At any given point in time Australia has more than 2 billion flies. They only live for 48 hours, so where do all the dead ones go?

Up old men's noses, you can see their legs hanging out. :)
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True. You're probably not wrong there is tons of flies and spiders here XDD But we're all used to that :3 I'm not very afraid of spiders. Some of them (Daddy Longlegs) only have venom inside them, but they don't have the ability to actually poison anyone and they don't move much. I recently walked into a spider web that just had little ants on it (eugh)
 
Ken said:
Thanks for this thread! I love stuff like this.

Humans typically feel superior to other animals because we have language. However, language is abstract, using symbols and vocalizations that must be learned, and is only a representation of what is being communicated. It can never be perfect.

I have known for a while that dolphins and many others in the whale family can echolocate like sonar. Recently I have learned that echolocating is only a minuscule part of their sonar capabilities. From the book, "An Immense World" by Ed Yong, I have further learned that dolphins use their sonar to "see". Not only to locate or navigate but to "see" objects in far greater detail than human vision. For example, they can find metal balls buried two feet deep in sand. Not only can they find them, they can identify what they are made of. They can distinguish whether the balls are made of steel or brass.

They can "view" two cylinders manufactured exactly the same and consistently point out that one is smaller than the other. This was confusing to the researchers, because both cylinders were manufactured exactly the same. So, the researchers measured the two cylinders and found that indeed the one the dolphins insisted was smaller was smaller by less than a millimeter. I don't believe any human could determine that by their vision.

They can also "see" internal organs of other animals - including humans. They can determine the shape, mass and condition of internal organs more precisely than our technological ultrasound equipment.

We like to think we are superior because we have abstract language, but dolphins don't need that, they can communicate in "pictures". One dolphin can "say" the very "picture" they saw to another dolphin, directly. Nothing abstract to learn or interpret.

We also like to think we are superior because we have technology. I think this only means the human race, or at least the majority, are narcissistic. At least in communication, dolphins don't need any technology.

I also believe that our narcissism blinds us in witnessing the amazing abilities of other animals. Such as elephants ability to communicate over many miles of distance with infrasound. Mice actually sing like birds in ultrasound. Etc. Etc.

I believe it was Douglas Adams that pointed out that humans are actually the third most intelligent being on the earth. Dolphins are the second. ;)
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That's really amazing, you're probably right :3 I have yet to see a dolphin in person. I'm sure it's magical.
 
Princess Viola said:
Clownfish are protandrous sequential hermaphrodites, which means that all clownfish develop into males first and the largest and most dominant member in a group develops into a female.

If the female clownfish is removed from the group, then one of the largest and dominant males will become the new female and all the other males will move up a rank in the hierarchy, so to speak.
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So if I get what you're saying correctly, IRL Nemo's dad Marlin should have become his new mom Marlina?
 
tree said:
direct


'Research shows that crows and other corvids “know what they know and can ponder the content of their own minds,”... This is considered a cornerstone of self-awareness and shared by just a handful of animal species besides humans. '

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/...now-just-like-humans?utm_source=pocket-newtab
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Since such discoveries keep being made, and since it was unknown prior to discovery, I believe that there are far more self aware, highly conscious species that are yet to be "discovered". I believe that the "... and shared by just a handful of animal species besides humans." is a little narcissistic and short sighted.

We tend to measure other animals consciousness against our own; as if we are the golden standard of intelligence, and assume that they are only intelligent if they respond the same as we do. And yet, not all humans respond the same as other humans. (Example: many autistic humans respond differently than others (myself included), but that doesn't mean we are not self-aware or conscious.)

When I was young, all my best friends were non-human, but they were all people. I was no scientist, but it was very self-evident that they were all self-aware and fully conscious. We reacted differently, but they understood me and I them.
 
Judge said:
Spending a lot of time studying this one particular dog breed. mainly because my cousin recently acquired a Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog). A lot to understand about this breed. Just hope my cousin can handle her on a level that meets her expectations. Seems like a great dog who loves people, though I've never seen a dog with this level of energy. An understatement to say, "She's a handful!"

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My horse-loving sister has had heelers for years. I used to have one, too, named Abby. She went blind around age 8 years so for many years I was her 'seeing eye person'. We couldn't rearrange the furniture in the house because she'd get lost and run into things. We took her to a veterinarian eye expert who examined her and said that it is not uncommon for heelers to go blind. It's genetic. She was probably the smartest dog I've ever owned.
 
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A Flamingo's head has to be upside down when it eats

Flamingos are known for standing in shallow water on one leg, but most people are unaware that due to the way in which they have developed a Flamingo has to use the bristles at the top of its beak to filter out the mud and water that gets sucked in along with its actual food. It therefore has to eat with its head upside down as otherwise it would be unable to filter its food properly.

flamingo-600205_1920
 
I don't know how true this is but I've never seen evidence to prove it wrong:

Humans are the only animals that will eat raw onion.

[Edit] Proven false. Thank you tree.
 
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Buffalo travel and head against the direction of a storm facing it whereas cows go with the storm in the same direction.

Which is smarter? Although articles suggest or say the buffalo is as they may spend less time in the storm by doing that, I would argue the stress or extra pain of dealing with the storm elements head on at their faces and not being able to see as well is not worth any very short amount of time saved dealing with the storm by heading against those elements.

So, if given the choice, I would travel with the cows, in the same direction of the storm. Seems like the smarter choice for me. I hate very cold weather. But. I rather have a few extra minutes of it at my back, than a few less minutes at the front of my head, if I was going to be in that storm for a long period of time. So, although facing adversity can be good at times, in this situation no thanks.
 
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