Do chimpanzees have language?

The chimpanzee, the smartest of all primates apart from man, is smarter than scientists had thought. Trained chimpanzees have shown that they can be taught to use a form of mute language to "talk" to their instructors.

First, chimpanzees learn symbols by a series of simple words.

These symbols are figures marked on tokens. For example, chimpanzees learn that if they give their trainer a token marked with a circle, they will receive a banana in return.

Other figures represent other words. Within a short time, chimpanzees were building their own "phrases," placing a group of tokens in a certain order. But what did the chimpanzees say? Most were simple things, like, "I want a banana now.

These chimpanzees even learned to operate a vending machine. They were taught that certain tokens, when placed in the slot of the machine, would give them a piece of fruit. The chimpanzees soon began to accumulate their tokens, and they even fought each other for the "coins"!


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Do jackals only eat dead things?

The jackal is a member of the canine family living in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. Because he can eat meat that is rotting, the jackal is known as a scavenger.

But the jackal prefers to eat animals he has killed himself, so he usually hunts small mammals and birds. Sometimes a group of jackals can kill a sheep or an antelope.

However, there are times when fresh meat is scarce, so the jackal feeds on dead things or in the garbage. Jackals sometimes follow lions and tigers, and take care of the last remains of a creature killed by big cats.

Anubis was an Egyptian god with the head of a jackal.

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Do tigers and lions meet in nature?

Because there are still many people who think that both lions and tigers live in Africa, they wonder which of these two big cats would win if they came to face each other.

But there is not a single wild tiger in Africa. Tigers are native to Asia, with one species living in the warm regions of India, and another species inhabiting the colder regions of northern China and Siberia. Therefore, there is no way for a lion and a tiger to fight in Africa.

The lion, however, does not live only in Africa. Some can also be found in Asia, especially in the country of Iraq and some parts of India. Therefore, if a lion and a tiger were to be found in nature - which is unlikely - it would be in Asia, not Africa.

And if they faced off, the tiger would probably win. The male tiger is larger than the lion, sometimes growing to a length of 3 meters from the nose to the tip of its tail. Large tigers are also more powerful than large lions.

The disadvantage of the tiger is that, unlike the lion, it is a solitary animal. The lions attack in groups, which would give them an advantage if both felines lived in the same area.

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Is it still possible to eat mammoth meat today?

As early as the 19th century, scientists knew that an elephant-like creature called a mammoth once roamed the forests of Siberia and other parts of the world.

Ancient cave paintings depicting this creature had been found, and some tusks of this animal had been dug up from the ground. But it was not until 1900 that scientists had the opportunity to see this extinct creature as it was thousands of years ago.

An old man who had found the fangs of a mammoth in Siberia led the scientists to the site. There they found the whole body of a mammoth frozen in the permafrost, just where it had died about 15,000 years ago!

The mammoth was about 3 meters long and 4 meters high up to the shoulders. In fact, it was about the size of a modern African elephant. But it was a much hairier beast, and it had a hump on the back of its neck, apart from long spiral fangs. Scientists believe that the mammoth was the largest mammal of its time. But they are not sure when and why this creature died.

The body of the mammoth found in Siberia had been perfectly preserved for tens of centuries, as it had fallen into a swamp, where it sank to the bottom of the frozen earth and died. The mud hardened, locking the mammoth in "deep freezing" for 15,000 years.

When the mammoth was found, it still had food in its teeth and stomach! And when the mammoth flesh thawed, it was fresh enough to be eaten by dogs!

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When did the last dodo die?

In what year were the dodos of Mauritius extinguished?

The nation of Mauritius consists of a large island and a few smaller islands in the Indian Ocean, 800 km east of Madagascar.

The total area of the country is only 2,040 square kilometers, but its population is about 1,200,000, larger than the population of 50 other nations. Mauritius is the eighteenth most densely populated nation in the world, with approximately 616 people per square kilometre.

Many Mauritians are descendants of Indian settlers, and more than half are Hindus. Mauritius was uninhabited when it was first visited by Europeans. Dutch settlers landed there in the 17th century, but later left the island.

Then the French took control of the island in the 18th century. The name was changed to Ile-de-France. In 1814, Mauritius came under British control and remained in British hands until it gained independence in 1968.

Mauritius is a volcanic island surrounded by coral reefs. Sugar cane plantations occupy 90 percent of the island's agricultural land. Centuries ago, Mauritius and the nearby island of Reunion were home to the dodo, a large nonflying bird that the Dutch called the "nauseating bird" because no cooking method made it palatable to eat.

Although they had trouble cooking the dodos, they had no problem killing them. The last Dodo bird died in Mauritius in 1681.

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Do animals eat while they hibernate?

Bat hibernating

Many forest mammals eat plants during the warm months. When winter comes, these plants die or are covered with snow, and then the animals have nothing to eat. But nature has given them a way to survive the harsh winter. It is called hibernation, from the Latin word meaning "winter".

The animals that hibernate eat much more than they need during the summer, and this excess food is stored as fat. Then, when the cold comes, the animals look for a hole or den to sleep in.

Their heartbeat and breathing slow down, and their body temperature drops. In this state, the animals need very little food. They can get the food they need from the fat stored in their body, and they don't need to eat a single thing during the winter.

The gopher, marmot, squirrel, some bats, and many rodents hibernate during the winter. However, other animals, such as bears, retreat to their burrows when the cold comes, but they don't really hibernate. These animals sleep much more than usual in winter, but they wake up easily if they are disturbed or just to check from time to time if spring has arrived.

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Which animals are in danger of extinction?

Preserving some animals from extinction has lately been one of the most important concerns worldwide. With more and more animals falling into the endangered category, awareness is growing worldwide to save these species.

An endangered species refers to a population of animals that is gradually heading for extinction due to changing environmental conditions or human predation.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has included up to 40 percent of animal species in the endangered category. While many nations have resorted to laws that guarantee the protection of these endangered species from extinction, such as prohibiting hunting, restricting land development or even creating reserves, the danger of some animals disappearing grows day by day. Read on to find a list of the animals that are in the greatest danger of disappearing.


List of some animal species:

• Addax
• African wild donkey
• African wild dog
• American Bison (Buffalo)
• Leopard Amur
• Argali
• Asian Elephant
• Asian Lion
• Aye Aye -
• Bengal Tiger
• Rhinoceros
• Black Rhinoceros
• Spider Monkey
• Blue Whale
• Brown Bear
• Cheetah
• Chimpanzees
• Puma
• Lady Gazelle
• Dolphins
• Eurasian lynx
• Giant Otter
• Giant Panda
• Grey wolf
• Great Apes
• Iberian lynx
• Jaguar
• Jaguarundi
• Kagu
• Margay
• Mountain Gorilla
• Ocelote
• Penguins
• Polar Bear
• Berrendo
• Red Wolf
• Saola
• Spectacled bear
• Vaquita (Gulf of California dolphin species)
• Whales

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When did carrier pigeons begin to be used?

The Chinese started using carrier pigeons to deliver mail from 1000 BC. But the first large-scale use of pigeons to deliver mail in modern times occurred in Paris during the 1870s.

When France and Prussia were at war, and the Prussians had surrounded the city of Paris. For many months the Parisians could do nothing, including delivering mail, or entering or leaving the city.

But the French found an ingenious way to make the postal system work. Mail was sent to compatriots outside Paris by hot air balloons, as well as by hundreds of carrier pigeons.

The letters that were sent to Paris were first converted into photographs, therefore it was the films or negatives inside small jars, approximately 30,000 of them, that were sent.

These jars were tied to the pigeons, and the pigeons went to Paris. Thirty-five pigeons carried the same letters, so that if any were injured by the enemy, at least one would reach Paris.

In Paris, the film was projected on a screen, and the letters were copied by hand to be delivered to the homes of the city.

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What's the fastest seabird underwater?

Most birds are made for the air, others even for the land, but penguins are better equipped for life in the water.

These nonflying birds use their wings as oars when they are swimming, allowing them, so to speak, to "fly" in the water. The word "fly" is not too much, as some penguins travel underwater at speeds of 60 km/hour (although their normal speed is 8-10 km/hour), making these seabirds the fastest on the planet.

The penguins' main diet includes fish and shellfish. They care for their young in large colonies in Antarctica and nearby islands. Sometimes penguins raise their children in "families," with some adults caring for the young of other penguins rather than just their own offspring.

There are more than a dozen species of penguins living in the southern seas and Antarctic region. These animals vary in size from the small blue penguin, only 15 inches (40 cm), to the emperor penguin, who stands over 4 feet (1.20 cm) tall and weighs 36 kilograms.

The largest penguins (emperors) are capable of diving to depths of 850 feet (260 meters), and resist without breathing underwater for 15 minutes.

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Which bird has the longest migration?

Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) should also be called Antarctic tern.

This seabird, a relative of the seagull, spends about three months of each year in the Antarctic region and about three months in the Arctic. The rest of the year the tern uses it to migrate from one end of the planet to the other.

After spending the summer in the Arctic, the Arctic tern leaves in the autumn and heads south. Flying day after day, stopping to eat and resting from time to time, the bird makes a three-month journey to the Antarctic region.

The arctic tern spends the winter (actually summer in the Southern Hemisphere), whether in Antarctica, on nearby islands or even in Australia. At the end of summer in the south, the tern again begins its three-month journey, now heading north where summer will soon begin in the Arctic. The tern is the only animal that enjoys two summers a year!

The Arctic tern travels a distance almost equal to the Earth's total circumference each year.

A typical Arctic tern will travel a distance equivalent to going to and from the Moon (about 800,000 km) throughout its life.

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How do flowers attract insects?

 Some plants know how to attract nectar-seeking insects. For this they use chemical compounds that excite their sensitive vision to ultraviolet radiation.

In addition, the same substances repel other insects that try to feed on them, such as caterpillars. Even before the flower bud opens, it is covered with these substances called DIP, which have been discovered by a team of entomologists at Cornell University in the United States. The pigments dye the flower with a color invisible to the human eye, but perceptible to the ultraviolet vision of some pollinating insects, such as bees.

Researchers have found these pigments in Hypericum calycinum, a Southeastern European plant with uniform yellow flowers. For insects with ultraviolet-sensitive eyes, however, what stands out is a darker central point, towards which they will head without hesitation.

Now, experts are studying whether the visual patterns displayed could also help insects recognize one flower among many others.

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Did you know that sheep are excellent physiognomists?

Sheep, unfairly branded as not very intelligent, have in the researchers of the Babraham Institute of the University of Cambridge the fierce defenders of a quality ignored until now: their physiognomistic insight.

According to Nature, these animals can distinguish known congeners from 50 other sheep. It seems that the temporal and frontal lobe cells of these sheep are activated when they see the face of a sheep that is familiar to them, just as one person recognizes another.

For Keith Kendrick, director of the project, "this indicates that the sheep may miss fellow flock members who are no longer with them.

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What is the maximum longevity of living beings?

Human beings can live a little more than 100 years, in fact, overcoming the century is already an achievement, as was the case of the French woman Jeanne Calmet, who reached a whopping 122 years. However, we are by no means the most long-lived beings on Earth. The oldest organism on the planet is a 250-million-year-old bacterium that survived "buried" in a salt crystal.

Plants are much longer-lived than animals. In the list of venerable earthly elders is the Greenland shark which have the longest known lifespan of all vertebrate species (estimated to be between 300–500 years), compared to the 5,000 reached by the Pinus longaeva. Other vegetables that win a prize for longevity are the Californian sequoia, with 4,000 years, and the olive tree, with 1,500.

But there are more facts on this list: the queen termite, a tiny animal, has turned 50, five years younger than the giant salamander from Japan.


LONG-LIVED VEGETABLES

• California Pinus longaeva - 5,000 years
• Baobab of Africa -4.000
• California Giant Sequoia - 4,000
• Sicilian Chestnut - 3,000 years old
• Larice of Lombardy - 2,200 years
• Welwitschia mirabilis of Namibia - 2,000 years
• Spanish Yew - 1,600 years old
• Olive tree of Spain - 1.500 years
• Ginkgo biloba from Tibet - 1,000 years
• Drago of Spain - 900 years

LONG-LIVED ANIMALS

• Greenland shark - 500 years old
• Greenland whale - 210 years old
• Homo sapiens - 122 years old
• Hermann's turtle - 120 years old
• Asian Elephant - 110 years old
• Sperm whale - 105 years old
• Tuátara - 100 years old
• Nile Crocodile - 80 years old
• Giant Tridacna - 60 years old
• Japan Giant Salamander - 55 years old
• Queen Termite - 50 years old

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When was coelacanth discovered?

The mysterious Coelacanth.

According to the fossil record, coelacanth appeared 400 million years ago and was long considered extinct until rediscovery in 1938.

Coelacanth are marine animals that live in deep waters between 150 and 250 m. From their physiognomy, their lobed fins and symmetrical tail stand out. Of its internal anatomy, its oil-filled swimming bladder stands out, allowing it to withstand pressure at great depths.

The coelacanth has great evolutionary importance, because with the lunged fish, they are the closest living relatives of the terrestrial vertebrates.

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How do snakes produce their venom?

How Snakes Develop Venom Inside Their Body

An analysis of twenty-four different toxins indicates that when the snakes developed the poison, they used proteins from all over their body. Surprisingly, they transform harmless proteins into lethal venom.

This enigma attracted the attention of Bryan Fry, of the Australian Poison Research Unit at the University of Melbourne in Parkville, Victoria, who did a genetic analysis of 24 types of snake toxins.

As part of the research, Fry compared the amino acid sequences of toxins with those of proteins in the brain, heart, liver, and other organs. Thus, he determined that 21 of the 24 poison proteins appeared to be linked to proteins from those parts of the body.

That underscores the tremendous diversity of toxins in snake venom," explains Wolgang Wuster of the University of Wales in Bangor, "and demonstrates that they come from the full range of organs in the animal.

Fry believes that a thorough examination of the molecular composition of toxins could help drug manufacturers work in reverse to understand how normal proteins work.

For now, he continues his research to understand how the snake venom glands started using proteins.

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Why do horses sleep standing up?

Horses do not lie down to sleep at night

It is an inherent quality in very active animals such as horses to stay alert in every situation, even during a nap. In most cases they do not lie down, like other animals, when they are sleeping. But the question is: why do sleeping horses stand during the night?

Horses are prey to some animals. When a herd of horses is attacked by a predator, precious time would be lost just by stopping. As a result, the horses sleep standing up, thus fleeing quickly when they are attacked.

The habit of horses to stand while sleeping is also seen in animals found in domestic herds. It is an instinct in them to sleep without lying down.

Horses cannot get up quickly if they are lying down. In order to be vigilant for possible attacks by their enemies, they remain in the standing position, even asleep.

Horses sometimes take naps lying down for short periods during the day, in order to rest their legs. They are also found stretching their bodies in these brief periods under the sun. However, when they sleep at night, they will always be found on their legs.

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Why do bears hibernate?

Hibernation a survival method for bears

It is well known that the winter season introduces many changes in the way animals live and survive, such as the migration of whales, seals, turtles, eels, crabs, fish, butterflies, etc. Hibernation is a widely used term when referring to animals during the winter. Basically, animals hibernate in order to escape the harshness of time and lack of food in these months. They use it as a means to preserve the energy and heat of their body, which is naturally assisted by their own body system.

True hibernation is a state of inactivity or deep sleep, to which some animals enter during the winter season. The animal's body goes through a number of changes, such as body temperature decreasing more than normal and heart palpitations and breathing slowing down dramatically. Contrary to popular belief, bears do not experience true hebernation, but enter a state of winter lethargy, in which their body temperature remains normal.

The bears enter this winter dormancy gradually, a process which follows if they are not disturbed; even in their sleep it is very easy to awaken them. This contrasts with the animals that really hibernate, which are very difficult to awaken and that fall asleep quickly. Before entering their winter shelter, bears must gain considerable weight. Accumulated fat is the only source that energizes their metabolic activity, providing the fluids they need.

The primary purpose of hibernation is, colloquially speaking, to skip the winter season, during which food is scarce. Thus, in order to conserve energy, bears do not eat, defecate, or urinate during their winter dormancy. However, when bears come out of their lethargy, they are much thinner than when they entered. Bears lose about 22% of their muscle strength during the 3 to 4 months without food they spend in hibernation.


SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HIBERNATION IN ANIMALS

The flow of oxygen to the gray matter of hibernating animals can decrease up to 2 percent from normal.

Metabolic activity and heart rate also plummet. The heart rate of a ground squirrel can drop from 300 beats per minute to three or four tics in the same amount of time during hibernation.

Not only winter hibernation: In tropical Madagascar, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur crawls through tree holes and sleeps for an average of seven months to cope with food and water shortages during the dry season.

Hibernation in warm weather, or estivation, is also used by lizards, snails and turtles.

Even fish can hibernate. Notothenia coriiceps, informally known as Antarctic cod, reduce their metabolism by two-thirds and hide under the seabed during the dark Antarctic winters.

A state of suppressed physiological activity is known as lethargy, and a handful of mice, bats and birds use it daily. The blonde-throated hummingbird can reduce its metabolism ten times during the night.

Hibernation is basically an extended form of lethargy, but lethargy alone does not qualify as hibernation.

Animals in a state of lethargy can lower their body temperature to surprising extremes. The Arctic squirrel cools to 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mammals that enter true hibernation have to find ways to warm up every few days or weeks.

A pregnant black bear can give birth without leaving hibernation. It doesn't even need to get up to take care of its young, but rather breast-feeds its cubs for months taking advantage of their stored fat reserves.

Tripping over a bear hibernating in the forest is more likely than you think. Some winter openly in 1.5-foot wide nests made of branches and foliage.

When spring arrives, or droughts end, most hibernators emerge from their dens or nests without significant muscle atrophy or loss of bone density.

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What is a wombat?

   Wombats live in Australia. They are small, furry, brown animals with round bodies, short stubby legs, and no tails. They have sharp claws that they use to dig long tunnels where they spend most of their time alone. The female bears one young wombat at a time and carries it in her pouch. Wombats are marsupials, mammals with pouches.

   Wombats are shy and gentle and make friendly pets; but when frightened or angry, they will bite with their large teeth. They are nocturnal animals, sleeping through the day and searching for food at night.

   Wombats are vegetarians. They eat grasses, roots and young tree bark. Their teeth are strong and keep growing all the time. Fossils of larger wombats have been found in Pleistocene deposits in Australia.

What is a wolverine?

   The wolverine is a fierce animal the size of a small dog. It lives in northern Asia, in Europe, and in North America north of the United States. It is a flesh eater of the WEASEL family. In England and Europe it is named glutton.
   The wolverine is heavily built, and has a pointed face, small ears, and very sharp claws. Discounting wild stories of its cunning and malicious destructiveness, this animal is nevertheless clever and can be extremely destructive, especially if trapped or annoyed. Though not native there, the wolverine is Michigan's state animal.

What are Porcupines?

   Often called quill pigs, porcupines are rodents, animals that gnaw. Unlike other rodents, porcupines have coarse hair mixed with long, stiff quills. The sharp tips of the quills are pointed backward like the end of a fishhook. These slow-moving animals have short legs, broad tails, and thick-set bodies. Although found in many kinds of forests, they prefer evergreen forests.
   The barbed quills, which are controlled by muscles in the skin, are loosely at­tached to the porcupine and easily catch on anything which touches them. Porcupines cannot throw their quills as is commonly believed. The porcupine often slaps at its enemy with its powerful tail, causing many of the long quills to become imbedded in the enemy's skin. Once imbedded, they are very difficult and painful to remove because of their barbs. Some enemies of the porcupine, such as the fox, lynx, coyote, and mountain lion, attempt to turn the porcupine over on its back; however, this is difficult to do because the porcupine is able to roll itself up into a compact spiny ball.
   Porcupines are gnawing mammals (ro­dents), feeding mainly on the leaves, buds, and bark of trees and the roots and stems of tender plants. They are especially fond of salt. They are excellent climbers and frequently climb trees searching for food.
   Porcupines have one to three bables each year in early summer. They are usually born under a rock ledge, in a crevice or cave. The babies are large and well-developed at birth, having fur, spines, and teeth. They can live alone in just one week.
   There are several species of porcupines. The Canadian porcupine and the yellow-haired or European porcupine are two. The Canadian porcupine, found throughout North America, grows to be about three feet long, weighing up to forty pounds. The European species is smaller.