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Mother and Child in the Animal Kingdom
It is a familiar scene in real life and in movies. In a group of 100 excited lambs, an ewe, or female sheep, has no problems picking out her lamb. She does this through the sense of smell. More than one million animal species live on our planet and the females of the species recognise their young ones through smell, sound, sight or touch. Actually, most mammals recognise their young ones by smell. As soon as it gives birth, one of the first things a mare, ewe, doe or seal does is to smell the newborn....
Long Memory of Female Elephants is Responsible for the Well Being of their Families
You must have heard the phrase ‘elephant’s memory’ being used for people with a long memory. It seems the long memory of elephants, especially female elephants, is directly responsible for the well being of their families. This fact was discovered by a group of researchers of the University of Sussex who studied the elephants of Amboseli National Park in Kenya, the Telegraph newspaper reported. Elephants live in matriarchal families or families that are headed by the mothers....
The Straightened Leaning Tower of Pisa
You must have heard about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In 1990, the tower was made off limits when engineers pointed out that the weight of people climbing the spiral steps could increase the inclination of the tower, and topple it eventually. After some 11 years of restoration work, a ‘straightened’ Leaning Tower was opened again to the public in November 2001. Why does the tower lean? The tower is actually the belfry (tower from which a bell is hung) of the Pisa Cathedral, which stands alongside....
Anacondas
You might have seen the recent English film Anaconda, where these snakes are shown as giant man-eating monsters. Well, that’s not all that can be said about these mighty creatures. Eating is but necessary for survival — and you never know, Anacondas might eat humans too, if one goes near them! But apart from their strange eating habits, these snakes are amazing in a lot of other ways too. Anacondas [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik] The Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is a semi-aquatic snake found in Central America and mostly in tropical South America....
Music-loving Plants and Music-giving Plants
Are your ferns drooping more than usual? Perhaps a bit of music may perk it up, for it is a known fact that music plays an important role in plant growth. But plants are choosy about the kind of music they want to hear. Experiments show that plants thrive if soothing instrumental music is played in the background. On the other hand they shrivel and die if exposed to heavy metal or rock music. And now a Japanese company has created a gadget that puts you in touch with the ‘feelings’ of plants....
The Spectacled Bear
Many of us wear glasses when we have problems with eyesight. But, have you ever heard of bears with glasses? No, not the bears who appear on the Cartoon Network on TV. Real bears. The spectacled bear [Illustration by Shridevi] There is a kind of bear which lives in the forests of South America. It is called the ‘spectacled bear,’ or the Tremarctos Ornatus. It has white coloured fur around its eyes, which makes it look like it is wearing glasses....
Does a Sloth Live its Entire Life Upside Down?
Imagine living your entire life upside down. Sounds impossible? Well, it is not impossible for a sloth. The sloth is a mammal which lives in South America. It spends most of its life on trees in an upside down position. Unbelievable, but true. Sloths eat, sleep, make babies and even give birth to their young ones in this position! But, don’t they fall off when they fall asleep, one might wonder. They don’t. A Sloth hanging upside down on the tree That’s because the sloth’s muscles do not relax like ours do when we are sleeping....
What is Ribotyping?
Consider this, in a murder case, the culprit has left no clues. There are no fingerprints or eye witnesses. A perfect crime, you would say. But on close inspection, the crime branch discovers a tiny strand of hair. Back in the forensic laboratories, scientists use this strand of hair to track down the criminal and solve the murder case. But, how can you crack a mystery with a strand of hair, you would exclaim. The technique used by forensic scientists to track down the culprit is called DNA-fingerprinting....
A Lizard that Squirts Blood from its Eyes
Are you scared of lizards? There is no need to be unless you come face to face with one kind, called the Horned Lizard. It sprays blood from its eyes, and may just make you jump a bit. A lizard that squirts blood from its eyes [Illustration by Shridevi] Not all time. Only when it feels threatened. Surprisingly, the Horned Toad or the Horned Lizard, found in North America and Mexico, is often kept as a pet....
Spiders and their Magical Web
Most of us have come across cobwebs that accumulate in our walls, and ceilings when we dust our homes. The webs are under tables, cellars, and sometimes across branches and leaves at the park. All these cobwebs are the work of spiders. Spider webs are fine silken threads. Originally spiders spun silk to protect their eggs and to line their nests. But later they adapted to use this silk to weave a web and trap their prey....