Do you know any amazing animal facts / stories?

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Last night I received a powerpoint presentation showing how after about 30 years eagle's beaks begin to curl and their feathers begin to wear. Then they go to a rock, bang their beak on it until it breaks off and grows back new, and then they pluck the feathers and those grow back until they are also like new.

I found this to be very moving, and so I ended up writing a short story and posted it on our site. I think it's easily the best story I've ever written (albeit I haven't written many), but I really felt passionate about writing it and it felt very natural.

I have realized that I don't do well writing from scratch, but if I have something true I can add a little fiction around, then I can really get into it.

(today I found out that information about eagle's might not be true, but it doesn't change the beauty of the story)

Anyway, I'm wondering if I have a knack for this kind of writing and was wondering if any of you knew of similar kinds of "wow... some of the things these animals do is so amazing!" stories.

We all know about mating for life or migrations or hibernations... but do you know of any other really cool stuff like the above about the eagles?

[simple girl]

I was watching Animal Planet the other day, and they had a special on creatures that live in the deep sea (where there is no light).

One fish had this extension from it's head that it could make glow (phosphoresence). It would make this area pulsate to attract other fish while it sat completely still. When a curious fish swam nearby to check it out, WHAM, and CHOMP...dinner!

Another creature (I think it was some kind of shrimp) would squirt out phosporescent material which glowed like a second or two later (after it swam away). A different creature relentlessly pursued the "glow" but alas, could never find the shrimp b/c it was always one step ahead.

Really cool show!

[happy2bretired]

This was new to me. When in Alaska we found out that bears eat rocks before they hibernate. In the spring they eat a plant that grows in the forest and the plant acts as a laxative to expel the rocks.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i once wrote a letter to (i think it was) the miami herald editor for printing a story of an eagle which the newspaper accused of starting a serious fire which put out the electric to 1000s of people's homes. headline: eagle causes fire

the way i saw it, the fire (never mind the eagle's death) was caused not by the eagle--this was not a suicide--but by human invention and humans who put in place the high intensity electric wires into which the eagle flew, was electrocuted, caught fire, fell burning to the ground, set the ground on fire which happened to damage the electrical system.

they never bothered to print my version nor reply in kind.

my most amazing pet, the wolfpuppy, was incredibly curious and resourceful. he'd slam doors shut with his nose when he didn't get his way. he'd open drawers all the way if i hadn't completely shut them. he loved his carrots. one day my brother, sister-in-law and i were in the kitchen when in came wolfpuppy. he put on this big ol' smile as he put his paw on the edge of the fridge door, got his nails inside to the magnetic strip and pulls the refrigerator door open. whereupon he sticks his face inside to the bottom shelf, pulls out a carrot and prances into the living room to complete his treat.

my brother looked at wolfpuppy like he was watching an episode of the twilight zone. i just said matter of factly, "oh, wolfpuppy figured out that one long ago." never had to teach that dog a thing. smart dog.

might i suggest for your reading pleasure the parrot's lament: and other true tales of animal intrigue, intelligence and ingenuity by eugene linden.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior (today I found out that information about eagle's might not be true, but it doesn't change the beauty of the story)

Actually, for me it totally destroys it. There are so many wonderful, amazing stories in nature that ARE true, why fumble around with fake ones? Takes the air out of the balloon for me, trivializes the true power and wonder of nature.

I don't mean that as a criticism, it is just my personal viewpoint. To each their own. If other people find beauty in made up stories, that is fine with me. I just find reality to be so much more powerful. And there is no lack of amazing truths, why bother with fiction (except for fun)?

-ERD50

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 And there is no lack of amazing truths, why bother with fiction (except for fun)?

So what are some of the wonderful and amazing stories in nature you know of that are true?

[travelover]

Geoducks are pretty amazing.

Geoduck

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaceful_Warrior So what are some of the wonderful and amazing stories in nature you know of that are true?

Geez, I couldn't scratch the surface in a single post. A few that pop into my mind:

Ever watch a hummingbird fly, hover, dart back-and-forth?

Hummingbird - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals, Their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute, However, they are capable of slowing down their metabolism at night, or any other time food is not readily available. (the heart rate to roughly 50–180 beats per minute) Most organisms with very rapid metabolism have short lifespans, however hummingbirds have been known to survive in captivity for as long as 17 years. They also typically consume more than their own weight in food each day, At any given moment, they are only hours away from starving. Ruby-throated Hummingbird can cross 800 km (500 miles) of the Gulf of Mexico on a nonstop flight, as field observations suggest.

Bats/moths:

Bat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

By emitting high-pitched sounds and listening to the echoes, also known as sonar, microbats locate prey and other nearby objects. Two groups of moths exploit the bats' senses: tiger moths produce ultrasonic signals to warn the bats that the moths are chemically-protected (aposematism) (this was once thought to be a form of "radar jamming", but this theory has been disproved); the moths Noctuidae have a hearing organ called a tympanum which responds to an incoming bat signal by causing the moth's flight muscles to twitch erratically, sending the moth into random evasive maneuvers.

Quote:

"Using the same sounds as the bat, the best man-made sonar equipment can only process echo delays arriving five to ten microseconds apart," said study leader Simmons. "The experiments showed that a bat's sonar resolved echoes that arrived two microseconds apart as easily and routinely as if there were 10 microseconds between them."

Monarch Butterflies:

NATURE: Alien Empire - Voyagers

Quote:

One tagged butterfly was tracked along a 1,870-mile route. Originally tagged on September 18, 1957 in Highland Creek, Ontario, it was spotted again in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, four months later.

Monarch butterfly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

How the species manages to return to the same overwintering spots over a gap of several generations is still a subject of research; the flight patterns appear to be inherited, based on a combination of circadian rhythm and the position of the sun in the sky.[1]

I've also read that a common housefly, with a smaller than pin-head sized brain, can respond and maneuver in ways our multi-computer fighter jets could only dream of (can jets dream?).

My personal favorite? I've had billions of yeast cells work diligently for weeks, giving up their lives to turn some sticky maltose and water with hops into delicious beer for me to enjoy.

Far more examples all over the internet, your public library, or right outside your door if you stop to look.

Again, JMO, but I almost always find truth far more fascinating than fiction.

-ERD50

[riskadverse]

I lost an outdoor cat once - I looked everywhere in the neighborhood including the humane society and the county pound. After I couple of weeks I figured he must have died. Three years later he showed up on the door step as if nothing had happened. I finally made him an indoor cat and kept him another 4 for 5 years before he really died. It was a real Disney type of story.

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by riskadverse I lost an outdoor cat once - I looked everywhere in the neighborhood including the humane society and the county pound. After I couple of weeks I figured he must have died. Three years later he showed up on the door step as if nothing had happened. I finally made him an indoor cat and kept him another 4 for 5 years before he really died. It was a real Disney type of story.

That's not unlike our situation... well, sort of. We moved two states away and after a few days our indoor/outdoor cat ran off and didn't come back. We figured he was likely dead, and then 2 months later (as we are preparing to move again), we got a phone call from somebody who had befriended our cat.

He's been home for a couple weeks now, completely depressed, but just recently he started wanting to go in and out again so we're letting him. We know we can't fight his nature... ever since being a kitten only a few months old he would sit at the window and look out... he'd get really stir-crazy. Then once we started letting him out, he became really mellow when inside.

He really is like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde whenever we don't let him out.