Did you know this………. about animals? I didn’t

by Pat Laster

 Here is a column’s worth of unusual items found in my readings and added to the in-progress Compendium I am assembling.
* A ungulate species at the Little Rock Zoo, is a muntjac–– a tawny, dog-sized antelope.
* Gorillas are given the same kind of birth control as women and are given the same pregnancy test. (L. L. Williams, ADG)
* The difference between bloodhounds: one is a trailing dog who keeps his head up to sniff; one is a tracking dog which puts his nose to the ground and follows footsteps. Both can be trained (field work) for search and rescue and narcotics detections and apprehension. (A. Wallworth, ADG)
* Domesticated animals define what it is to be a human.” (Samantha Brooks, assistant professor of equine genetics, Cornell University)
 * A female python can lay 100 eggs though 54 are considered the norm. The reptile trade is a $2 billion business in the U.S., says the Humane Society. More reptiles are imported to this country than to anywhere else in the world. (D. Fears, WA Post)                
* Preble’s meadow jumping mouse is an endangered species.
*Bees cannot drink while flying (unlike hummingbirds) so must land to feed.
*The mandrill is the world’s largest monkey species.
* Types of lemurs in the Little Rock zoo: red-ruffed, ring-tailed, blacks and blue-eyed blacks.
* Male Campbell’s monkeys have six basic alert calls: ‘boom,’ ‘hok,’ ‘krak,’ ‘krakoo,’ ‘kok-oo, ’and ‘wak-oo.’ (Findings, Harper’s Magazine, Feb 2010)
* “If cats are not fed at a regular location, their instinct is to roam.” – Jennifer Franks, a feline rescue volunteer. [I hoped this was true, because once, I left eight feral cats without any food for two weeks. When I returned, six were still here. But how many squirrels and birds met their death during that time? Another time, I left for ten days; the cats were still here. The third time, I left for a week, and only three had persevered.]
* On land, geese are a gaggle; in the air, they are a skein.
* A swarm of bees can also be called a grist.
* The Ozark hellbender is a species of aquatic salamander that can grow up to two feet long.
* A species of mussel is the snuffbox mussel. Freshwater mussels require clean water. (L. Lamor Williams, ADG – last two entries)
*Other species of mussels are Sheepnose, Spectaclecase, Arkansas Fatmucket, the Magazine Mountain Shagreen and the Pallid Sturgeon (Doug Smith, Arkansas Times, Feb 2011)
* The largest flatfish is the halibut.
* Three different beetles attack pine trees: the Southern pine beetle, the IPS engraver beetle and the turpentine beetle. (Janet Carson, ADG)
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture issues permits to kill blackbirds. Also gulls, herons, hawks, waterfowl and shorebirds on airfields.
* Four U.S. zoos house giant Pandas: Zoo Atlanta, San Diego, Memphis and Washington D. C.
* Drum (fish) are native to Arkansas, a gray, freshwater species. Not usually sought by fishermen. They are bottom feeders that eat other fish and insects. (R. J. Smith, ADG)

Collected during 2011-2012 by Pat Laster, dba lovepat press