Animal Parents as Teachers

You will be surprised what animals said when questioned by researchers! Wolf pups learn to howl from the members of their pack.

So that in time they can join in the rally call for the pack to meet up....let others know their location...or even warn other packs to stay out of their territory.

A wolf pup will begin to mimic howling as young as 20 days old. The calls will be shorter in length and higher in pitch just because of their smaller little lungs.

The songs that birds sing are learned, not inherited: Songbirds don’t know how to sing like their parents until they learn that song. Songbirds practise by trying to repeat what they’ve heard from their parents...usually once they are fledglings that can fly out of the nest. By the time they can fly, fledglings have developed a subsong. With a lot of practice, that subsong grows into a song like the one their parents sing.

Can We Have a Snack as questioned by the animals. Since animals don’t have a fridge to open when they are hungry, it’s important for the little ones to learn how to get food for themselves. Otters eat while floating on their backs. Another otter will dive in the water to find shellfish...then come up and place a rock on her own stomach so that she can crack the shellfish against the rock to open it. She will do this repeatedly to show her young this technique until they learn it.

To show her young how to catch fish and shrimp, a dolphin’s mom will intentionally stretch out the time it takes...by as much as eight times longer! The young dolphin will watch the parent capture, then let go of their food ...and then recapture...let go of their food...and then let go of it again to show different ways of grabbing lunch!

Foxes teach their young how to forage for earthworms by finding a worm in the ground and showing their pups how to bite it .Next, the mother will find a worm...pull it loose...and stretch it out ...but let her pup take it. She will repeat this exercise until the pup learns the right amount of pressure needed to get the entire worm from the ground without breaking it.

Staying Healthy and Safe: Moose spend a lot of time standing in the water. It reduces the weight of their bones and joints...and the water cools them off on hot days. Most importantly for a moose family ...being in the water discourages predators like wolves and mountain lions from sneaking up on them! It’s much harder to sneak up on something surrounded by water.

Bison usually run when they sense danger. But, if there isn’t time to get away, the mothers will form a circle around their young...and the males will form a circle around the mothers. From an early age, this species learns that ‘family has your back’ literally.

After their first few steps into the water, loon chicks can bob around and float. They spend lots of time, however, on their parents’ backs during trips out in the lake to rest...conserve heat...and avoiding predators. Young loons are extremely buoyant and pop up like corks after their first attempts at diving.

Up until the young chicks are eight weeks old, the adults are with them most of the time...providing most of the food...and showing them how to dive again and again. By 11 or 12 weeks of age, the chicks are getting better at diving...and will be getting almost all their own food.

Empty Nesters: No bird is truly born with the ability to fly from birth because it takes practice. Baby birds are trained by their parents...who encourage them to try and try again! The main incentive for trying to fly, seems to be food. When it’s time to fly, mother birds start dropping food a little farther away from the young...encouraging the little ones to move out. Chances are, the first few times, the baby will fall to the ground...but eventually, the young learn they can cease their fall by flapping their wings. The family is happy to see them leave the nest, because fledglings are less likely to be preyed on by predators when they are out of the nest.

The foregoing, I foraged from the recent
Canadian Wildlife Federation’s recent publication.

Comments most welcome:
MBK...assembled December 8, 2020

Canada’s Hardest Working Animals

In a recent issue of the Canadian Wildlife magazine, Jerika Bradford questions readers:

Is it a bear? What about the wolf? You might be surprised~
Canada’s hardest working animals come in all shapes and sizes.
What sets them apart from others, is just how far they will go to get the job done.

Arctic Tern: The small Arctic Tern has one of the longest migrations of all birds. The Arctic Tern will fly up to 40,000 kilometres in a zig-zagging route from its Arctic breeding grounds to Antarctica, and back again every year. That’s like flying the length of the Trans Canada Highway. ~ across all 10 provinces,.10 times!

Black Ants: Black ants pack a punch far beyond their weight. They are some of the hardest working insects around. Ants are able to lift and carry objects that weigh as much as 50 times their weight. In fact, ants are such hard workers that that they are always busy ~ whether building tunnels ...collecting food or cleaning up...and maintaining their underground chambers..

Beavers: Have you heard the saying: busy as a beaver? There’s a good reason this saying exists. Beavers are nature’s architect. This animal builds impressive dams, canals and lodges all on its own. Did you know that beavers cut down an average of 216 trees a year? Beavers begin building dams by laying sticks and rocks on a stream bed. They then pack on more stones to create rooms...filling in the spaces in between with mud, twigs and leaves ...layer after layer. Their dams are sturdy and can handle great water pressure and erosion.

Earthworms: The humble earthworm may not seem like it belongs on the list of of hardest working animals. But, earthworms are nature’s first farmers...plowing the soil as they dig through it! Earthworms play an important role in soil health and quality. It takes earthworms an estimated 10 to 20 years to turn over the first 6 inches of soil keeping it fresh and full of nutrients.

Wolves: Wolves have to work hard for their food. They work in packs and kill about one large mammal ~ like a deer, moose, caribou, elk or bison. ...for every 10 they chase. It may take the entire pack to help bring home some food. They not only hunt in packs or groups, but also live most of their lives with other wolves....forming deep bonds and a highly organized social structure.

Salmon: The salmon’s journey is quite the journey. After spending some time in the Pacific or Atlantic oceans, these incredible fish begin an exhausting migration back to the place where they were hatched. They will fight strong currents and make their way past animals that want to eat them. Some even have to leap over waterfalls. Their migration back home is truly an obstacle course. Their migration is so exhausting that once they reach their destination, and spawn: they die.

Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds flap their wings super fast. ...up to 50 times per second. This means that hummingbirds need a constant source of food to keep up their energy, which is why you see them zipping through the air ...going flower to flower. You can help hummingbirds by putting out a hummingbird feeder outside your house. This will help them with their next meals so they can keep zipping around in the air!

Written by MBK Deceember 15, 2020
Comments most welcome.

Would You Believe It?

 

Just a few circumstances sent me, from a faithful reader!

In the 1400’s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed
to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.’
Hence, we have ‘the rule of thumb.’

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented.
It was ruled: Gentlemen Only - Ladies Forbidden.
Thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV
was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than tor the U.S. Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women, yet women can hear better.
Coca-Cola was originally green.
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
The state with the highest percentage of people
who walk to work: Alaska.

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%.
The percentage of North America that is wilderness is 38%.
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of 11 ~ is $16.400.
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000.
Each King in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades: King David...Hearts: Charlemagne...Clubs: Alexander the Great...
Diamonds..Julius Caesar.

For the mathematic’s wizard: 111,111,111 X 111,111=12,345,678,987, 654,321.

If a statue in the park has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle
If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died

because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4:
John Hancock and and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2,
but the last signature wasn’t added until 5 years later.

Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
Their birthplace.

Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular
boat name requested? Obsession.

What do bulletproof vests, windshield wipers and laser printers
have in common? All were invented by women.

What is the only food that doesn’t spoil? Honey.
On which day are there more collect calls than any other day?
Father’s Day.

In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer
to sleep on. Hence the phrase: Good Night! Sleep Tight!

It was accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago, that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based,
this period was called ‘the honey month’ which we know today as the honeymoon!

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So, in old England
when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them:
Mind your pints and quarts ~ and settle down!
It’s where we get the phrase: Mind your P’s and Q’s.

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim
or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill,
they used the whistle to Wet Your Whistle to get some service.
Wet Your Whistle is the phrase inspired by this practice.

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

Being Mindless and Senseless

You accidentally enter your PIN number on the microwave.
You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family
is that you don’t have their e-mail addresses.

You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone
to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries

Leaving the house without your cell phone,which you didn’t have
the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life is now a cause
for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

Before getting your coffee.

You start tilting your head sideways to smile.

You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.
Even worse, you know to whom you are going to send this message.

And FINALLY ~ Now U R Laughing at yourself!

For your Reading Pleasures
from MBK...written January 12, 2021.

Spirit Preamble

Spirit Preamble is the principle of Life, and Energy characterized by intelligence, preamble emotion and vivacity or energy.

Arriving one day to my third floor apartment, I observed Papa Bird flying around our neighbourhood ~ while Mama rested (so carefully) on her three bluish eggs in the nest built on my third floor balcony chair. Seeing me, she stretched up, ready to fly. However, observing her mate on nearby hydro wires, she invited him to the balcony railing for a chat. Engaged in chatter, they exchanged positions to incubate the eggs until ‘ready to hatch. For her, he brought a long juicy worm which she nibbled. Both male and female, trusted me where I sat at the balcony’s far end. So fortunate I was to watch their relationship...both avidly awaiting their three eggs to hatch.

Nature is my love: my 3^rd floor view overlooks several evergreen trees bordering the paved Bike path extending from Appleby Line to downtown’s Brant Street. Birds often fly in from the hydro wires to nibble on seeds I lay out for them. Watching their mutual interest, daily I documented , photographed and observed their routines. Night and Day, both birds had incubating chores. On a weekend Sunday, one egg hatched ~ the other 2 eggs hatched the following day. How surprised I was that both male and female family-raised these hatchlings until flying skills were learned.

Both fish and birds have their cycles of life...selecting mates...locating trees or bushes to build their homes. Then await Mother Nature to perform her tasks

In Southern Ontario, we dwell in rolling lands of woods, forests, streams, lakes, rivers and waterfalls which we as humans, share with God’s creatures ~ whether 4-footed, creepy crawlers or wings. ~ whose bodies are adapted for flights in and over rivers, lakes, and the big blue sky. We are so fortunate to have Nature at our doorstep!

Oft, I wonder: Do they and other beasties study humans for their retrospect on our populace?

Our planet, truly is an Animal World!

Hidden in my files has long been: The Starfish Poem:

A little boy walked carefully along a crowded beach
where starfish by the hundreds lay there within his reach.
They washed up with each wave as far as the eye could see
and each would surely die if they were not thrown back into the sea.

So, one by one, he rescued them
then heard a stranger call, “It really won’t make much of a difference ~
For you cannot save them all!”

But as he tossed yet another one back toward the ocean’s setting sun,
he said with deep compassion,“I made a difference to that one!”
(by unknown author)

Written by MBK...January 5,2021
Comments always welcome.