The intro links to the article on bee stings, but bee venom is apitoxin, and the apitoxin article makes no mention of formic acid. I suppose formic acid is more likely to be found in wasp stings, wasps and ants being closely related. But ”wasp sting” currently redirects to the bee sting article, which to me seems questionable despite claims there that some erroneously refer to wasp stings as ”bee stings”. This is such a complicated mess outside my expertise that I don’t dare touch it, but I wish someone more knowledgeable would rectify or clarify the relationships between these topics (articles).

Good thing that the beginning was muted, those mighty roars probably would’ve frightened me from watching till the end!

Hieno on kyllä. Satutko tietämään tieteellistä nimeä? Sitä googlailemalla saisin käsityksen minkä näköisestä öttiäisestä on kyse. Että onko nimensä veroinen.

Kumpikaan kahdesta käsilläni olleesta hyönteiskirjasta ei tuntenut tuota lajia. Että se kirjojen hyödyllisyydestä! Ettei vain lajin suomenkielistä nimeä olisi muutettu ennen Internetiä?

Olen David Attenborough -fani jonka mielestä evoluutio ja sen tuottamat ilmiöt ovat jännittävintä maailmassa, ja siksi tämä blogi on luonnollisesti yksi suosikeistani, kirjoititpa melkein mitä tahansa (kädelliset poislukien, ne ovat enimmäkseen tylsiä). Koska olen henkisesti 10-vuotias poika, haluaisin nähdä liopleurodonin ja jättiläiskalmarin kamppailun, mutta jos se on liian työlästä, niin huominen päivänsankari tapiiri käy ihan hyvin.

The description currently says this is enrichment for cougars. I think that’s a mistake although the cougars probably would be thrilled with the hogs’ company… :-)

From your title I thought this was going to be one of those ”sleeping dog whining and twitching because of nightmares” videos.

Very interesting, thank you! You wouldn’t expect such behaviour from non-carnivorous animals, although I do know this kind of thing sometimes occurs when animals are under stress. But these goats seem to live in good conditions, which made me wonder about the ears.

Lincoln Park Zoo posted this video of their goats being treated to an Easter surprise. What struck me (in the otherwise fun video) as odd was that some of the individuals (particularly visible from 0:10 on) seem as if their ears had been… eaten away. Does that happen, is this some other kind of injury, or is it just normal variation between individuals?

Awesome shot. That’s an Arctic Tern (the fox is Arctic as well). Terns nest on the ground and are very (”fiercely”, as WP puts it) protective of their nests and young. The fox may have been after the birds’ offspring right before this happened, but it may just as well have gotten itself too close to the nest without knowing about it, the terns won’t tolerate anyone nearby. (They attack people just the same.)