Oh, I had one better than that. I had Chester and Gladys, apparently mates. They even had a juvenile out in the old hay barns roost. I even got to watch them mate one morning while doing dishes. Some oronthologists wait their whole lives to see that, I just had to look out my kitchen window.

Junior still hangs around, can't tell if he has a mate yet.

And to clarify, I wouldn't call them pets, just neighbors.

Really cool neighbors you have. We have in Miami little green parrots that I fascinate myself with. They are about 20 in my backyard that fight for space on palm trees. They have alot of personality and when they fly they all jump at the same time and go in circles to another tree. The funny thing is they always return back to the palm tree in my backyard in the morning time to make sure to wake me up each morning.

I had a squirrel (I assume) perfectly balance a walnut on top of my clothesline. Do you think he might be trying to share?

One could make the argument that by not cutting that tree down ten years ago when I took the other three down, I've already shared with the squirrels. Maybe it's just reciprocity.

Simply amazing

Perhaps the squirrel was making a business deal. He offered a walnut and in return you wouldn't cut down the last tree.

Wow imagine this would be the case! If so then that would be amazing.

Nature offers amazing things to us. It can never get old for me as there is so much to witness and learn from.

3. 3 out of 10 Dalmation dogs suffer from hearing loss due to inbreeding.


I'd say that was higher. And deafness is because of the white coat. Lethal white is what the gene is called that causes deafness in dogs.

The most common cause of congenital deafness is pigment related. (There is some talk about a recessive gene as well, but most researchers do not believe this is the case.) Some dogs have white coats, but still have pigmented skin (Samoyeds, West Highland Terriers, and White German Shepherds fall into this category). Although they have white fur, they have black noses and eye rims (their fur is actually not pure white, but a very light buff color). Other dogs normally have colored coats, and white trim (this includes Dalmatians; the white is actually not their real coat color, the "spots" are). The "trim" comes from areas of unpigmented (pink) skin, which produces white hair. If there is unpigmented skin in the inner ear, the nerve endings atrophy and die off in the first few weeks of the puppy's life, resulting in deafness. Please note that you cannot tell the color of hairs in the inner ear by looking at any visible part of the dog's ears (including the hair around the ear canal). Although many dogs with white hair on their ears will be deaf, many deaf dogs have colored ears as well.

Hearing loss affecting both ears is called Bilateral Deafness. A bilaterally deaf dog is completely (or mostly) deaf in both ears. Hearing loss occurring in, or affecting only one ear, is called Unilateral Deafness. A unilaterally deaf dog has hearing loss in only one ear and has full hearing in the other ear.


deafdogs.org

This is what I like about Mingle2. We have some creative, intelligent, and friendly folks that like to share what they know occassionally. Sometimes it is quiet useful.

I didn't know what the exact cause was about the dalmation dog's deafness. Very interesting.

37. An albatross can sleep while flying.

I'm sure I'll be corrected, but I once heard that sharks never sleep. The logic behind it is that a shark must keep moving, it has no gills. In order for a shark to breath, it must move through the ocean, keeping fresh ocean water moving through its, uhh..., lungs. (Yes my knowledge of fish anatomy is staggering).

Apparently the shark could learn something from the albatross. Maybe if they slept every once in a while, they wouldn't be so p1ssed off all the time

LOL! I think it's more accurate to say they never stop moving. Parts of their brains shut off in a semblence of sleep. Humpback whales are another whose brain partitions itself.

More and more animals and insects are being found that see UV.

I don't have a list, ill see if I can find one.

Most pollinating insects can see in UV. That's how they find nectar.

Very interesting thanks for sharing that. lol

I will end up being somekind of zoologist before the year is over with all this information. ha ha

u prolly did not have Chester in the barn as a Great Horned

humminbirds can fly backwards

The wikipedia article on sharks talks about this. There are some kinds of sharks that can stop moving, and some that can't. In at least one kind of shark, the perpetual movement is coordinated by the spinal column - so their brain might sleep (but I don't think we know if it does).

It looks like most of the information/speculation we have about shark's (non) sleep habits is based on observation of behaviors - not EEGs or other brain-activity measures - so its possible that we just don't really know.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark
http://marine-life.suite101.com/article.cfm/do_sharks_sleep

Some species do sleep, you can see them resting on the bottom particularly in caves while others like Carcharodon carcharias, Galeocerdo cuvier, Carcharhinus leucas, Carcharhinus longimanus to name a few must keep swimming as these species are known as obligate ram ventilators meaning they must force water through their gills by forward motion or else they will suffocate.