Myths and wildlife

Interesting snippets about animals, which will debunk some myths about wildlife.

Let’s destroy some myths today!

The male lion, as we know, is the leader of the entire pride. We know that he is lazy as he allows the lionesses to do the hunting work and rests in a bush. But, it has turned out to be a myth. It is true that he doesn’t take part along with females while hunting and rests for 20 hours a day, but a study has revealed that he too is equally effective hunter as lionesses. It’s just that he is a solitary nocturnal hunter who relies on ambush hunting technique (attacking by surprise). Surprisingly, there are many cases in which a male lion has killed adult Cape buffalo solo, while normally it requires his entire pride to bring down a heavyweight like this. So, lions aren’t called apex predators for no reason.

 

Rattling pit vipers known as rattlesnakes are known for their rattle covered tails at the end of their bodies. But, the myth surrounding this group of snakes is that the age of the snake can be known by the number of rattles which is again not true. This is because the serpent goes through skin shedding process in which old rattles are removed and new ones begin to form. It is needless to say that, it is really dumb to go near and count the number of rattles.

It is easy to think that camels hold water in their humps due to their behavior of surviving without water. But, the hump is actually a lump of fatty tissues which provides energy to the animal to survive without food for longer periods.

Arctic Circle’s apex predators i.e. polar bears are known for their creamy white colored fur. But are they really white. Turns out, they aren’t. The color of these giant bears is greatly dependent on the surroundings around them.  During the day, their fur appears white due to the scattering of sunlight on their fur. But as the sun sets, their fur turns reddish orange.  They also turn greyish when the weather is cloudy. Also, polar bears in zoos are green due to emerged algae on their fur caused by the tropical climate which is totally harmless to the bear as the green color can be removed by bathing the animal with a special salt solution. Isn’t it a marvelous creature!