What Makes Flamingos Pink? Read online

The silk that a spider spins for its web is about five times stronger than steel.

  Every state in the United States has a “state insect.” Butterflies are the state insects of 20 states and honey bees the insect of 16 states. The other 14 state insects range from a ladybug to a praying mantis.

  There are about 35,000 different kinds of spiders in the world.

  Spiders come in all sizes. The female goliath tarantula of South America can reach a leg span of 10 inches, about the diameter of a dinner plate. The male Patu digua spider’s body is smaller than a pinhead.

  NASA scientists studied the effects of marijuana, Benzedrine, caffeine, and sleeping pills on spiders. Spiders on marijuana tried spinning webs but gave up about halfway through. Those on Benzedrine (“speed”) spun webs very quickly but left large holes in them, creating weird abstract patterns. Those on caffeine could only spin a few random strands while those on sleeping pills never got started at all. Who says spiders can’t sleep?

  DID YOU KNOW?

  A dew-covered spider web glistening in the early morning sunlight is a beautiful sight. Yet not all spiders spin webs, and some spin silk for reasons other than to catch prey.

  Some spiders, such as the Segestria, live in a hole in the ground and line the walls with silk to make the home more comfortable to live in. This spider spins trip lines out of the hole for a short distance. A trip line vibrates if an insect touches it, and the spider will rush out of its hole and grab the insect.

  The common house spider also uses trip lines, but instead of just a few, the spider creates a messy sheet of silk in front of its door.

  The net-casting spider makes a net of silk web and then drops it on any unsuspecting prey unfortunate enough to pass under it.

  The bolas spider emits a chemical substance that mimics the sex attractant of certain female moths. If a male moth is attracted to the sex scent, the spider swings a strand of silk with a sticky blob on the end to catch the poor male and haul him in.

  All young spiders engage in ballooning, by which they release a long silken thread and then float on the wind to move to a new area.

  Spiders that spin webs must be fast, because insects can escape quickly. If not attacked by the spider, a fly can escape a web in about five seconds.

  A spider must also be cautious, because many things can be caught in its web that not only destroy the web but also hurt the spider. Grasshoppers, crickets, bees, and wasps are not welcome visitors to the spider’s parlor.

  There is an old superstition that if you can’t find your cows, hold a daddy longlegs spider by his back legs, and one of his front legs will point in the direction where your cows are. If you should ever lose a cow and want a daddy longlegs spider to help you find it, don’t bother the poor spider if he’s sleeping.

  What is the fastest snake in the world? (It can’t outrun a Dodge Viper.)

  The fastest snake in the world is the black mamba, which can reach speeds as fast as 10 to 12 miles per hour in short bursts over the ground. It has been known to chase people.

  The black mamba is not only fast, agile, and ferocious, it is also one of the deadliest snakes in the world. Just two drops of its venom can kill you. Even a minor scratch can prove fatal. If bitten, a victim will usually die within four hours or less. Until an antivenin was developed in the 1960s, the bite of a black mamba was 100 percent fatal. It often takes as many as 10 vials of antivenin to save a victim.

  Running into a black mamba is hardly a pleasant experience. This slender snake is usually about 9 feet long, but it’s not uncommon to find one 10 to 12 feet long. It’s a nervous creature and often will not let a human approach within 75 feet or so. However, it angers easily and if annoyed will raise its head and front body as much as four to six feet off the ground. It shakes its head from side to side while giving out a long and very frightening hiss.

  The black mamba never bluffs and is quick to attack. It will speed past you to get away while at the same time biting you numerous times. No part of your body is safe because the black mamba’s head might be at your eye level when it raises its body.

  Fortunately for us, there are no black mambas in the United States. You only have to worry if you go to parts of Africa such as Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zaire, and parts of South Africa. However, a snake that is just about as deadly as the black mamba is Australia’s taipan snake. Maybe Dorothy had it right when she said, “There’s no place like home.”

  FACTOIDS

  Hoop snakes do not bite their tails and roll downhill like a wheel when they are frightened. This is a myth. It probably started because they often lie in a coiled position resembling a hoop.

  Although the king cobra rarely bites humans, it has enough venom to kill an elephant.

  Of all the snakes in the world, only about 10 percent are poisonous. Yet many people kill a snake on sight without bothering to determine if it’s harmless or not.

  The state of Hawaii has no snakes at all. In fact, there is a $25,000 fine for importing a snake of any type. Snakes like to eat birds’ eggs, and Hawaii is known for its great variety of colorful birds. Around 1950, the brown tree snake was accidentally brought into Guam, and since then the snakes have virtually wiped out the native forest birds of Guam. Twelve species of birds, some found nowhere else, have disappeared from the island. Hawaiian officials are fearful that the brown tree snake might slither into their state. A few were found years ago, but they were all dead. Nonetheless, Hawaii is keeping a careful eye out for the brown invader.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Whether snakes are revered or hated depends greatly on the culture. Everyone in the Judeo-Christian culture has read about how the serpent in the garden of Eden enticed Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. We also admire Saint Patrick for getting rid of all the snakes in Ireland.

  In other cultures the snake is not necessarily hated. In fact, it is often a powerful religious symbol. According to Greek legend, Aesculapius discovered medicine by watching a snake use herbs to bring a dead companion back to life. Even today, the symbol of a doctor or medicine consists of two snakes wrapped around a staff.

  A major Aztec god was Quetzalcoatl, the “plumed serpent.” Aztec legends say that the god told them to build their city in the spot where they saw an eagle with a serpent in its mouth. The only problem was that when they saw the eagle holding a serpent, it was perched on a small island in the middle of a lake.

  The Aztecs were undaunted. They founded their city where they had seen the eagle. They built floating homes and barges filled with dirt so they could grow crops. They reclaimed the land until all of the smaller islands formed one large island. Eventually, the lake was drained completely.

  Today we know this city as Mexico City, one of the most populous in the world. And it all started because an eagle snatched up a snake.

  Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? (Of course a zorse is not a horse.)

  Yes. That’s the answer. A zebra can be white with black stripes or it can be black with white stripes. In fact, there are zebras with dark brown stripes and zebras that are either all white or all black.

  Scientists believe there are two reasons for a zebra’s stripes. The first is camouflage. Zebra stripes break up the outline of its body, making it difficult for a predator to identify it. When a zebra is alone, moving among the tall grasses of the plains, it looks just like wind-blown grass and is difficult for a predator to see. A group of zebras will all huddle together, making it difficult for a predator to single out one zebra amid the mass of moving stripes.

  The second reason is to cool the zebra in the hot African sun. Zebras have a shiny coat that can dissipate up to 70 percent of the sun’s heat. The black stripes can get hotter than the white stripes by as much as 50°F.

  Although there are eight types of zebras in the world, the three most well-known types are in Africa. Each type has a different style of stripes. The Grévy’s zebra is considered the most beautiful, because it has very thin and closely
spaced stripes. The plains zebra has very wide vertical stripes that bend to become horizontal on the zebra’s rump. The mountain zebras have broad black stripes that extend down the legs but do not cover the off-white belly.

  Every zebra in the world has a unique pattern of stripes. There are no two alike, just as no two human fingerprints are alike. Zebras recognize each other by looking at the pattern of stripes.

  Although a zebra’s stripes make it a strikingly beautiful animal, they are not there for decoration but are designed to provide camouflage, cooling, and identification.

  FACTOIDS

  When plains zebras are frightened, they gather together in a cluster so that the myriad moving stripes confuse predators. On the other hand, Grévy’s zebras primarily use speed and stamina to escape predators. They can run as fast as 40 mph over reasonably long distances.

  Virtually all attempts to domesticate zebras so they can be ridden or used as draft animals have failed.

  When zebras are first born, they are brown and white. Within an hour after birth, the newborn can run as fast as the herd and can recognize its mother by sight.

  When a herd of zebras is sleeping, one always stays awake and alert for predators. In effect, it is doing sentry duty.

  If a family member becomes separated or lost for some reason, the other zebras in the family will search for it. The family will also adjust the speed of its travel so that the old and weak can keep up with the group.

  Zebras in captivity have been successfully mated with other equine species. Of course, the names always begin with the letter z. A zorse is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare. A zonkey, sometimes called a zebrass, or a zedonk, is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a female donkey.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Zebras are not the only creatures that use camouflage. A white polar bear blends in with the snow, while animals that live in the desert are often yellowish or tan so that they blend in with the desert environment.

  However, snow, desert, forest, and mountains are not striped. So why do some animals, such as the zebra, have stripes? For years scientists have argued about the reason for striped animals. Today there are two prevalent theories.

  The more accepted theory suggests that a striped or spotted animal mimics light filtering through the trees or high grass and thus is camouflaged.

  Another theory suggests that a black-and-white color scheme is an effective warning device, much like stripes on a railroad crossing gate. Stripes are not unique to mammals but are also found on birds, reptiles, and insects. Stripes on a polecat, a marbled salamander, a pied kingfisher, and a carabid beetle warn predators that the striped creature is dangerous or inedible. A biologist did an experiment in which cats and hornets were allowed to taste the flesh of 38 different types of birds. The “least edible” rating was given to the only three birds that were black and white.

  Although scientists still do not completely agree on why some animals are striped, one fact they all agree on: a zebra is a strikingly beautiful animal.

  Why don’t squirrels fall when they run across a telephone wire? (This is not a squirrely answer.)

  Squirrels can run across wires because they are agile, have good coordination, and most of all because they have an excellent sense of balance. They also use their large bushy tails as a “balancing pole,” which helps.

  A squirrel has five toes on each foot. The sharp claw on each toe is slightly curved, which lets the squirrel wrap its paws around objects with small diameters, such as a wire, rope, or small branch. However, a squirrel has a big problem with anything that’s over an inch in diameter. For these larger objects, the squirrel must use its claws as spikes. That’s why it’s so easy for a squirrel to climb a tree. On the other hand, it’s almost impossible for a squirrel to climb a large object made of glass or metal.

  A squirrel’s tail is not used just as a balancing pole. If a squirrel falls, its tail serves as a parachute. Squirrels can fall more than 100 feet without hurting themselves. The versatile tail keeps the squirrel dry during rainstorms, and warm during cold nights, and shades the squirrel from the sun on hot days. A squirrel also uses its tail as a flag to warn other squirrels of imminent danger. If a squirrel ends up fighting, it uses its tail as a shield.

  Another versatile part of a squirrel is its eyes. Because of their position, a squirrel can see above, below, and behind without moving its head. However, it has trouble seeing straight ahead. That is the reason you’ll see a squirrel move its head from side to side before jumping.

  Rather than saying “squirrely” or “nutty as a squirrel,” it might be better to say “versatile.”

  FACTOIDS

  Squirrels come in all sizes. The African pygmy squirrel is only five inches long, while the giant Asian squirrels are over three feet long and can jump twenty to thirty feet.

  There are over 300 species of squirrels found in every country in the world except Madagascar, Australia, and the polar regions.

  Not all United States presidents have felt the same way about squirrels. Teddy Roosevelt kept pet flying squirrels in the White House. Ronald Reagan gathered acorns at Camp David and fed them to the squirrels when he returned to the White House. He even commissioned an artist to paint a picture of a squirrel running across the White House lawn. However, Dwight Eisenhower hated squirrels and didn’t want them on his private golf course. He had them trapped and shipped elsewhere.

  Only two places in the United States have large populations of white squirrels: Marionville, Missouri, and Olney, Illinois.

  In 1791 the land surrounding the town of Belpre, Ohio, was invaded by squirrels, which ate the entire corn crop. They then swam across the Ohio River and started devouring crops in West Virginia.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  One of the most fascinating species of squirrels is the flying squirrel. They don’t actually fly like a bird; rather, they glide.

  The squirrel first climbs high in a tree and then moves its head back and forth to check out its flight path. It propels itself from the tree and extends all four legs to stretch out a membrane that connects the front paws to the rear paws. This membrane serves as a sail so the squirrel can glide through the air, often as far as 50 yards or more. This is quite far when you consider that the typical flying squirrel is only three or four inches long and weighs only a few ounces.

  While gliding, the squirrel can steer around obstacles by using its versatile tail as a rudder. It usually lands rear feet first on the trunk of another tree and immediately scurries to the opposite side of the tree in case a predator is pursuing it. Because of this gliding ability, it’s possible for a squirrel to sail the length of a football field if it starts out from a perch 100 feet in the air.

  In the United States the southern flying squirrel can be found in the southern and eastern parts of the country, while the northern flying squirrel is found throughout California, Idaho, Montana, the Great Lakes region, and the Appalachian mountains. They live in deciduous forests.

  You might not have seen a flying squirrel, because they are nocturnal creatures. If you want to see one, autumn nights are best, because the squirrels are busy gathering food for winter.

  If you don’t have a forest nearby, you might be lucky enough to have an attic in your house. Flying squirrels have been known to nest in attics.

  What makes flamingos pink? (It’s not sunburn.)

  The color of most birds is a matter of genetics. Bluebirds are blue by nature, robins have red breasts, and cardinals are bright red. The flamingo is different: flamingos are pink because of what they eat.

  Depending on the species, the color of a flamingo can range from pale pink to crimson. A flamingo eats extremely small water plants such as algae and tiny animals such as insect larvae and crustaceans. Most of this food is full of natural pigments called carotenoids. The pigment in the carotenoids makes the flamingo turn pink or red as new feathers grow.

  When flamingos are in captivity, such as in a zoo, they are fed a natural
red coloring agent called Roxanthin or they are given a carotenoid-rich diet of prawns, shrimps, and crustaceans so that they retain their pink color. If flamingos are given food that lacks carotenoids, the pink color will eventually fade away.

  There are five species of flamingos: the greater flamingo (which includes the American or Caribbean flamingo), the lesser flamingo, Chilean, Andean, and the James’s flamingo. Although the different species range in color from pink to red, the color is still completely dependent on the diet. For example, lesser flamingos eat only carotenoid-rich algae, called spirulina, and thus have a more intense color than the greater flamingos, which get the carotenoids secondhand by eating creatures that have already digested the algae.

  When we eat carrots or beets we are also eating carotenoids, just like the flamingos. We just can’t eat enough beets and carrots to make us change color. The only way we can turn pink is either to blush or get a sunburn.

  FACTOIDS

  Although it appears that a flamingo’s knees bend backward, they do not. The middle leg joint that appears to be a knee is actually an ankle. A flamingo’s knees are higher up and hidden beneath its feathers. Its long legs bend the same way as ours but its body parts are in different proportions.

  Ancient Romans considered flamingo tongues to be a great delicacy.

  The only species of flamingo with yellow legs and feet is the Andean flamingo. It also has a red spot between its nostrils.

  A flamingo eats with its head upside down. It scoops up water and mud and uses its large tongue to pump the solution through a filter in its beak that catches the food. A flamingo can filter up to 20 beakfuls of water in just one second.