Animals & Pets 01 (May 08 - Jun 14)

[winston]

It's Fun to Know: About Bomb-Sniffing Rats

Sixty million landmines dot 69 countries worldwide - the result of conflicts past and present. And an estimated 25,000 people are maimed and killed each year by these deadly explosives.

Clearing mines from old war zones can be a difficult and time-consuming task, usually involving metal detectors or trained dogs. But a Belgian researcher has come up with an alternative. He has trained African giant pouched rats to sniff out landmines. There are several advantages: They don't explode the mines when they step on them, they stay healthy in tropical areas, and they're cheap and easy to breed.

More than 30 HeroRATS have been deployed in Mozambique, where, so far, about a quarter square mile of minefield has been cleared.

(Source: National Geographic)

[kennynah]

at my area of residence, there are several families of stray cats....they are around bcos some kind souls constantly feed them every fucking single day.... these cats are so well fed, they dont need to catch mice anymore !!!

anyways... i noticed that even among the cubs of the same family, they all behave differently towards people... for example, there is family of 3 cubs. they look pretty alike to me... when i walk closer towards them, all but one stays put. in fact, only one cub allows me to actually touch it...the rest move away as i approach. they surely have already recognized me, for i consistently smoke around their place of habitat...

i suppose, that's why pets can be so adorable...over time, they can get quite affectionate towards their owners...

[la papillion]

Hey K, so u like cats or dogs? Or stocks? haha!

[kennynah]

i like'em all.... all that make me steam....

[Cherry]

kennynah wrote:

there is family of 3 cubs. they look pretty alike to me... when i walk closer towards them, all but one stays put. in fact, only one cub allows me to actually touch it...the rest move away as i approach. they surely have already recognized me, for i consistently smoke around their place of habitat...

Ken

Could it be that that cub has gotten addicted to your smoking and was meowing for a few puffs of your cigarette?

[kennynah]

cherry,
or maybe...my slippers dirty and smelled fishy.... and that attracted that kitten.... or just maybe, i knew how to stroke that pussy cat well....hahahaha....

[Cherry]

Poor Ken

There were 3 cubs.
Number of cubs stayed put: One
Number of cubs rejected you: Two

Conclusion: You are still a loser

[winston]

It’s Fun to Know: Little-Known Ant Occupations

You’ve heard of worker ants, who dig tunnels… collectors, who go out in search of food… and the queen, of course, who rules the colony. But an anthill is a big place, and there are a lot more jobs to do. Here are a few you’ve probably never heard of:

• Garbage removers, who take “trash” out of the nest

• Morticians, who remove dead ants

• Explorers, who count their steps to figure out the way back home

• Internet marketers, who work on building the list and executing product launches

• Farmers, who herd and “milk” other bugs and cultivate fungus for food

(Okay. Just kidding about the Internet marketers. But the rest is true.)

(Source: The New York Review of Books)

[winston]

It's Fun to Know: Chimpanzee Mating Rituals

German researchers working in Africa (the Ivory Coast) have determined that female chimpanzees mate more often with males who share their meals with them, specifically meat.

The scientists, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, believe that the females "reward" the males with long-term sexual relationships as long as they keep bringing on the food. (This somewhat monogamous behavior is unusual, because chimps are usually pretty promiscuous.)

Why? Their guess is that the "girls" are impressed because they recognize that hunting down meat is dangerous work.

(Source: Reuters)

[kennynah]

a survival instinct, i guess...

next time..boys... treat your gals to char siew/ shio ba rice and not vegetarian bee hoon, ok? unless of cos, you intend to stay platonic...hahahaha....