For the past several months the news has been dominated by all things election. We have been bombarded with endless stories about voting, intra-party fighting, swing states, and every now and again when they run out of nerdy angles, actual issues. But that has come at a cost: we've neglected almost every other aspect of our world. That's not to say that there hasn't been news in other areas. Rather, it is so buried below the fold on page 32 that it may as well not exist. Go ahead and play editor: given the chance to allocate precious column inches to a report about a red-state pro-life candidate who pushes his ex-girlfriend to get an abortion or a story about the discovery of the first-ever colony of fire ants in France, which would you pick?
Speaking of those ants (which are a real thing: considered one of the world's most invasive species, they appeared in Toulon near the French Riviera, only the second sighting in Europe), the animal world has been choc-a-bloc full of developments. Perhaps not as consequential as which party holds the Senate or if Wisconsin succumbs to one party rule, they are stories worth noting. In some cases, such as the aforementioned insect, there is a tie to a wider theme, in that case the spread of climate change. In others, it expands our knowledge of the organisms with whom we share a planet. And in others, it's just, well, funny.
Let's start in the ocean. Off of Portugal reports came in of what is believed to be the heaviest bony fish every discovered. The giant sunfish weighed over 6000 pounds and was over 10 feet long. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, scientists exploring 2 new marine parks off Australia came across a variety of up-till-now never seen creatures. They include a blind cusk eel with see-thru skin, the tripod spiderfish with stilt-like fins that enable it stand above the ocean floor and wait for unsuspecting prey to walk beneath, and an adorable batfish, which looks like a ravioli with legs and a tiny face that looks like a puppy.
Back on dry land there is the report of the death of Dida, Africa's best-known female "Big Tusker." That designation is given to elephants whose tusks are so long that they scrape the ground. It is estimated there are only 25 such animals in the world, and Dida was the oldest at an estimated 60 to 65 years of age. And going from large to small, the National Park Service in the US is cautioning individuals from catching and licking Sonoran Desert Toads. Seems the toads secrete a toxin that if smoked causes the user to experience euphoria and hallucinations. That's attributed to a chemical found in the toxin, bufotenine, which is illegal in California. However, in Arizona it is OK to capture up to 10 toads with the proper license. As for the licking vs. smoking, well, who knows? More likely is that it will cause sickness or death as opposed to a prophetic vision, though that could account for some the election shenanigans that are going on in that state.
And then there's the gloomy octopus. A recent study shows that it has a habit that, while not uncommon in humans, is much rarer in the animal kingdom. When another octopus gets too close or in some way annoys its neighbor, it picks up a bunch of silt and sand and throws it at the offender. Think of a third grader who get irritated when a playmate comes too close to her Cheerios. Video also shows that the octopus will occasionally pick up a shell and throw it, but it's unclear if it's actually using it as a weapon, or it's just a demonstration of displeasure. Scientists are now going back over old file footage to see if they see other human-like aggressive behaviors, such as the octopus sending mean tweets.
Considering that animals outnumber humans by 40 to 1, it would make sense to pay a little more attention to them. But then again, plants outnumber both of us together by 225 times. So forget stories about cats with hats and dogs that dance. Turns out that bananas descend from a wild version 7000 years ago that was full of seeds. Maybe next week news about all thing green and yellow?
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Marc Wollin of Bedford likes dogs more than cats. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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