That Pig's So Hot

The warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is found throughout most of Africa. It's the only pig on the planet that is able to endure an environment in which there is no water for several months out of the year. How does it do that? Most likely they're able to endure a higher-than-normal body temperature, which allows them to store moisture in their body for consumption through the dry months. They are, in a word, hot. Camels do the same thing.

The males are larger than the females, and can weigh in at over 300 lbs. But since warthogs live in small matriarchal clans, the males get very aggressive when it comes to access to the ladies. That's most lilkely why this pair began sparring. Ironically, it was the boar with the larger of the tusks that walked away from the fight. Seems that being cantankerous, combative, and scrappy counts for a lot. I'll be teaching that life lesson to my children.

As a sidenote: Those warts are knobby protrusions meant to protect the head in such fights. Would that all warts were functional.

Photo by Thomas Retterath

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calavera , cráneo , caletre [sl.]

Spiders, Fried

When next in Cambodia, visit the ladies of Spiderville in Angkor Wat. You can purchase yourself a heap of fried spiders for a midday snack.

As much as this horrifies me, as much as my arachnophobia triggers my fight or flight reflex at seeing this image, my taste buds are telling me something different. They're trying to remember the last time anything fried had tasted bad. They're telling me that maybe they'd overwhelm my base survival instincts (well, cultural bias) and make me eat one of these. Can my taste buds really hold such sway?

If my waistline is any indicator, the answer is yes. Time for some serious introspection. And lunch.

Photo by James and Cesca Bell

Of Scabrous Heads and Garbage

Photo by Dr. Fitz
The more storks I get to know, the more I begin to wonder exactly which stork it's supposed to be that delivers our babies? Certainly not the marabou or wood stork. And certainly not the Greater Adjutant Stork.

These massive birds (over an eight-foot wingspan) are natives of southeast Asia. They're endangered (with about 1,000 individuals estimated left in the wild, they'd be hard pressed to deliver all those babies), but they're adaptable. Like most storks, they eat frogs and fish, etc. But this one will also eat carrion, for which its scabrous head is an adaptation. They have also learned to scratch a living out of human garbage dumps.

Much like the Grinch of Whoville fame, this peruser of garbage knows far too much of the underbelly of humanity. I'd hate to hear his opinion of us.

Shut Your Mouth

I can't believe I've never heard of this bird. Three and a half years into this blog, and I get the suspicion that I've only scratched the surface of the Uglosphere.

Behold the Sri Lanka Frogmouth. This is a nocturnal bird, most closely related to nightjars. As you might guess, they are found in Sri Lanka, but also in Southwest India.

As parents they work in shifts to incubate their single egg. The female takes the graveyard shift, while the male takes the day.

They're insectivorous, and their flight is described as weak and erratic, but they nevertheless manage to catch their share of crunchy morsels.

I'm going to have to spend the next few minutes staring at this bird to try to decide if it looks more like a ferbie, a muppet, or the illicit offspring of a frog and Skeksi.

Thanks for the photos, Jelo.

Bee Maggots

I never get to post on honey bees, save for the occasional giant Asian wasp post. Here's my chance.

Take a look inside those honeycomb brood chambers and see the little bee larvae. Little bee maggots. Technically, I can't call them maggots, since 'maggot' refers to fly larvae. But until I'm told the proper name for bee larvae (and there may not be one, though an agriculturalist might be able to set me straight), I'll stick with maggot.

But such is the strength of my sweet tooth that I will be having Honey Nut Cheerios, despite all the maggots. And no, this post was not brought to you by General Mills.

Photo source: Chrissie Jamieson

Bullies

When big daddy lappet-faced vulture (nine-foot wingspan) shows up at the party, the white-backed vultures step aside, especially when fresh impala carcass is on the menu.

But the vultures who cede the carcass to their larger cousin don't begrudge him. It's actually a good thing, because the lappet-faced vulture has a stronger beak that allows him to tear through tough hides and thick muscles that lesser vultures aren't always able to manage, thereby granting them access to the more delectable innards. Even bullies have their role to play in the ecosystem.

Photo source: Jumbo22

Tick Trio

Judy sent along this slideshow from WebMD. Want to see what some of the most commonly encountered bugs and their bites look like? Then peruse the gallery. You'll feel itchy, be jumpy, and be more educated once you've done so.

You're looking at a trio of deer ticks. These parasites are diminutive (the average adult is the size of a sesame seed -- think of that the next time you're eating a Big Mac), but you still need to be on the alert. These ticks are vectors for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.



















I've never had ticks myself, though I once de-ticked a wild skink I caught. That was fun for a wee lad, as it involved fire (a blown out match, which I've since learned isn't the best way to rid oneself of ticks), a reptile, and blood (the ticks made a slight popping noise when I smashed them). And I got a warm-fuzzy feeling from being able to release a skink back into the wild that was better off for having met me. Not every lizard met the same fate (quite a few alligator lizards snapped off their tails in protest of my handling of them), but I'm sure that skink still tells its grandkids about that time when a grubby boy-hand plucked it from its basking rock and used flame to take away its hurt.

Turtle Cuddling

I'm in turtle mode today, ever since I got word this morning that our Russian tortoise escaped his enclosure, and then our backyard, only to be picked up by an early morning jogger just as the tortoise was about to climb out onto the street. Jack the Tortoise has been returned to us in one piece, much to my daughters' delight, but that was too close for comfort. So, just a reminder: make sure you've got the proper set up for your pets, whatever they may be. And don't underestimate the agility and ingenuity of a tortoise.

Back to uglies...

...and turtles.

Turtles, which will come as no surprise to anyone accustomed to the sight of red-eared sliders hanging out with each other while basking on a log, enjoy each other's company (for the most part). Touch plays a role in turtle happiness. That truth can play itself out across species boundaries sometimes, too.

Here we have a terrapin fulfilling the role of a basking rock for a juvenile snapping turtle. See? Fuzzy animals don't have a monopoly on cuddling. Wait, this has stumbled across the border from ugly to cute. Sorry about that. Maybe it's this need I'm feeling right now to go home and snuggle with my tortoise. But then I'd have to change my clothes after Jack squirted me with his wonderful blend of feces and urea. Never mind. Cuddly feelings gone.

Thanks for the photo, Morgan.