Posts Tagged ‘fauna’

How Do Dogs Speak?

March 6th, 2010

Dogs are just about the most intelligent of domestic animals. If you take the time to look, you will see that they have the ability to communicate with humans, other dogs and even other species. They do this with body language and voice. Their signs are made with the their eyes, ears, eyebrows, head, mouth and tail.

Their voice is clearly not the same as ours, but they use pitch in their barks, whines, whimpers, pants, growls and howls and their gestures are made with their entire body and every element of it.

You can always tell a self-assured and therefore higher ranking dog, because they hold their tails aloft. Dogs, like all other animals, including we humans, have an inborn sense or their place in society. This is because dogs evolved in packs in the wild, just as we evolved in communities. which is why they fit well into our human society.

There is a hierarchy within their group, as within human society. The subservient dogs submit themselves to the stronger dogs, which is why dogs lower their tail when they feel insecure. When dogs fight for dominance, the fur on their tails stands up and they have this trait in common with other animals. They do it to demonstrate that they are being serious in front of their adversary.

A dog that is unsure what to do will wag its tail slowly. A bit like you or I might give a weak smile, unsure whether to smile openly or glower. They are in a process of working out whether they should recognize the status quo or fight. Excited dogs wag their tails very fast and if the dog’s hip moves along with the tail, it means that the dog is in submissive mode to a higher ranker. A pet should do that to its owner, as you have become the leader of its surrogate pack.

When dogs become aggressive they show their teeth, the same as humans. If all of the teeth are visible, it indicates that the dog is prepared to bite or attack. We do the same unconsciously. People often bare their teeth and snarl insults, before a fight. However, they also show teeth when they smile but this is an indication of compliance, again as we do – submissiveness here meaning a recognition that a fight is superfluous.

With a dog, the number of teeth on display shows the difference between a smile and a snarl. In a smile, a dog only shows the front teeth, but in a snarl the dog reveals all his teeth and gums and makes an aggressive sound.

Ears are a good indication of the dog’s degree of attention. When the ears are vertical and forward facing, it means that the dog is concentrating. But if the dog is relaxed, its ears will lie flat. However, some breeds do not have as much control over their ears.

Dogs bark to protect their territory, which comes to mean their boss’ territory, which should signify your property. However, barking is their usual language so you will have to learn the difference between friendly play barking and aggression in your dog. It is pretty apparent though.

Observation of your pet is the key, because, although all dogs are the same as in all humans are the same, there are minor differences. They are not difficult to learn, just spend some time with you dog and keep your mind open and it will become very apparent to you.

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Copperhead Snakes

December 26th, 2009

Copperhead snakes are the snakes that cause the nastiest and most frequent snake-bite problems in the United States. The copperhead can be distinguished by its stout shape and its neck, which is distinct from the body as well as by its pale cross-band tan pattern that gets darker in the middle and on the sides.

Copperhead snakes have pale bellies, very similar to the the colour of the ground, but their appearance can also be whitish on occasions. There are visible spots or pits on the head of copperhead snakes that look like small dark specks and there is also a rather discolored stripe on the head behind the eyes; diffuse on the top, the stripe gets a fair bit darker towards the sides of the snake’s head.

Copperhead snakes can be found almost anywhere, from rock and pond areas to woods and the shores of streams. Their choice of habitat is dictated by the predominance of prey, as copperhead snakes live on frogs, small rodents, cicadas, lizards, caterpillars and anything else that cabe taken without too much trouble.

Probably the most common haunts for copperhead snakes are wood piles, stone slabs, walls, debris and abandoned or ruined buildings, which explains the possibility of a face to face encounter in such areas. Copperhead snakes are active from March to October, with a hibernation period in the cold autumn and winter months.

The dens into which copperhead snakes retreat during winter are their homes year after year, and usually there are more specimens living in the same place. In summer time when it is too hot outside, copperhead snakes will stay in the shade during the day and go out to hunt at night. On pleasantly warm days, the copperhead will simply bask in the sun on rocks or wood debris. Copperhead snakes do not hatch eggs, but give birth to live young. The number of young varies between one and fourteen. The mating period extends untill mid autumn.

Immediate medical assistance is absolutely necessary in the case of bites by copperhead snakes since there is the risk of permanent scarring accompanied by really unbearable pain. The best advice you can get when encountering copperhead snakes is to avoid them, because many people get bitten when they threaten the snakes when roaming or hunting.

Snakes will not harm you unless they sense danger, when you will see how fiercely they can defend themselves. Statistics indicate that copperhead snakes are the most frequent life threateners in the US, because these snakes attack quite out of the blue without sending any warning signals like other species do.

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The Spitting Cobras

October 29th, 2009

The snake called the spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species as it not only has a venomous bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of its prey and aggressors. Contact of this venom with your eyes can be very painful and even temporarily blinding, therefore, if you get cobra venom in your eyes, irrigate them immediately in order to prevent permanent tissue damage.

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also remarkable in this large family of snakes (elapidae) because it feeds almost entirely on other snakes with mice and small birds also falling prey to its poison.

The King Cobra is also unique because of its size – it can reach 5.85m (almost 20 feet) in length, which makes it the longest poisonous snake in the world. The latest discovery of a new species of cobra was made in 2003 when it was identified by London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

DNA studies revealed that this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but has different genes. It seems to originate from an area between Sudan and Egypt and it has been called the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Though highly dangerous when it senses a threat, a cobra will not attack if you leave it in peace, although the venomous spit can travel very accurately for two meters. If compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is pretty slow in attack, and many bites prove blank, that is without envenomation.

According to a study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims only 55% of the bites involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey destroy the nerves (neurotoxin) , which induces respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to get help.

The colouration of this snake is variable from light green-grey to black, whereas juveniles have alternate yellow and black bands.This snake is to be found all over south-eastern Asia.

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