Page 7 - Burlington Reports Newsletter - Fall/Winter 2019

Burlington Reports
Paws and Claws Society, Inc., Thorofare, NJ
www.pacsnj.org
Issue 25, September 2019
Page 7
Answers to Quiz: Animal Fact or Myth? (Continued)
(Continued from page 5)
untrue and was likely created
with the intention of keeping
children from disturbing the
nests. That being said, it is
important to note that bird's
nests, as well as any wild ani-
mals or birds, should not be
disturbed.
6. Ostriches lay their eggs in
large holes in the ground,
and a few times a day, os-
trich parents can be seen
checking on their eggs by
sticking their heads into the
holes, but that is the closest
they come to the myth of
burying their heads. They
don’t bury their heads.
7. Owls can turn their heads up
to 270 degrees, which, if at-
tempted by a human would
damage blood vessels in the
neck or block blood supply to
the brain, but they are not
capable of a 360-degree rota-
tion.
8. A light touch to a butterfly's
wing won't cause lasting
damage, but butterfly wings
are very delicate and contain
veins which, if broken, can
cause the butterfly to die. It's
always best to resist touching
butterflies, but if your hand
should accidentally brush
gently against one, you don't
have to be worried that you
have harmed it.
9. This is sort of a trick-question
because of the way it is
worded. All bees do not die
after stinging once, but hon-
eybees do. A honeybee's
stinger is different from the
Partners in Prevention Not Destruction since 1993
stingers of other bees and, be-
cause it has backward-facing
barbs, it gets lodged in the skin
and cannot be pulled out. In or-
der for the honeybee to fly away
after a sting, it must mortally
injure itself to disconnect from
its stinger. This does not happen
to other types of bees, however.
10. Warts are caused by a human
virus that is not present on a
frog or a toad, however, frogs
and toads can come with their
own non-wart-causing dangers,
ranging from toxins in their skin
that can cause pain if they are
touched, to neurotoxins that can
potentially kill.
11. A rattlesnake uses the rattles on
its tail as a warning that they
are there. Generally shy and
harmless if left alone, a rattle-
snake will strike if it is startled or
feels threatened, and they do
not always rattle before striking.
12. Changing color to blend into sur- 19. Crocodiles are actually fast on
roundings sounds like a super-
hero ability and it would be very
cool if any animal or person
could do it, but alas, the reason
a chameleon changes color has
more to do with communicating
its moods as well as with tem-
perature and light.
13. A turtle's shell is a living part of
its body and even has its own
blood and nerve supply, which
means a turtle can feel when its
shell is touched. If the shell is
damaged, the turtle not only can
feel pain, but is also at risk of
potentially deadly infection.
14. The piranha, a type of fish that
lives in South American rivers
and lakes, is generally under-
stood to be shy and unaggres-
sive, despite its sharp teeth.
They mostly scavenge for
fish, insects, and plants. In
1914, Theodore Roosevelt
made a trip to Brazil where
he saw piranhas quickly eat
the meat off of a dead cow in
a staged hoax for tourists in
which captive fish were cruel-
ly starved for days.
15. While a female praying man-
tis may occasionally eat the
male after mating, this is not
normal behavior for the spe-
cies.
16. It is absolutely not true that
turkeys drown in the rain.
17. Bats are not blind. In fact,
some can see very well.
18. A camel's hump actually
stores fat - enough that the
camel can go for 3 weeks
without eating.
land - probably faster than a
human, in fact!
20. While cats are agile and able
to readjust their position in
mid-air, they do not always
land on their feet. This is very
important to know - never
drop a cat from a height and
don't let them get onto high
balconies where they could
possibly fall and get hurt!
~ ~ ~
See “For Fur-Ther Information”
on page one to learn about links
on our web site, pacsnj.org, for
additional reading on this and
other topics mentioned in Bur-
lington Reports!