Some of the most amazing sounds it makes, however, are not mimicry at all. The male lyrebird's mating call includes a variety of clicks, thuds, and buzzes that sound mechanical to humans but are learned from its parents.
European Badgers are social animals that live in family groups. Each group builds a series of tunnels (called setts) with dens scattered throughout. A badger village appears above ground as a series of holes covered with piles of leaves and hay. The community has a scratching pole for badgers’ claws, which is used to mark their territory as well as for grooming and communicating with members of their clan. They even designate a specific area as the bathroom, known as a dung pit.
Naked mole rats may have specific roles, such as cleaning the toilet chamber or transporting waste, rather than being generalist helpers. The findings suggest naked-mole-rat colonies are even more complex than we thought.
In 1925, doctors in Nome, Alaska faced a deadly diphtheria outbreak. The only serum that could save lives was in Seattle. Unable to deliver the medicine by plane, officials devised a last-ditch plan: A relay of dog sled teams would carry the medicine across hundreds of miles of snow and ice. Balto, a black-and-white Siberian husky, led the final stretch. He braved a fierce blizzard to complete the final leg of the journey on February 2. His bravery helped save the town and earned him a place in American history. A statue of Balto still stands in New York City’s Central Park today.
Sometimes it’s nice to spend the day in your pyjamas – but your whole life?
This squat, rotund little cephalopod is a striped pyjama squid, says Stuart Blackman. It grows to only about 5cm in length, and also goes by the name of striped dumpling squid.
Native to shallow coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific, it spends its days in bed – seagrass beds to be precise – buried in sand with only its eyes protruding. It emerges only at night to hunt small crustaceans and fish.
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