Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks?: And Other Questions about Animals
Introduction Perhaps you've heard these n sayings com about animals You can't teach an old dog new tricks If you touch a baby bird the mother will abandon it But are these sayings true Is there any science behind the stories Come along with us as we explore these old beliefs and more Find out whether the stories and sayings you've heard about animals are FACT OR FICTION
spider vest Is Spider Silk Really Stronger Than Steel Yes In fact it is several times stronger than steel of the same thickness It’s even stronger than Kevlar a material used to make bulletproof vests Scientists are trying to learn how to put proteins together in the same way that spiders do If they can make silk in a laboratory they may be able to figure out how to make all kinds of new materials Maybe people could make clothing that could never be ripped or wear out Car manufacturers might be able to create a car fender that could easily be bent back into shape if it were dented Many other new products could be possible as well What makes the silk so strong Spiders spin their silk out of proteins These chemicals are made of long chains The way the chains link together in a spider’s silk makes it extremely tough Spiders use their silk in many different ways They drop down from silk lines to escape danger Females spin sacs of silk to protect their eggs while baby spiders develop inside the eggs Some spiders hide in silk tunnels waiting for an insect or other tasty meal to arrive Others make trapdoors of silk and dart out of the trapdoor when an insect goes by Still other spiders depend on strong silk webs to catch their meals 5
Will a Mother Bird Abandon Her Babies after a Person Touches Them Because She Smells a Human Scent NOPE Scientists are not even sure that birds can smell people For years scientists believed birds had a poor sense of smell because they have tiny olfactory lobes the part of the brain that detects odors Modern scientists are not so sure They are discovering that some birds can smell different odors
Regardless of whether birds can smell people they do not abandon their babies after a person has touched them But birds will not care for their young as long as a person stays near the babies If you find a young bird on the ground you might think it needs your help Most likely it does not A bird with fluffy feathers that is hopping on the ground is a fledgling It cannot fly well but it is ready to be out of the nest Its parents are nearby ready to feed it and lead it to safety Leave the fledgling alone and its parents will return to care for it A nestling is a baby bird that isn’t ready to be out of the nest It has few feathers and cannot yet cling to branches Sometimes nestlings fall out of nests If you can safely reach a nest carefully place the nestling back inside Watch from a distance so the parents will return Fledglings like this black throated blue warbler are young birds that have recently left the nest and are still learning how to fly Sniffing Birds Kiwis are flightless birds that live in New Zealand They have an excellent sense of smell A kiwi’s olfactory lobe is ten times bigger than that of other birds Kiwis are nocturnal active at night and they hunt for food in the dark When a kiwi pushes its beak underground it sniffs with its nostrils which are on the tip of its beak Its sharp sense of smell leads it to worms and bugs 7
