Category Archives: nature

Squirrels Rub on Snake Stink to Avoid Predators

I know I should leave the FCC post at the top of the page, because it’s extremely important. And yet, a post with the words “snake stink” in it seems like a fitting tribute to FCC Chairman Kevin J Martin, don’t you think?

Most snakes give off a subtle odor that’s akin to gamey fried chicken, but it is a useful smell to [tag]rock squirrels[/tag] and [tag]California ground squirrels[/tag], which chew shed rattlesnake skins and then lick their fur with their snake-scented spit, according to a new study.

The rather indelicate ritual likely helps [tag]squirrels[/tag] fool their rattlesnake arch nemeses. The discovery may represent the first documented instance of a vertebrate self-applying a chemical from a foreign source in order to defend itself against predators.

[read the entire scary article]

To be honest, I’d chew on rattlesnake skin and spit it onto my skin if it repelled snakes. I like snakes, when I know where they are. I don’t like when they have the upper hand. And [tag]snakes[/tag] are wily, they always have the upper hand.

More on monkeys

I’m super-lazy this morning and so have no humorous commentary to add, not that [tag]JunglePete[/tag]’s post on monkey diapers requires humorous commentary:

When diapering a monkey, the most important thing is to cut a hole for the tail. Clean the dirty monkey butt, feed the tail through the new diaper hole and slide the diaper up the tail to the monkey’s bottom. The rest is just like diapering a baby. And I would know. I diapered a baby once (and two monkeys and one ape for that matter.)

Anyone that knows me knows that my parents ran the Florida Monkey Sanctuary from 1968-1988 in Venice, Florida where this diapering lesson came in handy. One of the most often asked questions then was “where do you get monkey diapers”? You don’t. You make them using preemie diapers. And for apes who have no tails, plain old diapers work fine.

[you really should read the rest of the post]