Monday 7 September 2020

Au naturel

  

Isn't nature wonderful? Look at that little dog. Isn't he sweet? He is real you know! Not battery operated or just a stuffed toy. Not much of a guard dog, I'm afraid. 

I love nature and all the different species of animals, and birds, fishes, plants and so on. Don't you? 

I thought I'd devote a post every now and then to nature and share with you the wonders of the world in which we live.

Did you know for instance that the centipede when it is chased by a predator it detaches one of its legs and throws it at the predator? The predator stops to eat the leg whilst the centipede runs away to safety. Unfortunately, many centipedes die shortly afterwards when they return to retrieve their shoe.
 
Now the clever ones amongst you will have noticed that the picture above is not a centipede. It is in fact a sloth. A totally different creature altogether. Not an insect, but an animal. Now there is a reason why I put up that picture instead of a centipede. I just could not find a photo of a centipede.
 
Did you know that the sloth just hangs there upside down from a tree and sleeps for up to 18 hours a day waiting for humans to arrive and save him from extinction? Also, this hanging upside down for most of the day makes it very difficult when he has to go to the toilet. Silly sloth!
 
Let us now consider another creature.
The tarantula spider. Did you know that there are more than a 1000 different species of tarantula spiders? And that they live all over the world? South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and some parts of Europe?
 
Did you know they have urticating hairs on their legs? Urtica is the Latin word for nettles. The tarantula's hairs are like those on nettles or like bristles. They are part of their defence mechanism. Tarantulas can bite and poison people. But also they can shake themselves and those bristles on their legs would fly off and would cause a serious rash on your skin. Or if you breathe them you would cough and splutter onto the afterlife. Or they could blind a person if they stick to the eyes like tiny arrows.
 
Another thing about the spider. It has a symbiotic relationship with other creatures. It is almost telepathic. It sends messages with their brains to other creatures to warn them of danger or to ask for help. For example, you could be in the jungle and you've caught a tarantula captive. It sends its telepathic message to nearby creatures; and you are suddenly attacked by an elephant or rhinocerous from behind!
 
So always keep a look-out for wild animals whilst hunting for tarantulas.
 
Can you imagine if we humans had hairs like the tarantula's on our arms and legs? We could shake ourselves and attack everyone close by with thousands of little arrows flying everywhere. That would certainly keep me away from that girl in the mini skirt and sleeveless blouse on the dance floor! 
 
Also, did you know that silverfish can live for two to eight years unless you hit them hard with your shoe?
 
And the thorny devil lizard can absorb water through its skin like a blotting paper. Then it drinks the water by opening and closing their mouth - they drink through their scales like sipping through a series of straws. So remember, never let one of these lizards stand in your glass of wine or else he'll get drunk and start singing, "I did it my way!"
 
The cricket chirps at night depending on the temperature. If it is very hot it could chirp 30 or 40 times a minute. If it is a little cooler it would chirp perhaps 15 to 20 times a minute. In very cold conditions it does not chirp at all because it is frozen out of its tiny mind.
 
The fish cannot blink if it gets water in its eyes. And it can drown if not taught to swim properly. The shark on the other hand would only attack if threatened. You are more likely to be killed by a charging hippopotamus than by a shark. This is because there are no sharks in the middle of the jungle. Not unless you took one there in your luggage; in which case it serves you right if it bit you in the backside!
 
Leave sharks alone! That's my motto.
 
Coffee is not everyone's cup of tea. That's another of my mottos.
 
Don't cry over dropped ice cubes. It is water under the fridge. Yet another of my mottos.

If one motto does not suit you, invent another one. That's my latest brand new motto.

What's yours?

21 comments:

  1. ...some creatures are so much more lovable than others, that's just the way life is!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your sense of humor here. I chuckled more than once.

    Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week, Victor. 😎

    ReplyDelete
  3. Smiles throughout! And yes, I'll make it a point to steer WAY clear of any tarantulas (tarantulae). Just typing it gives me the creeps.
    Did you get another dog and name him after yourself? He's adorable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No Mevely, apparently I was named after the dog. My parents had three dogs when I was born. One was called Victor. The other two were called Sit and 'Ere! Hence my middle names.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  4. Tarantulas give me the creeps, Victor! But your humorous post made me laugh all the same.
    Blessings!

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    Replies
    1. Laughter is good, even if it is scary with tarantulas.

      God bless, Martha.

      Delete
  5. My new motto is "Try not to rant - laugh instead. You will feel better".

    I'm getting there.

    :o)

    Cheers

    PM

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    Replies
    1. Agreed PM. Laughter is our sideline on this Blog. Please call again for more laughter.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  6. When in doubt, shout.
    Coffee is not everyone's cup of tea, I like it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dearest Victor,
    Love observing creatures and often have to laugh about their cunningness. Guess in many ways they appear to be a lot smarter and often a lot faster than several human beings. Some people don't seem to get it... ever!
    Yes, humor is a necessity for daily life, can't add enough of it for existing.
    Often I say, it is what it is... Can't change things or people.
    Glad there are so many differences.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes humour is a necessity these days, and always. That's why I use it a lot in my writings.

      God bless you, Mariette.

      Delete
  8. Oh that little dog is so cute. What a face!!
    Sure are lots of interesting and unusual creatures in the world.

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    Replies
    1. He's a clever dog, Happyone. He can bark in six languages.

      God bless.

      Delete
  9. I do like the little dog.

    I do find some animals/creatures more pleasant than others, but we are blessed to have so many different ones.

    All the best Jan

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    Replies
    1. I guess I like the creatures which go well with mint sauce.

      Sorry Jan ... I'm quite hungry right now! I'll go over to you blog in the hope you're serving something nice.

      God bless always.

      Delete
  10. What's a motto? Nothing, what's a motto with you?

    ReplyDelete

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