(Almost worldwide)
A single locust, or one termite, doesn’t look like it could cause much trouble. But when they appear in their thousands, watch out!
Mosquitoes, including their larvae, are food for other insects. As well as for frogs, toads, lizards, birds and bats.
From the nymph stage to adulthood, mosquitoes have good reason to fear dragonflies.
Disease and infection. Besides the mosquito, blame the flesh-fly and the cockroach. But remember, they also dispose of waste.
Many pesticides wipe out all insects – including beneficial ones like dung flies and cockroaches.
The Anopheles mosquito can carry dangerous protozoan from person to person.
Video: Mosquitoes go through their larval and pupal stages in water, before finally developing their adult wings. Only the females bite. They need blood to develop their eggs.
Advice: Do you want to keep the mosquito population down around your house? Don’t leave water standing in containers. Even an old tin can become a breeding ground. Instead, try putting up a house for insect-eating birds or bats.
Next: Mosquitoes lay their eggs on water. So you’ll find mosquitoes in many wetland environments.
Have you ever seen creatures that come in as many varieties as beetles?
The colour red means, “Don’t eat me.”
Tadpoles beware! Diving beetles would like to have you for dinner.
If you’re not very good at fighting, sometimes you just have to fake it.
Many insects are easily misunderstood. Just like people, in a way.
The ladybird and the cockroach. Now, here are two different characters that you must surely have seen.
Weevils are tiny, can look pretty, but can also be destructive.
Yes, beetles do have wings. They’re just covered up.
Video: Some beetles are built for battle. When male stag beetles meet, they wrestle by grabbing each other with their curved pincers. There’s little doubt about who is the loser.
Advice: Do not pick up a strange beetle. Some have nasty pincers, and some can even squirt acid. It’s no wonder they’re so defensive. Consider your size compared to theirs.
Next: Beetles are insects with special hard wing cases. What about mosquitoes? Are they insects too?
(Worldwide except Antarctica)
From the queen to the workers. The nest of the common wasp is a well-coordinated building project.
Copycats! That bee fly is no bumblebee, the hover fly no wasp. And the queen tree wasp… doesn’t sting.
The adult jewel wasp eats nectar. But baby wasps need meat to grow on before they become vegetarians.
This is the fearsome-looking female wood wasp. However, that spike is not a stinger, but just a tool for drilling holes and laying eggs.
The face of a wasp is a wondrous thing.
Like people, many wasps love sweets.
It’s the tarantula hawk wasp one, the spider zero. Her babies will now have plenty of food.
A gall on a tree is home for gall wasp larvae. If they don’t fall prey to the chalcid wasp.
Video: Even a wasp can have a bad day. One might kill a caterpillar, fight to keep it, and haul it home. Into the house for a second, and dinner gets stolen!
Advice: Do not attempt to remove an inhabited wasp nest yourself. Unless you’re completely protected from head to foot. Or better still, call a professional instead. Those wasps can get pretty testy, let me tell you!
Next: The insect world is incredibly varied. Wasps and beetles are two types of insect.
“Who says we’re destructive? We’re just eating!”
If we had eyes like these, the world would seem a very different place.
Some insects are not dangerous themselves, but they leave behind unwanted guests.
Imagine living only a small part of your life as an adult. Well, that’s what happens with mayflies.
Even dung is important in the natural world.
Now, here’s an interesting disguise! Meet the praying mantis, one of the most amazing hunters in the insect world.
Some creatures that we look down on are actually doing us a great service.
Video: Incredible dramas are taking place around us every day. Yet we rarely even notice. That’s because all the action is happening… in the miniature world of insects.
Advice: I’ve learnt to appreciate insects. They are really quite fascinating. Besides, there are millions more of them than there are of us, so it would be really best to live in peace with them, don’t you think?
Next: Some insects are harmless to humans. Others can give a painful sting, such as a wasp.
I rented another trio of DVDs from Xtra-vision for this weekend.
And, as it happens, we start with the best one! :) It's Beasts of the Southern Wild. I was torn between this and Rust and Bone, but I decided to go with the Oscar nominee. So… it was good. Yeah, I enjoyed it.
Not only did the opening scenes quickly get me fully immersed in the Bathtub environment, but it's incredibly rare that a movie actually succeeds in making me feel like a kid again. The main character's personality and outlook on life is just spot-on.
The third act confused me at first, but quickly explained itself, brilliantly putting the cap on a consistently strong film.
It even manages to work in a message about the melting of the polar icecaps without it seeming forced!
It's just an all-around thoroughly enjoyable movie, from the instantly endearing opening to the fantastic credits music.
My rating: 80%.
Now for J Edgar.
I'm a big fan of Clint Eastwood as a director, so it breaks my heart to say this, but man… this movie sucks! I mean, what happened, Clint?
All the main comments in the Rotten Tomatoes consensus are true. The lighting is consistently poor, and not just in the scenes where everything's too dark. The old-face makeup is the absolute worst I've ever seen. The narrative is jumbled, sometimes to the point where scenes seem just randomly shuffled. Even Leonardo DiCaprio's central performance is hammy at best, and the rest of the acting is just as wooden.
The movie juggles two stories at once: the young days of Hoover that you'd expect, and another in his later years. I didn't care about either.
The really maddening thing is that I saw brief glimpses of what this movie could have been. Some of the philosophy is sound, and the beginnings of what Hoover revolutionised are touched on.
In short, a great biopic of J Edgar Hoover could certainly be possible, but this definitely isn't it!
My rating: 30%.
But the third, just like last time, is the one for which I rented all three in the first place: Sinister.
Now, horror movies based on the supernatural usually never frighten me. This one too didn't really scare me, but it did succeed in doing the next-best thing: creeping me out. And I think that's mainly thanks to how down-to-earth and relatable the characters are.
That and the movie has an intelligence to it that very few horror films have – which is hardly surprising, considering it was written by a film critic! It does rely a bit too much on jump scares, but it still keeps you in suspense because it's mainly a mystery story, so you're constantly wondering what you're going to see and how it'll prove helpful as a clue.
The best moment by far is the music playing over the second film (the "barbecue" one). Something about that music just makes the whole scene very unsettling.
In short, there were a tonne of horror movies in 2012. I only saw a couple of them, but I think I can quite safely say that Sinister, at least in terms of actual horror, was easily the best.
My rating: 70%.
(Central and South America)
The passion-vine caterpillar has some neighbours in the tropical rainforest: tiger centipedes and curly-haired tarantulas.
The passion-vine caterpillar isn’t the only creature that has spikes for protection.
Unlike most butterflies, the passion-vine butterfly is not good to eat.
Passion-vine butterflies come in many different colours and patterns.
Passion-flower leaves, poisonous to most, are a gourmet meal to this caterpillar.
Scare tactics and dirty tricks. The puss moth caterpillar has a few surprises up its sleeve.
Disguise yourself as a flower, like the crab spider or the praying mantis, and you’ll catch yourself a meal.
Magic! Butterflies and moths develop from eggs to caterpillars to chrysalises – before changing to their winged glory.
Video: If you’re a caterpillar, you need to protect yourself. Some wear sharp spines, and others bristle with irritating hair. Or you might look like a bird dropping, then no one would want to eat you!
Advice: Swallowing one of these is like taking a cyanide capsule. If you really must taste a caterpillar or butterfly, eat a different one. Or better still, don’t eat one at all!
Next: Some caterpillars look like aliens from outer space. But then, there are a lot of weird-looking creatures in the world of insects.
(Central and South America, Mexico)
Jaguars, leopards, ocelots and cheetahs all have spots. But the spots are all different between each cat.
They roam the same areas of Central America. But an ocelot will always back away from the bigger jaguar.
Jaguars enjoy a varied diet. Here are some of the items that might appear on their menu: caimans, catfish and tapirs.
They climb, they jump, they leap. Jaguars are great all-around hunters.
Big mysterious cats like jaguars have inspired awe in many cultures through the centuries.
A good camouflage mimics the surroundings of its wearer. A motionless jaguar can be almost invisible!
Video: Jaguars prowl their territories alone. Except when males and females come together to mate. These beautiful cats love water, and are famous for their fishing techniques.
Advice: If you see a jaguar, count yourself lucky. Most people will never get a look at this beautiful cat. In tropical rainforests, be sure to look up as well as all around. You may see a jaguar on the branch above you.
Next: Jaguars live in the tropical forests of Central and South America. That’s also where you’ll find passion-vine caterpillars and butterflies.
(North and South America)
The ocelot and the Geoffroy’s cat. Here are two beautiful relatives of the cougar – that prefer a warmer climate.
The spots on a cougar cub are camouflage, to help protect it while it’s growing up.
Cougars used to roam all over North America. Now they’re found only in remote locations.
It lives in the snow and looks like a bobcat. Meet the lynx – before they’re all gone!
The wild cat, also known as the bobcat, hunts at night. However, whatever you choose to call it, there are not many left.
Video: If wild animals held athletic contests, a cougar would enter many of the jumping and sprinting events. This agile cat can easily leap distances many times its own length. When bounding after prey, it can switch directions quickly. Even in the snow.
Advice: If you see a cougar, do not approach it. Remember that you’re in its territory. And it may treat you as badly as you would treat an intruder in your own home.
Next: Cougars are the biggest wild cats in the United States. But the jaguar is the biggest cat in the Western Hemisphere.
Water. That’s the challenge in the desert.
The Australian outback. In this isolated area, some primitive mammals have changed very, very little.
The green toad has special features that help it cope with a lack of water.
Get along where you are when you can. But if times get really rough, if you’re a locust, you know you can just fly away.
How to avoid the daytime desert heat? Why, go underground, of course!
Some creatures don’t need to look for water. Their bodies take care of that for them.
Video: From a hawk’s point of view, the desert is a good place to live. There’s a lot of room to fly, and saguaro cacti make fine perches to sit on. And prey can be easily spotted from great distances. From a rabbit’s viewpoint, there aren’t many places to hide.
Advice: Lots of desert creatures have special skins that prevent moisture from escaping. When I’m in the desert, I wish I had this skin as well!
Next: There’s more life in a desert environment than you might expect. In the American Southwest, you might find a cougar.
When it’s cold, it’s a good idea to have some insulation. The Arctic fox is dressed for the weather!
Sometimes, you have only one choice. Adapt, or go somewhere else.
First, a blur of white feathers. Then sharp talons descend on the prey. A snowy owl is a fearsome hunter.
Most life in Antarctica depends on food from the seas.
When you live in extreme conditions, you’d better learn how to adapt. Ask the eider duck and the musk ox for advice!
In the far north, both predators and prey live difficult lives.
This place [see previous line] is difficult to live in. And very dangerous as well.
Video: Which animals live in the Arctic? Elephant seals. Walruses. Beluga whales. And caribou. Just to name a few!
Advice: In my travels, I’ve learnt that there are living things that have adapted to every environment on earth. The natural world is a place that never ceases to amaze me.
Next: Isn’t it amazing that so many animals can survive under extreme conditions? In perpetual ice and snow, or in the heat and dryness of deserts.
(Europe and Asia)
Travel to the African desert, and you may see another type of adder. If it’s not hiding in the sand!
Do snakes speak with a forked tongue? No. They smell and taste with it!
Its name is frightening for good reason. But fortunately, the death adder is not aggressive.
These snakes can sense body heat, with special pits on their heads.
These snakes – the puff adder and the Gaboon viper – are related to the European adder. But they are more deadly.
Video: By keeping its head still and wriggling its worm-like tail, an Australian death adder tricks its prey into coming close enough for it to bite. The snake’s powerful venom will paralyse the victim in seconds.
Advice: Adders sleep under rocks and in crevices instead of digging holes. So keep your fingers out of rock crevices, or you may get a nasty surprise!
Next: The European adder is an unusual snake, because it can survive in areas that receive a lot of ice and snow seasonally.
(North America, northern Europe, Siberia)
The badger, a relative of the wolverine, has a reputation as a bad-tempered animal. But most, like the Old World badger, are quite gentle.
They’re not related, but the wolf and the wolverine have much in common. Such as, for example, being hunted almost to extinction in many parts of the world.
Wolverines aren’t fussy eaters. They don’t even care if their food is dead or alive.
Grizzly bears and mountain lions. A wolverine will even fight these powerful predators for a kill!
The wolverine, the weasel and the Tasmanian devil. All fierce hunters and remarkably strong. These small creatures scare off many a larger one.
Video: Wolverines look – and sometimes act – like miniature bears. They have glands near their tails that produce a musky smell. That’s why they’re sometimes also known as “skunk bears”.
Advice: You will probably never see a wolverine; they are quite rare. But just because they’re small does not mean they’re wimps! Pound for pound, a wolverine is one of the toughest creatures on the planet. If one wants your lunch, hand it over!
Next: Some wolverines live in the far north of Europe. The European adder is also found in this location.
(North America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Mexico)
For camouflage and warmth in the winter, wear a thick white coat, like the Arctic fox – a cousin of the wolf.
The Tasmanian wolf, now extinct, was actually a marsupial. The maned wolf, which is really a dog, may soon also disappear.
People thought wolves killed livestock. So now the only wolves left are in the northern parts of North America.
A meal may last for days. Leaders eat first, and adults return to the den to feed the babies.
The wolf, like the domestic dog and other canines, has the teeth of a predator.
A dominant male and female lead the wolf pack.
“Hello!” Or is it, “Keep your distance?!” Or maybe, “I’m having fun!” The howl of the wolf can be heard a long way off.
Wolf pups learn by playing. After a few years, they leave to start their own packs.
Video: Lips curled back, teeth bared. It’s not a smile! It means, “Back off!” Wolves communicate with all kinds of visual signals, as well as with a wide variety of sounds.
Advice: If a wolf is following you, don’t be overly concerned. Wolves have never been known to attack humans. But you don’t want to encourage one to come too close, either!
Next: Wolves live in many places, and have large territories. Some northern wolves share their ranges with wolverines.
Everyone can develop bad habits. We must help animals stay away from them.
Some people still think it’s “cool” to kill a precious animal. We need to help them to understand what they’re doing.
Every time we pollute or destroy the environment, we’re also destroying the habitats of many kinds of wildlife.
Better use of our land would help preserve wildlife habitats.
Many animals would be a lot better off if we didn’t use our cars so much.
You wouldn’t want people you didn’t even know walking into your house, would you?
Sometimes, friends can visit each other too much.
It’s people that have been responsible for killing most animals. We need to look at wildlife in a different light.
Isn’t it better to see live wild animals than to have a collection of dead ones?
Video: People don’t need guns to kill animals. A single oil spill from one tanker ship can wipe out life for miles around. We humans often destroy wildlife habitats through ignorance, by accident, or even deliberately.
Advice: If you put together all the shark attacks, all the spider and snake bites, all the bee and wasp and jellyfish stings, all the attacks of wild animals on people, the total number of people killed by animals still would be only a tiny fraction of the number of wild animals killed by people. I think this planet is big enough for all kinds of creatures, don’t you?
Next: People are the most dangerous animals on earth. We sometimes even pay hunters to kill wild animals. For example, wolves.
Well, I had quite an evening last night! I went to see Lincoln and Django Unchained back-to-back, and I also booked a hostel for the night. Why? Because it was the only option. You see, the cinema in Sligo, during the school term, doesn't open until long after the only bus out to Coolaney (the rural village where I live) leaves. That's probably the main reason I don't go to the cinema very often: because I can never see a movie at any convenient time. Not without the extra expense of booking a room like this.
Anyway, how were the movies?
First up, Lincoln, Steven Spielberg's biopic about Abraham Lincoln's struggle to get the Thirteenth Amendment passed.
I'm sure it's really inspiring to anyone who actually understands what the hell's being said! But a lot of the dialogue was political mumbo jumbo that, for me, just went right over my head. Also, I didn't know the history going in, but I didn't think that should stand in the way of my enjoyment of the movie itself. But alas, it did. This movie was clearly made only for people who know their history, and anyone who doesn't is going to be totally lost.
That being said, I was able to get the basic gist for the most part, and I did like parts of it. Daniel Day-Lewis, of course, is phenomenal in the role, and even though I could barely understand his dialogue, I still got the point.
So, overall, I think it's okay. I'm sure it's a good historical depiction, but it's just not very engaging for an ignorant slob like me.
My rating: 60%.
Now, Django Unchained was more my cup of tea. It's Quentin Tarantino, so how could you go wrong? :)
I sat there grinning all the way through this movie! Not only is it as badass and clever as you'd expect, but it's also laugh-out-loud funny. Right from the opening credits, when the upbeat Django theme is playing over imagery of slaves in chains, I was along for the ride.
I do think, though, that this is one of those movies that doesn't know when to end. It's over two-and-a-half hours, and the climax does drag on for a bit too long. I thought the big shootout would be the final scene, but boy was I wrong!
Still, with that said, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie on the whole. I did start to lose concentration during the second half, but I think that was just sleep deprivation catching up to me. I'd love to see it again when I'm better rested. :)
Not one of my absolute favourite Tarantino works, but it's definitely a good one.
My rating: 85%.
A bunch of spines will scare off most predators. It certainly works for lionfish, porcupines and passion-vine caterpillars!
When predators come around, if all else fails, run for your life!
So many stripes are confusing. That’s what a zebra is betting on!
One method of scaring away predators is to display false eyes and mouths.
If you don’t have many natural defences, what can you do? Hide inside a hard shell.
The rule for the pufferfish is: double your size, double your safety!
With rhinos and buffalos, you don’t need many other defences if you have horns like these.
Video: A surprise can be a good defence. [See picture] This skunk does a handstand, and threatens to shower the jaguar with its acrid spray. It’s enough to make the big cat back off!
Advice: If other animals wanted to eat you, you’d have to develop some very good defences to survive. I have become very good at hiding, myself.
Following this screen in the program is an activity called Camouflage. The connecting button says, "Animals use many tricks to try to avoid predators. Camouflage is one of them."
So this ends one chain of screens from Dangerous Creatures. Camouflage leads to a screen that I think fits better in another chain. Tomorrow, we begin a brand new chain – the longest of them all – ironically with the deadliest creature of them all.
(Central and South America)
Another brightly coloured amphibian [see next line] lives in the rainforest of Central America.
You might expect to find frogs in bogs or ponds or swamps. But how about frogs in trees?
Yes, of course frogs have ears! They just prefer to keep them out of sight.
Who can tell the difference between poison arrow frogs and Mantellas? Even experts have trouble!
Frogs, like the two pictured here for example, are very sophisticated creatures underwater.
Frogs that look like ducks? Or maybe more like pieces of bark!
Poison arrow frogs watch over their babies until they mature, and their own poisonous protection takes over.
We can learn a lot from observing animals’ behaviour. Such as when things might be going very wrong environmentally.
Tiny, pretty and deadly. Watch out for the tiny yellow frog and the blue-ringed octopus.
Video: Poison arrow frogs live in the trees of the rainforest. When you’re a tiny frog, it’s a good defence to be poisonous.
Advice: Don’t even think of touching a brilliantly coloured tree frog! It’s likely to be highly toxic. Just admire the bright colours from a distance. I always use binoculars myself. One can’t be too careful!
Next: If you’re a tiny frog, you’d better have a good defence against predators – like venom. You need some way of fighting back.
You thought all snakes had fangs up front? Open wide!
Fangs in the back of the mouth. Fangs in the front. Even movable fangs! The effect is all the same on the helpless prey!
Cnidarians. Harpooners of the sea. And highly skilled they are, too!
The sting of a scorpion will not kill many humans. But for insects and spiders, it’s a different story.
Lizards are rarely venomous. But watch out for the two that are: the Gila monster and the beaded lizard.
Look at these fangs! It’s lucky for us that most spiders are harmless to humans.
It’s a chain reaction. A female bee stings something, and other bees want to get in on the act. It’s only self-defence, though.
Video: Unlike a constrictor, a venomous snake doesn’t need to squeeze its prey. With one bite, it injects its venom. Then, it waits for the victim to stop moving.
Advice: Imagine being able to manufacture venom in your own body! That’s a remarkable talent! We humans only produce… well, you know… sweat, saliva – nothing worth discussing.
Next: An animal doesn’t need fangs to use venom. A poison arrow frog, for example, can simply ooze it out through its skin.
(Deserts, savannahs, tropical and subtropical regions worldwide)
The male and female scorpion have a special mating dance. When the babies arrive, the female carries them on her back.
All scorpions sting. But only a few have venom that could be deadly.
The scorpion carries a unique set of power tools.
When the sun goes down, the scorpions come out. That’s when all insects, spiders and other scorpions had better watch out!
Video: On the desert floor, the battle is about to begin. Scorpion and tarantula are in position. In a pushing match, either might win. But the scorpion can also sting.
Advice: If you’re camping out in scorpion country, shake your boots out when you get up in the morning. I once put my foot into my boot without looking, and got a nasty sting! However, at least I survived the experience. The scorpion did not.
Next: The venom of most scorpions won’t kill you, but the sting will certainly hurt. Coming into contact with any venom producer is bound to be a painful experience.
Unlike human babies, some young animals just can’t wait for food to be brought to them.
On top of all her other work, a cougar mother also has to do a lot of moving.
Most mammals protect their young well.
Some animals are born with all the knowledge they need to survive. But mammals need to listen closely to their mother’s advice.
Living alone can be fine. But when it comes to hunting and protection, a group often proves to be a better arrangement.
Even though mum is around and dad isn’t, still boys will be boys and girls will be girls!
Touching is a great way to communicate and let someone know you care about them. Some animals are better at this than people!
Video: The instincts of all animals direct them towards the same goal: to reproduce and pass their genes along to the next generation.
Advice: As a child, your mother probably goes to the grocery store to get food for you. But, if you came from a family of wild predators, your mother would have to hunt and kill before she could bring home the dinner.
Next: The need to reproduce and protect their young are two of the driving forces behind animal behaviour. Even scorpions are protective parents.
Taking care of her young is a big event in an animal mother’s life. Sounds very much like a human mother, doesn’t it?
You were born looking like your parents. But that’s not the case with all creatures.
You learn about life while you play, don’t you? Well, so do these furry little fellows.
When you lay eggs underwater, you need to know what you’re doing.
What a bunch of boas!
In the animal kingdom, playing together is more than just having fun.
When mother needs to move, it’s always nice to get a free ride!
Video: Play has a serious side. It helps develop skills that wild animals will need as adults. Of course, the babies don’t know that. To them, it’s just plain fun.
Advice: You may feel you can’t help wanting to touch a baby animal. But remember that it’s wild, and it can’t know what’s going on in your mind. And more important, its mother is probably nearby.
Next: You may be tempted to pet a baby wild animal. But don’t. Its family is probably close by, and is probably very protective.
Okay, I’ve transcribed the guided tours from Microsoft’s Dangerous Creatures. Now it’s time to start on the narration sections from the animal pages themselves.
But before we begin, I should probably explain the layout that each screen in the program follows. On each page’s main screen, there are several links to smaller pop-up screens, every one of which has a short piece of narration. There’s always one of those pop-up screens that features a short video; sometimes there are two. In the top left-hand corner of every main screen is a “facts” subpanel, which always comes with a piece of “free advice” that I’ll also be transcribing. A lot of the time, that advice is really practical, but sometimes it’s not really advice at all.
Also, in the top right-hand corner of every screen, even the pop-up ones, is a button that takes you to another screen that’s related in some way. When you click on it, there’s always a brief narration caption explaining the connection before loading the next screen. In the main screens, this can sometimes create really long uninterrupted chains. There are a few screens that none of the other main ones lead to, so they’re the ones that’ll be starting each chain in this blog. And just because I end a chain at a particular point doesn’t mean the screen it ends on doesn’t lead to anything; it’s just that it leads to a screen that I think fits better where it stands in another chain.
So I hope that explains it well enough. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it once we get started, anyway. :)
I hope you enjoy this daily wildlife lecture. :)
And now, we begin with the grizzly bear.
GRIZZLY BEAR (Northwest North America)
Cave paintings – and fossilised bones – tell us that giant bears lived in Europe hundreds of thousands of years ago.
And who’s the biggest bear of all? Grizzlies easily outweigh polar bears and black bears.
As more and more people take over the land, there are fewer places for bears to live.
Face-to-face with a standing grizzly? Back away slowly. Or shout and wave your arms.
Grizzly bears love fish. Especially salmon.
Grizzlies can grow from less than a pound to more than 1,500 pounds. And that in only ten years or so!
Black bears and grizzlies live in the same areas. The black bear, which sometimes looks brown, doesn’t have a hump.
Video: During the salmon season, grizzly bears meet at their local fishing hole. Some arguments can always be expected about who gets the best fishing spot. But there are usually enough fish for every bear to get a share.
Advice: Don’t stare at a grizzly. That’s a challenge in bear language. Speak softly, and back away. If it attacks – and you don’t faint of fright right away – play dead, and the bear may leave you alone.
Next (coming tomorrow): Grizzly bears are gigantic. But their newborn cubs could fit into a shoebox! Aren’t animal babies interesting?
And so we come to the final tour from Dangerous Creatures. There is one more, called Really Difficult Shots, but that one relies very heavily on the pictures that accompany each caption, so there’s not much point in trying to convey it through text alone.
Next time, we start on the animal fact pages themselves. But for now, enjoy the final tour. :)
In the beginning, the Sky God owned all the stories that would ever be told. So say the Ashanti people of Ghana in west Africa. But Anansi the spider, who was the cleverest of the animals, bought them for a gourd full of hornets, a python and a leopard. Now, as I am a storyteller, I may borrow some stories from Anansi.
When the lion roars, he is saying, “This is my hunting ground!” All over Africa, he is considered to be the king of beasts. Even the elephant believes this, though he is huge and the lion is small. Here is a story about how the lion came to rule over the elephant…
One day, when Bushbuck comes home, there is someone in his house. Bushbuck does not go in, because the voice from inside promises to eat him. Bushbuck, who has no courage, sits down and cries. And then he calls his huge friend Elephant. And the voice promises to eat Elephant, so Elephant calls his friend Lion – whom the voice also promises to eat. Lion has no patience for this, so he roars and throws the door open. What do you think he finds inside the house?
A frog! Nothing but a fat old frog, holding his sides and laughing! Lion thinks this is a good joke, and he tells all the animals how an elephant was scared by a frog. Elephant, as you can imagine, was very much embarrassed.
And that is why, even though he is so much bigger than Lion, Elephant thinks Lion is better than he is. All because Elephant was scared by a little frog, and Lion was not.
So it is that Elephant and Lion are not the best of friends, because Lion laughed at Elephant.
Hyena and Lion also used to be friends. But one day, Lion fell into Hyena’s fire and was burnt to death. This happened in the dreamtime of the Coycoy, a group of people who have lived in South Africa since ancient times.
The Ambundu people of Angola tell a story of how dogs came out of the bush to live with humans.
One day, Dog’s friend Jackal said, “Dog, go to the village and get fire. Then we can burn the grass and drive out grasshoppers to eat.”
But when Dog went into the village, a woman was feeding her child porridge, and she gave Dog the leftovers. Dog said to himself, “Why should I live in the bush and eat grasshoppers when I can live with people and eat good food?”
As you know, he stayed with people to be their friend.
The Ambundu people also tell a story of how the wild boar and the house pig used to live together in the forest.
One day, the pig said, “Boar, let me move to the village, where they will feed me.”
The boar said, “Don’t go!”
But the pig left. And the people killed and ate the pig.
And now, when pigs squeal, they are saying, “Boar, you were right! I should have listened!”
You know that the hippopotamus lives in the water. But the Matabili people in southern Africa say that he used to live in the forest. At that time, he had a beautiful coat of brown fur. “How beautiful I am!” he would say.
Hare grew tired of listening to Hippo, and set him on fire. Hippo’s ears, tail and beautiful fur got burnt off. When he saw his reflection in the water, he was so ashamed that he slid under the surface to hide, and he has been hiding there ever since. Poor Hippo.
That was not the only trick that Hare played on him.
Hare once challenged Hippo to a tug-of-war. But he tied the other end of the rope to a sleeping rhinoceros. Before this time, Rhino was a fine, friendly fellow. But then, Hare treated him badly.
Before Hare woke Rhino, he poured a handful of ants – the kind that bite – into Rhino’s ear. Then, when Rhino felt those ants, he ran, dragging Hippo with him.
And to this day, the ants live in Rhino’s ears, which is why Rhino is so bad-tempered. As you can imagine, ants in the ears would make anyone irritable!
Never let it be said that Anansi himself is above a practical joke. One day, he fell into a river as thick with crocodiles as a termite mound is full of termites. But they did not eat clever Anansi, for he convinced them that he was their grandfather. The crocodiles were so anxious to please their new “grandfather” that they let him sleep in the nursery with their eggs. Anansi had a delicious feast that night, eating all of the eggs. And by the time the crocodiles discovered the poor empty eggshells, Anansi was long gone.
And now, I must leave you. As the Haustha in west Africa say, “Off with the rat’s head.” That means, “If you don’t like the story, then don’t blame the storyteller. Take it out on the rat.”
But remember, when you tell stories, you must say that they belong to Anansi the spider.
Once upon a time, there were no computers, no books, no pens, no paper. There was no way to hold on to history except by remembering it. There was no way to pass history down except by telling it, over and over. The Aboriginal people of Australia began doing that thirty thousand years ago, when they first came to Australia from Asia.
At this dawning of time, the spirit ancestors of the Aboriginal people lived on earth, and they had the characteristics of both animals and people. They dreamed a long dream. And in that dreaming, the creatures of the earth came to be as we know them now.
In that time, there was not yet death. It was the fault of the first humans that death was let into the world, for the moon came down to the earth and said to them, “If you carry my pets across the river, you will rise again to life after you have died, and so live forever.” But the humans refused. They were afraid of the moon’s pets, which were all deadly snakes. So the moon said, “Silly humans! Now, when you die, you will stay dead. And I will always send you poisonous snakes, to remind you that you disobeyed me.”
One of those snakes was the mangrove snake. One day, he sat complaining to his friend, the whip snake. “Yes, I am very poisonous. But I am so slow that the humans are always chasing me, and I must bite them when they catch me. It is quite exhausting.”
The whip snake, who was very fast but perfectly harmless, said, “Let me have your poison teeth, so the humans won’t hate you anymore. And since I am too fast to catch, I won’t need to bite them.”
The mangrove snake agreed. And ever since, he’s been only poisonous enough to kill his food, and humans do not bother him.
Some people say that it’s a snake’s fault that death came into the world. The locust used to go into the ground when he died, and then be reborn with a shiny new skin. But one day, a python became jealous, and broke the locust’s back.
So now, only snakes are able to change their skin. And when the locust goes into the ground, he must stay there. If it were not for jealousy, all creatures would be reborn in new, fresh skins.
The echidna used to be as smooth as a frog. But he was punished for luring young men to his campfire and eating them, instead of hunting for food like everyone else. The angry tribespeople surrounded the echidna and threw spears into him, until he was covered with them.
The echidna was very good friends with the spider who makes his home under the ground. So he knocked on the spider’s trapdoor until the spider let him in.
But the echidna still has a back full of spears, and to this day he crawls underground when he feels he is in danger.
The kangaroo used to run on four legs. But one day, he spied on a sacred gathering where humans were dancing. The music got into his blood, and after a while he could not help but get up on his hind legs and join in. The medicine man bewitched the kangaroo, so that he would always hop on his hind legs – and initiated him into the tribe, so he would forever be the people’s brother.
One story tells of a great gathering of many tribes: Dog, Snake, Spider and many more. The Dog people were disrespectful, and finally the Great Creator lost patience with them. He told them, “Since you barked and howled through my sacred rites, you can bark and howl forever, but never again shall you say a word.” Then, they were struck dumb, and turned into dingoes.
At the gathering, a rat stole a duck to be his bride. And when she laid eggs, her children had the fur of the rat and the beaks and webbed feet of the duck. They were the first platypuses. The poor mother duck was banished for bearing such strange children, and she died of a broken heart.
But you can see her children’s descendants in any creek in Australia today.
At the same gathering, there was a widow who was denied water and died. But with her dying breath, she cursed the tribes, and they all turned into the animals whose names they bore – and remain so today.
This is the end of the voyage into dreamtime.
Perhaps you’ve heard Aesop’s fable about how the slow and steady tortoise won a race against the quick but flighty hare. Or maybe someone told you about the man who pulled a thorn from a lion’s paw and won his eternal friendship. These tales, and many others besides, came from Asia. They’ve been translated into so many languages, and have so many versions, that it’s almost impossible to say who told the story first.
In India, a story is told of a lonely gardener and a bear who decided to become as brothers to each other, on the condition that the bear never hug the gardener – because, as you know, a bear is much stronger than a man.
And all went well until, one day, a fly landed upon the sleeping gardener’s nose. The bear tried to shoo the fly away, but the fly kept returning to land on the bear’s friend. Finally, the bear lost his temper and smashed the fly with a rock – killing the fly, but also the gardener.
Here is another story from India.
Two buffalo laboured on a farm. Nearby, in a pen, a pig laid about at its ease, doing nothing but getting fat.
The small buffalo complained, “We work all the time, and the pig does nothing.”
The large buffalo advised, “Wait and see.”
One day, the fattened pig was slaughtered. The small buffalo said, “I see that it is better to work hard and live a long life than to have an easy but short life.”
According to an Indonesian tale, one day a boar woke up and told his friend the antelope, “I must eat you, for I have dreamed this and it must be so.”
The antelope said, “Let us ask the king for a judgement.”
The king agreed that the boar must eat the antelope for the sake of the dream.
A clever ape, overhearing this conversation, leapt down from a nearby tree and announced, “Sire, I will marry your daughter.”
“Impossible!” cried the king.
“Possible,” returned the ape, “for I dreamed it, and it therefore must be so.”
The king refused the ape, and reversed his decision on the boar and the antelope.
From Nepal comes another tale of an animal that tried to overstep his place.
A rat sought the most powerful person in the world to marry his beloved daughter. He first tried the sun. But the sun refused the rat, saying, “The clouds are more powerful than I. They can keep me from shining.”
The clouds said, “We are blown by the wind.”
The wind said, “The mountain does not bend before me.”
The mountain said, “I can be split by a growing tree.”
The tree growled, “How dare you ask me to marry your daughter! You rats make our lives miserable. You gnaw on our roots.”
The father cried, “Then we rats are the most powerful in the world!”
And he married his daughter to a fine young rat – which was what she wanted in the first place.
According to a story from Iran, one day the father of a young cockroach said, “I can no longer support you. You must find a husband.”
So Mistress Cockroach put on an onion skin dress and an eggplant skin cloak, sprinkled her head with gold dust, and slipped on a pair of almond shell shoes. She was so beautiful that many fell in love with her. But she married a kind and wealthy mouse.
All was well, until one day the mouse fell into the cook’s kettle while fetching soup for his wife, and he drowned. Poor Mistress Cockroach realised then that what mattered was her husband’s love, not her fine clothes or jewels.
“From now on,” she said, “I will have no pretensions. I will dress like the cockroach I am.”
And this is why roaches now go about only in brown or black.
From India comes a tale of an elephant and a clever rabbit.
In a time of drought, a herd of elephants discovered a pool whose banks were home to many rabbits. Often, the poor rabbits were crushed by the elephants’ feet as they waded into the water.
Finally, a wise old rabbit approached the elephant king and said, “This pool belongs to the moon, and we are its guardians. You must leave.”
The elephant laughed. “Prove it,” he said.
The rabbit said, “Look into the pool.”
And behold! There was the moon, floating in the water! And further, it bore the mark of a rabbit – for in India, it is said that there is a rabbit in the moon rather than a man in the moon.
The elephants apologised and left.
Another Indian story tells of an unjust lion king and a rabbit that wanted to get rid of him.
“Lord,” the rabbit said to the lion, “I have seen another mighty lion, and he demands that you prove your superiority.”
The lion growled, “Take me to this creature!”
And the rabbit led him to a well. “Look down,” said the rabbit, “for there is your adversary.”
The lion, looking into the water, saw another lion, and sprang upon him with a roar. But it was only the lion king’s reflection, and he drowned in the well.
From Tibet comes a tale of a tiger that was convinced by jackals that they were fiercer than he.
“Come now,” a baboon said. “You are stronger than a jackal. Let us return to them, and I will show you.”
The tiger was so frightened that he tied his tail to the baboon’s, the way you and I might hold hands.
And when the jackals told the tiger they would eat him and the baboon, he ran away so fast that he pulled off the baboon’s tail! And that is why baboons have no tails today.
A Japanese story tells of another strange partnership.
A crab was killed by a monkey, who is, as in many Asian tales, an unscrupulous animal. The crab’s son asked his friends – a chestnut, a bee and a mortar stone – to help avenge his father.
So the young crab invited the monkey for tea. And the chestnut popped open in the fire and flew into him. As the burnt monkey stumbled around, the bee stung him. And as the monkey ran out of the house, the mortar, which was hiding above the door, fell and crushed the monkey. And then, the crab’s son cut off his head with his great claws.
The monkey fares better in this story, also from Japan.
One day, the wife of the Dragon King, who lived under the sea in a coral reef, fell ill. The only thing that could cure her was a monkey’s liver.
The jellyfish, who at that time was armoured like a turtle, went to Monkey Island, and offered to show the Dragon Palace to any monkey that would ride upon his back. One monkey accepted. But as they travelled, the jellyfish accidentally revealed that the monkey was wanted for his liver.
The clever monkey said, “Too bad. I left it in a tree. We must return to Monkey Island for it.”
Of course, the minute they touched dry land, the monkey ran away. And the jellyfish had to return to the Dragon King without the monkey or his liver. The furious King had the jellyfish beaten to a pulp, which accounts for the jellyfish’s present state.
According to a story from Thailand, in ancient days the seas were ruled by two sea serpents. They had agreed to share all their food. One day, they had an argument over the just division of a porcupine.
The fight went on and on, until finally the Creator dried up the sea, and told one of the serpents to go east and the other to go west until they found different seas, which they did.
As they crossed the land, their bodies left tracks, which filled with water and became rivers.
This last story is from Nepal.
One day, a cobra was being pursued by a mongoose. She begged many people for help, but it was a poor young farmer that came to rescue her.
She said to him, “Little brother, we have both been scorned. But some day, you at least will be honoured.”
She gave him treasure upon treasure. And when the people saw how fine he had become, they asked him to be their ruler.
So it is that the farmer was repaid for his kindness to a small and unloved creature.
And that, finally, is the point of many of these stories: that every living thing is to be cherished and respected.
And here we are at the last four Dangerous Creatures tours, which are collections of various world folk tales.
When Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World, he found people there. People whom he mistakenly named Indians, because he believed he had reached India. People have lived in North America for thousands of years. There are many tribes, with many different cultures. I will now share with you some of the stories that the descendants of these first Americans tell.
Some people say that in the beginning, the earth was nothing but water. Then, an animal from the world above was sent to dive down under the water to pull up some mud, so that the land could be created from it. Many animals tried and failed. The Cherokees say it was a water beetle that finally succeeded. The Crow say it was a muskrat. Many other people believe that it was a turtle. And some say that the earth rides on the back of a turtle today.
At first, the mud of the new world was soft. So the buzzard flew down to see if the earth was dry enough to live on. And wherever his wings flapped downwards, valleys formed, while mountains formed where he swooped upwards. In this way, the Cherokees say, the land was given shape.
The animals were told to keep watch over the newly created world for seven days and seven nights. But only the owl and the cougar were able to stay awake. And so it was that these animals were given the gift of sight in the dark.
You may see the glint of their eyes in the moonlight, and hear the cougar scream or the owl screech – which some people believe predicts death.
If you look around to see what watches in the dark, you may look up. Up past the trees, until you see the stars known as the Big Dipper. These are in the Great Bear constellation. Many people say that these stars once were bears, who were pursued by hunters into the sky.
The bear is an animal of great power, and he can be a good friend and teacher or a fierce enemy.
The Inuit are descendants of the very last people to cross from Asia into Alaska before the land bridge between the continents disappeared under the Bering Sea. They say that humans and bears distrust each other because, long ago, a hunter’s wife turned into a bear and killed her unfaithful husband.
The Pauma of northern California have a story about a girl who married a rattlesnake. She lived with Rattlesnake and bore him four sons, whom she told that they must never bite their human relatives. Like all children, some listened while others did not.
According to the Okanago, a northwest people, one day Rattlesnake got new and powerful fangs that could kill. But he promised that he would never bite anyone who treated him with respect. And furthermore, he would never bite anyone without a warning shake of his rattle.
Rattlesnake gave his old fangs to his brothers, Wasp and Bee. The venom in Rattlesnake’s old fangs, now possessed by Bee and Wasp, would only cause pain.
Many other stories from North America say that wasps and bees are relatives of poisonous snakes. Of course, you know that wasps and bees do not have fangs. But they do have stingers and venom. And so, like the rattlesnake, they are creatures that must be treated with respect.
Many Native American stories explain how biting or stinging insects came to be, especially mosquitoes. If you live where there are a large number of these creatures, you must know how annoying they can be. Some people from the southeast and northwest coasts say that such troublesome winged creatures rose from the ashes of a giant cannibal when his body was burnt. A story from the northeast says that mosquitoes are the children of a witch who hated humans.
Not all insects are pests, however. Some are creatures of great beauty. The Papago of the southwest say that, one day, the Creator was watching a group of children playing, and he wanted to make something special for them. So he took all the colours of a summer day, and he created butterflies.
According to the Brulë Sioux, it was another tiny creature, the spider, that predicted the coming of Europeans and the end of the way of life that Native Americans had followed for thousands of years. At that time, millions of buffalo covered the plains of North America. The spider said, “When these new people come, the buffalo will go away.” Indeed, by 1895, only a thousand remained alive! The Caiouers say that the others walked into the face of a mountain, which opened up to reveal a world of beauty, where the buffalo could dwell forever.
A tale from the White River Sioux says that an old woman sits in a hidden cave, sewing porcupine quills onto a buffalo robe in the traditional way of her people, with her dog watching her. Whenever the old woman’s attention wanders, the dog pulls the quills from the robe.
The legend says that when the old woman finishes the robe, the world will end. Many people say that the world has already been destroyed and recreated, and that this may happen yet again.
This is the end of my Native American stories.
