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“The research shows for the first time that mother-offspring cattle calls are individualised – each calf and cow have a characteristic and exclusive call of their own…
If they are not distressed and they are calm they will moo fairly low to the calf, almost talking to their calf…
If they are distressed, in other words they have lost their calf or are separated from their calf, it’s a much higher pitched moo…
She starts bleating louder and louder because she’s distressed because he’s away from her.”
Photo © Dag Peak. San Martin, Buenos Aires.
Crown shyness is a naturally occurring phenomenon in some tree species where the upper most branches in a forest canopy avoid touching one another. The visual effect is striking as it creates clearly defined borders akin to cracks or rivers in the sky when viewed from below. Although the phenomenon was first observed in the 1920s, scientists have yet to reach a consensus on what causes it. According to Wikipedia it might simply be caused by the trees rubbing against one another, although signs also point to more active causes such as a preventative measure against shading (optimizing light exposure for photosynthesis) or even as a deterrent for the spread of harmful insects. (via Kottke, Robert Macfarlane)
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Reddit, meet Salem the cutest goofball I’ve ever known
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On Amazon here.
Filmmaker and omnivore John Papola, together with his vegetarian wife Lisa, offer up a timely and refreshingly unbiased look at how farm animals are raised for our consumption. With unprecedented access to large-scale conventional farms, Papola asks the tough questions behind every hamburger, glass of milk and baby-back rib. What he discovers are not heartless industrialists, but America’s farmers — real people who, along with him, are grappling with the moral dimensions of farming animals for food.