ANIMAL NEWSROOM
Dog down a mine, cat on the tracks, snakes in a fire station, blood-sharing vampire bats and the emotional life of cows
LUCKY PETS
Heard the one about the dog who fell in a tin mine? A German shepherd cross named Bo fell 70ft (21m) down a disused tin mine shaft in Cornwall. Luckily, Bo bounced to a soft landing and was saved by fire crews who, using ropes and pulleys, lowered a special animal rescuer into the mine, at St Hilary near Penzance.
Bo was a fortunate dog, but his luck was as nothing compared with the good fortune of Blitz, a cat with evidently more than nine lives. He was discovered lying on the tracks between the running and live rails in a tunnel at Transport for London’s Tufnell Park Tube station. When first spotted at 6am Blitz was thought to be dead, but at 1pm (and after 250 trains had passed over him) a Tube worker spotted movement, and Blitz was scooped up by Transport for London’s Emergency Response Unit. In fact, he had not been struck by a train, but had been attacked by foxes (London is home to a substantial number of increasingly bold urban foxes). He had deep bite wounds, a suspected broken back and his sciatic nerve was exposed. His tail was so badly damaged that it had to be removed, and his back legs were seemingly useless. He was kept at a vet’s intensive care unit on three separate drips and various painkilling medicines. After a week, he began grooming; his back legs began to work again, and with a regained appetite he was returned home to his family. Hamhigh.co.uk, 30 Jan; SunDay, 2 Feb; S. Express, 9 Feb 2020.
Thirteen royal pythons were found inside a pillowcase
UNLUCKY PETS
In early January, the bodies of three adult pythons and a cat were found close to each other in woods near Lanark, Scotland. One month later, two more dead pythons were discovered, this time at a nature reserve in Den of Maidencraig, Aberdeen. One had been slit open along the length of its body, while the other was in several pieces. Also in February, a passer-by on a
Scottish beach stumbled upon yet another dead python. The adult snake was emaciated and suffering from malnutrition, and had been put inside a bag which was left on Musselburgh beach, East Lothian.
Later in February, 13 royal pythons were found inside a pillowcase featuring Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear. The snakes had been dumped next to a bin behind Farringdon fire station in Sunderland. One of them later died, but the others were being cared for by a vet. Thirteen days later, a further 16 snakes were found at the same fire station. The 15 corn snakes and one carpet python had been left in a bin inside two pink pillowcases, and, an RSPCA inspector noted, had been very
fortunate not to have ended up in landfill.
Elsewhere in the northeast of England, a dog walker found a frightened skunk cowering beside a tree in woodland near Darlington, County Durham this February. When help arrived, the abandoned animal sprayed its rescuers with its notoriously noxious scent. An RSPCA spokesperson said the smell was still lingering in his van despite three deep cleans.
The following month in Darlington, volunteers for the National Animal Sanctuaries Support League (NASSL) were dismayed to find 20 hamsters had been stuffed in takeaway food containers and dumped in a hedge. The 18 Syrian and two dwarf hamsters were discovered by a dog walker. A NASSL spokesperson described the find as “bizarre and heartbreaking”, adding that the animals were “traumatised but otherwise in good shape”. D.Mirror, 4 Jan; D.Star, Metro, 7+14 Feb; BBC News, 15 Feb+3+4 Mar; Sun, 17+18 Feb; independent.co.uk, 18 Feb 2020.
BLOODY KISS OF THE VAMPIRE BAT
A new study has shown how vampire bats establish friendships by sharing regurgitated blood with their neighbours. Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama say the mammals’ behaviour, described by one as a “kind of horrifying French kiss”, appeared to be an important element of bonding. If bats have no food for three days, they may die of starvation, therefore blood-sharing can be a lifesaving act.
The study, published last year in the journal Current Biology, found that when the bats became isolated in a roost, pairs in close proximity but unknown to each other would begin grooming, then “mouth-licking”, then swapping food. The study’s author, Professor Gerald Carter, a behavioural ecologist at Ohio State University, compared food sharing in vampire bats with the way birds regurgitate food for their offspring, with the difference that the bats do so for other adults.
Vampire bats are the only mammals who feed solely on blood, and can drink up to half their weight in blood a day. A previous scientific study found that bats who form bonds during captivity often continue these relationships after being released back into the wild. BBC News, 20 Mar 2020.
EMOTICOWS
Cows’ moos are used to express emotions such as excitement, arousal, engagement or distress, according to University of Sydney researchers. Moos also help the cows maintain contact with the rest of the herd, and each cow has an individual voice. Although this may not come as a great surprise, given that cows are social, gregarious animals, the lead researcher claims this is the first time cows’ voices had been comprehensively analysed for pitch changes and individual characteristics. , 17 Jan 2020.