Current Events: Weird and Wonderful Wildlife

Image from Intrepid Travel

Today is World Wildlife Conservation Day, and a good day to bring attention to some interesting wildlife discoveries in the news recently.  Let's start with the weird, shall we?  Scientists have found that wolves in Yellowstone National Park who are infected with Toxmoplasma gondii, a parasite commonly found in cats which causes toxoplasmosis, tends to make them engage in riskier behavior.  They are 11 times more likely to leave the safety of their pack and strike off on their own, and 46 time more likely to become a pack leader!  Apparently the parasite enters the wolf host's brain and causes the behavior changes.  Since cats are the only hosts in which these parasites can complete their life cycle (all other species are essentially dead-end hosts where the parasites can survive but cannot reproduce) it is thought that this riskier behavior by their hosts may make them more likely to cross paths with feline species which can then possibly ingest the adult parasite, allowing them to complete their life cycle.  It is known that rodents infected with T. gondii seem to lose their fear of cats, making them easy prey for cats.  Even humans with toxoplasmosis can show behavioral changes (not to mention the fact that toxoplasmosis can on rare occasions lead to serious injury or even death).

Image from BBC

Also reported in the news recently is the wonderful rediscovery of a bird thought to be extinct for 140 years!  The Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps insularis), previously documented by scientists only once in 1882, was recently photographed by another team of scientists on the rugged island of Fergusson in Papua New Guinea.  This large, ground-dwelling pigeon lives in the rugged and almost inaccessible forests on the island which could be its last stronghold.  It is hoped that this new information will help in the preservation of the species, which is still considered to be extremely rare and endangered.  Take a look at the video recorded by the research team below:

 

These two stories are proof that we still have a lot to learn about the wildlife with whom we share this planet.  The information we gain from studying these species is invaluable for understanding the planet on which we all live as well as how environmental variables may affect us.  We would do well to protect our fellow species, as in doing so we may just be protecting ourselves.