Zookeeper Gabe’s Animal Thread Vol 9.0

[the ambush]

A little boy walking in neighborhood is accompanied by stray pit bull dog.

https://news.yahoo.com/stray-pit-bull-protects-toddler-201603758.html

 

[Mark McMichael]

A little boy walk walking in neighborhood is accompanied by stray pit bull dog.

https://news.yahoo.com/stray-pit-bull-protects-toddler-201603758.html

Pictures posing of hero Pitbull, actually frustrated as he was just looking for the right alley to lead the boy down, outside the view of others, to then bite him.

 

[Mark McMichael]

But.... but.... they are so tasty!



World's first octopus farm stirs ethical debate


Spurred on by soaring demand for seafood, a Spanish company plans to open the first commercial octopus farm next year but as scientists discover more about the enigmatic animals some warn it could be an ethical and environmental disaster...

...Between 2010 and 2019 the value of the global octopus trade ballooned to $2.72 billion from $1.30 billion,...

...However, previous efforts to farm octopus have struggled with high mortality, while attempts to breed wild-caught octopus ran into problems with aggression, cannibalism and self-mutilation.... optimizing tank conditions allowed the company to eliminate aggression and breed five generations in captivity.

“We have not found cannibalistic behavior in any of our cultures,”...

...Last year, researchers at the London School of Economics concluded from a review of 300 scientific studies that octopus were sentient beings capable of experiencing distress and happiness, and that high-welfare farming would be impossible...

“Octopuses are extremely intelligent and extremely curious. And it’s well known they are not happy in conditions of captivity,”...

...European Union laws governing livestock welfare do not apply to invertebrates and although Spain is tightening up its animal protection legislation, octopuses are not set to be included...

...“We like to say that more than an intelligent animal, it is a responsive animal,” he said “It has a certain capacity for resolve when faced with survival challenges.”...

...Some activists say the solution is much simpler: don’t eat octopus.

“There’s so many wonderful vegan alternatives out there now,”...

 

[Mark McMichael]

Btw my nickname for my unit is "Big Octopus".

 

[Megacardio]

Anyone else think snails are beautiful and unique animals and therefore underrated? And what do you guys think of them as pets?

 

[JBSchroeds]

No idea if the title is accurate. Sound on.

 

[Mark McMichael]

No idea if the title is accurate. Sound on.

It is a Hollywood film set.

The last book of the Bobiverse sci fi series being filmed.

 

[jefferz]

Anyone else think snails are beautiful and unique animals and therefore underrated? And what do you guys think of them as pets?

I want a giant African land snail but they’re illegal in the States

 

[Zookeeper Gabe]

I want a giant African land snail but they’re illegal in the States

They are so cool but the risk of them being en ecological issue in a lot of states is a real concern.

 

[jefferz]

They are so cool but the risk of them being en ecological issue in a lot of states is a real concern.

Florida has had to eradicate them a couple of times of the years.

 

[Megacardio]

I want a giant African land snail but they’re illegal in the States

Just get a regular US snail. They're smaller but are a bit prettier.

 

[the ambush]

 

[the ambush]

No idea if the title is accurate. Sound on.

Otters are such incredible swimmers.

 

[Mark McMichael]

They are so cool but the risk of them being en ecological issue in a lot of states is a real concern.

Florida has had to eradicate them a couple of times of the years.

Has that 'risk' been quantified in areas? Meaning, have we seen what can happen, in other areas they have been introduced?

Or is it more the 'unknown' risk of invasive species?

 

[Aegon Spengler]

Anyone else think snails are beautiful and unique animals and therefore underrated? And what do you guys think of them as pets?

I think they should all be destroyed

lol that just sounds funny to me I don’t actually think that. They are def cool

but I am super in love with Jellyfish, but maybe that’s more common? But they are so cool and floaty and some are immortal

 

[jefferz]

Has that 'risk' been quantified in areas? Meaning, have we seen what can happen, in other areas they have been introduced?

Or is it more the 'unknown' risk of invasive species?

They've already caused issues in the Miami area. They can get up to 8 inches long, and something that big can wipe out the native plant population very quickly. They were having problems with them eating the stucco off of houses.
They also carry a parasite that causes meningitis.

 

[Mark McMichael]

They've already caused issues in the Miami area. They can get up to 8 inches long, and something that big can wipe out the native plant population very quickly. They were having problems with them eating the stucco off of houses.
They also carry a parasite that causes meningitis.

interesting, so they bread and spread fast enough to overwhelm local ecology?
Do they get any nutrition from stucco or would it eventually kill them? (aware of any studies?)

 

[jefferz]

interesting, so they bread and spread fast enough to overwhelm local ecology?
Do they get any nutrition from stucco or would it eventually kill them? (aware of any studies?)

Yes. They can wipe out the native plant population which destroys the ecosystem leading to the death of native species.
The reason they eat stucco is that they're after the limestone (calcium) for their shells. All snails require some form of calcium or their shells will be brittle. It's even been documented that they'll eat concrete.

 

[Mark McMichael]

On the topic of Invasive Species.


Meet the invasive 'vampire fish' that lives in the Great Lakes

The sea lamprey.

There are four native lamprey species in the Great Lakes - the American brook lamprey, the chestnut lamprey, the silver lamprey, and the northern brook lamprey.

The sea lamprey is invasive, and it can cause problems in local ecosystems. That has a lot to do with its size. Sea lampreys are big compared to naive species - up to four times bigger.

But that isn't the only problem.

Last summer, Marc Gaden, communications director for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, told The Weather Network that sea lampreys possess a "trifecta of perfect invasion capabilities" in the Great Lakes - almost unlimited food availability, practically unlimited spawning grounds, and no natural predators.

VAMIPRE FISH
Sea lampreys can inflict gruesome damage on their prey, earning these eel-like parasites the nickname "vampire fish."

Gaden said only about one in seven fish attacked by a sea lamprey will survive. They will suction themselves to a fish, creating a seal that's nearly impossible to break off.

They have about 100 teeth, which they use to suction to the side of a fish, and a sharp tongue that drills through its scales.

They secret an enzyme that prevents blood from clotting. Once attached, the sea lamprey will spend the next several months feeding off the blood and fluids of the host animal.

"Once it's done it will move on to another fish," Gaden said.

"If a fish does happen to shake a lamprey off, it's often left with a wound that will become infected and ultimately take the life of that fish."

Just in case you're wondering, sea lampreys can accidentally latch on to humans, usually when people are swimming. A bite won't be fatal, but it can be painful, and untreated wounds could lead to infection. Sea lampreys don't pose a threat to people though - they aren't interested in us and human bites appear to be rare.

In their native environment, the Atlantic Ocean, sea lampreys don't often kill their host. In the Great Lakes, where sea lampreys have not co-evolved alongside native species, they are a significant threat.

SHIPPING CANALS TRANSPORT MORE THAN JUST SHIPS
Sea lampreys entered the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean through man-made shipping canals, popping up in Lake Ontario in the 1830s. When the Welland Canal deepened in 1919, sea lampreys gained access to all the Great Lakes -- and they remain there to this day, although their numbers are falling.

In the 1950s, the U.S. and Canada teamed up to implement population control measures), and they have worked.

Several strategies - including traps to capture adult lampreys, lampricides to target sea lamprey larvae, and installing barriers are a few tactics in use.

So far, it's working. Today, sea lamprey populations are down by about 95 per cent in the Great Lakes.

And that's a good thing because if left to multiply, sea lampreys could cause significant damage to the region;'s $7 billion fishing industry.

"It is a good news story. We have conquered this problem. But it's an ongoing control effort,"

 

[the ambush]

Country Living's largest dog breeds

1. English Mastiff
2. Bernese Mountain dog
3. Dobermann
4. Scottish Deerhound
5. Greater Swiss Mountain dog
6. Bloodhound
7. Akita
8. Great Dane
9. Newfoundland
10. Golden Retriever
11. Leonberger
12. Saint Bernard
13. Labrador
14. Irish Setter
15. Giant Schnauzer
16. Great Pyrenees
17. Cane Corso
18. Rhodesian Ridgeback

https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/dog-breeds/g39365624/worlds-biggest-dog/