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The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

In the mid-l800s, naturalist John Audubon reported that the red-cockaded woodpecker was found abundantly in the pine forests of the southeastern United States. Historically, this woodpecker's range extended from Florida to New Jersey, as far west as Texas and Oklahoma, and inland to Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Today it is estimated that ...

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TheRedCockadedWoodpecker
Biology

Gestation Periods of Mammals

Gestation period is the time from fertilization to the actual birth in animals. In humans this period is 266 days or approximately 9 months. ... Continue reading

GestationPeriodsofMammals
Engineering

New York to London in Less Than Two Hours

If flying from New York (USA) to London (UK) in less than two hours sounds like science fiction, continue reading. On September 1, 1974 Major James V. Sullivan, 37 (pilot) and Noel F. Widdifield, 33 ... Continue reading

FastestPlane
Geology

The Good, the Bad and the Ozone

Ozone is a big buzz word these days. We mostly hear about the ozone layer, and the importance of protecting it. But if you want to understand what ozone's all about, you need to understand that it can ... Continue reading

TheGoodtheBadandtheOzone
Biology

Did You Smell Something?

There's not a moment of our lives when smells -- or, more precisely, odor molecules -- aren't impacting our brain. It's been estimated that it takes at least 40 molecules of a given odor for us to be ... Continue reading

Smell

Vampires

VampiresWhat flying creature can hop, leap, and turn somersaults? Another hint: it can fit in the palm of your hand and weighs about the same as a penny. One more hint: its entire diet is blood. Desmodus rotundus, the vampire bat, packs a lot of punch into its 3-inch body. Using special 'thumbs' on its wings, it can push off into the air to perform somersaults or zip along at a flying rate of six to 12 miles an hour. The thumbs help it keep its balance on terra firma, too - it is the only bat that walks on the ground. The vampire bat uses echolocation to find its way, emitting a sound, inaudible by humans, that bounces off surfaces and reveals the presence of walls, branches, and other animals. It makes other, quite audible noises, too, from a soft purr to a scream or a shriek.

The vampire bat drinks the blood of cows, horses, mules, pigs, chickens, and birds - up to half its weight in one feeding. A keen sense of smell helps it find its prey, and heat-sensing cells around its nose help it zero in on blood vessels near the skin - the easiest spots to reach. But the vampire bat is a polite predator. Often its prey does not even notice its bite, and the amount the bat draws - about two tablespoons of blood - is not enough to endanger the animal. Vampire bats share food with hungry roostmates, one of only a handful of animals to do so. (Hyenas, wild dogs, chimps, and people also share food.) Like cats, vampire bats groom themselves. There's one notable difference, however: vampire bats do their bathing while hanging upside down.