Inside This Issue:
- The Case of the Poison Bird
- Green Energy and Kestrels Collide
- Animal Activists Raise Alarm Over Pigeon Poaching
- When a Honeyguide Sends You to a Venomous Snake, Is It Sending a Message?
- News Bites: Venom Tester; Opportunistic Predators; Thoughts on Keeping Animals.
The Case of the Poison Bird
Beautiful and deadly.
In the wilds of New Guinea, there’s a bird that predators definitely want to stay away from. The hooded pitohui, a jay-sized species decked out in flashy black and orange, is one of the world’s few truly poisonous birds. Its claws and beak aren’t just for show: brush against one, and you might get a dose of a chemical so potent it makes cyanide look tame. That chemical is batrachotoxin, a neurotoxin that messes with the sodium channels in your nerve and muscle cells, basically short-circuiting them and causing numbness, paralysis, or even death.
Just a tiny amount of batrachotoxin can be lethal in other animals (like the infamous golden poison frog), but in the pitohui, it’s mostly a deterrent. Enough to make predators and parasites think twice (though given the strength of the poison, you have to wonder how many of these would-be-predators get a second chance). Here’s the kicker: scientists still aren’t sure how the pitohui gets its batrachotoxin. Unlike snakes or spiders, birds aren’t known for brewing up poisons in their bodies. One theory is that the pitohui picks up the toxin from its diet – maybe tiny beetles or insects in the rainforest, similar to how poison dart frogs get their own toxins from the bugs they eat. But the whole process is still a puzzle. Some evidence even suggests the beetles themselves might not make the toxin either, but get it from something else in the food chain, like mites or plants.
Researchers have been chasing this mystery for decades. They’ve found that a handful of other birds in New Guinea and beyond also have toxins, but the hooded pitohui is the standout. Scientists are now comparing bird genomes, analyzing stomach contents, and even looking for special proteins that might help the birds resist their own poison – a neat evolutionary trick found in other toxic creatures like pufferfish and frogs. For now, the origin story of the pitohui’s poison is still unsolved. But each discovery pulls back the curtain a little more on how evolution arms even the most unlikely animals with deadly defenses. Researchers hope to go back every year for the next ten years to keep studying the pitohui’s behavior and gather more data on how it acquires its toxins.
Source: These birds carry a toxin deadlier than cyanide
Green Energy and Kestrels Collide
Lesser Kestrel.
A court in southern France has ordered the temporary shutdown of the Aumelas wind farm after up to 300 rare birds of prey, mostly lesser kestrels, reportedly died after colliding with the turbines. The site’s 31 turbines will remain idle for four months during the birds’ nesting season, with the companies involved facing hefty fines. Wind energy is often promoted as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, but this case highlights the ongoing trade-off between green energy expansion and wildlife protection.
This dilemma isn’t unique to France. In the U.S., there are dedicated teams whose job is to count and document wildlife deaths caused by wind farms, from birds and bats to larger animals. Along America’s coasts, activist groups have sprung up to fight against offshore wind projects, raising concerns about the impact on whales and migratory birds. Even with mitigation measures, the actual toll on wildlife is hard to pin down—many casualties are scavenged before they can be counted. The debate continues over how to balance the shift to renewable energy with the need to protect vulnerable species while still providing people with a reliable source of power. These are three things pretty much everybody wants, but working out the snags so all three things can happen at the same time is, alas, a work in progress.
Source: Court order closure of wind farm after hundreds of kestrel deaths
Animal Activists Raise Alarm Over Pigeon Poaching
The Pigeons of East 42nd Street.
A group of animal activists gathered beneath the towering pigeon statue at the High Line this week, protesting the poaching of pigeons across New York City. Their rally came on the heels of a recent arrest: police detained Dwayne Daley, 67, after he was found netting pigeons and stashing them in his van. Activists say this is just the tip of the iceberg. They claim that organized groups are capturing New York’s pigeons to ship them out of state – often to be used as live targets for shooting events. Many New Yorkers who care for the birds report their flocks have shrunk dramatically. The group urged New Yorkers to watch for poachers and call 911 if they spot suspicious activity, but also expressed frustration that prosecutors aren’t treating the issue seriously enough. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office insists that animal cruelty cases are a priority and confirmed that Daley is being prosecuted, though he was released after arraignment because the charge isn’t bail-eligible.
In some cities, wildlife managers have turned to natural solutions for curtailing out-of-balance pigeon populations, introducing hawks and falcons as predators. These birds of prey help keep pigeon numbers in check, restoring a bit of the natural balance to city ecosystems, allowing people to feel clever while also (perhaps more importantly) avoiding having to get their "hands dirty" reducing pigeon populations themselves. However this pigeon poaching doesn’t appear to stem from wanting to manage the bird population.
Also, pigeons, often overlooked as part of urban wildlife, didn’t just appear in city centers by accident. Centuries ago, people brought them from Europe for food, sport, and as messengers. Over time the birds adapted to city life – perhaps a little too well – thriving in the nooks and crannies of buildings that mimic the cliffs where their ancestors once nested.
When a Honeyguide Sends You to a Venomous Snake, Is It Sending a Message?
Why would I lie to you?
The relationship between humans and greater honeyguides is an ancient and well-known type of mutualism. Essentially, the birds guide people to beehives, the people take the honey, and the birds are then treated to delicious leftover grubs and beeswax. It's a nice win-win situation, and this fascinating behavior has been enjoyed for so long, it may trace back as far as early hominid fire use.
A recent study in Mozambique explored a curious twist in this relationship: locals believe honeyguides sometimes guide hunters to dangerous animals, like venomous snakes, as payback for stingy rewards. Researchers joined several hunts to see if this was, indeed, true. And while they were indeed led to three venomous snakes and a dead primate, the scientists weren't convinced the birds were seeking revenge. They think the birds' behavior was deliberate, but that they may have simply made mistakes or perhaps we just can't understand the message they were trying to convey. If we want to interpret this nicely, perhaps the birds were trying to help by pointing out hidden dangers. Hey, if a bird warns us about the location of a venomous snake today, we're more likely to be around and able to guide them to a beehive tomorrow, right?
Source: Why honeyguides sometimes lead honey hunters to dangerous animals instead of bee colonies
News Bites: Venom Tester; Opportunistic Predators; Keeping Animals.
Yellow-lipped sea krait. Extremely venomous. Also, very unlikely to bite you unless you really annoy it.
No matter how deadly a poisonous bird may be, the sight of one probably doesn’t exactly send a terrified chill down your spine. Snakes, on the other hand – even perfectly harmless, non-venomous snakes… well, that’s another story. Now, we think snakes are beautiful creatures, and feel it is important to point out that most snakes are harmless, and only 10-15% are venomous, but we understand they are unsettling to lots of people. So you know when a story is written about a guy who not only seeks out snakes but repeatedly lets them bite him, it’s going to garner a lot of clicks. It sure got our attention!
Tim “Don’t Try This at Home” Friede has been encouraging venomous snakes to bite him since 2001. He has been bitten over 200 times, causing him massive amounts of pain and anxiety, and even landing him in a coma once. At NAIA, we strongly encourage hands-on work with animals, but this isn’t what we meant. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue with results: Mr. Friede’s unusual hobby has caused his body to develop antibodies that have been used in the development of some highly effective antivenoms! From a scientific perspective, that a pretty amazing story in and of itself – but the value of antivenoms is huge. In the United States, where we only have about five deaths from snakebites each year (much of this due to prompt medical attention), it might not be easy to appreciate the value of antivenoms. But throughout the world, as many as 130,000 people die from venomous snake bites each year, and many more are permanently injured or suffer amputations, highlighting the value of readily available and effective antivenoms. So, uh... thanks, Tim!
When one predator moves on or dies out, another one may move in – demonstrating the close connection between neighboring ecosystems, as well as the fact that it’s probably no fun to be a delicious prey animal. In this particular case, on the United States west coast, the sea star die-off of the last decade led the favorite prey of sea stars – mussels – to enjoy a population boom. But unfortunately for these mouthwatering molluscs, sea otters took notice of the mussels’ sudden easy availability, and took full advantage. Moving into musselly areas, sea otters more than doubled their usual mussel consumption, and they seem to be quite happy with the current arrangement. That being said, while otters were quick in love with mussels, it has been a marriage of convenience. There may come a time in the not-too-distant future where sea otters reduce the mussel population to a point where mussels become more difficult to harvest than it is worth, at which point, the sea otters will move on to a new favorite food.
Some tiny thoughts on keeping animals. As we know from the otter story, ecosystems can experience major changes in the figurative blink of an eye. But for people whose lives revolve around taking care of animals, it can happen even faster – and usually in a tough way. Anybody who has experienced the joy of “surprise pets”– whether through rescue, husbandry, or simply having a pet that was harder to care for than expected – knows exactly how quickly keeping an additional animal or two (or 41) can turn your days upside down. Even if you feel like you’re prepared for it.
Also in the News...
★ ‘Astonishing journeys’: online tool tracking migratory animals highlights challenge of protecting them (Migration Tracking; Conservation)
★ OKC Zoo invites you to have 'Breakfast with the Animals' (Zoos; Outreach & Events)
★ (Podcast) Dr. Temple Grandin on animal behavior, neurodiversity, and understanding animals better (Visual Thinking; Add This to Your Playlist!)
★ More than pets: students and emotional support animals at IC (ESAs; Mental Health and the Human-Animal Bond)
★ Here’s How To Identify What Animal Is Digging Holes In Your Yard (We Are Digging Deeper for Our Lists)
Click here to see what is happening legislatively
