Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks?: And Other Questions About Animals (Is That a Fact?)

42 Pages·2010·13.51 MB·english

by  Buffy Silverman

41
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Left Blank
Intentionally
T h a T

iS
f a C T
a

Can an
Old Dog

New
Learn
Tricks?
Other Questions
And
Animals
about
Buffy Silverman
illustrations by colin w. thompson
a
Lerner Publications Company
Minneapolis
C o n te n t s
Introduction ———— 4
Spider Silk Really Stronger
Is
Than Steel? ———— 5
Will a Mother Bird Abandon Her Babies
after a Person Touches Them, Because She Smells a
Human Scent? ———— 6
Are Sharks Really Bloodthirsty Killers? ———— 8
Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks? ———— 10
Hide Their
Do Ostriches Really
Heads in the Sand? ———— 12
Cats Always Land
Is It True That
on Their Feet? ———— 14
Bats Are Blind?
Is It True That
———— 16
Porcupines Can
Is It True That
Throw Their Quills? ———— 18
Fish Don’t Sleep?
Is It True That
———— 20
Opossums Really Hang by
Do
Their Tails When They Sleep? ———— 22
Early Bird Catches
Is It True That the
the Worm? ———— 24
Can an Alligator Really Live
in the Sewer? ———— 26
Lemmings Kill Themselves
Do by Jumping
off Cliffs? ———— 28
a Worm Can Grow Inside
Is It True That
Your Brain? ———— 30
a Female Praying Mantis Really Eat
Does
Her Mate? ———— 32
Cat “Steal”
Can a
a Baby’s Breath? ———— 34
Camels Really Store
Do
Water in Their Humps? ———— 36
Glossary 38
Selected Bibliography 38
Further Reading 39
Index 40
Introduction

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4
Spider Silk Really
Is
Steel?
Stronger Than
Yes!
In fact, it is several times stronger than steel
of the same thickness. It’s even
stronger than Kevlar, a material
used to make bulletproof vests.
What makes the silk so strong? Scientists are trying to learn how to
Spiders spin their silk out of proteins. put proteins together in the same way
These chemicals are made of long that spiders do. If they can make silk
chains. The way the chains link in a laboratory, they may be able to
together in a spider’s silk makes it figure out how to make all kinds of new
extremely tough. materials. Maybe people could make
clothing that could never be ripped or
Spiders use their silk in many different wear out. Car manufacturers might be
ways. They drop down from silk lines able to create a car fender that could
to escape danger. Females spin sacs easily be bent back into shape if it
of silk to protect their eggs while were dented. Many other new
baby spiders develop inside the products could
eggs. Some spiders hide in be possible as
silk tunnels waiting for an well.
insect or other tasty meal
to arrive. Others make
trapdoors of silk and dart
out of the trapdoor when
an insect goes by. Still other
spiders depend on strong
silk webs to catch their meals.
5
M o t h e r B i r d
A bWai lnl da o n H e r B a b i e s
afBteer caa Puesr seo nS Tho uec hSe sm Teh el l ms ,
m a n S c e n t ?
a H u
nope.
Scientists are not even sure that birds can smell
people. For years, scientists believed birds had a poor
sense of smell because they have tiny olfactory lobes
(the part of the brain that detects odors). Modern
scientists are not so sure. They are discovering that
some birds can smell different odors.
6
Regardless of whether
birds can smell people,
they do not abandon their
babies after a person has
touched them. But birds
will not care for their young
as long as a person stays
near the babies.
If you find a young bird on
the ground, you might think
it needs your help. Most likely, it does
Fledglings, like this black-
not. A bird with fluffy feathers that is throated blue warbler, are
hopping on the ground is a fledgling. young birds that have recently
left the nest and are still
It cannot fly well, but it is ready to be
learning how to fly.
out of the nest. Its parents are nearby,
ready to feed it and lead it to safety.
Leave the fledgling alone, and its
parents will return to care for it.

A nestling is a baby bird that isn’t Sniffing Birds
ready to be out of the nest. It has
few feathers and cannot yet cling to Kiwis are flightless birds that live in New
branches. Sometimes nestlings fall out Zealand. They have an excellent sense
of nests. If you can safely reach a nest, of smell. A kiwi’s olfactory lobe is ten
carefully place the nestling back inside. times bigger than that of other birds.
Watch from a distance, so the parents
will return.
Kiwis are nocturnal (active at night), and
they hunt for food in the dark. When a
kiwi pushes its beak underground,
it sniffs with its nostrils,
which are on the tip
of its beak. Its sharp
sense of smell leads it
to worms and bugs.
7
Are Sharks
Really
Bloodthirsty
Killers?
no.
Sharks are predators,
or animals that hunt
and eat other animals.
But they are not vicious
killers. Most sharks do
not harm people and
are not eager to eat
them. In fact, of the
four hundred species of
sharks in the world, only
about thirty have been
known to attack people.
Most sharks are either
too small to harm people
or do not swim where
people are.
8