Extreme Facts and Myths (Animal Talent 4)

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Humans and animals

Humans and animals

8 Âť The most loyal animal

How do animals adapt to human beings? How do they help our day to day existence and thereby become part of our lives? We will see that some are capable of interesting tricks, which is why we encounter them in the circus ring. There are also some strange domestic animals, as well as a number of extreme species that are only kept as pets. Surprisingly, there are a good number of animals that are worshipped as holy, and even a very lucky few who have become millionaires...


10 » Animals in the ring 14 » Born luck y

18 » Athletic a n

imals

imals

n 20 » Extreme domestic a 22 » Extreme pe t

s

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Humans and animals

vourite ehold fa s u o h e h old of t ing househ the role imals mean n a at Playing n re io g n a a p e com s hav are kept as h tiny bodie it w t s n g e o g d lli Most dogs p te la re just as in ute, friendly ship. They a n favourites. C io n a p m o man c dog breeds. need for hu large fellow ir e th s a l and loya

Dogs are domestica ted relatives of wolves , liv alongside human be ing ings for millennia. In additio n to being able to give so much love, they also perfo rm numerou s importa nt duties, being ess ential in c ertain situations .

t s o m e h T l a m i n a l a loy

ere is t aid. Th es... s r v fi i l g e in h av in provid ches and eart , also s n tial role d la n They a ie e r v s u s a e b g r g fo durin lay an in s p h g o o rc ls a d a e Dogs sist in s r rescue able for need fo ke this, they as t are suit ive into a h t s d a great li e d s able to also bre At time quakes. ople. There are n trained to be ve pe injured scue, that are e re ic t a aqu water. ice-cold


Shepherding and hunting herds of There is a big need for dogs to shepherd Dachsanimals and to work at various hunts. from hunds, for example, seek out their prey shot the for ch sear rs othe le whi , ows inside burr h. prey or prey resting in the undergrowt

An A grade in healing Therapy dogs in duce positive ch anges in psychologi cally injured pe ople or those who ar e living with disa bilities. They improv e the patient’s mood and mak e them more ac tive. Additionally, they can also assist th e daily lives of blin d, deaf and hand icapped people .

The guardia ns of order Dogs can be trai ned for an incred ibly large number of duties. This is no t based on search ing for material or a target person; ra ther, treats are us ed as incentives for an imals to perform the work they have been entrusted with.

unter ushroom h The real m roughout ed a delicacy th er id ns co , es ils. GourTruffl und in forest so fo be n ca , ld or the w ious treat; locate this delic ly si ea n ca ds man e help of do is request th all they have to smell. of e cellent sens dogs with an ex

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Mysteries of the animal kingdom

Mysteries of the animal kingdom There are quite a number of surprising facts and interesting information about the animal kingdom. What is the secret of successful predators? Which species are threatened with extinction? There are numerous popularly held misconceptions without a true basis in reality; we are going to uncover these now. At the same time, dogs, cats and horses also receive particular attention...

e... 26 Âť Takes more than on ction n i t x e f o e g ed 28 Âť On the


32 » Don’t b e

lieve it!

uth r t e g n a 38 » Str

46 » Dogs

48 » Cats s e s r o H 50 »

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Mysteries of the animal kingdom

humpback wh ale

THEY “WEAV E” A NET OF BUBB LES This balee

n whale, consumin g krill and small fish, can weig h as much as 30 to ns. It creates a fishnet-like wall composed of air bubbles around th e schools of herring , preventing the esca pe of the fish with a vortex of sound. Th e feast can then co m mence.

killer wha le

A DANGER OUS GANG

hunt in es, when they ci e sp in ta more r e C capture a lot to le b a e r a , groups when alone. n a th y e r p r e e split or a lot larg e food must b th y a w is th would True, in ut alone, they b , m e th st g n amo ctively. hunt this effe to le b a e b t o n

Takes an h t e r mo . . . e n o

Toothed whale s are dangerou s indivi­ dually, but in gr oups, they can even kill large bodied w hales. Seals lyin g on floating ice shee ts are not safe, ei ther; the Orcas gene rate an artificial w av whipping the fa e, t, nutritious seal snacks into the water with them.

pink flam ingo

THE SCO

OP

NET IS A The scoop n LWAYS “ ets of these birds are alw AT HAND but by their ays ready for beak. They ca ” action, even n eat as much but it’s not e if not by the as two kilogra asy to get th ir h an d, is quantity. M ms of fish pe the shore wit any coopera r bird per day h an intense te and steer , beating of th the catch. small fish tow eir wings, allo ards wing them to make a feast of

lion

A SOUND STR ATEGY IS ESSENTIAL

Capturing one of th e large game animals of the African savanna can only happen wi th teamwork – even fo r lions. It is mostly th e females that hunt – they approach their prey by stalking acco rding to a plan. The chase then begins: they separate a weak er or injured specimen that is then struck down collectively. It does not always go according to plan, so metimes, large bulls , hippopotami or giraff es can fatally injure even the king of the animals.


grey wolf

MARATHON CHASE

als; as a pack, they can Wolves do not just eat smaller anim l. They approach the selectcapture larger bodied deer as wel , they cannot be smelt), ed victim from downwind (this way animals of great endurand attack from ambush. They are hours on end, which is then ance, capable of chasing prey for biting; their claws and legs exhausted. They kill their prey by are relatively weak.

red wood ant

THE MARCHING

AR

MY Living in the soils of pin e groves and deciduous forests, these tiny arthro pods grasp their prey wi th their strong mandibles. They inject formic acid int o their bites. In groups, the y are capable of capturin g much larger prey than their own bodyweight.

African wild dog

BLOODTHIRSTY PACK

They are also called African painted dogs. They hunt with similar techniques to wolves , but they live on the savanna. The pack chases the size able game while repeatedly biting their victim; as their bite is rather strong, the prey does not stand mu ch of a chance.

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Unbelievable, yet true!

Unbelievable, yet true!


54 Âť Celebrities

It Âť 0 6

! d e n e happ

There are plenty of celebrities in the animal kingdom as well. We can read about celebrities, film stars, fairy tale heroes and true heroes alike in this chapter. Sometimes, animal inventiveness knows no bounds, so there is no lack of astonishing stories... At the same time, there have been times when a strange relationship has arisen between two specimens of different species; even lifetime friendships can form when this happens.

62 Âť Unusua l animal friendships

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Unbelievable, yet true!

Celebrities

What can make an animal famous? Its huge body, excellent sense of smell, or a starring role in a film? The palette is broad, let us take a look at a few animal stars!

T reo

THE WHERE IS BOMB? ned dogs

s, trai Even nowaday out explosives. are used to sniff ell far outTheir sense of sm beings. For man strips that of hu g called Treo example, the do o ) sniffed out tw (black labrador , thereby saving hidden bombs t of people. the lives of a lo

Commando, the pigeon

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION…do The ph o depict to does not the sp ec the de scripti imen in on

Béla, the domestic pig

WOULD SUPPLY YOU WITH MEAT

; Hungary ’s largest pig was called Béla his bodyweight reached 600 kilograms. As he could not support his own weight anymore, he had to be slaughtered in 2014. His owner bathed it with shampoo and even took him on walks. Béla liked vegetables and fruit and often attended exhibitions: he lived like a true star.

es oto do The ph t the pic not de e en in th specim n tio descrip

enemy troops In wars, information is priceless, particularly when ns played a rather pigeo r carrie d not know about it. This is why traine a pigeon named II, War World In important role in ferrying messages. Its work was ons. missi many g Commando carried messages durin rewarded with a medal in 1942.


Laika, the dog

SACRIFICED HIMSELF

tnik In 1957, Laika reached space in the Spu she 2 satellite. Sadly, and controversially, did ft ecra spac this as die, to ined was dest launch not return to Earth. She survived the but died shortly after achieving orbit. tough Incidentally, space dogs took part in get training, where primarily they had to es. spac t used to tigh

oto The ph ot does n he show t en in specim ipcr s the de tion.

Ham, the chimpanz ee

DEEMED A PIONE

ER

After thorough training, this chimpanzee, which had been initially used by the military, took part in a space flight in 1961. He was the first hominid in space. Sen sors throughout his body measured his life fun ctions. He returned safely from the adventur e, thereby signalling a green flag for human be ings as well.

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