Bobs Column 24th December! Pick up a Penguin for Christmas! First this week, some festive fun with some fascinating animal facts. Did you know, for example, that polar bears are the only creatures on earth to hunt on three legs? Or that sloths take fifteen minutes to panic, and that hedgehogs’ necklessness can prove fatal? As for stranded penguins… First, those bears. Polar bears are white-coated, of course, and they live in ice and snow, so you’d think that they were perfectly camouflaged. Not so! For a long time, in fact, they were in danger of extinction as the food they were after, including wary Eskimos, could see them coming a mile off. White fur, white landscape – but a pretty hard-to-miss big black nose! Eventually, though, one wily bear had a brilliant idea. Hide the nose! One huge paw lifted to cover his snout, the bear crept up on his unwitting prey and – dinner! Since then, thanks to this one bright innovation, polar bears have hunted on three legs – covering their noses with the fourth. As for sloths, they’re notoriously slow, of course, but did you know that it even takes them a quarter of an hour to panic? Creep up to one hanging from a jungle branch, shout ‘Boo!’ – and nothing will happen. Nothing. But count for one minute, two, three…up to fifteen, and at last, ’What was that?’ it’ll scream. (Or sloth-words to that effect.) Sloths, by the way, find it near-impossible to climb back on to their branches, so if you ever get a chance to try this out, don’t shout too loud. The jungle floor can be littered with fallen sloths… Hedgehogs have no necks, and this causes problems, including discomfort. If you ever watch a dog or a cat - like the one we adopted in London and brought with us to Torbay a couple of years ago - contorting itself into all sorts of weird and wonderful positions to wash or to get at a flea you’ll know how flexible they are. Not poor old hedgehogs: neckless, they can’t get at their fleas – a main reason for never picking them up. The prickles are quite soft – but the fleas certainly bite. Crossing roads is tricky for them, too. You or I can look left or right with ease. Not hedgehogs. Halfway across a road and hearing what might be a lorry hurtling towards them, they have to turn their whole body round to see what’s coming, by which time it can be sadly too late. Another flat mate… Thinking of not always avoidable deaths, a correction regarding lemmings: they’re not suicidal. It’s a myth. Mass migrations along narrow mountain passes every few years, though, means that lots do fall to their deaths – but they don’t jump. As for the stranded penguins, way up in the frozen north (polar bear land again) there’s a US air base that regularly sends flights across a penguin-crowded island. The birds themselves are fascinated by the aircraft and stare up at them, often leaning backwards to watch the flight – until they fall over on to their backs. The problem is that, like those sloths that can’t reclaim their branches, penguins once on their backs can’t get up again. Luckily, the thoughtful US airmen have come up with a solution. Once a week they land on the island and devote their time to propping up the fallen birds. They pick up their penguins! * * * * * Well then, what, then, about us, here in Torbay at Christmas time? How about picking up some of our own penguins? I’m not thinking, of course, about popping down to Living Coasts to see who’s fallen over (they’ve plenty of keepers, after all), but, being less literal-minded, most of us know of someone in our lives – a friend, a family member, a neighbour – who could do with a little help or support, especially at this time of year and in these austere times. I was re-reading A Christmas Carol the other day and as I heard Scrooge sneering, ‘Are there no workhouses?’ when invited to donate to charity I could hear in my mind a modern equivalent: ‘Are there no food banks?’ In fact, many of you will have heard about the recent report on the huge increase in the number of people desperately dependent on them, often working families struggling on reduced benefits, the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ hardly helping. Hard times indeed. As this column reports throughout the year, there are, thank goodness, all sorts of voluntary and community groups across the bay determined to support those in particular need, young and old, families and those living alone, carers and the cared for. If you’d like to find out how to get involved in the new year, just call us here at the Torbay Community Development Trust on 01803 212638, or pop into our offices in Torquay’s Temperance Street. You never know who you might find yourself able to give your support to – and have fulfilling fun in the process! Meantime, to mis-quote the reformed Scrooge, ‘Merry Christmas, everyone !’
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 10:41:55 +0000
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