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Don’t be fooled by animal myths — know the facts.
There are some myths attached to animals, such as rats having a
prophetic power and elephants having a computer like memory? Or even
bulls being excited by red color. How many of the beliefs are true
and how many are false? Let’s take a look.
Are rats prophetic?
For years it has been thought that rats have prophetic power because
they can foresee the sinking of a ship. The sign of rats scurrying
away is a useful one, but the fact remains that rats do not have
extra sensory powers. Since rats live in holds of the ships, they
are the first to know when water enters the ship and there is the
danger of sinking. At the touch of seawater, rats scurry away and
this has been interpreted as an act based on their sixth sense.
Well, rats don’t possess one. |
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Can moles see?
The mole has been associated with blindness. As it happens, moles
are not totally blind; however, their eyesight is very poor. This is
because they stay underground most of the time. Also, their fur
covers their tiny eyes, rendering them useless and unnecessary. A
mole’s major activity is digging a series of underground tunnels and
corridors and run along them, looking for food, mainly worms,
insects and similar small creatures. The mole’s appetite is so huge
that the weight of the food it consumes everyday is equal to its own
weight. Where does it have the time or inclination to come out to
see the bright beautiful world outside, considering that its staple
food is worms and insects? Do elephants
have computer memory?
This belief has some truth in it. Elephants are slow learners, but
they do remember more than seventy five per cent of what has been
taught to them even a year later. Therefore, while we can’t actually
compare them with computers, we should doff to their ability to
remember things clearly.
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Are snakes excited by good music?
We’ll let you into this secret provided you’ll take care not to
try it practically. Snakes cannot hear. They are stone deaf. In
fact, they have no ears. We sometimes compliment a person on his
ability to hear as sharply as a snake, while in actuality we are
complimenting him on his deafness. How the snake responds to the
snake charmer's music is that it follows the rhythmic tapping of
his feet and the swaying of his body and the pipe. It follows
and responds to these movements. |
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Do bulls react violently to the color
red?
Again, it is a no. Like most mammals, the bull too is color blind.
(The only mammals that are an exception to the color blindness rule
are human beings and monkeys. It is the movement of the cloak that a
matador or bullfighter makes which excites the bull.) Traditionally,
matadors use a red cloak, probably to hide bloodstains. However, it
is immaterial to the bull what the color the cloak is. Whatever the
color, it will come charging when the matador moves the cloak in a
particular way. |
