The BLT Episode 12: Only Fowls and Horses
Surprise surprise, animals featured heavily in this week’s BLT: from those caught up to no good to those that help maintain law and order. If this week’s episode left you intrigued or wanting to learn more, you can read up on all the stories here.
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Feline space invaders in Poland
The BLT started with cats reimagined as space invaders, a reference to the news that cats have now been dubbed aliens. The Polish Academy of Sciences listed cats as an “invasive alien species” in their national database due to the damage they cause to birds and wildlife.
Cat-lovers have responded emotionally. Wojiech Solarz, the biologist responsible, defended the decision by citing their harmful impact on biodiversity through their hunting exploits; cats kill up to 140 million birds in Poland each year. But Solarz maintains it’s not personal: “I don’t have anything against cats!”.
Furry Felon busted in B&Q
A squirrel was hunting for a late-night snack of nuts on Saturday night (the kind found in bird feed, not the nuts-and-bolts kind) when it set off the burglar alarm. Police spotted the culprit happily chomping away. Though they tried to catch it, it made a ‘bolt’ for it. Norwich police shared on Twitter that it was too nimble for them and made a clean getaway.
Czech police take it up a gear
Czech police are less likely to have problems with criminals getting away. The newest edition to their car collection is a Ferrari 458 Italia capable of reaching 326k miles per hour. They confiscated it from a criminal; you could say they got it for a steal. Apparently, converting the red supercar with characteristic yellow and blue stripes was cheaper than buying a new Skoda hatchback.
See the vehicle and other supercars turned police cars here.
Cockington’s mare mayor
Patrick, the miniature Shetland pony, has done much for the village of Cockington in Devon. He works as a therapy pony in local hospitals, schools, and recovery groups. A special place for him has been reserved at his local, the Drum Inn, where he regularly enjoys a Guinness.
In their gratitude, the locals felt he deserved some recognition, so they began a campaign to make him mayor. Patrick was appointed on Saturday, and an MP and local councillors were among the well-wishers in attendance.
Though we’re sure he felt honoured at this new appointment, he skipped the speech because he’s a little horse.
Bird-based battalion
Patrick isn’t the only animal with an important day job. Over a thousand Indian Runner Ducks patrol Vergenoegd Löw, the Wine Estate outside Cape Town.
The flightless Indian runner Ducks are speedy and purposefully march to and from work each day. This hardworking army allows the estate to keep its vineyard pesticide-free. They pluck pests off vine buds, including white dune snails, insects, and even mosquito larvae. Their nutrient-rich dung helps the grapevines to flourish too!
Their daily commute is quite a spectacle; You can watch it here.
A use for nature’s creepy robot hands?
On the subject of dead insects, the BLT finished by highlighting some spooky research (arachnophobes, beware). A team of mechanical engineers at Rice University have made some necrobiotic grippers. In other words, they’ve put a spider carcass on a syringe and are using it to pick things up. It turns out that pumping air into the carcass causes the spider to open and close its grip.
If you’re feeling brave, you can see the device in action.
How exactly these grippers might be used is not yet clear, but they may be useful for picking up delicate objects gently. After hearing about a chess-playing robot that broke a 7-year-old's opponent’s finger in Moscow this week, we reckon we might have found a business opportunity for these robot-makers.
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