Questions tagged [zoology]
Use this tag for questions involving animal biology; evolution, ecology, physiology, behavior, genetics, and marine biology.
34
questions
39
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1answer
38k views
Do dolphins have homosexual “blowhole” sex?
In his comedy act, Ricky Gervais shows examples of homosexuality in nature, all of them from the book "Biological Exuberance, animal homosexuality and natural diversity" by Bruce Bagemihl. One of the ...
36
votes
2answers
3k views
Is Australian fauna more dangerous?
It's a popular meme, "in Australia everything tries to kill you", often backed up by the list of dangerous animals, such as box jellyfish, variety of spiders, salt water crocodiles and sharks. However ...
36
votes
1answer
20k views
Does a lobster feel little/no pain when boiled alive?
Image Source
I have just read Cracked.com's "9 Ridiculous Cooking Myths You Probably Believe", that claims:
[...] because [the lobster's] nervous system isn't very complex, so it's feeling little ...
22
votes
2answers
4k views
Do dogs know when their owner is coming home through some form of telepathic link?
My friend cited a study by Rupert Sheldrake which ran an experiment over several years that video taped dogs, showing that dogs knew when their owner was coming home due to some psychic link. He ...
16
votes
2answers
22k views
Can small bags of water repel mosquitoes?
I was in Nicaragua recently and noted many restaurants and convenience stores had small sandwich sized bags filled with water hanging at their entrances. When I asked why, they said it was to repel ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Can domestic cats be healthy as vegetarians?
I used to hear that dogs can be given vegetarian dog food, but that cats need meat.
I'm not sure therefore how to interpret the following PETA claim about cats.
Vegetarian Cats and Dogs
If you ...
10
votes
1answer
789 views
Are pets as bad for environment as cars?
In this article referring to a book the authors claim:
Taking the dog for a walk to the store would seem like a more
environmentally-friendly option than piling into the SUV.
Not so, say two ...
90
votes
3answers
56k views
Does every species get around a billion heartbeats on average?
I read this webcomic today:
From: abominable.cc
I have no idea where the author got his factoid about the billion heartbeats. But it sounds interesting. The examples I can think of (rabbits, humans,...
66
votes
1answer
285k views
Do sea otters rape baby seals to death?
Popular facebook group
Nature isn’t always kind and cuddly. A study showed that sea otters
will restrain baby seals and then begin copulation; sometimes drowning
it during the 105-minute-long ...
48
votes
9answers
21k views
Can trained humans run faster than all other animals on a marathon distance?
During the athletics world championship, a commentator mentioned casually during the marathon discipline that humans are faster over long distances than all animals.
I'm unsure if this can be said ...
36
votes
1answer
4k views
Do wild dogs use trains to commute to and from Moscow?
An article in The Sun describes how wild dogs near Moscow have been living in the suburbs, yet commuting daily to the city via trains.
These complexes were used by homeless dogs as shelters, so the ...
27
votes
2answers
6k views
Under the right circumstances, can lobsters live indefinitely?
I've been reading a lot about longevity and I came up with this Wikipedia article where it states that it might be possible for lobsters to live indefinitely.
Recent research suggests that ...
18
votes
2answers
5k views
Can any fish climb trees?
I recently came across the following quote on the twitters, attributed to Albert Einstein:
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb
a tree, it will live its whole ...
20
votes
3answers
4k views
Does eating vegetarian kill more animals than eating meat?
Read in an Italian magazine:
The University professor who conducted the study, such Mike Archer, showed instead that the production of plants consumed by humans can kill a number of animals 25 ...
56
votes
1answer
15k views
Are humans the only species to have homophobes?
Here's a quote that's being passed around:
Homosexuality is found in over 450 species. Homophobia is only found in one. Which one seems unnatural now?
With all the good intentions behind what's ...
24
votes
1answer
17k views
Is this video of the Soviet Dog Revival Experiment real?
In this video a dog's head is brought back to life by artificially injecting blood and air. The dog's head reacted to sound and touch and used its tongue to taste.
I am not skeptic about its ...
7
votes
0answers
1k views
Can cows accurately predict when it is going to rain?
And do they show when they know it's going to rain by lying down, as the common saying suggests. Or is this just folklore?
A quote on this Discovery Channel discussion board says this:
Cows are ...
32
votes
1answer
5k views
Are (wild) elephants afraid of mice?
Source
I have heard from people working in zoos that the myth of elephants being afraid of mice is not true.
Here is a short video of a zoo elephant clearly not caring about a mouse.
I don't find ...
22
votes
1answer
1k views
Do goldfishes have a two or three seconds memory?
It is often claimed that goldfishes have a very short memory, usually of two or three seconds. Like most claims in the real world, I have yet to see a source provided for it.
So, do goldfishes have a ...
18
votes
4answers
8k views
Is eating cloven-hoofed animals, bottom-feeders or ruminants bad for you?
The Torah and Talmud claim (and I have Christian friends that also claim) that eating animals that
are bottom-feeders or ruminants—That is, eat the crud off the sea-floor, like shrimp, or digest ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
Are yowies real?
According to several articles, yowies (i.e. wild, unidentified, hominids, reputed to live in Australia) have been allegedly observed by many.
For example, in this Herald Sun article about a man in ...
48
votes
1answer
3k views
Do mice love cheese?
It's common knowledge that mice love cheese. Do they, or is it just that they'll eat anything that's available? What's the origin of the mouse-cheese belief?
17
votes
1answer
794 views
Does having a pet help to cure your depression?
According to the community based website Curetogether spending time with a pet helps people with depression.
Is there peer reviewed research that makes the same recommendation?
16
votes
1answer
6k views
Are animals skinned alive or dead for their pelt?
An animal rights activist friend of mine recently went on a rant about how fur should be illegal.
One of her main arguments was that all animals suffered greatly during the fur removing process as ...
16
votes
2answers
2k views
Can dogs detect human cancer?
I heard several times that dogs could detect cancer before it was detected by humans.
Can Dogs Smell Cancer?
There are many published studies that prove dogs can detect cancer through breath ...
9
votes
1answer
734 views
Is gratuitous farm animal abuse condoned by the USDA?
I recently watched the short film "From Farm To Fridge."
(It contains video footage of farm animals being abused and killed.)
Obviously the video makes an emotional appeal more so than a purely ...
9
votes
0answers
727 views
Do fireworks kills birds, dogs and other animals?
Diwali is a Hindu festival of lights, celebrated with fireworks.
My closest friend on Facebook shared this picture on my wall:
Happy Diwali
Thousands of birds, dogs & other animals ...
18
votes
2answers
9k views
Is it impossible to tell a lobster's age?
Source
Stephen Fry said in the QI episode "I-Spy":
"You can't tell the age of a lobster "
(watch video)
From the American Lobster FAQ:
There is no foolproof way to determine a lobster’s age.
...
16
votes
1answer
702 views
Are animals fleeing Yellowstone park?
This article claims that animals are fleeing en masse from Yellowstone National Park.
At Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, there is a mass animal exodus underway. Miles of buffalo can be seen ...
12
votes
1answer
2k views
Are 100 million sharks killed by humans per year?
I've read from several sources that humans kill 11,000 sharks per hour or 100 million per year, for example :
The Humane Society of the United States, quoting Jean-Michel Cousteau
Look at what is ...
10
votes
1answer
771 views
Is this tapeworm diet ad real?
There's an ad I've seen several times about the internet, advertising tape worms for use in dieting.
This image can easily be found googling "tapeworm diet ad". Snopes asserts uncertainty as to ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Do yaks get shaved?
Many programmers have heard of the phrase yak shaving. In real life, do yaks literally get shaved?
This answer to a question about shaving dogs has someone claiming that yaks do get shaved:
...
6
votes
0answers
510 views
Are fish addictive to cats?
Today I found an interesting article that claims that feeding fish to cat is not a good idea:
Fish should be avoided, except for occasional use, for many reasons including: heavy metal ...
3
votes
1answer
921 views
Are sharks immune to almost all known diseases?
According to Did You Know.org:
Sharks are the only animals that almost never get sick: they are immune to almost every known disease.
Is this true or is it a myth?
