Watching the World

“World’s Smallest”

“The world’s smallest lizard,” only three quarters of an inch [2 cm] long, has been discovered in caves in the Dominican Republic’s Jaragua National Park. “Its greatest hazard is drying out, because its surface area is so large compared with its mass,” says The Times of London. “The creature is not only the smallest lizard, but also the smallest of the amniotes, a group that comprises all 23,000 species of reptile, bird and mammal.” The only rival for size is a lizard that lives in the nearby British Virgin Islands. The newspaper adds: “The Caribbean also boasts the world’s smallest bird, the Bee Hummingbird, which is 2in[ches] [5 cm] long, and the thinnest snake, the Lesser Antillean Threadsnake, which could wriggle its way through a pencil if the lead were removed.”

 Predictions Failed Miserably

“For the fraternity of fortune-tellers, astrologers, and clairvoyants, the year 2001 was another big flop,” states the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Experts of Germany’s Forum for Parasciences came to this conclusion after evaluating the year’s predictions. For one thing, none of the psychics foresaw the September 11 attacks or the war in Afghanistan. They also failed to predict the economic recession in Germany. On the contrary, they were quite optimistic about the future. One clairvoyant boldly prophesied that the world would start “a period of peace” in 2001. Even if in rare cases human predictions come true, nobody is able to foretell exactly which ones will, says the newspaper, adding: “There is, however, considerable evidence that erring is profoundly human.”

Land-Mine Madness

“There are more than 110 [million] landmines buried around the world. Removing them will cost $33 [billion] and will take 1,100 years at present de-mining rates,” reports Britain’s newspaper The Guardian. “Mines are being laid 25 times faster than they can be cleared,” and since 1975, over a million people have been maimed or killed by them​—including 300,000 children. Half of all adults and more than half of all children who step on a mine die before reaching a hospital. “Soldiers are notoriously unreliable in recording and maintaining records of where mines have been laid,” the paper adds, and many “mines are simply washed out of the ground and deposited elsewhere, often on previously clear land.” Although the international trade in antipersonnel land mines has virtually ceased, between 230 million and 245 million are still stockpiled worldwide. According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 15 governments and some 30 terrorist organizations and guerrilla groups still use them.

Monarch Butterfly Disaster

A severe winter rainstorm in January, followed by freezing temperatures, has devastated the two biggest colonies of monarch butterflies in Mexico. As reported in The New York Times, researchers estimated that “74 percent of the monarchs at the Sierra Chincua colony and 80 percent at the Rosario colony had been killed. Along with a few smaller colonies, . . . the butterflies in these major colonies make up the entire breeding stock of monarchs for the eastern United States and Canada.” Between 220 million and 270 million butterflies froze and fell from their tree roosts, covering the ground to a depth of more than a foot [30 cm] in some places. While it is felt that the species is not threatened by this loss, the researchers said that their reduced numbers left the butterflies vulnerable to future events of weather and disease. The monarchs are noted for their spectacular mass migrations northward from Mexico each spring. They lay eggs in the southern United States. These develop into more butterflies to continue the migration, which reaches as far as Canada by summertime.

“Accurate yet Poetic”

The Bible is “less fictitious and more factual than was thought,” states the French nature magazine Terre sauvage. Naturalists working in Israel noted that the Bible, although a religious book, contains “precise and accurate zoological observations.” Stating that “the Psalms and the Proverbs are precious sources of information” for naturalists, the article adds: “The book of Job . . . gives accurate yet poetic descriptions of the gestation of the ibex as well as the natural habitat of the wild ass and the hippopotamus.”

The “Odd Couple”

“Any relationship between a lioness and an oryx calf might be expected to be both brief, and terminal for the latter,” observes The Economist. Yet, the photograph accompanying the article showed a lioness and a calf peacefully lying down side by side. The article went on to note: “This odd couple was spotted in the Samburu game reserve in Kenya on December 21st, and was tracked and filmed by . . . two wildlife photographers, until another lion killed the calf on January 6th.” Was this a case of “imprinting,” in which a surrogate mother accepts another animal as its own after recently giving birth? The evidence did not point to that, says The Economist. “What makes this case bizarre is that the oryx’s mother was still alive and lactating, and that the lioness was young and showed no sign of ever having given birth.” Further, “it was the lioness who followed the calf (for example when it went back to its mother to suckle), rather than the other way round.” The article concludes: “Why she wanted to adopt something that ought to have pressed the button labelled ‘lunch’ is a mystery.”

Abandoned Pets

“Per capita, Australians own more pets than any other society in the world,” says Hugh Wirth, the national president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Yet, the newspaper The Australian reports that “135,000 pets were abandoned in the 2000-01 financial year” and that “almost 60 per cent of those animals were put down.” Why are so many animals abandoned? One reason is that people continue to choose inappropriate breeds of animals for their circumstances. Parents consistently make the mistake of buying working dogs​—ones that need a lot of training, exercise, and care—​for their children. Yet, working dogs are responsible for a large number of incidents of dog bites. About selecting a pet, The Australian says: “Keep emotion out of the purchase. Consider your space, family circumstances and financial situation. Do not delay dog obedience classes. The longer you leave it the more ingrained naughty behaviour can become. Remember that an animal purchase is a long-term proposition.”

New-Car Syndrome

“Research . . . has found high levels of air toxic emissions in new motor vehicles for up to six months and longer after they leave the showroom,” states Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Some of the toxic fumes filling the cabins of new cars include benzene, acetone, ethylbenzene, n-hexane, toluene, and xylene isomers​—all of which can be dangerous to humans. Drivers inhaling these chemicals may suffer headaches, drowsiness, confusion, and irritation of eyes, nose, and throat. According to Dr. Steve Brown, head of CSIRO’s air quality control research, “sitting in a car can expose you to levels of toxic emissions many times beyond goals established by Australia’s National Health & Medical Research Council.” To reduce potential hazards, Brown recommends that, as far as possible, new-car owners “should make sure there is plenty of outside air entering the vehicle while they drive, for at least six months after the vehicle has been purchased.”