(MYTH BUSTERS)
Sometimes it’s hard to separate fact from fiction, especially with the varied myths that involve fauna. Their behavior can certainly be mysterious, to mention the smallest amount, so it’s no wonder that a number of these creatures became the focus of speculation. A lot of animals are misunderstood, plagued by fallacies about their traits and behaviors. Some falsehoods are based on old legends.
Others result from exaggerations, distortions, misunderstandings, and even deliberate fabrications concocted by self-serving humans. Yet even when scientific scrutiny reveals these misguided notions for what they’re, many remain surprisingly hard to dispel. Chances are you’re clinging to a few yourself.
The following are enduring tall tales about animals and therefore the myth-busting truth behind them. It’s time to put these myths related to fauna to rest.
Myth 1:CHAMELEONS CHANGE COLOR TO BLEND IN WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
Fact: Chameleons are known for blending in with their surroundings, but that’s not actually why they change colors. Instead, their skin changes its pigmentation based on temperature and arousal state. It’s all supported the arrangement of nanocrystal within reflective cells in their outermost layer of skin. When the nanocrystals are farther apart, they reflect longer wavelengths of sunshine, like orange and red, and when they’re closer together, they reflect shorter wavelengths (blue, for example).
This can help them communicate with other chameleons—like rival males—or adapt to different temperatures, turning a lighter color to stay cool within the sun, as an example.
Myth 2:Camels store water in their humps
Fact: A camel’s hump does not hold water at all but stores fat. Camels use the stored fat as nourishment when the food for them is scarce. The water is stored in the camel’s bloodstreams.
Myth 3: Bulls Are Enraged by the Color Red
Fact: A belief that originated in Spanish bullfighting is that bulls are angered by the color red. In fact, it’s the swift motion of the red cloth employed by matadors in bullfighting arenas that causes the bull to charge. Studies suggest that bulls, like many animals, are literally colorblind, meaning that they’re incapable of distinguishing between certain colors.
Myth 4:Crocodiles Are Crybabies
Fact: Terence Trent D’arby sang about crocodile tears in his hit song “Wishing Well,” but the phrase that implies expressing fake emotion actually comes from an ancient fable that crocodiles weep while both luring and killing their prey. In reality, crocodiles can’t chew, in order that they are forced to tear their food into chunks and swallow them whole. As luck would have it, the glands that keep their eyes moist are right near their throats, so their eating habits actually force tears into their eyes.
Myth5:Sharks can smell blood from a mile away
Fact: While you wouldn’t want to bleed near a shark, a predator won’t hunt you down if you’re nowhere near it. Sharks do have a fantastic sense of smell and may smell blood at one part per million—about a cup of water during a swimming pool—but that’s far away from sensing an ocean’s worth of potential prey.
Myth 6:Touching a baby bird causes parents to abandon the nest
Fact: Parents put so much effort into building nests, incubating eggs, and caring for young that they rarely desert nestlings simply because a person has found the nest. young birds chirping for food near the nest have not necessarily been abandoned; their parents are probably nearby expecting you to travel away from the planet.
Myth 7: TOUCHING A BUTTERFLY’S WING CAUSES IT TO LOSE ITS ABILITY TO FLY
Fact: If you gently touch a butterfly’s wing, it won’t die or lose the ability to fly. Their wings have scales and once you touch them, some scales might shed off, but that happens naturally also. In fact, their sheddable scales could also be what can help them shake spiderwebs.
Myth 8:Goldfish Have a Three-Second Memory Span.
Fact: Contrary to popular belief, behavioral studies show that goldfish can associate sounds with feeding times, operate tiny levers, and even recognize their owners’ presence. Each of those behaviors requires a lengthier memory span than three seconds.
Myth 9:Bats Are Blind
Fact: The common misconception that bats are blind still exists. Though some bats have poor eyesight, they’re never blind and lots of bats can see also as humans.
THANK YOU!!