Zoology

This article focuses on the topic of "Why do mice hoard grain?" It explains that hoarding grain is a survival behavior of many rodents, including squirrels, in response to the shortage of food resources in winter. It introduces the advantages and disadvantages of two forms of grain hoarding: centralized storage and decentralized storage. It also explains that mice will select seeds that are free from insect infestation and are plump when hoarding grain, and mentions the survival situation of mice without the habit of hoarding grain, who need to forage in the snow during winter.

This article focuses on the question "What is the function of a squirrel's large tail?" It introduces the large tails of squirrels in a broad sense, including tree squirrels, giant squirrels, flower squirrels, rock squirrels, etc., and their roles in maintaining jumping balance, controlling direction, gliding, shading and keeping warm, supporting high-difficulty movements, defending against enemies, communicating with peers, and demonstrating social status. It also describes the ingenious way that California ground squirrels use infrared deception by shaking their heated tails to deal with their predator, the rattlesnake.

This article focuses on the question of "why do gentle elephants seek revenge?". Through cases such as the elephants in London Zoo seeking revenge on the sailors who teased them three years ago, and the increasing conflicts between wild elephants in Xishuangbanna and humans due to the shrinking of their habitats by human activities, the article points out that elephants, with their developed brains and excellent memory, seek revenge due to self-awareness, deep memory of harm, and long-term accumulation of conflicts between humans and elephants. It reminds humans that they must consider the living space of animals and plants, including elephants, in the process of development.

This article focuses on "Why protect elephants", introducing the multiple ecological roles of elephants as important members of the terrestrial ecosystem, explaining the serious situation of sharply declining elephant populations due to ivory poaching and the intensity of the anti-poaching struggle, and pointing out that the public can participate in elephant protection by boycotting ivory products.

This article focuses on the question of "why moose have such large antlers", and introduces the basic characteristics of moose, the general properties and growth characteristics of antlers in deer species, as well as the functions of antlers in different deer species and the special role of moose's large antlers in sound amplification

This article takes "Why Santa Claus uses reindeer to deliver gifts" as the theme. By introducing the physical characteristics of reindeer, their physiological advantages in adapting to snowy environments, and their gentle and easy-to-train personalities, it explains why Santa Claus chooses reindeer to pull his sleigh. At the same time, it mentions that reindeer are an important means of transportation and livestock for the Evenki people in China, and are known as "ships of the forest", with multiple uses.

This article focuses on the question of "why can camels travel long distances in the desert", and introduces several adaptive skills of camels to the desert environment, including storing fat in their humps, a special water-saving and water-storage mechanism, their body structure for preventing sand, and their body structure and behavior for withstanding high temperatures. At the same time, it explains the current situation that wild camels are rare due to human activities and the related protection measures.

This article focuses on the question of "why do cows keep chewing things?" It explains the principle that cows, as ruminants, return food in their stomachs to their mouths to chew again in order to digest the cellulose in grass. At the same time, it introduces the structure of the stomach of ruminants, the process of rumination, and the special ways that other herbivores digest cellulose.

This article focuses on the question of why herbivorous cattle and horses are so strong, introducing the social background of cattle and horses as important draft animals in ancient times, and explaining the reasons from two aspects: the physiological mechanism of cattle and horses obtaining energy from cellulose in decomposed grass, and their body size and weight far exceeding that of humans.

This popular science article focuses on the question of "how do herbivores grow muscles if they do not eat meat?" and explains the growth logic that muscles are mainly composed of protein, which needs to be broken down into amino acids through the digestive tract and transported to muscle cells to re-synthesize muscle protein. It explains the principle that herbivores choose a plant-eating strategy because plant food is easier to obtain, and they can obtain sufficient and comprehensive nutrients and amino acids through eating a large number of and diversified plants to grow muscles.

Focusing on the question of "why are bears particularly greedy in autumn?" This article introduces the classification, distribution, appearance characteristics and living habits of the three bears distributed in China: brown bears, black bears, and Malay bears. It shows that in addition to Malay bears that inhabit the tropics and have sufficient food all year round, brown bears and black bears need to enter a state similar to hibernation in winter to survive the food shortage period. Pregnant female bears also need to give birth and nurse during this period. Therefore, they need to eat large amounts of fat in autumn to survive the winter. At the same time, it is mentioned that bear hibernation is not deep hibernation, and it is dangerous to encounter wild bears in autumn or early spring.

This article focuses on the question "Is it useful to pretend to die when encountering a bear?", pointing out that bears will not turn around and leave just because the other person is dead. Playing dead is not a reliable way to deal with a bear. It also introduces specific coping methods in different bear encounter scenarios, and fundamental preventive suggestions for staying away from bear-infested areas.