4 ms·
Interesting that it doesn't use the normal advertisements of danger (bright red colour, bad taste, etc.). Instead the thing looks harmless, tastes nice, and kil
by renewiltord 3y ago
Interesting that it doesn't use the normal advertisements of danger (bright red colour, bad taste, etc.). Instead the thing looks harmless, tastes nice, and kills mammals at a small dose. I suppose it works to protect from anything that herds since killing one is sufficient to keep the herd away.
- anonreeeeplor 3y agoAre cows smart enough to do a post mortem on who ate what random plant three hours ago?
- angiosperm 3y agoTheir ancestors were smart enough to stay out of that particular thicket, afterward. Typically they have dug up and eaten the tasty-smelling tuber. The most daring cow chowed it while the others goggled, and remembered the smell forever after.
- fnordpiglet 3y agoEvolution has amazing power to change behaviors in inexplicable ways. Sudden reliable death at small doses is a fairly powerful evolutionary pressure.
- woleium 3y agoThe ring of convulsing and dead is a bit disconcerting…
- at_a_remove 3y agoOne would think so, but ... I was on one of those investigative rabbitholes and stopped in at various rodent traps. One of the antiques was this contraption with eight holes, in a line, in which rats could stick their heads and be swiftly killed via your basic spring-loaded spinal injury. Anyway, you could have seven dead or dying rats, heads in, and another rat would clamber over the victims, both the twitching and the finally-still, just to stick its head in the only open hole. The presence of kin corpses and dying nestmates was an insufficient deterrent.
- woleium 3y agoRats are like that though, they will eat each other over plentiful food sometimes as well.