One Paw or Another

I am sitting on the deck watching the squirrels skip through the fallen leaves, searching for something to steal. Squirrels are beastly vandals and unrepentant thieves.

At this time of year they have intense interest in the flower gardens. They work surreptitiously and I’m not sure what they are after, but I’ll find out when I try to start the chainsaw or the snow blower.

They love to hide their stolen goods in pieces of machinery. One year they stuffed the carburetor of an old snowmobile, which caught fire when I tried to start it.

Another year they chewed two holes in the gas tank of my ATV. I don’t know if they were into gas sniffing or just looking for another place to store their little treasures.

As I watch them I notice that they seem to use one paw more than the other. I’ve noticed this with raccoons, another nimble-fingered thieving species, who appear to do a lot of work with their right paw.

This gets me wondering: do animals, like humans, have a more dextrous side that they prefer for certain tasks? In other words, are some left-pawed and some right-pawed?

Most humans are right-handed. Only 10 per cent are southpaws and more males than females are left handed.

So what about the squirrels and other critters of the forest? I consult Professor Google and find an interesting article by two veterinary researchers from James Cook University in Townsville, Australia.

The article was distributed by a news service start-up called The Conversation, which distributes articles from universities in Canada and other countries. The articles are informative, interesting and free to read and use, and can be found on the Internet at https://theconversation.com/ca.

The researchers, Janice Lloyd and Richard Squires, write that many animals tend to use one side of the body more than the other. Apes and chimps, for instance, appear to be mainly right-handed.

They say that research shows that most kangaroos are left-pawed. Horses, however, tend to circle right, which seems odd considering that horse racing tracks always seem to circle left.

Favouring one side over another apparently is not exclusive to vertebrates. Snails also have a form of laterality. The shells of some snails spiral in a left-handed direction, while others have a right-handed direction. Snails with left-handed shell spirals can mate only with other lefties and righties only with righties.

Another interesting observation by the researchers is that many animals use the left eye and the left ear for investigating items that are potentially frightening.

You can test whether your pet dog or cat is a southpaw or right-pawed. The researchers say that to test your cat, place a treat inside a glass and see which paw it uses to try to get the treat. You can do a similar test for dogs but any dog I have known goes after a treat with both paws.

If you really have too much spare time you can test your dog to determine the meaning of its tail wagging. Italian researchers did that and concluded that dogs wag their tails to the right when they see something they want to approach and to the left when they see something they want to avoid.

Does it really matter which paw or hoof is dominant in a cat, dog or horse? Apparently so.

Laterality also refers to the primary use of the right or left hemispheres of the brain. Determining laterality could help in breeding and training animals.

For instance, information about laterality could help determine which puppies will make the best service dogs. Or, which racing horse will run best on clockwise or counter-clockwise race tracks.

(I thought all horse race tracks were left curved but apparently not. Tracks in England centuries ago all were clockwise but the Americans changed theirs to counter clockwise out of spite during the American Revolution.)

At any rate, my wife says that it does not matter whether squirrels are left- or right-handed. When she sees them skipping through the flower beds she knows they are casing the place for a night time raid for her freshly planted tulip bulbs. And it does not really matter which paw they use to dig them.

Email: shaman@vianet.ca
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To Catch A Litterpig

“We’ve got a good one,” Scully calls out.

She holds it up, examining it carefully before dropping it into a plastic evidence bag.

“It’s recent,” she says, “maybe this morning.”

“Perfect,” I reply. “No frost last night or even heavy dew. We should get what we need  from it.”

Scully grins, smile creases forming around her deep blue eyes, which match the colour of her blue latex lab gloves.

I am lucky to have her as my partner, seconded from the X Files. Fox Mulder, her weird regular sidekick, is not happy but he can live without her because our work here is more important than investigating supernatural stuff.

We are working the stretch of Highway 35 between Minden and Dorset, one of the most heavily littered pieces of highway in the province. Our mission: catch litterpigs and make them pay for their stupidity.

What Scully bagged was a Coke can tossed out the window of a passing car. Advancements in DNA and fingerprinting could lead us to the person who pitched the litter and bring them to justice.

I had walked 696 steps on one side of the highway just south of the Frost Centre. I found 27 beer or pop cans, 13 plastic water bottles and coffee cups, nine juice boxes, five cigarette packs and a variety of plastic containers, and other confection cartons. In all, 63 items, one piece of garbage for every 20 steps.

Tossing crap onto roadsides is environmental crime and Scully and I are determined to stop it. We have to because no one else will. The Ontario government has no anti-littering strategy, and says that roadside litter is a municipal responsibility.

That is short-sighted because littering is a slap in Mother Nature’s face, one that damages plant life, hurts birds, fish and animals and stains the beauty of our countryside. And, Mother Nature slaps back. Just ask the folks in Houston, Florida, Puerto Rico and California.

Litterpigs are not your typical don’t-give-a-damn hardened criminals. They are simply slow thinkers. Many litter because they wrongly believe that litter breaks down much quicker than it actually does.

An aluminum pop can take 80 to 200 years to break down. That can could be recycled and put to another use in a matter of weeks.

Cigarette butt filters, the world’s most common litter, take up to 10 years to decompose.  

Five trillion cigarettes are smoked each year worldwide, the filters of which weigh in total about two billion pounds. Canadians alone toss tons of butts into the environment.

Even a Tim Horton’s cardboard coffee cup, a most popular piece of litter in Ontario, takes weeks to years to break down depending on where it ends up.

Decomposition times of some other items found along Highway 35: paper bag - one month; wool glove - one year; plastic bag – 20 to 1,000 years; plastic jug – one million years; glass – one to two million years;  disposable diaper – 550 years; banana peel – three to four weeks.

Most of us are tempted to litter at times, especially if we are not being watched. Statistics Brain, a U.S. research institute, says 75 per cent of Americans admitted to littering some time in the last five years.

Littering begets littering. Studies show that people are more likely to litter a highway or beach that already has been littered.

Scully and I intend to stop that from happening on Highway 35.

Backs bent and heads down we are raking the ditches with our eyes when suddenly an odd-sounding car horn blares. I grab Scully and pull her to me to prevent her from being hit.

When I open my eyes I am holding my bed pillow, not Scully. The alarm clock is blaring on the table beside my bed. Scully, the Coke can and the hopes of nailing a litterpig all have been a dream.

I get out of bed, shower, dress and get ready for my morning walk along Highway 35. I’ll scan the ditches to see what the litterpigs have left since my last walk. That’s when reality turns my nighttime sweet dream into a daytime nightmare.

Email: shaman@vianet.ca

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Trouble in Bahteh Wallow

Bahteh Wallow was a democratic society founded on the idea that all animals are created equal. It had evolved from a revolution and a civil war as a homeland for elephants, but other species were welcomed.

Immigrants from far off came to Bahteh for a better life in which animals of different shapes, sizes and colours might live in harmony under a guarantee of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Bahteh was not a perfect society but it was admired and respected. It grew into a leader among global communities and its advice and generous aid were sought by many.

As time passed it became apparent that the principles on which Bahteh was built were not as easy to sustain as its founders believed. Differences in beliefs and social status widened, creating rumblings of discontent. The rumblings warned of an approaching storm.

There was no single reason for the growing discontent. Some blamed immigration, saying that different animals brought differences that disrupted the structure and culture of the traditional society. Immigrants were blamed for robberies and rapes and there were calls to block them from entering Bahteh.

Others cited ascending communities that exhibited growth and strength and were taking away from Bahteh’s influence in trade. They said Bahteh should withdraw from the world, adopt protectionism, and focus on making itself great.

Also, Bahteh’s climate was changing, resulting in more wildfires, floods in some areas, droughts in others. Arguments broke out between those demanding more environmental protection and those who said environmental rules were ridiculous and killing prosperity.

As a global leader, Bahteh often became tangled in conflicts in distant places. Its youth were sent to fight in communities that did not fit the pattern of Bahteh’s success.

However, it had not won any of those wars in more than 60 years. Some Bahtehans saw that as a embarrassment and a humiliating loss of influence.

So it was a combination of factors that made Bahteh an increasingly unhappy place. Unhappiness soured the social order, turning it more aggressive and less tolerant.

The young complained that no matter how hard they worked, their lives were not as good as those of their parents. They believed their future to be bleak.

Older, conservative Bahtehans were especially annoyed with the way the society had changed. They said it had become soft, liberal and too tolerant.

Some elephants sought comfort and escape by chewing hallucinogenic grasses and leaves that grew nearby. Community leaders encouraged the practice and changed laws, making hallucinogens legal, and taxable.

It started as recreational dosing but soon Bahteh was fighting a full blown drug epidemic. Elephants were found passed out under the trees, many dead from overdoses. Families broke up, crime increased and there was a general breakdown of society.

Some of the older bulls said Bahteh needed to toughen its approach to governing. It had become too dependent on a matriarchal approach in which governing was done by consensus. It needed to return to the patriarchal approach, which was governing through power.

They found a leader, a wealthy old bull named Mazeka, who promised to make Bahteh great again.  Mazeka trumpeted against everything Bahteh had stood for in the past.

He promised to drive out the immigrants, tighten Bahteh’s borders, tear up treaties with other communities and stop environmental and social improvements at home.

Bahteh society became more disordered and divided than ever before. Mazeka’s trumpeting sparked arguments that caused stampedes in which reasoned debate was trampled into the dust.

Many began to fear they were witnessing the most dreaded occurrence in elephant society – an old male gone rogue. That happened when an elephant broke away from the society’s norms and became excessively aggressive and violent. A rogue often stampeded others, creating chaos and destruction.

An intense debate developed over what to do about Mazeka. Would it be best to drive him out or try to live with him and his erratic ways? Either choice could have  dangerous consequences.

Meanwhile, other communities around the world watched nervously, waiting and  wondering whether Bahteh Wallow would collapse under another civil war or another revolution.

Email: shaman@vianet.ca
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A tree dies in Haliburton

 An old and dear friend at the lake passed away this autumn.

Our grand sugar maple, the signature tree of our lake property, became too sick to save and had to be taken down.

It was a glorious tree, with a trunk six feet in circumference, and just over two feet in diameter. I won’t know its age until we cut the stump closer to the ground and count the growth rings. Sugar maples can live 200 years or more.

I noticed that the tree was not quite right early in the summer. Its leaves were well formed but stunted. By early fall they still had not grown to full size.

Summer was a washout, much rain and little sunshine and warmth. So I thought maybe that was the reason the leaves were not growing, even though those on other trees had reached maturity.

Then I noticed a scabby area near the ground. Poking around with my fingers revealed a large area of rot.

I called in Josh Burk of ArborView Tree Care who confirmed the tree was sick and would not recover.

I wanted to let it stand as long as possible but it was a 40-to-50 foot tree and if it came down in storm it would hit a building, or land heavily on the septic field. So, sad as it was, it had to come down, in pieces.

That old maple was an important part of life at the lake. It sheltered us as we cooked, ate and slept while clearing the lot for a building more than 30 years ago. Later, it shaded the south side of the cottage from the afternoon sun and protected it from snow and rain.

Children played games beneath it and one spring we tapped it to show them how its sap could be turned to maple syrup.

And of course at this time of year it provided a beauty pageant with leaves turning pale yellow, then orangey, then brilliant scarlet.

It was a larger-than-life example of how trees are givers rather than takers and why they are critical to life on our planet.

Trees are the largest plants and the longest living species on earth. The benefits they provide are extensive.

To begin with, trees absorb carbon dioxide, an important factor in climate change, and they give off life-giving oxygen. It is estimated that one large tree can supply oxygen enough for four people for one day.

Trees are earth’s most important pollution filters. It is believed that a large tree canopy removes up to 1.7 kilograms of dust and other pollutants every year.

They filter the soil as well as the air, absorbing chemicals and sewage with their roots. Their large root networks are important in slowing flash flooding and erosion. That’s why some governments forbid the cutting of live trees along lake shorelines.

Tree canopies reduce wind and lower temperatures. They also absorb sound, lessening noise from road traffic and generally reducing noise pollution by as much as 40 per cent.

They are good for human health. Research shows that being among trees lowers blood pressure and slows the heart rate.

They supply us with many material goods. They provide fruit and flowers, fuel for cooking and heating and lumber for building.

The giving nature of trees is illustrated exceptionally well in The Giving Tree, a 1964 children’s picture book by Shel Silverstein. Early on the Giving Tree provides a boy with a place to climb and play. Later it gives him apples, then wood for a variety of building projects.

When the boy becomes an old man, the tree has given him everything until it has been reduced to a stump. Even then it still gives – the stump providing a seat on which the old man can sit and rest.

The Giving Tree is one of the most popular books in the history of children’s literature, and one of the most controversial. The controversy relates to whether the relationship between the boy and the tree is about selfless love, or an abusive relationship.

It is a silly controversy. All I know is that trees are good and that I am going to miss our old sugar maple.

Email: shaman@vianet.ca
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