“They (orcas) certainly display extraordinary levels of social support, including babysitting for each other's calves and caring for disabled individuals. Giles told me of a male orca from a transient mammal-eating pod, outside of the southern residents that has scolioses, yet is a thriving member of his family. 'They bring him food' she told me. 'It's hard for him to keep up with them, bur they loop back and bring him chunks of seal or whatever it is they've just killed. In a lot of human cultures they would leave that individual behind.' I can't help but think about how many of our human leaders would benefit from a paralimbic lobe transplant - to become more like these wise and compassionate matriarchs, with their unfathomable emotions and supportive, socially inclusive society.” SocietySocialismDisabilityOrcasBetter Humans Book:Bitch: On the Female of the Species Source: Bitch: On the Female of the Species
“I joined Claudio on an expedition in search of one of the country’s most fabulous freaks, the incredibly rare Southern Darwin’s frog, which was discovered by the big beard himself in 1834 on his epic five year Beagle voyage. What makes this frog so extraordinary is that it has eschewed conventional pond-based metamorphosis for something more sci-fi: after mating the male guards the fertilized eggs until they are close to hatching, then gobbles them up. Six weeks later, like a scene out of Alien, he barfs up baby frogs. He is the only male animal other than the seahorse to give birth, albeit through his mouth.” AnimalsFrogs Book:The Unexpected Truth About Animals: A Menagerie of the Misunderstood Source: The Unexpected Truth About Animals: A Menagerie of the Misunderstood