Yoo hoo Mr M9, waving at you madly from over here dearie. Derek my M10 love tells me that you posted concerns about chickens and soft tar lately. You have not done something that warrants being tarred and feathered for have you?
If it is simply a case of you being concerned about wildlife on the roads, then it is justified!
Derek told me about the following study which validates your concerns.
A recent study has found over 280 dead crows near Natimuk Victoria, and there was concern that they may have died from the Avian Flu virus.
A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and he confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu, to everyone's relief.
However, he was also able to determine that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with large trucks, and only 2% were killed by car impact.
Victorian Government hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine the disproportionate percentages for the large truck versus car kills.
The Ornithological Behaviorist determined the cause in short order.
Crows are quite clever and can count up to ten, plus improvise items as tools (this has been confirmed in other expensive studies), so when crows decide to eat road kill, they always set-up a look-out Crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.
His conclusion was that the problem was their limited vocabulary, as the lookout crow could say "Cah", but he could not say "Truck."
Now you know!
Yoo hoo Mr M75. Waving to you too dearie.
Derek told me a while back that you have a penchant for all things shoes on your climbs, so you might be interested that I managed to get a gasp out of him the other day on that score.
This is how it went.
"Are you sure you can take the pain?" I demanded, brandishing stilettos.
"I think so," he gulped.
"Here we go, then," I said, and showed him the receipt!
|