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Showing posts from March, 2019

DEFENDING A HOME: THE HIPPO BULL TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOUR AS A CASE STUDY

The Hippopotamus is the third largest land animal after elephant and white rhinoceros. It is an herbivorous, semi-aquatic animal limited to Sub-Sahara Africa for centuries now. The animal is semi-aquatic because during the day, it stays in its freshwater environment (Rivers, lakes, wetlands or streams) and by dusk, goes out to graze on short grasses. Initially, a considerable number lives around The Nile in North Africa, but the animal is now extinct in the region. Today, The Hippo is a vulnerable species because of its meat and canine made of ivory. In African regions where they are found, Hippos account for the highest number of human deaths from animals!  One distinctive feature of The Hippopotamus is territoriality. Here, a male (bull) presides over a stretch of the freshwater containing 5 - 40 others which is a combination of females (cows), juveniles and calves. Mating is a sole responsibility of the dominant bull even if the cows are up to 30 within the group (bloat). Other b

DO NOT LOOK DOWN ON ANYONE (THE CASE OF MUSTARD SEED)

It is glaringly evident that all seeds sprout and become larger plants, shrubs, or trees that bear larger fruits which in turn, contain more seeds. To me, the most amazing of all these seeds is that of mustard. It is one of the smallest seeds known and when planted, becomes one of the “largest and the most productive” plant in the world. That is not just the astonishing thing about the mustard seed: from the seed, Mustard sauce, table mustard – a pungent powder/paste, Mustard greens – a leaf eaten as cooked greens in many Asian countries, Mustard oil – an oil used for making soap, treating arthritis, common cold and rheumatism, Sinapism – a plaster containing black mustard powder applied to the skin as counterirritant are all gotten. In addition to these, The Mustard seed is the source of Mustard agent – a toxic gas that can be used as bio-chemical weapon in warfare due to the fact that it causes blisters on the skin and has no known antidote. I will not be attributing this scenario t