Crying Wolf (Life Sciences)

[Hatty]

Might the cassowary, a flightless bird but able to protect itself, have been first domesticated in Australia and subsequently stranded in New Guinea following the great calamity?

[Mick Harper]

Then why isn't it (wasn't it) in Australia? Besides, what animals have been domesticated in Australia? They have a very poor (non-existent?) record.

[Hatty]

According to Wiki, the cassowary is "native to the tropical forests of New Guinea, Aru Islands, and northeastern Australia".

[Hatty]

I was thinking about Little Red Riding Hood (aka Little Red Cap) and wondered if a red hood being eaten and vomited could have originated from wolves ingesting fly agaric, most probably from a reindeer carcass. Wolves and ravens, both feeding on reindeer carrion, are known to be highly intelligent, but I don't know if reindeer have ever been considered intelligent. In folklore they are said to fly, on the ground they're credited with the longest migrations of any land animal, perhaps they are literally on a trip.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Brilliant! Everone else is blaming the Wolf, (this happens alot around here ask Coyote, he is always being sacked) but you have worked out the real danger is The Granny Mushroom, old and wrinkled, and the poisonous Red Capped Hooded variety.

You shouldnt go into the woods without knowing the basics.

No wonder the poor wolf died.

I think collectively we are owed an apology, and reparations.

[Hatty]

Woods are wonderful for getting lost in. It's wise to take a guide when the mushroom season starts.

In our local wood there's a manmade pond now quite overgrown and picturesque with a resident heron standing sentinel. Heron, said to be from 11-12th century 'Old French' (eigron in Occitan), seems to have been called crane in English and crannog apparently means 'crane island' though nobody knows the actual origin of the word crannog. Still, cranes nesting on an islet may have helped maintain the structure as they are known to ingest gizzard stones which they vomit up in locations that lack stones.

In Christian folklore herons have been endowed with some distinctly Hermes-like traits

[Ishmael]

[Mick Harper]

No, it's rather a dull red.

I am a bit anti-Hatty at the moment because, having posted up a near-death experience over the weekend, she omitted to enquire how I was during our scheduled Monday morning conference. Such professionalism.

[Mick Harper]

Europe's Wilderness S1 E1: European Bison London Live