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Come back to this page each day to read another entry from Frederick R. Gehlbach's almanac of suburban natural and unnatural history, "Messages from the Wild," which chronicles the world of a forested ravine in central Texas.
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Behavior that increases body size displays potential power and is protective when an animal is confronted or startled. In winter a fearsome countenance is accentuated by the seasonally long hair more easily seen in the leafless forest. Wild mammals show the most body size by arching their backs and erecting hair and appendages, especially the tail. Eastern spotted skunks stand on their front feet, raising their whole body. We human animals have too little hair to make a difference, so we raise our arms, flex our muscles, and stand face-to-face. Eye-to-eye contact is a natural threat that we use instinctively, since we're taught not to stare in public but maintain eye contact in personal encounters. |
Frederick R. Gehlbach is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at Baylor University. His ecological studies have taken him from New Zealand to Slovakia and, in the Americas, from Alaska and Newfoundland to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. His research interests include the life-history strategies of small owls, small burrowing snakes and urban wildlife ecology.
From MESSAGES FROM THE WILD: AN ALMANAC OF SUBURBAN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY by Frederick R. Gehlbach, Copyright © 2002. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.
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