Plus the quiz of the week, Country Life's best properties and the science of names.
The latest fashion trend among orcas
Today in headlines that demand further explanation, allow us to present ‘Orcas start wearing dead salmon hats again after ditching the trend for 37 years’. You have questions. We will do our best to answer them.
Orcas, otherwise known as killer whales, have had an interesting history. They look a bit silly and cuddly. Free Willy made them seem very nice and friendly. But make no mistake, there is a reason they are called killer whales, and that is because they will kill and eat almost anything. That is not an excuse to lock them up in aquariums, just in case you were wondering.
Fresh from last season’s power move of sinking boats in the Mediterranean sea, it would appear that this year orcas are killing salmon and then wearing their bodies as hats. This is, apparently, not the first time they have done this.
Scientists and whale watchers in the South Puget Sound in Washington State started seeing the orcas wearing their new outfits last month. This behaviour was first observed in 1987, when a ‘trend-setting’ female West Coast orca wore a dead salmon hat. Within a couple of weeks, the rest of the pod had joined in, and in the orca world, you wouldn’t be seen dead without a salmon on your head.
It’s believed that the current salmon wearers might be remnants of that pod from 40 years ago. Although, when asked why an orca would wear a dead salmon on its head, Deborah Giles, an orca researcher at the University of Washington said: ‘Honestly your guess is as good as mine’. Unlike in 1987, however, technology means that scientists might be able to figure out why the orcas are doing this. We await the answers.
Quiz
1) Acrophobia is a fear of what?
2) Which river runs through the city of Rome?
3) What colour are the flowers of St John’s wort?
4) In the periodic table, which element is Kr?
5) What type of animal is a Border Leicester?
What we do in the shallows
Have you ever seen an eel being measure? Well now you have. Credit: GWCT
Where did eel come from? Where did eel go? Where do eel come from, cotton-eel-joe. Did you know that the humble eel, that lives in rivers in the UK, comes all the way from the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda? It’s pretty wild stuff.
What’s also pretty wild is that since the 1980s, the population of the European eel has declined by about 80%. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust are upset about this, as they should be, and have launched a new project to catch and tag eels in the River Frome in Dorset to better understand the migration patterns of this fish species.
What we do know about eels is that they hatch off the coast of Bermuda, and spend about three years drifting across the ocean before they arrive in Europe. They arrive as glass eels, then become elvers that swim up waterways and rivers, where they will spend decades living. They will then return to the Sargasso sea, where they mate and die.
The project is in collaboration with the Environment Agency, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and Bournemouth University. The eel traps have been set, and the catching and tagging process will begin soon.
‘For a fish that has been around for millions of years and has been such a culturally and economically important fish, we know very little about it. The lives of eels are a bit of a mystery,’ says Will Beaumont, who is leading the fieldwork for the GWCT.
‘We do know they are one of the toughest fish species we have, but we still seem to be managing to wipe them out. If we want to save them, it is extremely important we get a better understanding of them so we know how we can stop them from disappearing forever.’
The best property for sale in the magazine
This gorgeous home in Berkshire is for sale at £11.5 million.
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time to present all the best properties that were for sale in the magazine last week. Gorge thyself.
Things to see and do in London
Lotta Teale’s Strawberry Punnet. For sale for £600. Credit: Mall Galleries
It’s December, which means it’s basically Christmas, which means it’s time to go out and do some stuff. Today, I’ve got two cool things to have a look at in London, should you be at a loose end.
First up, an exhibition at the Mall Galleries, where you can buy the finest in contemporary figurative oil paintings, courtesy of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. Until December 14, the exhibition is basically a celebration of still lifes of food. Very much back in fashion, all of the works on display are for sale. Perhaps a good Christmas present?
Ivana Bueno in the English National Ballet’s Nutcracker. Credit: Jason Bell/Charlotte Wilkinson Studio
Another thing that you can go and do is pay a visit to the English National Ballet. From December 12 until January 12, their performance of the Nutcracker is a must see. What is Christmas without the Nutcracker? Not much, if you ask me, and the ENB’s edition is probably the best of the lot.
What’s in a name?
From beetles to blooms, everything needs a name. But what do they all mean?
Do you know your Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides from your Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis? Then you probably won’t need to read this feature about scientific names by Martin Fone.
That’s all for today, we’ll be back tomorrow
Quiz answers
1) Heights
2) Tiber
3) Yellow
4) Krypton
5) Sheep
