Veterinarian Answers Wild Animal Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

WIRED15 minutes read

Hippos are vegetarians that could fatally harm humans, wildlife patients may hide symptoms to avoid predators, seals' injuries can be detected with a thermal camera, and big cats are anesthetized using a DOT. The placebo effect may work on animals through human perception, snakes' gender is determined using probes, giraffes have elongated neck bones, and water trucks raise their tails when running away. Domestic pigs have curly tails to prevent injuries.

Insights

  • Vets diagnose animals based on behavior and symptoms, as animals cannot communicate verbally, highlighting the importance of keen observation in veterinary medicine.
  • Domestic cats and lions have differing eye structures, with domestic cats having slit pupils for nocturnal vision, while lions have round pupils, sparking theories on evolutionary adaptations in feline vision.

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Recent questions

  • How do vets diagnose animals?

    By observing behavior and symptoms.

  • How are hidden injuries in seals detected?

    Using a thermal camera.

  • What is the placebo effect in animals?

    Indirectly through human perception.

  • How is gender determined in snakes?

    Using sexing probes near their bottom.

  • Why do domestic pigs have curly tails?

    To prevent tail-biting injuries.

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Summary

00:00

Animal Diagnosis and Treatment Methods Explained

  • Hippos are vegetarian and only eat grass, not people, but could still harm them fatally.
  • Vets diagnose animals based on symptoms, even though animals can't talk, by observing their behavior.
  • Wildlife patients may hide symptoms to avoid being targeted by predators, making diagnosis challenging.
  • Seals can have hidden injuries detected using a thermal camera, revealing tissue damage or infections.
  • Domestic cats have slit pupils for nocturnal vision, while lions have round pupils, with theories on the difference.
  • Anesthetizing big cats like tigers involves using a DOT to deliver drugs into muscles, not with a face mask.
  • The placebo effect may work on animals indirectly through human perception, as seen in a study with dogs.
  • Snakes' gender is determined using sexing probes inserted near their bottom, with males having a deeper gland.
  • Giraffes have the same number of neck bones as humans, just elongated, with long neck bones.
  • Pregnancy tests for animals vary, with elephants requiring ultrasound or feces analysis due to hormonal differences.

13:04

Tail behavior and grooming habits of animals.

  • Water trucks raise their tails when running away to follow each other, while domestic pigs have curly tails to prevent tail-biting injuries; farmers bred pigs over centuries to have curled tails to avoid infections and paralysis. Big cats like tigers and lions groom themselves like house cats, with hairballs being rare due to their large stomachs and minimal hair, usually passing through in their feces.
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