Canis lupus hominis

Posted in wildlife | Tagged slow loris, venomous mammals | 9 Comments

9 Responses

1. on August 23, 2010 at 12:01 pm jen

   damn that thing is uggo.

   but i still want to tickle it.

   
   
2. on August 23, 2010 at 2:49 pm leashedForLife

   Wow! i thought that the * shrew * was the only venomous mammal?

   are there any other mammals with a venomous bite?
   very surprised,
   – terry

   
   
   • on August 23, 2010 at 2:51 pm retrieverman

     One of our stories in family lore is of a northern short-tailed shrew biting a beloved dachshund. The dachshund had a very bad reaction to the bite, and he was never the same afterward.

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venomous_mammals

     
     
     • on August 23, 2010 at 7:28 pm leashedForLife

       poor fella, that sounds bad!
       i presume that he had initial swelling, pain, fever, etc, and needed vet-care?
       what was the Doxie’s reaction long-term?
       neurological, behavioral or physical symptoms?

       was he a standard [approx 25 to 30#], mini or toy?
       i would suspect he was a non-standard, since body size is a big factor in dosage / risk.

       one of the [many!] callers who eventually burned me out on the Wildlife Hotline was the woman who called, demanding to know what her 9-YO M cat was bringing home “all the time” –
       she said he brought 3 to 4 home per week, at first, but now it was “only one or 2″ – we played 20-Qs to figure out what the creatures were, and at first i thought moles because of the super-short plush coat…
       but sadly, i concluded they were shrews.

       i tried desperately to convince her to PLEASE keep her cat indoors, as it was obvious he was selectively eradicating shrews in her local area…
       they are active year-round, due to their extreme metabolism, making them active over the day and into evening, too.
       but she said she only called to ID the animal, and hung-up on me without even saying thanks.
       Grrrrr… Humans!!

       shrews need love, too ;-)
       – terry

       
       
3. on August 23, 2010 at 6:56 pm Russell Constable

   That was interesting as the linked medical article said
   “There was no clinical evidence of any toxic substance in the saliva of the loris in spite of a northern Thai folklore belief that Nycticebus is a venomous animal”.
   Good old wikipedia had this to say:
   Brachial glands on the inside of the elbows of the slow loris secrete a brown exudate. This exudate is licked and becomes mixed with saliva. A protein in the secretion, which is similar to the allergen protein isolated from the domestic cat, may be introduced by the bites of slow lorises, resulting in anaphylaxis. Thus, it is questionable whether the slow loris should be considered truly venomous.”
   I will have to read more on these critters.
   By the way platypus are also venomous Terry and almost as cute as the Loris! I seem to recall that there is a poisonous bird in New Guinea too called the Pitohui.
   Thanks Scottie for another interesting post!

   
   
   • on August 23, 2010 at 7:15 pm leashedForLife

     ah, the plattypussess, of course, LOL –
     but i was thinking specifically of bites, vs spurs.

     Platys venom is in glands connected to spurs on the rear leg, and with their nerve-rich beak, i am not sure they can deliver a painful bite beyond a bruise –
     altho i have never been bitten by one, nor even talked to a Platy bite-victim, so i could be entirely wrong!

     only the M Platy has spurs, so Fs are not venomous –
     and the venom has similarities to herp-venoms –

     http://tinyurl.com/y8e5pyx

     cheers, and thanks for the reminder, russell!
     – terry

     
     
     • on August 25, 2010 at 7:05 am Russell Constable

       I have never handled a platypus but a friend (ranger) has and reckons they are like a bag of gelatin and very hard to handle as they seem to move around within their own skin.
       Spurs, teeth, toxic skin …its all interesting stuff!

       
       
4. on August 24, 2010 at 1:42 pm Lane Batot

   I know several humans that I am quite sure are venomous…..

   
   
5. on August 25, 2010 at 12:44 pm willie westfall

   I eat shrews for snacks, doesn’t bother me

   
   

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