I haven’t spent much time on the floor of the ocean. But I have made a deep dive or two while snorkeling, just to visit for as long as I can hold my breath. I saw things down there. I can’t name most of them because my knowledge of marine biology is limited. But I may have seen a sponge. Our everyday sponges on our kitchen sinks and in our showers resemble them slightly. Slightly. But they are modeled after the same concept.
Anyway. Today, I learned that sponges can reassemble themselves after being destroyed.
Imagine. Toughness is a hazy term to define, especially as it relates to a living thing. It can mean strength or, resilience, or endurance. One would think a gorilla is tougher than a weasel. But I think it depends on what the “toughness” might be.
By most standards, a sea sponge must be considered tough. How could it not? You see, someone can almost completely destroy a sponge, and that sponge will pull itself back together. It is true. You can break a sponge down to its very cells, and it will reassemble. If you force a sponge through a fine cloth, the individual cells can reconnect where they fall on the other side. They do this over several days and form into new sponges. It gives new meaning to “Pull yourself together, man.”
I love the animal kingdom. There are so many things about it, just like this sponge example, that make animals as incredible as humans, all in their own right.
What is the point? I’ll tell you what the point is.
Point something out to an elephant, and it will understand. Without being trained as to what a “pointing” gesture means.
Let me clarify. Have you ever tried to point something out to your cat or dog? As in literally pointing at something you wanted them to notice? Like when you drop a piece of food on the floor, and you want Fido to clean it up. Chances are your dog will look at your finger. And say, “What?”
Not an elephant. Elephants have been shown to have such a complex social system that they also use non-verbal gestures to communicate. These “gestures” include using their trunks to point. As such, elephants can understand the meaning of a human pointing like no other animal. They can understand when humans point things out. They then can locate those items.
Those animal wonders aren’t just for the very large, like elephants. The incredible traits can be found in the very small. Like ants. I have to say I like ants. I love to watch them work. But I just found out they have been domesticating other beings, just like humans have domesticated certain animals. Here is how it goes.
Humans began domesticating animals over 10,000 years ago. We seem to have been successful at this many times. Not just dogs but sheep, horses, chickens, and more have been domesticated to a greater or lesser degree. This has been one of the cornerstones of civilization with us. It allowed for farming. It helped their communities to thrive.
One other creature has pulled this off, and those are the ants.
In the simplest of terms, ants have domesticated aphids and farm them. Like humans with livestock, ants can herd aphids to where they want them. The aphids feed on plants and produce a sweet liquid called honeydew that the ants eat. When the plant runs dry in a spot because of overfeeding, the ants will herd the aphids to a new spot. This is good for the aphids, who get more food and good for the ants, who get more honeydew. A win-win.
But things don’t end here, either. Ants will also protect the aphids from predators and even from the cold when the weather turns by carrying them into their dens. The aphids, in turn, let the ants milk them just like small, six-legged cows. “Hey. Did you hear the one about the ant milking the aphid?”
Okay. It keeps getting more intense. Their relationship is so complex that there are some ant colonies that have farmer ants. Just like some care for the eggs and some go out and find food, some ants will only tend to aphids. Their sole duty is to care for them and carry them around. “Green acres, baby. Farm living is the life for me,” says Eddie Albert Ant.
Every day, I keep learning things about this incredible place we call home. Planet Earth. But we should always remember. We aren’t the only ones who call it home. And we all have every right to be here. All of us.
And. Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for you.
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“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is a beauty, admire it.” — Mother Teresa
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“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” — Lao Tzu
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“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful, it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.” — L.R. Knost
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The big, the small, the amazing. All of us.
