How do boa constrictors breathe while constricting their victims? A new study finds that snakes can switch which set of ribs they use to draw in air as they crush their meal before devouring it.
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Almost every morning for the past two decades, Juliet the macaw has been visiting the local zoo in Rio de Janeiro to interact with others of her kind through the metal enclosure. She is the only wild macaw in the Brazilian metropolis, and this is her only opportunity to socialize.
Macaws are social birds, so loneliness is a tough burden to bare for Juliet, a beautiful blue-and-yellow macaw who calls Rio home. She is the only wild specimen seen in city since 1818, and no one really knows much about her. Zoo staff named the bird Juliet, but they donât even know if she is actually female. Itâs really hard to tell with macaws, and to establish her true gender they would need to capture the bird, and either examine her gonads or take blood or feather samples. And thereâs really no need to put Juliet through all that stress just to satisfy human curiosity.
May 14, 2021
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Some have claimed she’s indulging a forbidden romance. More likely, loneliness compels her to seek company at Rio de Janeiro’s zoo.
Either way, a blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet is believed to be the only wild bird of its kind left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide.
Almost every morning for the last two decades, Juliet has appeared. She swoops onto the zoo enclosure where macaws are kept and, through its fence, engages in grooming behaviour that looks like conjugal canoodling.
Sometimes she just sits, relishing the presence of others. She is quieter – shier? more coy? – than her squawking chums.
The Sad Story of the Last Free Macaw in Rio de Janeiro odditycentral.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from odditycentral.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.