This week’s issue of The Quick Fox is brought to you by sleep, something I’ve been getting a lot of over the last few weeks.* I love sleep. So do numerous other animals, especially in captivity.
We know koalas seem to sleep a lot, as do sloths, some bats, lions—and dogs and cats. Sleep looks different in some of these species, more intermittent than our eight hours of uninterrupted shut-eye. But scientists still don’t really understand all the things sleep does for us. What they do know is that it’s important, so try to get it when you can.
*The memo about CREATURE FEATURE’s name change can be read here.
Image: A large black dog walks into their open crate, pulling a blanket with them, and lies down to snooze. (Credit: Giphy)
Extra credit
Short-ish things I read this week:
No eyes? No problem. Marine creature expands boundaries of vision (Reuters, Will Dunham)
Krefeld Zoo blaze sparks debate about animal captivity (Euronews, Alexandra Leistner)
Animal organizations and farms offer unique ways to recycle Christmas trees (CTV News)
Nearly two dozen llamas are missing from an exotic animal farm in California (CNN, Faith Karimi)
Upstate New York fire department cancels coyote hunt after criticism (The Daily Star, Sarah Eames)
Stuff I’ve read about the Australia fires, which I’m following closely. At press time none of these stories include graphic photos of burned animals:
How to help koalas, evacuees and firefighters as Australia’s ‘apocalyptic’ fires worsen (Cosmopolitan, Alexandra Whittaker)
Australia fires: How do we know how many animals have died? (BBC)
'Silent death': Australia's bushfires push countless species to extinction (The Guardian, Graham Readfern)
'It's unprecedented': What is behind Australia's devastating fires? (CBC, Nicole Mortillaro)
I sensed animals moving around us in the darkness, the soft and furry blink of their eyes. Emily smoothed her knotty hair and looked around. For a second I feared she would run or cry out for help but, instead, she looked at me and smiled.
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All images in CREATURE FEATURE are used under Creative Commons licensing. Efforts have been made to ensure that photographs of living animals or natural scenes have been taken ethically, in responsible pet ownership conditions, at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums or under safe, non-damaging conditions in the wild. If you see an issue with any image we share, please notify me.