CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

* edit* ok...so maybe I should warn the squemish not to read....>_>*shrugs* well you've been warned now, I guess.

This epsode was about animals that are turned into living zombies. I heard the most incredible story of a certain parasite *of course I can't remember the name but hey, I can look it up later*. Basically, a parasite takes over an ants brain and makes the ant climb to the edge of a blade of grass and hang on the tip of it. The ant can stay on the tip for up to 8 days! Typically insects don't stay at the edges of leaves cause mamals like to nible these parts. Their example was a rabbit. So the rabbit eats the ant and the parasite. the parasite then moves to the liver of the rabbt and reaches it's adult form. Then it lays thousands of eggs that the rabbit well, poops em out. So, now there's all these parasite eggs everywhere. The strange thing is, these eggs will not hatch unless eaten by a snail. that's right...a snail. So the egg(s) hatch and the larva goes itno the snails lungs. The snail's immune system covers the parasite in mucus. Eventually so much builds up that it has to cough up the mucus ball. And guess what....snail mucus seems to be a fave on the food list of ants. And thus the cycle begins a new. weird huh?

Ewww Yuck Nightmare.

I wonder why God made that thing....>_>

hmm interesting i guess..dont know what else to say

God did it to make you happy, Bakura Fan

Slater wrote:God did it to make you happy, Bakura Fan

That is gross though x__x

well atleast the animals don't die or anything.. cept ants... but those don't count.

That's crazy. It's awesome how it all works.

It's called the Lancet Fluke. While they are fairly gross, parasites are also very fascinating… Another interesting case I heard of not to long ago was a parasite that infects grasshoppers, crickets, and sometimes even spider (I think). After the parasite develops it forces the host to commit suicide via jumping in water. Once in water it exits the dying host and remains to live in the water. Basically, using the host as transportation to a new habitat, kinda’ like the Lancet Fluke using the ant.

Another interesting one I read about also infects ants. -However this one I’m not exactly sure whether it is true or not.- Anyways, supposedly, a fungus in West Central Africa enters a ant (through microscopic spores) and infects it’s central nervous system. This causes the ant to climb to the top of the jungle canopy into the sunlight. I would guess (along with the Lancet Fluke) it inject the host with some chemical (amino acids, proteins, who knows) to give it Photophilia (attraction to light). Anyhow, once at the top the ant stays there until the spore grows out the top of the ant’s head, killing the ant. It then produces more spores, which rain down to contaminate more ants.


Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find the links to these in my bookmarks, so I’ll post them later if I find them…. :\

wow. that's really interesting. >_> This one's not a parasite, but it might as well be. There's an insect called the tarantula hawk. Basically the female stings a tarantuala, paralyzing it instantly. then it drags the spider back to the spider's own home, then lays an egg on the back of the spider. Once the larva hatches it goes into the still living spider. It eats away at the spider, avoiding the vital organs for last so the spider can continue to live longer. Man, talk about a bad way to die. >_<

Man, these parasites are crazy. . . I'm glad they don't do all that to us! Bleh!

It's really interesting to read about that kind of thing though.

:3 parasites! that'ts really cool... just like those worms that eat their way to your feet and eat their way out of the sole of your foot, after they mature.

Yumie wrote:Man, these parasites are crazy. . . I'm glad they don't do all that to us! Bleh!

It's really interesting to read about that kind of thing though.

What about some of the viruses and bacterium that can infect humans, some of those cause some pretty painful deaths.

Warning. Spoiler contains early plot events from Resident Evil 4.

[SPOILER]As long as we don't get the ones from Resident Evil 4.....[/SPOILER]

Ants count as animals in my opinion. I don't think there are "better" animals. All animals are created equal. They were all made at the same time out of the same stuff. (Humans are different. Humans aren't animals either.)

I watch the Most Extreme a lot. The Wolf won 1st place for being the most misunderstood animal...but that show isn't accurate sometimes. The bite force thing...wolves didn't even rank...but a german shepherd, a rottweiler, and a pit bull did, and I know wolves have stronger jaws than they do.

A wolf's bite packs a punch of 1500 pounds of pressure per square inch which is meant to snap an antelope or elk leg in half. A domestic dog even an American Pit Bull terrier can't even measure up to half of that at about 250 pounds of pressure per square inch.

So I don't really "trust" that show...

that is the most awesomest thing ever!!!!!!

HoS, is that the show where they have animals "fight"? I think that was on animal planet. The one where they do it with a computer. If so, most the time there not correct. Perhaps they never get outdoors to really see the animals. *laughs*

Ark wrote:Warning. Spoiler contains early plot events from Resident Evil 4.

[SPOILER]As long as we don't get the ones from Resident Evil 4.....[/SPOILER]

Maybe if that happens, we can learn Spanish easier?

Ark wrote:HoS, is that the show where they have animals "fight"? I think that was on animal planet. The one where they do it with a computer. If so, most the time there not correct. Perhaps they never get outdoors to really see the animals. *laughs*

I don't know what show that is...this show basically just shows the top ten whatever in the animal kingdom and compares some of the stuff to humans. like saying a flea can jump a certain amount and then saying if humans could jump that high what they could jump over.

HoS, is that the show where they have animals "fight"? I think that was on animal planet. The one where they do it with a computer. If so, most the time there not correct. Perhaps they never get outdoors to really see the animals. *laughs*

No. But that show is weird...

Ark wrote:Warning. Spoiler contains early plot events from Resident Evil 4.

[SPOILER]As long as we don't get the ones from Resident Evil 4.....[/SPOILER]

[spoiler= More RE 4 spoilers...] Interestingly RE 4 does mention the Liver Fluke in Louis' notes. They use the scientific name: Dicrocoelium (sp?). More interestingly, it mentions a very out of the ordinary fish parasite called the: Galactosomum. Apparently it infects the fish’s brain and causes it to swim at the surfaces water to gain the attention of seabirds. I know Galactosomum is a Pelican parasite, but I've *never* heard of it controlling the minds of fish. So, this is probably an exaggeration, seeing how a fish’s brain is more complex than that of an ants.

They also mentions a third, which latches to the outside of snails. I can't remember the name, but there is one that attaches to the outside of snails and changes their color to make them more easily spotted be predators. However, I’m not sure if it commands it to find higher ground.


[/spoiler]

I have to wonder why God did that? I guess He does have a sense of humour. Kinda nice to know I'm not the most useless thing in creation, lol. Maybe it keeps the ant population down...

Awww Shao, you're not useless!!!

I've heard of that parasite and think it's pretty cool in a way. XD I guess we could never understand why these creatures were created but at least, in my case, it reminds me of God's creativity and power. There's a lot more to discover in the animal world alright.

yeah, as for the show that is about animal fighting, I watched one episode and never watched a full one since. It's not just like animal x vs. animal y. They throw in all these different variables that probably end up flopping the outcome.

I remember my brother telling me about a tropical fungus that does something similar to beetles. Anyways, here's a really interesting (and rather worrisome) article on the subject by Carl Zimmer:
http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/2006/01/17/the_return_of_the_puppet_masters.php