When you see the title, don’t you find it strange, South Africa? How can there be penguins in tropical continents? Let's take a look at what's going on?
September 19, 2021 According to the South African News website, a total of 63 penguin bodies were found in a penguin habitat near Cape Town on the 17th! After expert identification, it was found that 63 dead penguins had multiple bee sting wounds, and it was judged that these penguins died of bee venom!
This incident is the first time in South Africa’s history that a penguin died from a bee sting. You must know that before this, penguins and bees have always been "well water does not attack river water" , why overnight, "large-scale war" appeared. In order to solve this puzzle, experts conducted various research and exploration, and wanted to find some clues from it.
"victim"——African penguin
The penguin stung by a bee is an African penguin unique to South Africa. Its scientific name is . The spot-billed penguin has a black back and a white belly. It looks similar and different from other penguins. Each spot-billed penguin has unique spots on its body, just like human fingerprints. There is also a special gland on its eyes that is used to regulate body temperature. The skin will turn bright pink when exposed to hot sunlight, which is also a characteristic that distinguishes African penguins.
Penguins sound incompatible with the hot weather in Africa, so why do penguins appear in Africa?
Spot-billed penguins live on islands in the southwestern waters of Africa. Because of the cold Benguela ocean current, the temperature in this sea area is extremely low and the seawater is rich in nutrients, so some penguins have settled here during the breeding period. The eggs are hatched on the beach, and most of the time during the non-breeding period, they spend most of the time in the sea foraging for food and avoiding the heat. It is worth mentioning that,African penguins strictly implement "monogamy". Although they can reproduce throughout the year, they will only lay 1-2 eggs at a time, which means that there will not be too many species.
In fact, in 1910, the number of spot-billed penguins was estimated to be 1.5 million, and until the 21st century, the number remained less than 5%. The main reason is that the capture of penguin eggs by humans over a period of time and the destruction of their habitat for a long time have led to a significant decline in the number of African penguins. Today, African penguins have been classified as an endangered species, with 63 dead at one time. Can't afford to hurt!
"The Murderer"-Cape Bee
The Cape Bee, a primitive variant of the "African Killer Bee", is a bee that can kill people! The distribution is limited to the Cape Town area on the west coast of the Republic of South Africa. Unlike other bee species, the worker bees in Cape bees have a large number of ovarian tubes and well-developed spermatids. They can also be large without female queen bees. Large-scale spawning can even breed female bees that can become queen bees. In this way, large-scale cape bees will "kill" other African bee populations, and lay eggs in the population, from a certain perspective. In other words, the cape bee killed the queen bee of the African bee and laid eggs continuously for several months. The surviving bee colonies have completely turned into cape bees. In this way, cape bees have become larger and larger, and even have a huge impact on the local beekeeping industry.
Located in the same Cape Town area, African penguins and cape bees have always lived in "harmonious coexistence". There has never been a struggle since the record. Although cape bees are very domineering, they will not It is extremely rare to "get angry" easily, and such a large-scale "riot" occurs. According to the preliminary judgment of experts, the 63 penguins who died should be the bee colony that had been knocked out by humans in the vicinity. They "carried a black pot" and became a discouragement bag for the bees in the Cape. The colony in the riots was extremely domineering. Note that you will be stung for several bites, and humans will not escape death if they don't seek medical treatment in time, let alone penguins!
Tips: What should I do if I encounter a bee colony in the wild?
When encountering a swarm of bees in the wild, first find a way to stay away as undisturbed as possible,At the same time, clothing should be used as soon as possible to wrap the exposed parts of the body, especially the head, face and neck, just in case.
If you are really unfortunate enough to get a bee sting, remember not to fight back, waving your hands and playing around will only cause more attacks. In addition, do not slap bees to death, because the slapped bee body will release a chemical smell, attracting other bees to attack. The best choice is "walking is the best policy." In flat terrain, you can choose to run quickly to get rid of the bee colony; in dangerous terrain, you should choose to squat or lie down and stay still. After being stung by a wild bee, you should go to the hospital for medical treatment as soon as possible, and do not treat the wound yourself.
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