The goal of this blog is to create a long list of facts that are important, not trivia, and that are known to be true yet are either disputed by large segments of the public or highly surprising or misunderstood by many.
Super fact 70 : Wild mammals have declined by 85% since the rise of humans even as the total mammal biomass has nearly tripled. The result is that only 4-5% of the total biomass of mammals are wild animals. The rest are humans and livestock.
Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs, corresponds to 60% of the mammal biomass, humans are 36%, and wild mammals are 4%. The data is taken from this article.
Humans and our livestock dominate global mammal biomass. Biomass is the total weight of each animal group. It’s calculated by multiplying an estimate of the total number of individuals by their average mass. Shown is each group’s share of global mammal biomass. This graph is taken from Our World In Data.
I think this is a super fact because we know it is true, and this huge and extremely rapid change of Earth’s fauna (from a geological timescale) is certainly important, and yet I think it comes as a surprise to many people. I often see the argument that humans have been great for animals because there are many more of them and the mammal biomass has tripled. That argument leaves out the part about the increase in mammal biomass coming from domesticated animals while wild animals have been disappearing. One question that comes to mind is whether life at the cramped factory farm is better than the life as a wild animal.
Wild Mammal Biomass Data
Below are a couple of graphs displaying some additional information on wild mammal biomass.
The distribution of the world’s wild land mammal biomass. The graph is taken from Our World in Data.
Another thing to note is that the wild animal biomass is very concentrated to just a few species. Considering that there are between 6,500 and 6,800 recognized mammal species in the world, it is quite remarkable that only 10 species make up 40% of the mammal biomass.
Just 10 species make up around 40% of wild mammal biomass on land. The graph is taken from Our World in Data.
Reasons for Decline of Wild Animal Biomass
This decline of wild mammal biomass is primarily caused by human activity, including hunting, habitat loss and degradation from agriculture and urbanization, climate change, and pollution. This human-driven extinction event is the result of a rapidly growing human population and its increased consumption of natural resources, leading to widespread disruption of ecosystems and dramatic declines in wild mammal populations. It should be mentioned that the extinction of large mammals such as mammoths, American mastodon, giant ground sloths and glyptodonts was likely aided by human hunting in prehistoric times. The largest mammals have always been at the greatest risk for extinction and that is still true today.
Woolly mammoth, now extinct, Asset id: 2571557381 by Wirestock Creators.3D illustration of a Glyptodon, also extinct, Asset id: 495169627
This is not a super fact but a collection of interesting facts about Fish. They are not very important facts but amazing facts.
Minnows Asset id: 1182854671 by Rostislav Stefanek
Most Fresh Water Fish would die from dehydration if put in Sea Water
Most freshwater fish would die from dehydration if placed in seawater due to a process called osmosis. The same is true for saltwater fish placed in freshwater. There are a few exceptions. So called euryhaline species are able to more or less handle both freshwater and seawater, an example is salmon. It is also why freshwater fish native to oceanic islands like Hawaii are euryhaline species. Freshwater fish that are not euryhaline species cannot travel to oceanic islands.
What is a Fish?
A fish is a vertebra (has a backbone and a brain protected by a braincase) that is aquatic, lives in water, has gills, fins, scales and is cold blooded. Dolphins, whales, jellyfish, and starfish are not fish.
Some fish have both gills and lungs
Lungfish have both gills and lungs. Their unique respiratory system allows them to breathe underwater with their gills and also breathe air from the surface with their lungs. Some species of lung fish can survive on land for several months.
Fish raining from the sky. Picture generated with the help of ChatGPT
Mudskippers the land dwelling fish
Mudskippers are fish that spend most of their time on land. It can walk on land, jump, and climb trees, by using their strong pectoral fins like legs and their tails as a lever. They breathe air through their skin and gill chambers. Below is a four minute video featuring mudskippers.
Fish the First Vertebra on Earth
Fish appeared more than 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period. They are believed to be the first vertebrates on Earth. They lay the foundation for the diverse array of vertebrate life that has since populated the planet’s ecosystems.
Some Fish can make Light
Anglerfish are deep sea fish that produce their own light using bacteria. The dangling glowing light attracts prey. Some species of angler fish live only 200 meters down in the sea while other species live as far down as 3,300 meters (11,000 feet).
Angler fish on background realistic illustration isolate. Scary deep-sea fish predator. Deep sea fish monster. Asset id: 2134226987 by Konstantin G
Some Fish know how to use Tools
Wrasse are fish that use rocks as anvils to crack shells. They grab hard-shelled prey like crabs and mollusks, swim to a rock or coral, and repeatedly strike the prey against the hard surface to break it open. This is a form of tool use.
The largest fish that has ever lived is likely the extinct shark Megalodon, estimated to have reached lengths of up to 70 feet and weighing 50-70 tons. The Megalodon was a giant shark believed to have gone extinct 2.6 million years ago, just in time for the appearance of our ancestors Australopithecus and Homo Habilis. They made a horror movie about a Megalodon that survived until modern times. It is called “The Meg”.
Surströmming (Fermented Baltic Herring) a North Swedish Delicatessen
In 1987 I was selected by my University, Uppsala University in Sweden, to be part of a university level exchange student program. The exchange program was between Uppsala University and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In total we were six Swedes (two from Uppsala). I was studying Engineering Physics in Sweden. In the US, I would continue studying Electrical Engineering because the Swedish Engineering Physics program was very similar to the Electrical Engineering program at CWRU. One day we invited the other students to a Surströmming party. When we opened the cans, the American students headed for the windows and opened them. I should say there were other things to eat.
The fermented herring Surströmming from Sweden is often considered as one of the most unappetizing foods in the world. Just ask Google AI or ChatGPT this question, “what is the most unappetizing food in the world”, and you’ll see. The three top unappetizing food according to ChatGPT are Hákarl (Fermented Greenland Shark) – Iceland, Surströmming (Fermented Baltic Herring) – Sweden, and Casu Marzu (Maggot Cheese) – Sardinia.
I grew up with this food, and I don’t think it is unappetizing. It might not be beef bourguignon or trout almondine, but it isn’t bad. The problem is that the smell of Surströmming is not very pleasant and it is strong. However, it tastes quite different from the smell. It tastes like pickled herring with the addition of something sour like lemon. The taste is much better than the smell, which is why you should open the cans outside and then bring them in once the smell has settled. We did not do that because our party was partially a prank. Well, if you don’t like pickled herring, then you won’t like this either.
Four Swedes inviting Americans to a fermented herring party. Fermented herring is a north Swedish specialty. Unfortunately, all the Americans experienced a culture shock from the fermented herring. I am the guy smelling the fermented herring can.
This is not a super fact but more of a fun fact. It is a piece of trivia that confuses a lot of people. What is the difference between a Moose and an Elk? Well that depends on where you live and you’d be surprised.
What people in North America refer to as a Moose is called an Elk in British English or in general when you speak English in Europe. It is called an “Älg” in Swedish, “Elg” in Norwegian and in Danish, “Elch“ in German, “Élan” in French, “Alce” in Spanish and Italian. If you use Google Translate “Elk” in English translates to “Älg” in Swedish and “Elch” in German, etc., but so does “Moose”. Using Google Translate Elk and Moose translate to the same animal in all other languages as well. However, if you ask ChatGPT to generate a picture of an Elk and then of a Moose you get two different animals. The same is true for Google AI. There is quite a bit of confusion.
ChatGPT generated picture of an Elk. Or is it a Moose?ChatGPT generated picture of a Moose. Or is it an Elk?ChatGPT generated picture of a Moose-Elk. Or is it an Elk-Moose.
The moose (Alces Alces) is called Elk in Eurasia. It belongs to the deer family and like all members of deer family the bull has antlers. It is the largest species within the deer family. After the mating season the males drop their antlers to conserve energy for the winter. A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. An interesting fact about moose is that not all bull moose have the same type of antlers. The moose in northern Europe and Alaska have palmate antlers, and they act as parabolic reflectors, amplifying sound at the moose’s ear. You may think that the plural of Moose is Meese, but it is not, and it is not Mooses either, it is just Moose. To read more about moose click here.
The Moose (or Elk in Eurasia) live in northern North America, Scandinavia, parts of eastern Europe, Russia and Siberia. Jürgen Gbruiker / User:Jrockley, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Elk (Cervus Canadensis) is the second largest species within the deer family. It is also called Wapiti, and I have come across the name Canada Deer in Europe. Remember, when in Europe you can’t call an Elk and Elk because in Europe the name Elk is reserved for Moose. Like Moose Elk shed their antlers every year. You can read more about Elk here. Note that it says “This article is about the species called “elk” in North America. For the species called “elk” in Eurasia (Alces alces), see Moose.”.
Moose and Elk Photos
Vintage boho artistic image of älg (a bull moose) in Sweden in the forest Asset (Shutterstock AI) id: 2592983377A Moose in Jasper Canada Asset id: 2031585740 by Harry Collins PhotographyA bull elk in autumn during the rut Asset id: 190972129 by Harry Collins PhotographyPhoto of Elk taken by friend in Yellowstone National Park.Photo of a moose taken by friend in Grand Teton National Park.
My Moose and Elk Photos
Photo of a Moose that I took on a visit to Yellowstone National ParkPhoto of a Moose that I took on a visit to Yellowstone National ParkPhoto of an Elk that I took on a visit to Yellowstone National ParkPhoto of another Elk that I took on a visit to Yellowstone National ParkPhoto of two Elk that I took on a visit to Yellowstone National Park.
The Murder Moose
The first story I ever wrote in my life I gave the title the “The Murder Moose” / “Mördar Älgen”. It was when I was in second grade in Swedish public school. Our teacher told us that we could write about anything, and I chose a horror story. The story was about a very big and dangerous moose that ran into to villages and killed people. At the end of the story a hunter shot the moose. I also drew a picture of a moose with big antlers and sharp teeth.
The murder moose in my second grade story. The picture was generated by ChatGPT.
The inspirations behind this story were two-fold. A neighbor’s girl and I had been walking in the forest together when we saw something big moving behind a thicket around 30 feet ahead of us. At first it looked like a horse and carriage to me, but it couldn’t be. A horse and carriage could not have gotten deep into the forest. Suddenly two big heads peered out of the thicket. It was a bull moose and female moose. We screamed on top of our lungs and ran home, and the two moose startled by our screams ran the opposite way.
The second inspiration for the story is that moose hunting is very common in Sweden especially in northern Sweden where I lived. Sweden has a very large moose population of approximately 300,000 to 400,000 moose, with a stable population of around 350,000. Sweden is the country with the highest concentration of moose in the world. Each fall about 80,000 to 90,000 moose are hunted and killed during the hunting season as part of wildlife management. Therefore, moose hunting was a practice that a lot of adults I knew participated in. We also ate a lot of moose meat.
So, on what subject(s) am I an authority? My understanding on what being an authority on a subject means is that it is being an expert with recognized credibility on that subject. However, the word “authority” has so many other meanings and it brings to mind the “appeal to authority fallacy”. The “appeal to authority fallacy” refers to appealing to influential people or organizations who may not necessarily be experts, and regardless of the evidence.
In science you don’t really have such authorities, you have experts who often disagree with each other. In the event almost all experts agree on a certain fact that has been thoroughly vetted you can trust that fact with nearly 100% certainty, and that is not appeal to authority but a probability argument. Therefore, I don’t really like the use of the word authority in this context. It is confusing. I would have preferred the question to be “In what subject(s) do you have recognized expertise?”
This is the front page of my PhD thesis “Reflex Control for Obstacle Avoidance and Self Preservation”.
Robotics
Reflex Control for Obstacle Avoidance and Self Preservation
My PhD thesis was in Robotics, specifically Reflex Control for Obstacle Avoidance and Self Preservation. Therefore, you can say that I am an expert on Reflex Control for Obstacle Avoidance and Self Preservation, Reflex Control (in Robotics) as well as Robotics. My expertise has been recognized through my published research papers, the citing of those papers, my PhD thesis, and my peers including Rodney Brooks.
Rodney Brooks is a former director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, founder of several robotics research companies, and he is arguably the most famous roboticist in the world. In the 1990’s he was featured on the front page in national magazines such as Time Magazine several times. During my internship at the Robotics Lab at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1993, I spoke to Rodney Brooks about my research, and he congratulated me on my research, which he liked.
Briefly, reflex control in Robotics refers to functionally simple, quick, and reliable behaviors that override whatever more complex algorithms or humans (joystick / telerobotics) are commanding in case those algorithms or humans execute dangerous motion. Take for example, a robot moving quickly among multiple objects and the path planning algorithm generates a faulty command that would result in a collision when executed. The reflex control layer would detect the problem (assuming it knows about the objects) and halt the robot before it collided with the object. This would need to happen quickly, in milliseconds, and always in a failsafe way. After the collision has been avoided the system or the human can figure out what went wrong and figure out a new path.
To do this the Reflex controller needs to be embedded with the motion controller, and know the characteristics of the motors, the robot configuration, and mechanical characteristics, such as mass, friction model, inertia, etc., exactly. The result is that when you drive a robot around among multiple objects such as boxes hanging from the ceiling, coat racks, and sombreros, and other robots it will avoid colliding with these objects regardless of input from people or high-level path planning algorithms. It looked like the objects were protected by an invisible force field.
This is an old black and white photo of the Robotics Research Corporation Robot surrounded by objects including boxes hanging in the ceiling, a coat rack, and a control cabinet. I took the photo, and I created the software for the robot and placed the objects in its workspace.
Robot Kinematics
In addition, to “Reflex Control for Obstacle Avoidance and Self Preservation” or “Reflex Control for Robots”, which is very narrow field, I gained expertise in fields of robotics that are a bit wider. One such field is robot kinematics. That includes, for example, calculating the position, speed and acceleration of the tool tip (the end tip) of the robot from the position and motion of the joints of the robot. Or it could be calculating the possible joint angles from the position of the tool tip. The RRC robot was a seven-jointed robot so this could get complicated. I should say that when I worked for ABB Robotics (after my Ph.D) I created the kinematic models for 30+ of ABB Robotics robots. Therefore, I have expertise and recognized credibility in Robot Kinematics as well.
The drawing shows the seven joints, the seven possible rotations around those joints, the seven joint angles (the thetas), and the seven coordinate systems and their origos (the O’s) at each joint.
Robot kinematics can get complicated, at least for a seven-jointed robot like the RRC Robot. An example is the Jacobian, which is a matrix that relates joint velocities to end-effector / tool-tip velocities. The Jacobian is crucial for understanding and controlling robot motion, particularly for inverse kinematics and trajectory planning. Below is the Jacobian for the first four joints of the RRC robot. I spent an entire day deriving it. Depending on your eyesight it is difficult to read the scribbles, but it is a bunch of very long, mostly trigonometric equations. Don’t worry about understanding the matrix, it is just to show how complicated robot kinematics can get.
First part of the 4-dimensional (first four joints) Jacobian for the RRC Robot.Second part of the 4-dimensional (first four joints) Jacobian for the RRC Robot.Third part of the 4-dimensional (first four joints) Jacobian for the RRC Robot.Fourth part of the 4-dimensional (first four joints) Jacobian for the RRC Robot.
Configuration Space in Robotics
Another subject I gained a lot of expertise in is configuration space or so-called C-space. It is related to robot kinematics. C-space is a mathematical representation of all possible configurations a robot can take. In C-space for a robot arm (like the RRC Robot) the coordinates are the joint angles instead of X, Y and Z. For the seven-jointed RRC robot you have seven joint angles and C-space is thus seven dimensions. C-space is very useful if you succeed in representing obstacles in it. A point might become a curve, or multi-dimensional membrane in C-space, and a ball might become a multi-dimensional banana. I had a lot of fun creating algorithms for creating C-space with obstacles in it.
My Other Expertise
I also have a degree a master’s degree in engineering physics (Teknisk Fysik) from Uppsala University in Sweden. I should say that engineering physics in Uppsala was focused a lot on theoretical physics and modern physics as well as practical applications for physics. Case Western Reserve University later converted this degree to a master’s in electrical engineering. I loved physics and was a good student, but my special interest was the theory of relativity. Even though I had and still have a hard time with the General Theory of relativity and I studied the special theory of relativity way beyond what was required at school, and I read dozens of technical books on the subject. So, this is also sort of an area expertise for me.
Below are some links to topics related to the special theory of relativity on this website:
I spent at least 30 years working with software as a software engineer / robotics engineer and gained a lot of experience in software development. It was mostly embedded software but also graphical user interfaces, things you can see on a screen, and Networking Software Development. I worked a lot with Visual Studio, a powerful, expandable, and popular integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.
I developed a lot of code using C++ and C#, .Net, WPF, but also other languages and libraries. I started with Visual Studio 97 (in 1997), then Visual Studio 6, Visual Studio .NET 2002, Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual Studio 2005, Visual Studio 2008, Visual Studio 2010, Visual Studio 2012, Visual Studio 2015, Visual Studio 2017, but I never got around to Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2022. So, you can say that I am an expert on Visual Studio with C++ and C# and .NET (I am less of an expert on the other languages typically used with Visual Studio).
Later in life I also came to learn a lot about climate change / climate disruption / global warming / the greenhouse effect whatever you call it. I used to be skeptical about climate change, and I thought it might be politicized by the scientific community, but after some interesting red flags I took a deep dive into the subject, and I learned that climate change is very real and caused by us. I was politicized not the scientific community. There is a scientific consensus on the subject for very good reasons. I continued by reading dozens of climate science papers and several dozens of technical and non-technical books on the topic. Therefore, at this point I know more about it than a lot of people. Maybe expert is a strong word, but almost expert.
Least but not last
Being a Leonberger Dog Expert
I know a lot about Leonbergers because my family was lucky enough to live with one for thirteen years. His name was Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle—but we called him “Bronco” for short. Bronco wasn’t our only dog, but our world wouldn’t have been the same without him. For instance, he once saved the life of our pug by fending off an attack from another dog. He probably saved our Labrador’s life, too, by sniffing out an impending insulin shock before it happened. Then there was the time he scared off a trespasser who’d been terrorizing my wife and other women in the neighborhood.
Bronco loved to dance and hug. Here he is giving me a hug (not yet fully grown).
Bronco is no longer with us, but even in his passing he was distinctive. Leonbergers tend to live less than nine years—but Bronco came very close to reaching his thirteenth birthday. In fact, he received an award for longevity called the “Grey Muzzle Award.” We already knew he was a special dog, but we sent his DNA to two labs for research anyway. I wrote a book about our amazing Bronco and his many amusing adventures and included helpful information on Leonbergers for new owners and interested dog lovers. I also have a Leonberger website.
In the process of writing my book about Bronco and Leonbergers I came to learn a lot about Leonberger dogs, the Leonberger breed standard, their history, health issues, Leonberger organizations, health and care, etc. I became a bit of a Leonberger expert. If you are interested in the book, check it out here or here. You can also get it from Amazon in many other countries, Barnes & Noble, Chapters Indigo and many other bookstores. For more information check here.
This picture reminded me of our trip to Australia and all the kangaroos and other marsupials we encountered. This is a submission for Kevin’s No Theme Thursday.
There Are Three Types of Mammals
Placentals, Monotremes, and Marsupials
All mammals are warm-blooded, have fur, and produce milk. However, there are three main types of mammals, placentals, monotremes, and marsupials, distinguished by how they give birth. Placentals give birth to well-developed young, and they nourish their young in the uterus through the placenta. Examples include gorillas, humans, whales, rodents, tigers, and bats. Monotremes lay soft-shelled eggs. Examples include the platypus and the echidna.
Then we have Marsupials, which give birth to small and underdeveloped young. Most female marsupials have pouches. Examples include kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, possum, opossum, Tasmanian devils, and koalas. Below is a kid friendly overview of the three types of mammals.
Marsupials on Three Continents
Close to 70% of the 334 extant marsupial species are concentrated on the Australian continent, including mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and nearby islands. The remaining 30% are distributed across the Americas, primarily in South America. The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial native to the United States, but it is quite common. For example, we have lots of them in our neighborhood in Dallas. It should also be noted that there are a lot of marsupial fossils in Antarctica, which means that marsupials once lived there.
This map shows the distribution of marsupials. Blue indicates places in which marsupials are native and purple where they have been introduced. The image is from Wikipedia commons created by Michal Klajban under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
DNA evidence supports a South American origin for marsupials, with Australian marsupials arising from a single Gondwanan migration of marsupials from South America, across Antarctica, to Australia. These continents were connected and part of the supercontinent Gondwana back then. The ancestors of the marsupials, the metatherians split from placentals around 100 million to 120 million years ago during dinosaur times.
Bamboozled by an Opossum
We’ve found opossums in our house, behind our laundry machine. We’ve seen them along the street, on lawns in the neighborhood and we’ve seen them climb trees. They are pretty common in our neighborhood. It should be noted that they are not possums even though they are sometimes called that. Possums is an Australian relative to the Opossum.
One day when my wife and I were out walking the dogs we saw an opossum lying on the alleyway behind our house. He looked dead. However, when I checked, he was warm and appeared to be alive even though he was unconscious. We put him in a box containing a soft blanket and took him to the veterinary. We were willing to pay for any treatment or surgeries needed. At the veterinarian he woke up and they later placed him in a nature sanctuary. We did not need to pay anything.
Later on, we learned that when an opossum is threatened or harmed, they will “play possum“. They mimic the appearance and smell of a dead animal. This response is involuntary, like fainting, and not a conscious act. That might have been what was going on. So, I might have been bamboozled by an opossum. Bamboozlement seems to be the story of my life. Luckily, he was a male and the veterinary said it looked like he had been hit by a car, so us taking him to the veterinary probably did not do much harm. However, the “playing possum” thing is something to keep in mind with these animals.
Australia and our Photos of Marsupials
When our kids were young, we traveled to Australia where we encountered a lot of marsupials in the wild, in nature preserves and at zoos We encountered a lot of kangaroos but also wombats, koalas, and Tasmanian Devils. I can add that checking out kangaroos and other marsupials was not the only thing we did in Australia. We also spent a week in Great Barrier Reef where we did snorkel and scuba diving.
The first picture below was from our visit to the Blue Mountains. We stopped to have lunch, and I decided to go and take a leak. As I approached a bush, I heard some noise and when I looked behind the bush, I saw that there was a kangaroo behind it. What you see in the picture below is what I saw. The kangaroo was just two yards away. He seemed to be as startled as I was, and we stared at each other for a few seconds. I had my camera hanging around my neck, so I decided to take a photo. Then he hopped away. I am so glad I did not pee on his lunch.
A surprise encounter with a kangaroo in the wild. I am so glad I did not pee on his lunch.Our oldest son and daughter feeding small kangaroos (or wallabies) at a nature preserve outside Brisbane, Australia.Our younger son and daughter feeding small kangaroos at a nature preserve outside Brisbane, Australia. They are laughing because one of the kangaroos grabbed the entire bag of food and then spilled it.A small kangaroo/wallaby is sniffing my camera (at the same nature preserve).
Note : Koalas are often called Koala bears, but they are not bears.
A Koala sleeping in a tree at Brisbane Zoo.Our daughter holding a Koala at Brisbane Zoo.A Tasmanian Devil at the Brisbane Zoo.Wombat at Brisbane Zoo
One interesting fact about Wombats is that they produce cubic shaped poop. This makes the poop stackable, and the wombats use it to mark their territory and attract mates.
Super Facts 