Crocodiles, Monkeys, and Mayans: Enhance Your Survivor Experience
In this week’s article, instead of providing a play-by-play
recap of episode 3 events, I will highlight several moments
of the show and provide wonderful and joyous fun facts and
commentary. (If you’d like a detailed recap, check out the
links at the bottom of this article.) Chances are you’ve
already seen the show, so this will be much more interesting.
In this episode we had our first real spotting of Cindy,
the zookeeper. She wondered how NYC-Stereotype man could
complain about the howling/screaming monkeys. I would wonder,
too. How many people in this world will ever get a chance
to hear a howling monkey in its native habitat?
Still, I can only imagine what the loudest land animal would
sound like. Let's learn about these creatures:
Black Howler Monkeys
I found some information on Howler Monkeys from the sites
below. I’ve copied and interspersed some fun facts for your
educational pleasure.
“Howler
monkeys are named and known for the loud, guttural howls that
they routinely use at the beginning and end of the day. They
are among the largest New World monkeys and its howl is believed
to be loudest sound of any land animal. And howling by one
triggers off howling among other howlers within earshot; resulting
in a deafening chorus. A howler's call can be heard 3km away
in dense vegetation, and 5km away in the open. They are capable
of making these great sounds because they have two egg-sized
hollow hyoid bones in their throat that act as resonating
chambers, which amplifies its call. They call in the morning
before moving off to forage, occasionally during the day and
just before they retire for the night. This helps different
howler groups space themselves out and avoid meeting each
other in the dense canopy. In this way, the lethargic howlers
avoid wasteful confrontational behaviour.
“Male and female Howler monkeys are very different from one
another. Only the male Black howler is actually black at all,
the female is blonde in color. Both sexes call but the male's
voice is much louder and deeper. They have a long prehensile
tail, which they use to grasp branches whilst they are feeding
and moving through the trees, and also to anchor themselves
when sleeping. The hairless underside of the tail is sensitive
to touch and enables the tail to feel what it is gripping.
Howlers
spend almost all of their time in the tree-tops, feeding on
various sorts of leaves. They rarely come down to the ground,
although in very dry conditions they may come down to find
water. Howlers usually live in social groups of up to 30 animals,
although 5-8 in a group is more common. In the morning, shortly
after dawn, all the monkeys in a group take part in a chorus
of howling. They prefer to stay away from other groups, although
they do not defend a strict territory.”
It’s been written that the monkeys is howling because he’s
horny and trying to attract a mate. I didn’t read this anywhere
and so I am left to believe this characteristic exists primarily
in the human male species.
Check out the links below for more information.
www.szgdocent.org/resource/pp/p-howler.htm
www.bristolzoo.org.uk/learning/animals/mammals/howler-monkey
nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/SmallMammals/Exhibits/HowlerMonkeys/LoudestAnimal/default.cfm
The Power of Humor and Strength
I-Will-NOT-Give-Up-No-Matter-How-Bad-It-Gets-And-No-Matter-How-Many-Times-I-Repeat-This
woman was commenting about how it sucks to lose, “but you’ve
got to put it behind you and move on.” She joked to the other
women about how disgusting they are; same pair of underwear,
using leaves when they go to the bathroom, no soap… They
can’t even go swimming because a crocodile could “bite ‘em
in the butt!”
The others were laughing with her and my first thought was
that she should do well in not only Survivor, but also the
world, in general. It takes a strong person to be able to
see the humor – and especially SPREAD this humor – while in
a difficult and trying situation. Such characteristics are
endearing.
Whenever someone comes to me detailing their problems and
horrible life (some that are truly horrid), I can sometimes
only say to them, “How you respond to these challenges is
what defines you as a person. This is the time when people
rise or fall. This is when we will see who you truly are.”
We are seeing who I-Will-NOT-Give-Up-No-Matter-How-Bad-It-Gets-And-No-Matter-How-Many-Times-I-Repeat-This
woman is, and I like what I see.
Fussy Eaters
Even though “The Crocodile Hunter” is one of my favorite
shows, I still don’t know a lot about them. For example,
the crocodiles in Guatemala must either have an abundant source
of food or they are really fussy eaters. Why didn’t they
eat those “brave” survivors who jumped into their water?
So
I did a little reading:
What do crocodiles eat?
www.ozmagic15.homestead.com/
“What do crocodiles eat? Just about anything they can get
a hold of that is made of flesh and bone. Fish, birds, snakes
and anything that walks on two or four legs. A Crocodile
will swim over to a floating object if it's not sure what
it is and give it a "test bite" to see if it is
edible. They have been known to chew on kerosene tins and
will eat large rocks to help with their digestion.
“Crocodiles have amazing senses that allow them to hunt by
stealth. An interesting fact about them is their eyesight
is as good as ours is and even better under water. They have
a transparent third eyelid that allows them to see well under
water.
“Their sense of hearing is acute and they actually have vibration
receptors at the base of their teeth that allow them to sense
the minutest vibration in the water. A crocodile may be under
water not far from the bank and these receptors will pick
up an animal such as a dog drinking at the water edge.
“The Crocodile's strength is well recorded. A Crocodile
will think nothing of attacking a fully-grown water buffalo,
dragging it into the water, drowning it and then tearing pieces
of the animal off by performing the "death roll".
Most animals don't get a second chance if attacked by a Crocodile.”
Reading a few sites, it seems as though it’s uncommon for
a crocodile to attack a human.
Quoting from http://www.vanaqua.org/education/aquafacts/crocodilians.html:
“Although attacks on humans have occurred, most species of
crocodilian don't include humans as a food source. In fact,
it has been suggested that a person bending down over a water
source may resemble an antelope in the eyes of a crocodile
and this is why the attacks occur.
The reason why crocodiles and alligators don’t eat very often
is because “Crocodilians are extremely energy efficient. They
are poikilotherms (cold-blooded), and so depend on external
heat sources to regulate their body temperature. Because of
this, they do not have to heat themselves using energy fueled
by food as humans and other mammals do. Usually crocodilians
need only eat once a week or less to maintain their energy
levels.”
So crocodiles usually don’t feast on the human. However,
after reading the site below, I wouldn’t take any chances.
www.ozmagic15.homestead.com/CrocAttacks.html
Ponder the Survivor Crocodile
I wonder if the survivors were given a little bit of “crocodile
training” before they were set off into the jungle. I say
this because a few of them mentioned how the crocs prefer
more shallow water, but that they might be in the deeper water
(where they were swimming) because it was so hot. I’ve never
heard this and I doubt those guys knew it before arriving
in Guatemala.
Still, I think it was pretty idiotic not to listen to the
one person who has worked with alligators in a zoo. That’s
like being given the controls of a small airplane and ignoring
the pilot’s suggestions; “I’m not going to pay attention to
those gauges because I’m brave and I want to LIVE!”
This causes me to ponder…
Are bravery and stupidity mutually exclusive? Can doing
something really risky and stupid be considered brave?
For example, is it brave to walk an inner city street late
at night by yourself waving money and yelling racial slurs?
Or would that just be stupid?
Is it Safe Because of the Lawyers?
This crocodile-eating-the-idiots topic makes me wonder if
the lawyers and producers of Survivor had some sort of influence
over the crocs in the water (like feeding them or having cameras
in the water). What would happen to the entire Survivor franchise
if Brandon were suddenly dragged under and given a death roll?
Would Survivor survive if someone were killed during filming?
Would they end the season and send everyone home? Or would
they continue and show the pain and the loss, not to mention
the multiple-page waiver all survivors must sign?
I'm sure they would end the season, but the cost would be
immense and you never know given the state of our Mainstream
Media: “Just think of the ratings!”
It Doesn't Matter What a Pick Is
Regarding the immunity challenge: A lot of people, like Briana,
also do not know what a pick is nor do they care. In fact,
in Briana's interview at RealityNewsOnline.com, she said that
she STILL doesn't know what a pick is and neither did several
people interviewing her. They seemed to sympathize with her,
telling her that she shouldn't have been judged and voted
out just because she didn't know what a pick was.
It didn't matter that she didn't know what a pick was. What
mattered was that she just stood there and did absolutely
nothing while her team lost the immunity challenge. So she
doesn't know how to play basketball. So what! Move your
ass and do SOMETHING. Try. Make an effort. Do anything
because your team may just vote you out if you lose.
Ok,
Kids... THIS is a Pick
www.ehow.com/how_5621_set-pick-basketball.html
But that link's description is actually really bad, so I'll
try to explain:
In that Mayan game, no one could run with the ball. They
could only pass. But if no one was open to pass to, then
the person with the ball was forced to just stand there.
Briana could've stood next to the person guarding Lydia such
that she blocked Lydia's defender from following her so that
Lydia could've gotten open to catch a pass and maybe make
a basket.
A pick is a key fundamental concept in most sports. Basically,
the rule is – if you're not open, set a pick (or a block)
so that someone else CAN get open or that someone with a ball
can get away from the person guarding them (like in the picture).
So that's a pick. No more excuses for not knowing.
Ok, enough of that.
I should note that I was very impressed with both Stephenie's
and, especially, Danni's athletic ability and athletic smarts.
I already knew that Stephenie was an experienced athlete,
but I had no idea that Danni was as good as she was. My compliments.
Mayan
Society and the State of Future Challenges?
Here are some interesting facts about the Mayan culture,
which I expect to surface in one way or another during future
challenges:
Maya Mathematics
www.michielb.nl/maya/math.html
www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Mayan_mathematics.html
Instead of ten digits like we have today, the Maya used a
base number of 20. (Base 20 is vigesimal.) They also used
a system of bar and dot as "shorthand" for counting
(often using cocoa beans). A dot stood for one and a bar stood
for five.
Because the base of the number system was 20, larger numbers
were written down in powers of 20. We do that in our decimal
system too: for example 32 is 3*10+2. In the Maya system,
this would be 1*20+12, because they used 20 as base. In
the following table, you can see how this works.
Military
http://www.crystalinks.com/mayansociety.html
"The Mayans were expert and determined warriors, using
the bow and arrow, the dart with throwing-stick, the wooden
sword edged with flints, the lance, sling, copper axe, shield
of reeds, and protective armor of heavy quilted cotton. They
understood military tactics and signaling with drum and whistle,
and knew how to build barricades and dig trenches. Noble prisoners
were usually sacrificed to the gods, while those of ordinary
rank became slaves. Their object in war was rather to make
prisoners than to kill."
And so, since I doubt we'll get to see any killing or sacrifices,
I expect to see mental challenges that involve the symbols
above where they have to add or figure out what they mean
or something. And I expect a "Mayan challenge"
that involves a bow and arrow or darts or throwing sticks.
And if not, well you can now say you know a little more about
the Mayan culture.
AND what a pick is, what a crocodile eats, and how the Howling
Monkey got its name.
I feel so educational.
By the way, I found some excellent pictures at www.ontheroadin.com/palenque_mayan_ruins_chiapas_mex.htm.
These are simply magnificent:
http://www.ontheroadin.com/losgalleria/prehispanic/palenque2004ok.jpg
http://www.ontheroadin.com/losgalleria/prehispanic/Palenque%20Structure.jpg
http://www.ontheroadin.com/Palenque%20Structures%2012.jpg
http://www.ontheroadin.com/Palenque%20Tower.jpg
Until next week...
Be good, dammit.
