Fred Oswald has some interesting observations about two species near and dear to my heart...
A naturalist recently told about his study of armadillos in Texas. He described that, when threatened, armadillos rise up to "look big" and deter attack. This is an appropriate response to 4-legged predators, such as coyotes; but it can be tragically inappropriate when the "predator" has 4 wheels. The naturalist would often see road kill with the only apparent damage being a small crescent-shaped nick in the shell near the head where it had been hit by a car's undercarriage. If the animal had hunkered-down instead of rising up, it would likely have not been hurt.Read the rest of the article here.
Like armadillos, many cyclists respond inappropriately to the perceived danger of passing traffic on the road. The intuitive reaction is to "stay out of the way" by riding on sidewalks, or on the wrong side of the road (to see traffic coming), hug the curb or ride in the gutter.
In a way, cyclists' response is opposite to armadillos; they "ride small". What is similar is that instinct leads them wrong.
3 comments:
That armadillo pictured in your post is not dead, he is simply drunk.
Riding big reduces stress. And remember, just as cross traffic is the true danger for armadillos, so it is for bicycles.
There are some interesting observations about chipmunks and squirrels too, primarily their tails. A vertical tailed chipmunk is a thrill seeker, often running out on the road in a game of chicken with on-coming cyclists. The chipmunk wins if he can make the cyclist swerve. The horizontal tailed chipmunk, however, is running for his life, dropping the tail to the H position for high speed and low drag. Sometime a V tail changes to an H tail when he realizes something is about to go horribly wrong....Dr. Crankset is looking for grant money to study the phenomenon.
In my one encounter with a live armadillo, it did neither "act big," nor did it "hunker down." It was difficult to avoid because it behaved inconsistently, unpredictably, and indecisively. Meanwhile, I was left in doubt about what to do to avoid it.
I think THAT is a better lesson for cyclists - do what you will, but BE PREDICTABLE and obvious. I also like Chip's lesson.
PS: I did miss the durn thing, but it explained why I almost always see them as road kill.
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