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The three most interesting animal facts of the week

In a nutshell, the three fascinating facts are:

1. Bees contribute more to the British economy than the monarchy.
2. Most kangaroos are left-handed.
3. Baboon troops democratically decide which direction to go in.

Interesting facts. Let’s look at these in a bit more detail.

Starting with bees, an insect of great ecological importance. According to The Daily Telegraph, bees contribute £651 million ($1 billion) each year to the British economy. This is a whopping £150 million ($240 million) more than the Royal Family contributes through tourism (based on visits to sites of historical interest like Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London.)

The contribution from bees is based on some research undertaken by the University of Reading (U.K.) This value is based on the pollination of crops carried out by bees, which is vital for agriculture. Bee populations around the world are under threat from a class of pesticides called neonicotinoid. Digital Journal recently reported that Ontario has become one of the first regions in the world to place a restriction on the use of these chemicals.

Moving onto kangaroos, a mammal synonymous with Australia. According to the journal Current Biology, kangaroos favor their left hands when carrying out grooming and feeding. According to BBC Science, the research “found a consistent left-handed bias across eastern grey kangaroos, red kangaroos, and red-necked wallabies — no matter whether the animals were grooming, feeding, or propping themselves up.”

The research paper, which is titled “Parallel Emergence of True Handedness in the Evolution of Marsupials and Placentals”, can be accessed here.

Finally, with baboons, the L.A. Times reports that baboons have a degree of decision making in-built into their troops. Field biologists from Duke University have found that troops of baboons “make travel decisions democratically when disagreements arise over which direction to go.”

Interestingly, each baboon, whether one that is normally the alpha male, females, and the young, all have an equal share in the decision making process.

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Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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