Parasites

In an older entry I told you how hard a wild animal life could be. Next to injuries and sickness there were also parasites. Some of those parasites stay in the body of their host animal as long as that animal lives – what a creepy imagination!
Please read more under the cut!


Today I want to introduce you to my polecat skull. As you can see, it hat some abscess like holes in the forehead. This polecat skull is the best example for a life with parasites – and in this case the name of the evildoer is “Troglotrema acutum”, a kind of worm. A polecat could have over one hundred of these worms in its head without being sick or weak. Oh wow! So you can see, not every parasite kills the host animal.

But how did this worm get into the skull of the polecat?
Next to mice, birds, eggs or fishes the polecat really loves to eat frogs or toads. The latter sometimes has this parasitical worm and after the polecat ate the frog or the toad, the parasite has reached its final destination (or paradise, whatever). Actually the frogs, toads or snails are only temporary hosts!

Honestly, sometimes mother nature really creeps me out!