#toxoplasmagondii
#biology #wolves #toxoplasmagondii #mindalteringParasite #packleader
Diagram showing the hypothesized wolf-cougar-T. gondii feedback loop. (Meyer, Cassidy et al., Communications Biology, 2022)
A Strange Thing Happens to Wolves Infected by Infamous Mind-Altering Parasite
A study of 26 years' worth of wolf behavioral data, and an analysis of the blood of 229 wolves, has shown that infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii makes wolves 46 times more likely to become a pack leader.
The research shows that the effects of this parasite in the wild have been horrendously understudied – and its role in ecosystems and animal behavior underestimated...
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-strange-thing-happens-to-wolves-infected-by-infamous-mind-altering-parasite
Now if we can only find a cat that eats Libertarians ...
@woozle@hey.iseeamess.com from The Other Place: "The Tale of the Mice and the Cat, classical liberalism version"
"The cat must not be belled!" spoke up another mouse. "The cat is simply trying to live, just as you are -- what right have we to impose our will upon it, to interfere in its life? This is nothing more than opinion carried out by mob rule, putting a noose around that which we dislike! How would you feel if a group of cats decided to put bells on each of you??"
Sadly, it seems to me that Libertarianism has evolved a mechanism more similar to Toxoplasma gondii.
#libertarianism #cats #mice #fable #toxoplasmagondii #libertarian #classicliberalism