As part of my job as a wildlife specialist I often photograph our animals, whether it be to document some sort of health condition for our vets or to accumulate pictures to use for this blog. I have frequently noticed upon entering exhibits with my camera that the animals become very curious about the strange contraption I am holding near my face. And their most common response? To smell it. And thus I have found myself with a respectable collection of native Ohio nose shots. While I was sorting through some of the photos I decided to write a blog entry showcasing the snouts of a few of the animals that live at the museum.
I will begin with the red fox. As a member of the Canidae family, the fox’s sense of smell is outstanding. When he inhales, scented particles are drawn into the mucous-filled nasal cavity where they are analyzed by sensory cells. The air is then forced out the nares on the sides of the nose so it does not interfere with the new incoming smells. Accordingly, when Huxley is done sniffing my camera he can catch a whiff of his lunch of rats and fish without wasting a breath.
Turkey vultures also have a great sense of smell, which is rather unusual for birds. Their beaks have large nasal cavities lacking a septum to divide the nostrils. They predominantly feed upon carrion, and their acute sense of smell allows them to detect mercaptan, one of the gases emitted during the decay of dead animals. They prefer the meat to be freshly deceased and only just beginning to release the chemical. Mmm, mercaptan, nothing whets the appetite quite like it.
The box turtle has small nostrils, but its sense of smell is still quite keen. Box turtles use it primarily to find food such as snails, worms, roots, eggs, berries, and fish. Like the turkey vulture, the box turtle has been known to track down and eat road kill! Luckily for both species, they have bald heads and beaks which are easy to keep clean and the pesky buildup of carcass guts stays at a minimum.
The white-tailed deer is another animal with powerful olfactory capabilities. In addition to using its nose to find food, the deer depends on it to detect predators from great distances. The deer will lick its nose to keep it moist, aiding the hundreds of thousands of sensors inside with scent processing. Deer also use scent as an important method of communication and to establish social hierarchy within a herd. You have to have a pretty good sniffer to determine the sex, age, and breeding condition of another deer based on the urine scent mixed with tarsal gland odor it left behind on the ground.
The final snout I will showcase is that of the opossum. While the opossum nose also has an ample capacity for sniffing, it is extremely long for another reason. Opossums have more teeth than any other land mammal. And with a mouth full of fifty choppers, a magnificent muzzle is a necessity!
Michelle Leighty, CMNH Wildlife Specialist
