EMERGENCE IN REAL TIME?

Some years ago, the fishapod, Tiktaalik roseae, had its fifteen minutes of fame as the possible missing link between sea and land animals, as well as being the spittin' image of those Darwin badges people put on their tailgates.

Now consider those scary giant Asian hornets of a few years ago.  Snack time for the right kind of Japanese frog.

Researchers expected danger when they watched the frog hunt, bracing for stings and preparing for drama. Instead, the frog cannonballed the hornet without panic or a second of hesitation, behaving like a regular at a diner who has ordered the same spicy dish for 20 years and sees no reason to act surprised now.

Soon, the scientists learned the frog doesn't worry because it carries a natural resistance to the hornet's venom. Generations of frogs living near hornet nests built that skill the same way old towns build traditions: slowly, quietly, and without sending anyone a memo.

David Manney quips,

It helps to remember that nature has a sense of humor that humans rarely match. A creature no larger than a handful of change solved a problem that once filled many search bars with fear. Somewhere, a committee still plans meetings, while the frog ate the threat and called it a day.

All of which is true, although that's not good news for people who like the idea of Intelligent Design when the Design is a consequence of Their Intelligence.

Closer to home, urban trash pandas are also adapting to their environment.

Studying photos of raccoons from crowdsourced wildlife platforms, scientists noticed that city animals had shorter snouts, a trait often seen in species that learn to live near people.

Shorter snouts, calmer behavior, more curiosity, and fewer jitters around humans. When garbage trucks roar past, you can nearly hear raccoons shrug.

People living in larger cities might not need a paper to confirm that theory. That animal that once ran from porch lights now stares back like a teenager who knows you can't make him leave.

Don't plan on a new sort of house pet any time soon, though.  Mutation, selection, and adaptation still take place in geologic time.

Raccoons may continue down this path, with faces that may shorten further. Behavior may mellow, while curiosity may sharpen. None of that means raccoons line up for bath time or belly rubs. Evolution moves like a slow train, while urban life may nudge raccoons toward something tame in a different century.

Right now, though, the raccoon you meet near the trash cans still belongs to the wild.

Admire the wit, respect the claws, and, for all that's holy, close the lids.

David Manney concludes that post with, "The messy world people built created smarter scavengers.  The scary part?  We shaped them without meaning to."

Let that be a caution to the Men of System who mean to shape reality.