The Irish Times published an article on October 15, 2015, with
the headline ‘Who’s the daddy? Badger reproduction not black and white.’ What
does ‘black and white’ mean?
The online Free
Dictionary defines ‘black and white’ as ‘a monochromatic picture’ (like a black
and white photograph), something ‘written down or in print, and therefore
official’ or ‘involving a very clear distinction, without any gradations’ – in
other words, either distinctly right or disinctly wrong. Therefore a subject is
said to be ‘black and white’ when there are distinct answers or responses, and
a subject that is not ‘black and white’ is contentious, debatable, unclear,
open to discussion, and so on.
The article documents
a study by Trinity College Dublin on badgers and found that female badgers can be
pregnant with several babies from different males at the same time. In other
words females can ovulate, fertilize, and implant a second set of eggs during
pregnancy (or third or fourth). It is called ‘natural superfoetation’ which is
rare among mammals. Professor Nicola Marples said it was a complete surprise.
Only the American mink, the brown hare, and the Madagascan tenrec can do this. Researchers
now know that badgers can hold at least four fertilized eggs of different ages
and therefore likely from four different fathers. This makes it difficult to
tell who the father is, or fathers are, when the little badgers (called cubs) are
born.
Badgers are similar to
otters and weasels; they are omnivorous mammals (they eat everything) with
short legs, plump bodies and elongated heads. They have black faces with
distinctive white markings.
Scorecard for The Irish Times headline is 100%. Whereas
badgers can be black and white, when a female badger has several cubs, knowing
who fathered them is not black and white – it is uncertain, unclear, and open
to debate.
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