Anybody reading this might get the impression that I’m a ‘pet person’. Believe it or not, I had been terrified of most animals as a kid. I can’t really explain why, I’m thinking it had to do with their unpredictability. Having a three-legged dog viciously bite my ankle didn’t help, especially as a nine year old waiting at the bus stop. Dogs still freak me out as a result.
Esoteric animals are fast becoming my friends. Sloths obviously serve as an admirable creature for me due to their slow pace, their cuteness, and generally apathy. Before I chose sloths, I ran the gamut through various other animals, cats, birds, reptiles, and the amazing creature, Lord Howe Island Stick insect. Those not aware of this creature’s incredible story, prepare to be amazed.
They are a species of stick insect that grow to be about 6 inches long with the thickness of your thumb. While that may sound large, keep in mind on smaller, isolated islands having such oversized creatures is not unusual. Instead, what distinguishes this insect are some of its more charming, cuter ways of acting. Male and female insects form a bond. Whatever the females does dictates what the male is going to do. In fact, they only take one other insect as a mate, which is somewhat rare in the insect world. Rarer still is when the insects sleep; the male insect wraps its legs around the female. Scientists state this is where the concept of ‘spooning’ must have evolved.
Before the 1920s, these insects were called “Land Lobsters” due to their red hue, and general enormous size. Residents remembered how creepy they were, crawling on tin roofs at night (they’re nocturnal) and making a lot of scraping noises. After the S.S. Makambo ran aground in 1918, the residents wished for the insects to return. But the ship made sure the island got its first encounter with rats. Rats enjoyed eating the delicious insects, and soon they were no more.
1967, the high point of the hippie movement, came. People were willing to try new things, willing to believe somehow extinct animals would re-emerge. That occurred at Ball’s Pyramid, the world’s tallest sea stack. While a few climbers went up its steep side, they found dead carcasses of the Lowe Howe Stick Insect. Believing it to be just a hallucination, they disregarded it.
In 2001, a few scientists followed up on this potential discovery. Sailing across the sea, they discovered the insects living under the only vegetation on the whole island. Bringing a few specimens back with them, they began the re-breeding program. While the female insects were giving birth, they fell ill. Their male counterpart waited next to his mate, hoping for the best. Scientists were so moved by this display that they took the male out to the nearest pub to drown its sorrows. Eventually his companion recovered, and together the two of them lived to the ripe old age of one.
How the insects arrived at such a remote location continues to baffle scientists. Perhaps a bird collected a couple of them thinking they were overweight sticks. Or the insects had been in that stack for generations, since the stack broke free of the island proper. Either way, it shows the resilience that animals face each and every day.