Michael Ruse, June 2013:
"...In the cool of the morning, as the sun came up, they (the plates) helped the animal to heat up quickly. In the middle of the day, especially when the vegetation consumed by the Stegosaurus was fermenting away in its belly, the plates would have helped to catch the wind and get rid of excess heat. A superb adaptation. (Sadly for me, no longer a favoured explanation, since latest investigations suggest that the plates may have been a way for individuals to recognise each other as members of the same species).So what’s a Stegosaur for? We can ask what adaptive function the plates on its back served, as good Darwinian scientists. But the beast itself? It’s not for anything, it just is — in all its decorative, mysterious, plant-munching glory."
As I was returning home on November 1 2013 around 9 AM, near our compound wall, I saw the Greater Coucal or Crow Pheasant (in Marathi 'Bhardwaj' भारद्वाज) whose sighting is considered auspicious, squirrels, the Common Myna's (In Marathi, salunki साळुंकी), sparrows...I stopped and kept looking in different directions...all moving so gracefully, keeping a watchful eye on a dangerous Homo sapiens like me but giving him a damn in the end!
I said come November 2nd morning of Narak Chaturdashi (नरक चतुर्दशी), their world would be shattered for next three-four days. They have no idea what is going to hit them tomorrow morning.
Man will know their feeling only when the next real big asteroid will hit the earth.
Artist:
Courtesy: Amar Chitra Katha Studio and its FB page