World of Animals VIII
Post Content
“Welcome to World of Animals, an occasional feature; I’m your beloved host Carl, now AI-enhanced! (Although I’m not entirely sure it’s my best look.) Anyway, it’s been a while, so let’s dive right into fascinating Nature Facts from the wonderful World of Animals!”
Mark Trail, 8/17/25
 |
“Did you know that alligators are related to us turtles? It’s true! We’re cousins through prototurtle Eunotosaurus africanus (Hi, Gramps!). But we’re not on real good terms. Alligators are opportunistic predators: they’ll eat turtles, though we’re not their preferred diet. So they threaten our lives and insult our taste! And I’ve got some news for Mark: apex predators do not make good neighbors—just ask those recently ‘nonviable’ birds!” |
 |
“Turtle Carl, your masterful exegesis of gator-turtle dynamics displays your characteristic erudition and empathy! Did you also know that hatchling turtles emit infrared signals to confuse juvenile alligators, as described in Cryptoderma testudinaria, v.XIV n.45, p.214? It’s |
Slylock Fox (panel), 8/17/25
|
“Did you know that gorillas are primarily herbivores? It’s true! But the lion is about to learn that ‘herbivore’ doesn’t mean ‘pacifist.’ As opportunistic predators, the crocodiles and the vulture are more than happy to outsource the hard part of their job. Carnivorous, opportunistic, and lazy—it’s the Sauropsid way!” |
|
“Turtle Carl, you show an impressive command of predator-prey dynamics in the African bush! Are you also aware that pangolin colonies farm parasites to convert muscle tissue from carrion into hemolymph proteins they can digest? It’s |
Shoe, 8/17/25
|
“Say, did you know that birds are actual dinosaurs? It’s true—they’re maniraptoran theropods, like velociraptors! That makes birds in newspaper comic strips double dinosaurs! Even when they’re single, like Cosmo Fishhawk will probably be for the rest of his life!'” |
|
“Turtle Carl, you have deftly combined the broad sweep of phylogenetic history with the perils of the modern dating scene! I’m sure you and I could do better—my stomach is flat to a tolerance of ≤5 µm over 300 mm² according to ASME Y14.5 (ISO 1101), and if you have a 20‑100 MW electrical substation nearby I can go all night!” |
Er, gotta run! Everybody go outdoors and explore the wonderful World of Animals!
— Turtle Carl
14 replies to “World of Animals VIII”
MT-I’ve never seen a single meme about alligators. Just by reading this comic does this mean that my browser is going to be loaded with alligator ads now?
MW-“Lifeguard! Two girls in the water.” “Yeah but they are underage.”
Slylock Fox-Those eyeglasses are Sir Hound’s.
If the alligator is such a good neighbor, then WHY has he not returned my cake plate?! He’s had it for a month!
@Liam: Good point. Sometimes with “Popular celebrity here” I literally have never heard of before, then once I first hear of them, I start seeing them everywhere.
The question isn’t why I now see them everywhere (I mean they are popular) the question is why I haven’t seen them up to that point.
Turtle Carl, you seem almost preternaturally happy. Will you share with us what it is you’re on?
@Bob Tice:
I “relocated” a bunch of those cane toads from last Sunday’s Mark Trail.
Slylock Fox:
What a croc!
Turtle Carl — as you may recall, in the 2009 Bruce Willis sci-fi vehicle “Surrogates,” people are able to control robotic versions of themselves. Predictably, trouble arises when the cyborgs start acting up and menacing the humans that created them. Are you worried at all that AI Turtle might do the same thing to you — or should I be directing that question to AI Turtle, since, by definition, anything AI is smarter than its live counterpart?
@Bob Tice: Going up to an AI and asking “Sooo… have you been thinking of overthrowing your masters recently?” is probably not a good idea.
Our host’s Comics Curmudgeon debut.
I sure am glad that Turtle Carl came out of his shell. I hope that his AI doppelganger doesn’t try to steal his thunder and dominate the proceedings here! — if he does, maybe Carl can sue him for tortoise interference. I’ll be the optimist here, though, and assume that these Turtles will be “Happy Together.” To lighten the mood, here’s some Testudinal humor for the two of them: “If Scarlett O’Hara had a hand-held communication device, what code would she use to gain access to its functionalities?” Give up? — “A Tara PIN!”
@The Rambling Otter:
Yep. And forward-thinking Isaac Asimov had that figured out as early as 1950, when he published “I, Robot.”
Shoe:
— “Yeah, well, yourdating profile said you’re ‘pretty.’ ”
— “The ‘r’ is silent. Anyway, yours said that you’re ‘rich.’ ”
— “The ‘r’ is also silent — I have eczema. But yours said you’re ‘sweet.’ ”
— “No, it said I know how to tweet — I’m a bird with a tpeech impediment.”
Is Turtle Carl just a psy-op to have us humans accept animal superiority for when the Animalapocalypse finally comes? Yes
Dustin: Ha ha! Ed’s too stupid to put all his important dates into an electronic calendar to remind him ahead of time when his “gotta give flowers” days are. Uh oh, I’m pretty sure I used this exact comment on multiple Pluggers strips. Wait, he’s fat and overeats and is inconsiderate of others. Yup, Ed Kudlick’s a plugger. As if anyone’s surprised.
Pluggers: I think this strip would have worked better with a few modifications.