This is a very belated post about wood, however I recently saw a video that sparked my interest. About 20 years ago, a hunting dog was chasing a raccoon around its yard when the raccoon ran up a hallow stretch in a tree. The dog proceeded to follow this raccoon up the tree and unfortunately became stuck. Fast forward 20 years, this tree was being cut down by loggers in Georgia, when the same hallow stretch was discovered. Inside was the mummified dog in almost perfect condition, and in the position it had been in when it passed away while climbing the inside of the tree. This discovery is extremely fascinating to me!! The wood within the tree has kept the dog in a mummified state so naturally, similar to if ice were to preserve a body underneath it. Although this is an extremely unfortunate way to go for the dog, and I’m sure he endured some suffering, the way the the tree naturally preserved the animal is amazing. This leads me to wonder what properties within the tree would allow an organism to remain preserved so well for so long? While looking at this scientifically, it has been found that the updraft of air flowing through the hollow trunk carried the dog’s scent away from insects, therefore the dog did not decompose much. I’ve attached an imaged of the dog and a link to a video explaining more! This just shows the marvelous ways that wood works.
