It was announced today that Dr. Sophie de Los Arboles, who has done extensive research into the lives and habits of the spadefoot toad, irrefutably posits that the phenomenon of the toad's pupils contracting to a vertical slit is a survival technique prompted by generations of spadefoots being threatened by predatory cats.
Dr. de Los Arboles's extensive research proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a form of camouflage: the vertical pupil enables the otherwise endangered reptile to pass as a helpless kitten which the erstwhile predator will want to nurture and protect rather than maul and eat.*
* The Origin of the Species: the Heretofore Unpublished Edition, discovered by Sophie while cleaning out her storage locker.
I've been in town for a little over two weeks now. I'm not sure how much longer I can last.
