Asking weird questions is an essential part of being a science writer. The sort of stuff that stops dinner conversations cold or makes listeners respond “You really are a nerd, aren’t you?” It’s almost hopeless trying to defend oneself in these situations: “What? Who hasn’t wondered about what happened in the digestive system of Tyrannosaurus?what happened in the digestive system of Tyrannosaurus?what happened in the digestive system of Tyrannosaurus?”

The question that kept rattling around my skull this morning was “Why does maned wolf pee smell like marijuana?” This isn’t one of those “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” riddles. Maned wolves – large, South American canids that look like leggy foxes but are neither