Animals doing stuff

In the last 125 years, bobcats have recovered significantly from extremely low numbers, with several million individuals found throughout North America today.

Bobcats help reduce the spread of diseases from animals to humans partly because they and other large mammals are poor disease vectors. Bobcats also prey on the small rodents that easily transmit pathogens.

By Christine Woodside
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/bobcats-are-back-and-theyre-helping-protect-people-from-zoonotic-disease/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #smallcats #Animals

I’m a neuroscientist who taught rats to drive − their joy suggests how anticipating fun can enrich human life #science #neuroscience #animals

• Kelly Lambert Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Richmond

https://theconversation.com/im-a-neuroscientist-who-taught-rats-to-drive-their-joy-suggests-how-anticipating-fun-can-enrich-human-life-239029

Last week, we had a story about scientists who put bats on a treadmill. This week, a neuroscientist teaches rats to drive. And they love it!

From @ConversationUS: "We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal."

https://flip.it/kYvhJ6

And here's the treadmill bats story ICYMI: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vampire-bats-treadmills-metabolism

#Animals #Rats #Bats #Science #Psychology

A study on the genetic history of Asian elephants in India has revealed that there are actually five genetically distinct populations in the country, more than earlier estimates. These populations were also found to have diverged from each other much earlier than previously thought, reports Arathi Menon for Mongabay India.

https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2024/11/genome-study-shows-five-distinct-elephant-populations-in-india/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #Elephants #Animals

In the U.S., residents are warned after 43 monkeys escape South Carolina research facility.

From @CBSNews: "Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes," police said earlier. "If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them."

https://flip.it/RHe--_

#Monkeys #Animals #Research #AnimalTesting

Headline of the day: Putting vampire bats on treadmills reveals an unusual metabolism.

From Science News: "Blood-feeding bats burn more amino acids during exercise, unlike carbs or fats other mammals use."

https://flip.it/9ioxH6

#Animals #Bats #Science #Biology

When a wild orangutan in Sumatra suffered a facial wound, he did something that caught the attention of scientists: the animal chewed the leaves of a liana vine – a plant not normally eaten by apes – to heal the wound.

A remarkable body of accounts from ancient to medieval times describes self-medication by many different animals. The animals used plants to treat illness, repel parasites, neutralize poisons and heal wounds. #animals
https://theconversation.com/animals-self-medicate-with-plants-behavior-people-have-observed-and-emulated-for-millennia-229768

Are any animals truly "immortal?"

@[email protected] looks at creatures who defy biological time:
"From tiny jellyfish to one-ton sharks, some animals subvert scientific expectations about aging and death."

https://flip.it/lA1I.j

#Animals #Life #Science #Death #Evolution

With their bladed paws, wielded by a rippling mass of pure muscle, sharp eyes, agile reflexes, and crushing fanged jaws, lions are “the biggest group-hunting land predator on the planet.” And yet, they’re not the scariest. @ScienceAlert explains how this could be: https://flip.it/YL9IBJ
#Science #Animals #Lions #Predators #Humans #Africa

Interesting, challenging interview.

(Gift article)

“Peter Singer Wants to Shatter Your Moral Complacency”

#animals

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/02/magazine/peter-singer-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.W04.Rc-p.MWiXmloTrflB&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

“Isabella Rossellini would like to know what her dog is thinking “I don’t study animals to understand humans,” says the “Conclave” star and ethologist. (But she gets us just the same.)”

I interviewed Rossellini several years ago when I hosted “The Animal House” on WAMU public radio here in DC.

She should have her own animal-related podcast immediately!

If anyone out there knows her personally, please suggest this to her. She’d be great at it.

#animals

https://wapo.st/3YC6N6y

How parrot plumage gets its dazzling reds and yellows.

From @npr: "Most birds with bright yellow or red feathers — think goldfinches and cardinals — use pigments called carotenoids to make those colors. ... There is a notable exception, however — parrots."

https://flip.it/DUuIC4

Full study: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp7710

#Birds #Parrots #Animals #Science #Biology #Evolution

With Halloween here, we're reminded of the superstition that black cats are bad luck. 🎃

This editor can personally attest that it's not true! One of my favorite pets was a lovely black cat named Felix: smart, funny and the best companion.

@ConversationUS looks at the human biases against all black or all white animals. "As two biologists who focus on human-wildlife interactions, what we find scary is how superstitions, lore and myths can shape your subconscious – particularly biases toward the animals people are trying to conserve and protect."

https://flip.it/Gi2WZD

#Animals #Halloween #Cats #Biology #Psychology #Science

Black cats, white bears: humans judge animals by the color of their fur and not the content of their character. And those biases are reflected in our laws and how we treat animals.
https://theconversation.com/animals-that-are-all-black-or-all-white-have-reputations-based-on-superstition-biases-that-have-real-effects-240658
❄️#animals #Halloween 🐈‍⬛🐻‍

“What Ants and Orcas Can Teach Us About Death
A philosopher journeys into the world of comparative thanatology, which explores how animals of all kinds respond to death and dying.”

(Gift article)

#animals

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/science/animals-death-monso.html?unlocked_article_code=1.V04.9mLi.QpL5PPBGD-wH&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

One of the animal rescues I support has a new mobile van operating in Ukraine. Please consider helping if you’re able.

#animals

https://mailchi.mp/hachikofoundation/summer-update-6741173?e=a0082f7a34

“If You Think You Can Hold a Grudge, Consider the Crow”

(Gift article)

#animals

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/science/crows-grudges-revenge.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Vk4.subS.aROipYAVGcYK&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

"There are real vampires in the world of bats. Out of over 1,400 currently described bat species, three are known to feed on blood exclusively."

From @ConversationUS: "Look beyond the fangs and blood to see animal friendships and unique adaptations."

https://flip.it/nvmvDR

#Bat #Animals #Biology #Science #Ecology #Halloween

“What Do Animals Know About Death?
“Playing Possum,” a new book by the philosopher Susana Monsó, explores the mysteries of grief and mourning in the animal world.”

(gift article)

#animals

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/books/review/playing-possum-susana-monso.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VE4.cwK2.vTKaayB1elyZ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Bangladesh is home to less than 500 Phayre’s langurs and 600 capped langurs in the rainforests in the country’s northeast.

A recent study has unveiled a trend of hybridization between Phayre’s langurs and capped langurs in Bangladesh, which are listed as critically endangered and endangered, respectively, by IUCN.

By Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/langurs-in-bangladesh-face-extinction-as-hybridization-between-species-escalates/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #Animals #Primates

“Meet Apollo, the Egyptian dog filmed atop a pyramid who charmed internet A leader of a rescue group immediately recognized Apollo, one of millions of stray dogs in Egypt, barking at birds atop the Pyramid of Khafre.”

(Gift article)
#animals

Here is the animal rescue group, if you’re able to help:

https://acarf.info/

https://wapo.st/40mzFBU

How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia.

From @AssociatedPress: "Conservationists realized that saving the species would require captive breeding of purebred, fertile crocodiles. The crocodile farmers who had nearly hunted the species to extinction now play a vital role in that effort."

https://flip.it/.PlpV0

#Crocodile #Animals #Conservation #Wildlife #Endangered #Cambodia

What it’s like to care for some of the most endangered animals on Earth, from @npr

"When Hurricane Douglas came barreling toward Oahu in 2020, David Sischo quickly packed up and drove to higher ground. But he wasn’t evacuating his family. He was evacuating snails."

https://flip.it/O275Bp

#Animals #Snail #ClimateChange #Ecology #Environment #Endangered #Hawaii #Science

Scientists feared this huge "ghost" fish in Cambodia was extinct. It was just seen after almost 20 years.

CNN reports that "scientists have long worried that the 'Mekong Ghost,' a critically endangered giant salmon carp that can measure up to four feet long, could have been quietly wiped out as years passed without a sighting."

https://flip.it/isUaY3

#Fish #Endangered #Animals #Cambodia #Conservation #Environment #Science

Environmental delegates gather in Colombia for a conference on dwindling global biodiversity.

From @AssociatedPress: "The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, is a follow-up to the 2022 Montreal meetings where 196 countries signed a historic global treaty to protect biodiversity."

https://flip.it/vDD.ER

#Biodiversity #COP16 #Environment #GlobalWarming #Animals #Science