Animal behavioural patterns

Analysis and Comment (3)

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Our relationship with four-legged friends has brought many benefits. JDEN

Canine and able: how dogs made us human

What role have dogs played in human evolution? Woof … now there’s a question. Anthropologist Pat Shipman, in a recent issue of American Scientist, suggests dogs gave our human ancestors an advantage over…
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Pet cats are single-minded hunters, but are they wiping out native species? bolg/Flickr

Jury still out on whether cats are killers, but prison is on the cards

In “The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson”, Mark Twain equated keeping a cat to domestic bliss: When there was room on the ledge outside of the pots and boxes for a cat, the cat was there – in sunny weather…
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Four year-old Ayen Chol died after being attacked by a neighbour’s pit bull cross (AFP PHOTO/William WEST)

Breed blame-game: banning Pit Bulls won’t work

The recent death of four year-old, Ayen Chol from a pit bull attack has again prompted calls to ban the breed. But instead of focusing on a particular breed, or responding to single events as they occur…

Research and News (3)

Can crows read?

Crows can recognise and ascribe numerical meaning to symbols, a new study shows, suggesting that the unusually intelligent…

Research Briefs (10)

Chimps share to be social

A new study of chimpanzees has documented a frequency of sharing previously unreported for animals, demonstrating that they…

Humans and chimps share more with each other

Chimpanzees have shown significant signs of prosocial behaviour. The new finding is in contrast with previous thought that…

Stress linked to parent’s childhood

Researchers have used rats in a study to discover stress and resilience can be inherited. Rats were used in the study because…

Hair snares track badgers

Badgers are a protected species in Wisconsin and yet very little is actually known about them. To combat this, researchers…