The NHMRC code on animal use requires researchers to minimise harm, pain and distress but doesn’t provide guidance on how to do it.
International Fund for Animal Welfare Animal Rescue Blog/Flickr
Draft guildelines for the use of non-human primates in research will dilute what protections these animals have, despite numerous reasons to stop the practice entirely.
The mantis shrimp has 12 types of visual cones.
Klaus Stiefel/Flickr
As humans, we live in a colourful world, but differences in visual systems means that not all animals see the world in the same way. Unlike other aspects of an object such as size or mass, colour is not…
Photos like this are doing more harm than good to wildlife.
eric molina/Flickr
You might have noticed recently that a plague of “selfies” with tigers appears to have overtaken mobile dating app Tinder (where users “swipe right” to indicate interest; left to reject). Globally, so…
Orphan bonobos at a Congo sanctuary don’t understand how to comfort others or themselves as well as those reared by their mums.
Flickr/Princess Stand in the Rain
Wild bonobos, like all Great Apes, spend long childhoods with their mothers, learning the skills they need to function as socially and emotionally stable members of their community. But orphaned bonobos…
While not the brightest of primates, one species of lemur has shown it can still learn a trick or two, staying safe from predators by heeding the alarm calls of other creatures in the forest. Of all the…
Our ape relatives respond like human toddlers who are denied a treat or feel frightened.
Reflexiste
Do chimpanzees and bonobos throw tantrums when their decision-making fails to pay off? That’s the question posed in a new PLoS ONE study by Brian Hare of Duke University and Alexandra Rosati of Yale. It…
What’s the worst Christmas gift you could give someone? It would have to be a non-human primate or a big cat. Images of people cuddling cute baby chimpanzees, slow lorises or tigers can lead to false perceptions…
A slump in well-being is common to all middle-aged great apes.
Tom Holbrook
Knowing that chimpanzees and orangutans have personalities, feel emotions and are “almost human” comes as no surprise to most people. However, linking the term “midlife crisis” to chimpanzees and orangutans…
The human brain can write plays and build robots, but where did this intelligence come from?
ores2k
Intelligence is our most complex characteristic. Some would even say it defines us, setting us apart from other primates. And now, a new study – published this week by Hennady P. Shulha and colleagues…
Our ability to climb and swing is impressive, but not necessary for survival.
spencer.lattimer
Just when did our human ancestors come down from the trees to become permanent ground-dwelling apes? Did the evolution of our upright posture and two-footed (bipedal) locomotion mark the end of a life…
We share many behaviours and characteristics with our primate cousins and now we know our blood types are more closely linked as well.
AAP Image/Taronga Zoo
A study published in PNAS this week has confirmed that human blood types were present in one of our ancient primate ancestors. The ABO blood groups Beloved by genetics teachers the world over, the ABO…
Gibbons and humans have more in common than might immediately seem apparent. Among many behavioural traits shared by our two species is singing. Not just that – the songs of gibbons have the potential…
Gibbons are among our closest living relatives. These small apes are beautiful singers and glorious swingers. But a new survey of their numbers has found an economic boom in Vietnam is eating up their…
Chimps, like humans, can relive painful memories and grieve for loved ones.
tgraham
Twenty years ago, Jared Diamond’s book “The Third Chimpanzee” highlighted a startling fact. If we adhere to the scientific rules for classifying species (taxonomy), humans should be classified as a third…