consciouscreature

Cats Solve Problems!

This is Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea would like to have a taste of her human’s water, but the glass is too small to reach it. This isn’t a problem for Sweet Pea, though. She simply problem-solves and makes use of what she has on hand to get the job done.

Marmosets Are Polite!

When calling to one another, common marmosets will politely wait a few seconds before taking their turn to speak, just like humans usually do. They’ll also use this type of ‘cooperative vocal communication’ with any other marmoset - not just their mates or immediate family members. It seems that polite conversation reduces stress in marmosets, so carrying on a civilized, turn-taking chat is a way to reinforce marmoset social bonds.

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Chickens Play Instruments!

These chickens spend their days playing music in a Colorado woman’s backyard after she installed a xylophone for them. Click photo to watch them play!

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Moose Will Frolic!

Scientific fact: everybody has fun in sprinklers.

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Elephants Use Words!

While everybody knows that elephants use low rumbles to communicate with one another, scientists have identified that elephants change their vocalizations to indicate distinct messages. For example, they make one sound for ‘human’, and another sound for ‘bees’, and react differently depending on the threat (like shaking their heads when alerted to the presence of bees). In other words, they use words!

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Chimps Have Culture!

Researchers have discovered a previously unknown chimp behaviour! After finding conspicuous piles of stones near certain trees - reminiscent of cairns - they set up camera traps to investigate. It turns out that chimpanzees (mostly males, but some juveniles and females too) have been visiting the sites regularly, and are seen picking up stones, hurling them at the trees, and emitting loud vocalizations as they do it. This results in noticeable stone piles, and since this behaviour is displayed without any associated foraging context, it is believed to have cultural elements.

Bees Can Farm!

Researchers have discovered that a social, stingless bee from Brazil cultivates a special type of fungus in their nests to feed their young. This is a very important food source - without it, only eight percent of the larvae survive, so bees understand that farms feed families!

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Imagine what it’s like to finally see what’s so interesting about those little machines the zoo patrons stare into all the time. :)

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Pill Bugs Are Sociable!

Scientists have shown that the gathering of pill bugs in groups is a social phenomenon. So much so that when calm pill bugs are introduced to a group of excited ones, they exert a calming influence on the group. Pill bugs know how to calm each other down!

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Dogs Judge Your Enemies!

If someone rebuffs you or refuses to help you, your dog will ignore them and even refuse to accept food from them. “We discovered for the first time that dogs make social and emotional evaluations of people regardless of their direct interest,”  says Kazuo Fujita of Kyoto University. Anyone who spends any time with dogs can already tell you that they’re sensitive and loyal, but now here’s some science to back it up. So, pay attention to your dog’s opinion of people - they may notice things you don’t!

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Crickets Have Personalities!

Researchers have observed differences in personality types in a population of free-living field crickets. They looked for variation in responses to approaching dangers, and found that some crickets were more shy (choosing to spend more time in their burrows), while others were more bold (spending more time outdoors). The bold crickets were less reactive to approaching threats than the shy ones—the shy ones bolted faster than the bold ones. This is an important observation because insects are often thought of as just automatons—not so! Some crickets prefer to stay home, and others prefer to get out and socialize, just what you’d expect from a living being, right?

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Cats Love Music!

Just not necessarily your music. “All mammals are born with templates of sound in the brain that govern emotional response,” but they’ll respond more to some pitches and tempos than others—depending on how a particular species perceives and processes sound. So when a scientist-artist team tried to create music tailored to cat aesthetics, they found that the cats responded more to their feline music than human music. This observation has potential for helping us understand how to best enrich the environments of captive animals, as well as how to avoid soundscapes that can actively increase stress levels. It’s good to know that animals are as sensitive to sound and music as we are, and we can certainly do our part and pay attention to what types of sound improve the lives of the animals around us. (Plus, we already know that Nora Plays the Piano and Cows Love Jazz!)

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Crocodiles Play!

Behaviour specialists have found that crocodiles engage in all three main types of play: locomotor play (like using riverbanks as slides, surfing, and riding currents of water in pools), play with objects (like wooden balls, debris, and streams of water), and social play (like riding on each others' backs and playfully courting each other). They play with other animals, too (like river otters), will develop strong bonds with lifelong partners, and, when given the chance, have been known to develop good friendships with people.

"The croc would swim with his human friend, try to startle him by suddenly pretending to attack him or by sneaking up on him from behind," (hey, they're still crocodiles!) and "accept being caressed, hugged, rotated in the water and kissed on the snout." Want more animal stories like this in your inbox? -> Subscribe here! :) www.consciouscreature.com

Chimps Chat About Their Favourite Fruit Trees!

Researchers have identified specific chimp calls that identify their favourite fruit, the size of fruit trees they've found, and their corresponding food patch size. This lets their friends know whether there's enough to make it worthwhile for them to come over and have some - just like pizza night for us.

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