Investigating the mental capacities of animals.
Depending on the characteristics of the environment it lives in, an animal species may develop a wide range of physical adaptations to help it survive there. But mental adaptations can occur as well, sometimes sparking the […]
When you have dogs, it’s easy to see that human faces are important to … Read more
Do you know the feeling when you’ve been struggling with something for ages and … Read more
Predatory birds have been making the headlines lately with hunting tactics that seem downright villainous – and eerily human. Raptors have been spotted playing mind games with their prey, imprisoning them, and even setting fires to drive their prey out from cover. […]
People who keep animals as pets will often talk about their pet’s personality – identifiable traits that appear to be displayed in a consistent manner across contexts and time. Although it was once considered anthropomorphic to talk about nonhuman animals as having a ‘personality’, today, studies dispute this view, with many researchers […]
Many dog owners can attest that their dogs appear to be “in tune” with their … Read more
Melissa Amarello is one of the founders of Advocates for Snake Preservation, an organization committed to improving human tolerance of snakes and our peaceful coexistence with them. She studies their unique behaviors and mysterious social lives. Q: Your research focuses on the social behaviors of snakes. Few […]
Fashioning spears and wielding them to hunt – these sound like typical activities of our human ancestors. But the surprising fact is that not only are tool-use and tool-building carried out by other animal species, they’re done in the context of hunting as well. Chimpanzees in the Fongoli savanna of Senegal have been observed
Claudia Wascher is a behavioral biologist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Valladolid, … Read more
Research has revealed that lizards are surprisingly adept at solving novel problems, and in some tests, perform better than other animal species that are thought to be more cognitively advanced. The study was done at Duke University by biologists Manuel S. Leal and Brian J. Powell. After seeing an experiment […]
As the go-to animal for biological and behavioral research, rats have long been the … Read more
Since time immemorial, humans have amused themselves through intoxication. Whether it was our cavemen ancestors chewing on hallucinogenic plants, medieval villagers unwinding with a cup of mead, or the hippies of the 60’s indulging in psychedelics, it’s safe to say that drug use is one of our oldest pastimes. However, humans […]
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