All posts tagged with animal behavior

(Natural News) You have probably seen a troop of ants hauling chunks of food many times their size and weight back to their home colony. A new mathematical model developed by Israeli researchers can predict the actions the insects will adopt when they run into an obstruction while transporting that food, an article in Science […]

(Natural News) The younger the red colobus monkey, the more likely a chimpanzee is to bite onto its head first. But rather than being an act of mere savagery, researchers believe that this horrific eating habit has a purpose. Namely, it gives them easy access to tender, delicious, and nutrient-packed brains. This was the conclusion […]

(Natural News) Dog owners have long believed that their dogs can perfectly understand them. Animal behaviorists have backed them up on this belief, to the point that a new study suggests we should adopt “dog-directed speech” to make sure our dogs understand us, according to an article on The Conversation. Researchers have taken note of […]

(Natural News) Swedish researchers have found that European migratory songbirds leave their warm but disease-laden homes in the tropics to raise their vulnerable young in the healthier environs of Europe. This way, according to an article on ScienceDaily, their species could make do with less robust but also less costly immune systems. The University of Lund researchers came across […]

(Natural News) Ever wondered why your usually calm dog suddenly becomes nervous whenever he hears loud or sudden noises? The poor pet may be in pain. That’s what new research from the University of Lincoln found out. Animal behavioral scientists from the U.K. and Brazil studied dogs who were extra sensitive to loudness, different pitches, or […]

(Natural News) Elephants aren’t known for eating burned wood then breathing out smoke. Yet that’s exactly what conservation scientists at India’s Nagarahole National Park came across while checking out hidden camera traps. In the 57-second video, a female Asian elephant can be seen scooping up chunks of ashen wood with her trunk and stuffing them […]

(Natural News) According to a study, dogs can create mental representations of objects that they observe using their sense of smell. The findings also showed that dogs might be surprised if what awaits at the end of the trail isn’t what they were expecting to find. It is a known fact that dogs have a keen sense of […]

(Natural News) The great 17th century French tragedian Peter Corneille once said that elephants are like people, only more so. Well, a new Finnish study proved that Asian elephants developed personalities and social needs in much the same way that humans do, reported a ScienceDaily article. The study was conducted by researchers from  the University of Turku in Finland. They […]

(Natural News) Leash aggression is a common behavioral problem where dogs tend to become more aggressive when leashed. The absence of proper training and lack of socialization are typically pegged as the primary causes of leash aggression, though a new study has uncovered another possible cause for it: hormones. Specifically, the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, […]

(Natural News) A new study published in the journal Behavioural Processes recently demonstrated a dog’s acute sense of smell was enough to make the animal recognize itself. As part of the study, a team of researchers at the Barnard College in New York City examined 36 domestic dogs accompanied by their owners. The dogs were presented three urine samples: one […]