animal behavior

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Crows May Hold Grudges for Life
Crows Hold Grudges
for 17 Years
Oct 29, 2024 11:43 AM CDT

Crows Hold Grudges for 17 Years

Experiment finds one finally ended, but only after most of the birds were dead

(Newser) - Seattle resident Gene Carter spotted a murder of crows encroaching on a robin's nest one day, so he grabbed a rake and swung it at the black birds. For almost a year afterward, the crows would shriek at Carter through his house windows and "dive-bomb" him when he...

This Falcon May Nab Kills 10K Feet Up
This Falcon May Make
Kills 10K Feet Up
NEW STUDY
Oct 25, 2024 8:32 AM CDT

This Falcon May Make Kills 10K Feet Up

Peregrine falcon suspected to have taken out GPS-tracked grey plover at 9,455 feet

(Newser) - Peregrine falcons are incredible hunters, known to ambush prey at speed or drop down on them from above. In direct pursuit, the raptor can reach speeds of up to 69mph. In a hunting stoop or dive, it can reach speeds up to 200mph. It can also, apparently, hunt at 10,...

In This Hunting Party, Octopus Acts as Punching Enforcer

Animals shown to hunt prey with fish, who do the searching for them

(Newser) - The octopus is viewed as a solitary, if not antisocial, creature, known to keep a distance from its own brethren, but new research suggests at least one species has quite the social life. Researchers recorded 120 hours of footage of 13 big blue octopuses roaming a Red Sea reef off...

This Slippery Eel Can Escape Predator's Stomach in a Minute
This Eel Can Pull Off
an 'Astonishing' Houdini
NEW STUDY
Sep 10, 2024 1:28 PM CDT

This Eel Can Pull Off an 'Astonishing' Houdini

Japanese eels can escape from a predator's stomach in less than a minute, researchers say

(Newser) - That eels are slippery is no surprise, but that they can literally slip out of a predator's stomach is "truly astonishing," according to researchers, who've recorded footage of the first-of-its-kind behavior, allowing for escape in less than a minute. "It sounds like the plot of...

We Aren't the Only Species to Save Lives With Amputations
It Turns Out
That Ants Can
Amputate, Too
NEW STUDY
Jul 5, 2024 8:56 AM CDT

It Turns Out That Ants Can Amputate, Too

Medic Carpenter ants do the same thing as humans, researchers say

(Newser) - Just like humans, ants benefit from living in a group. Studies have shown some ants carry wounded colony members back from battle and lick their wounds, for a 90% survival rate . Now, new research indicates carpenter ants go a step further, carrying out life-saving amputations on their wounded brethren. It'...

Chimp Has Been Carrying Dead Infant for 3 Months

Possible mourning ritual observed at Spain's Bioparc Valencia

(Newser) - A chimpanzee born at a zoo in Valencia, Spain, survived only two weeks before dying in February. Three months later, the infant's decomposing body remains in its enclosure at Bioparc Valencia with no current plan to remove it, despite the alarm caused to visitors. That's because the infant'...

Ability to Joke Isn't Exclusive to Humans
Humans Aren't the Only
Jokers on the Planet
NEW STUDY
Feb 15, 2024 8:46 AM CST

Humans Aren't the Only Jokers on the Planet

Teasing apes suggest 'cognitive prerequisites for joking' evolved at least 13M years ago

(Newser) - You would think poking or slapping a great ape would be ill-advised. But the young chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans who tease their adult counterparts are rarely met with aggression. That's because, according to a new study, even great apes know when a joke is a joke. Researchers analyzed...

Faced With Unwanted Mating, Female Frogs Fake Death
Faced With Unwanted Mating,
Female Frogs Fake Death
NEW STUDY
Oct 13, 2023 10:37 AM CDT

Faced With Unwanted Mating, Female Frogs Fake Death

'Surprising' behavior thought to help females escape from potentially deadly 'mating balls'

(Newser) - European common frogs often mate in what's called a "mating ball." In an attempt to reproduce, males seek out and cling to outnumbered females, even those already singled out by other males, in a potentially deadly struggle. As Science reports, females risk injury or drowning if unable...

Endangered Orcas May Have Learned to Target Boats

Is it for fun? Or is it 'based on trauma'?

(Newser) - Scientists say a small group of killer whales could be putting humans and themselves in danger by repeatedly ramming, and occasionally sinking, sailboats. Orcas interacting with boats is nothing new. But scientists say there is something different about the behavior of this group of about 15 orcas off the coast...

One Way Animals Keep Cool: Splooting
One Way Animals
Keep Cool: Splooting
Aug 12, 2022 11:53 AM CDT

One Way Animals Keep Cool: Splooting

Twitter learns the DoggoLingo term for heat dumping

(Newser) - Dogs sploot . Cats sploot . Bears sploot . Squirrels sploot . And on a hot day, you might just catch one in the act, as New Yorkers learned this week. "If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don't worry; it's just fine," NYC Parks tweeted Tuesday alongside...

Scientists Observe a Grisly First Among Orcas
Never-Before-Seen
Behavior in Orcas
Surprises Scientists
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 25, 2018 8:01 PM CDT

Never-Before-Seen Behavior in Orcas Surprises Scientists

Researchers see the first known case of infanticide among killer whales

(Newser) - Scientists have observed a behavior never before seen in killer whales, and it makes for a grim discovery. Following strange calls from orcas off the northeastern coast of British Columbia's Vancouver Island in December, researchers observed the first known case of infanticide among the whales. After tracking down the...

Scientists Document Monkeys Trying to Have Sex With Deer

Behavior was documented in Minoo, Japan

(Newser) - It was a "single anecdotal event" that surprised scientists and the internet: A male snow monkey was documented trying to have sexual relations with a sika deer in Japan. It turns out it wasn't so singular. A study published Dec. 11 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior establishes...

After the Battle, Army Ants Leave No Soldier Behind

Many ants injured in battle are saved by being carried back to the colony

(Newser) - A new study provides the first evidence that ants rescue members of their own colony post-battle even when those ants aren't in imminent danger, reports the Guardian . The observation came about when biologist Erik Frank was watching army ants march out to battle termites in highly patterned formation—"...

Dogs May Like Praise as Much as Their Treats
Dogs May Like Praise
as Much as Their Treats
STUDY SAYS
Aug 21, 2016 12:47 PM CDT

Dogs May Like Praise as Much as Their Treats

A small study finds that a pat on the head can go a long way

(Newser) - Scientists who've trained the first group of dogs to sit still in MRI machines so that their brain activity can be measured say they've made a striking discovery: Dogs may like to get attention as much as if not more than they like to get treats. Reporting in...

Chimps Are Inexplicably Hurling Rocks at Trees

There are theories, of course—including that it might be part of a 'sacred' ritual

(Newser) - Chimpanzees in West Africa are throwing rocks at trees, and why they're doing it remains a mystery, Discovery reports. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology say this chimp behavior has never before been documented and that it may shed some light on the species' cultural customs—...

Octopus Love Involves Strangulation, Cannibalism

Scientists observe one killing, eating her partner

(Newser) - Some guys fall asleep after a little love-making. But if you’re a male octopus, that nap can be more like eternal rest. Two scientists have detailed how carnal relations between a lady octopus and her lover can prove fatal for the male, especially if he’s not that well-endowed,...

World's Fastest Animal Is Very, Very Small

When speed is measured in body lengths per second, that is

(Newser) - Watch your back, Usain Bolt: A California physics major has found that a tiny mite is (sort of) the fastest land animal on Earth, keeping a pace equivalent to that of a human running 1,300 miles per hour, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Why "sort of"? As...

Experts: Dogs Feel No Shame
 Experts: Dogs Feel No Shame 
Feb 27, 2014 3:14 AM CST

Experts: Dogs Feel No Shame

'Guilty dog look' is reaction to anger

(Newser) - Every dog owner knows the "guilty dog" look that has made sites like Dogshaming.com a hit, but animal behavior experts say the pooches don't really feel ashamed at all, the AP finds. Researchers have found that the droopy-eyed, cowering look dogs give angry owners is a reaction...

Your Dog Can Catch Yawns— From You

Study: Man's best friend is more likely to yawn after an owner than a stranger

(Newser) - If you're showing signs of sleepiness, your pooch might do the same. It's already been suggested that yawning is contagious between dogs and humans, but researchers in Japan have taken things further: They've found that your dog is more likely to "catch" your yawn than a...

Apes Suffer Midlife Misery, Too
 Another 
 Midlife-Crisis 
 Victim: Apes 
STUDY SAYS
Nov 20, 2012 3:21 AM CST

Another Midlife-Crisis Victim: Apes

Slump in happiness mirrors that in humans

(Newser) - While you won't find them buying sports cars or having affairs with their biographers, apes are just as susceptible to midlife crises as their human counterparts, a new study claims. Researchers questioned the keepers of hundreds of captive orangutans and chimpanzees and found that just like with humans, the...

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