The wonderful world of animals

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Parrot speech is commonly regarded as the brainless squawking of a feathered voice recorder. But studies over the past 30 years continually show that parrots engage in much more than mere mimicry. Parrots are capable of logical leaps and can solve certain linguistic processing tasks as deftly as 4-6 year-old children. Parrots appear to grasp concepts like "same" and "different," "bigger" and "smaller", "none" and numbers. They understand zero Perhaps most interestingly, they can combine labels and phrases in novel ways. A January 2007 study in Language Sciences suggests using patterns of parrot speech learning to develop artificial speech skills in robots.

 

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The greater kudu is one of the tallest antelope species and lives across multiple southern African countries, including Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Male kudu have the longest horns in the antelope family, reaching up to 180 centimeters in length (71 inches). Their horns spiral outwards in a ‘V’ shape. Greater kudu are listed as least concern and have a stable population of 300,000 to 350,000 mature individuals. They are heavily hunted in some areas, but population growth is healthy enough

 

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The horror frog, also known as the hairy frog, has a shocking defense mechanism—it breaks its own bones to produce sharp claws that pierce through its skin. These temporary claws help it fight off predators and disappear when they are no longer needed.

This painful-sounding adaptation is unique in the animal kingdom. While other creatures use venom, camouflage, or armor, the horror frog sacrifices its own comfort for survival.

 

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He's adorable in his little beekeeper outfit.

 

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'It seems that size really does matter': Males of 4 never-before-seen tarantula species have record-long genitalia

The males of four newfound tarantula species have extremely long genitalia so that they can keep their distance from aggressive females during mating, researchers say.

www.livescience.com

 

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Why animals are a critical part of forest carbon absorption

Following deforestation, tropical forests with healthy populations of seed-dispersing animals can absorb up to four times more carbon than similar forests with fewer seed-dispersing animals, according to an MIT study.

news.mit.edu

 

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Dolphins have protective instincts too! © Alberto Carrera I Getty


The playful nature of dolphins is well documented. But what about their protective instincts? In 2004, Rob Howes went swimming with his daughter and two of her friends, off the coast of North Island, New Zealand. There, they found themselves encircled by four bottlenose dolphins who repeatedly slapped their tails on the surface to prevent any of the group swimming away.

When Rob tried to move out of the cluster, he was herded back by two of the bigger dolphins, just before he spotted a three-metre-long great white shark heading straight for him. The dolphins maintained their defensive circle for 40 minutes until the shark finally left, allowing the group to swim 100 metres back to shore. Dolphins adopt this tactic to protect their young against shark attacks, and for some reason decided to extend their protection to include this group of humans.

 

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Ew.

 

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Joyous ocean play could be key to species' survival, researchers say

Researchers say joyful interactions between whales and dolphins, including one case where a whale slowly lifted a dolphin out of the water, could be key to their survival.

www.abc.net.au

 

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