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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: animal behavior

animal behavior stories: 20 news summaries
SEEDY CRUSTACEANS

 Hooker Crabs 
 Swap Sex for Safety 

Male crabs rewarded with sex for defending neighbors

Nov 4, 09 4:17 AM CST
(Newser) - Selling sex is the key to survival in the seedy world of fiddler crabs, according to Australian researchers. Scientists studying the burrow-dwelling, highly territorial creatures found that male fiddler crabs fought off intruders to protect female neighbors—who lack the male's huge claw—far more often than they would aid... More »

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prostitution • Australia • animal behavior • crab • mating

 Some Male, Mom 
 Baboons 'Just Friends' 

Primatologists baffled by sexless simian friendships

Jun 17, 09 5:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are trying to figure out why many male baboons enter into platonic friendships with single moms, the BBC reports. Researchers probing relationships within baboon tribes found that the friendships, which did not appear to involve sex in about half the instances, helped mother and offspring dodge the unwanted attentions... More »

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wildlife • monkey • animal behavior • primates • animal • baboon

They Don't
Call Him Fido
for Nothing

Dogs are ethical, full
of natural goodness, scientist says

May 16, 09 5:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Science is finally catching up to what dog owners have known all along: Canines are ethical. After thousands of hours studying dogs—once dismissed as "furry automatons," an author said—animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff concluded that they possess the capacity for empathy and compassion, the hallmarks of morality.... More »

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animal behavior • human • canine behavior • empathy • Harvard • emotion • dog • human nature • canines • morality

 Chimp 'Prostitutes' 
 Trade Sex for Meat 

Male chimps who shared hunt spoils had twice as many partners

Apr 8, 09 8:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Male chimps who get lucky hunting are a lot likelier to get lucky with female chimps if they share the spoils, a new study finds. Researchers tracked a band of chimps in the wild and found that while all were promiscuous, male hunters who shared meat—generally a rare treat... More »

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prostitution • chimpanzees • animal behavior • primates

Mating Calls Bare More
Than Desire

Courtship 'song' of desert creatures
conveys complex info

Jan 18, 09 4:52 AM CST
(Newser) - Like human songs, animal calls are said to spur courtship, but what exactly does each wail and snort signify? To find out, a pair of Tel Aviv zoologists studied the mating songs of furry little rock hyraxes in the Judean desert. The researchers found that male hyrax courtship "songs"... More »

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animal behavior • song • courtship • mating rituals • zoologists • mating • hyrax

 Berlin Divided Over Wild Boars 

Some locals call for extermination, shocking others

Dec 16, 08 9:54 AM CST
(Newser) - Berliners are sharing their city with thousands of wild boars—and citizens are split on how to treat the porkers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some prefer a more aggressive approach: Don’t feed them corn, says one licensed urban boar hunter, “feed them lead." But others are... More »

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Germany • Berlin • animal behavior • hunting • boar

  Mating Antelope 
 Show Off Knees. 
 Seriously. 

Sound communicates animal's strength, prevents conflict

Nov 4, 08 1:58 PM CST
(Newser) - Doesn't sound all that sexy, but Africa’s male eland antelope has developed his own way of demonstrating its sexual prowess and warding off rivals. Males click their knees to establish mating rights and avoid brawls: the louder the click, the larger the animal, and the more likely he is... More »

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Africa • Kenya • sex • animal behavior • antelope • mating

Beer-Loving
Mare Banned
From UK Bar

Pub owner gets new carpet, puts end to horsin' around

Sep 30, 08 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - A beer-swigging mare has been kicked to the curb following renovations at her favorite British watering hole, reports the Evening Chronicle. Peggy, a regular at the establishment since following her owner into the pub years ago, has been told to keep her hooves off the new carpeting. “Although... More »

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weird • England • horse • animal behavior • bars • John Smiths bitter

In Love With
the Pet-Sitter?
You Dog!

Companion animals loyal to their humans, except when they're not

Sep 27, 08 8:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - It can lead to tearful separations, but cheating is natural—for quadrupeds, that is. It really is them, not you, a veterinarian tells MSNBC. Pets may gravitate toward a new owner for any number of reasons. “Hallie was my dog, but I always sensed her unhappiness at having to... More »

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pets • training • animal behavior • dog • cat

(Newser) - Sixty baby turtles took Rome restaurant-goers by surprise when they showed up under a table, Reuters reports. The newly hatched creatures normally instinctively head toward the sea from their beach birthplace, but “they saw the artificial lights and took the wrong route,” said a wildlife conservator. “The... More »

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Italy • Rome • restaurant • animal behavior • turtle • sea turtle

 Dog Adopts Zoo's Tiger Cubs

Golden retriever cleans and feeds rare white cubs abandoned by mom

Jul 31, 08 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - A golden retriever has adopted three white tiger cubs abandoned by their mother at a southeast Kansas zoo, the AP reports. The Safari Zoological Park's owner says the dog, who recently weaned her own puppies, licks, cleans, and feeds the days-old cubs as if they were her own. More »

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adoption • weird • zoo • animal behavior • tiger • dog

Tiny Shrew Drinks More Than You

Mouse-like mammal downs equivalent of 9 glasses of wine nightly

Jul 30, 08 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Malaysian pentailed shrew drinks enough booze, weight for weight, to kill a human with a similar habit—prompting scientists to study the creature for clues to our own alcoholic thirst. Pentails, which share a common ancestor with primates, knock back the equivalent of nine glasses of wine every night... More »

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animal behavior • scientific research • alcohol consumption • shrew

 Study: Cuddles Calm
 Chimps After Conflict 

Researchers find evidence of empathy in man's closest relative

Jun 17, 08 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Chimpanzees console each other with hugs and kisses after a conflict much like humans do, researchers have discovered. After a chimp has been the victim of aggression, its stress levels are greatly reduced when it's embraced by another. The findings reveal a level of empathy in man's closest relative that... More »

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chimpanzees • animal behavior • animal

 German Boars
 Run Wild 

Savage beasts go shopping, try gardening, attend church

Mar 17, 08 4:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wild boars wreaked havoc in a German town this weekend, attempting to shop for hardware, go to church, and do some gardening, Der Spiegel reports. One of the beasts, acting like "an elephant in a porcelain store," was eventually cornered at the checkout of the home-improvement center, police... More »

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Germany • police • animal behavior • animal • property damage • shootout • North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany • boar

Cheating, Corruption Rampant in Ant Society

Secret elite exploits workers with its DNA

Mar 13, 08 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - A power-mad elite is secretly rigging the system so their offspring rise to power, LiveScience reports. That’s the situation a team of researchers has discovered in ant society—not exactly the epitome of community collaboration once thought. Until now, it appeared that any properly-fed larvae could hatch into a... More »

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evolution • DNA • ants • nature • animal behavior • larvae • nature vs. nurture • queen ants

Wild Boars Run Amok in France

One scatters shoppers, while another ties up trains

Dec 24, 07 11:31 AM CST
(Newser) - Shoppers weren't the only thing going hog-wild over the weekend, reports the Independent. One wild boar rampaged amid last-minute gift-buyers in a clothing store in France, while another stepped in front of a high-speed train, delaying trains for hours.  More »

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train • animal behavior • holiday shopping • Poitiers, France • travel delays • animal • boar

Boorish Boars Overrun Texas

Feral swine win out in war against humans

Nov 19, 07 2:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Everything's bigger in Texas, and the pig population is no exception. They aren't cute porkers, either—wild boars wreck crops and cause some $52 million in annual damages in the state. For some, that means an opportunity for heavy-duty huntin', but the solo efforts aren't enough to slow a wave... More »

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agriculture • Texas • animal behavior • hunting • wild hog • animal • boar

Fido Knows What You're Thinking

Dogs can read humans like no other animal, researchers say

Sep 8, 07 4:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Man's best friend, traditionally viewed by scientists as the drooling, complacent descendant of the noble wolf, are being given a fresh look by behavioral researchers who say their reasoning and ability to read human communication is unprecedented among four-leggers. Studies have suggested that dogs come out of the womb with... More »

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pets • animal behavior • canine behavior • dog • animal

'Male' Panda Gives Birth to Twins

Jinzhu turns out to be a 'normal girl' after all

Aug 9, 07 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - A giant panda once thought to be male gave birth to twin cubs this week in China. Jinzhu was believed to be male at birth, but the panda showed zero sexual interest after being shipped to Japan in 2000 to breed with a female. When scientists attempted artificial insemination, they... More »

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endangered species • reproduction • zoo • birth • animal behavior • panda • hermaphrodite • Jinzhu • baseball • animal

Rats! Humans, Rodents Have Lots in Common

Much-maligned animals laugh, dream, look forward to sex

Jul 24, 07 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rats may be repulsive to some, but scientists are finding that they're a lot like humans. A recent crop of behavioral studies shows that rats are astonishingly self-aware, Natalie Angier reports in today's Times. They laugh when tickled and dream in epic narratives. There are even rat optimists and rat... More »

MORE ABOUT:
rats • lab rat • human behavior • animal behavior • animal testing

20 Stories


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