It’s surprising how many animals can act weirdly human. From territorial chimps to extroverted orcas, Live Science points us to 32 such animals that demonstrate humanlike behavior. https://flip.it/WyuSD1 #Science#Animals#Humans
More than five million people are bitten by snakes every year, resulting in thousands of deaths and permanent disabilities. Those chilling statistics didn’t stop one PhD student, João Miguel Alves-Nunes, from stepping on deadly and dangerous vipers more than 40,000 times. Alven-Nunes tells Science about putting himself in danger for a scientific experiment, what happened when one snake’s fangs broke through his protective boot, and why even that harrowing experience won’t diminish his love for "working with these animals." https://flip.it/zRaVCF#Science#Animals#Snakes#Health
Looking like a feather-duster on stilts, the Buff-crested Bustard is endemic to East Africa and most common in Ethiopia. It is more often heard than seen though, with its powerful short whistles that sound like a car alarm going off. Considered solitary, it can sometimes also be found in pairs or small family groups. It is an opportunistic hunter that feeds on plants, insects, and small rodents. Though normally reluctant to fly, during mating season, males engage in elaborate aerial displays to impress females; they fly up high, stall, and drop with folded wings, opening them just before they would smash their faces on the ground.
A pair of white rhinos nudge their heads gently together at a watering hole in Solio Game Reserve, Kenya. “It’s a photo that depicts love and care to me, showcasing a beautiful bond between the two rhinos,” said the photographer
Brown bear cubs climb a pine tree in Martinselkonen Nature Reserve, Finland. The four-month-old siblings climbed the tree to avoid another bigger bear and stayed there for several hours. They came down only once they heard their mother’s call
And baby makes tree... owl monkeys peep out of a hollow tree on the Marańón River near Nauta, Peru. The nocturnal monkeys make their homes in trees to be shaded from the sun and have a clear view of any predators prowling below
Photograph: James Cai/Solent News & Photo Agency/Solent News
Small but mighty, plankton are some of the most powerful creatures on Earth.
For @TheConversationUS, a marine conservationist writes: "Plankton are critical to marine ecosystems and to humans, but often glide under the radar of our interest."
If you get intimidated by the dirty pigeons in your local park or town center, you may only have yourself — or at least, your ancestors — to blame. Snopes looks at the urban legend that humans originally domesticated pigeons to be companions and no pigeons cannot survive without humans, and finds it mostly true.
Video chat apps like Facebook Messenger have often been a favored option for people who want to stay connected to friends and family. Could the same be said of parrots? Popular Science tells us what happened when scientists taught some parrots to video chat. https://flip.it/QqyEWw #Science#Pets#Animals#Tech
Did you know that "in as many as one in five amphibian species, one or both parents stick around to care for their offspring, using a staggering variety of strategies?"
This Texas veterinarian helped crack the mystery of bird flu in cows.
AP reports: "The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats — half of them on one farm — had died suddenly."