Leave it to two of my science-blogging faves, DogSpies and BuzzHootRoar to bring us the top reasons that dogs hump, complete with animated GIFs. We can all just go home now, science journalism is done.
Guide dogs may be good at their jobs, but maybe they don't exactly know why they are doing them? Dogs are very sensitive to human gaze, and will look at their owners to help them solve a problem, or when they want food. Turns out that guide dogs for the blind still look to their human's eyes when they want a snack.
I love the idea of public contributions to scientific data collection! Recent publications that utilized citizen science include observations of gulls, foxes, geese, lady beetles and beach garbage. Read more about it here!
Turns out that plants are sensitive to noise - but not all noises are treated equally. They are particularly sensitive to the chomping sounds of caterpillars.
DogSpies, one of my favorite blogs, had a busy week! Finding a roaming, unneutered cat, reporting back on the canine science conference and updating us on recent dog-related readings!