We're not going to discuss "the dress" or the great llama chase of 2015 (where was I yesterday?) ...but there's plenty else to talk about!

False memory in bumblebees

In an experiment that might be called "confuse a bee," bees were trained on two different stimuli that indicated a reward (a yellow flower, or a black and white striped flower). After training, they were given three flowers to choose from: one yellow, one black and white striped, and one YELLOW striped - combining qualities from the test stimuli. Bees chose the flower most recently rewarded.

A few days later, the bees started to chose the yellow striped flower, suggesting their memory was getting fuzzy and they were hedging their bets for a treat! Read more here.

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I wrote about a new study exploring turtle navigation and the importance of early learning for the Berkeley Science Review! Check it out!

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When a squirrel enters your house and eats your fig newtons, what to do?

This article recounts one woman’s experience of a squirrel breaking into her home, turning on the water, eating her fig newtons, and then taking a nap in her bed. Moral of the story: don’t panic, call animal control, then find a way to keep them from coming back in!

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Reading the Wired story on cats and boxes last week I was introduced to the cat's "thermoneutral zone." This is the temperature range at which animals do not expend any additional energy trying to stay warm (or cool off). For cats, this range is believed to be between 86 to 101 degrees Fahrenheit (for comparison, for dogs, the "TNZ" is more like 68 to 95, with much more variability and tolerance for lower temps)! Because most of us wear clothes, the human TNZ ranges between 64 and 72.

"It feels this cold all the time"

"It feels this cold all the time"

I realized how sad so many kitties must be that we domesticated them and took them away from their desert lifestyle. Are our poor cats constantly shivering and miserable? Well, feline happiness may depend on two things: where the kitty lives, and how much the cat's human warms up the environment.

Living in the Bay Area, we have a few issues: poorly insulated housing, bad heating, and a rather low and unchanging range of temperatures. In 2014, monthly average temperatures where I live were (in order, January to December): 52, 54, 59, 59, 63, 63, 67, 67, 67, 64, 57, and 55, with max temps of:  77, 73, 78, 89, 91, 86, 90, 78, 83, 92, 73, and 68. We had a mere EIGHT days in the cats' TNZ - meaning days where the average temperature was 86 or above (thank you Weather Underground!).

 

My cat sleeping on our heating grate. Harlow's monkey anyone?

My cat sleeping on our heating grate. Harlow's monkey anyone?

At times, my own cat has taken to sleeping on our floor heating grate for warmth from the gas pilot (conjuring images of Harlow's monkeys).

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Cats in print

A study examining the role of  cats in New York Times' stories over the year revealed some interesting patterns: cats were mostly hated in the 1800's, and beginning in the 1970's, stories about cats were more focused on welfare issues and treatment of cats. This shift likely reflects the growing interest in human-animal relations, and on-going debates over how we treat all animals. Fascinating!

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Cats + Tech

The MousR is a cat toy being developed to respond to your cats' movements - with "vision" that can detect your cat's reactions. MousR was created by cat-loving PhD students in Engineering at UC Illinois and I'm now wondering if I went into the wrong field! They've almost convinced me to spend $150 on a cat toy! After a successful kickstarter, MousR is set for a fall 2015 release.

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Now, the Meowlingual has me less convinced. For $169, it will apparently read your cat's facial expressions and meows. Given the Bowlingual's less than overwhelming success (Behaviorist Sophia Yin reviewed it on her blog and said: "Overall, my final ruling is that the Bow-lingual is fun to play with for a while if you got it for free, but it’s not very useful since the translations aren’t trustworthy and most don’t make sense." I'm guessing the same is true of Meowlingual. Buyer beware!

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What happens if there aren't enough rabbits for cats?

I recently wrote about a study about cat's individual prey preferences, and one of the authors of that study is a co-author on a new paper looking at the effects of the rabbit population of feral cat predation in Australia. Apparently, cats really love rabbits, but when there aren't enough rabbits, they focus more heavily on other animals, including native birds and rodents. This means thinking twice about rabbit-eradication programs. Read about the study here.

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Why do cats love boxes?

A subject that pops up from time to time, I've even written about it before! People REALLY WANT TO KNOW: why do cats love boxes? It's quite simple really: heat and safety. Wired dug deeper and talked to some cat experts.

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Dead Squirrels

A shockwave was sent through Britain when a man “photo-bombed” a news report, walking past with a dead squirrel.

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Later it was revealed that the squirrel is part of an upcoming comedy program, featuring comedian Kim Noble. I have to admit I’ve never heard of him, perhaps he is hoping the squirrel will give him his lucky break.

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Fish see illusions, just like us

Wahrnehmung_gesetzt_KontextWhich blue circle looks bigger? They're the same size. This illusion is called the "Ebbinghaus illusion" and it turns out, even fish are susceptible to this visual trickery. Some fish were trained to prefer large circles, and some to prefer small circles. Their test choice depended on the appearance of the circle in relation to a group of differently-colored, differently-sized circles.

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A new study looks at visual and olfactory cue preferences in cats

noseWe know that cats have an excellent sense of smell, and good vision for certain things (like prey moving along the horizon). They need this excellent smelling, seeing (and of course sensing with other organs and body parts, like detecting air movement with whiskers, and sensing pheromones with their Jacobsen’s organ) to hunt, find mates, and avoid danger. But do cats have a preferred sense they rely on? And are all cats the same in this preference?

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Killer Cone Snails

Cone snails expose their prey to a massive dose of insulin that sends the fish into a low blood sugar state, making them easier to kill. Are the fish just "hangry"?

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Like us, chimps like to talk about food

A new study found a relationship between the types of chimps calls, and their discovery of delicious fruits. Seems like they might be talking about the quality and quantity of the fruit on a tree.

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Sister fish stick together

Cichlid fish are really cool! Recently, it was discovered that among African Neolamprologus caudopunctatus, the females are the ones who disperse, not males. In groups of fish, DNA analysis revealed that small females tend to hang with their bigger sisters. This kind of sibling-shoaling was not found in males of the same species.

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It's Squirrel Appreciation Day! What could be better than getting caught up on all the latest squirrel news?

Imaginary squirrels can be helpful or harmful

housefireA man heard a sound at night that he dismissed as the pitter-patter of tiny squirrel feet. He went back to sleep and woke up when the sound was much louder and he realized that in fact his house was on fire. Luckily, he was not injured, although the home was a goner.

In Omaha, Nebraska, an intoxicated man who was causing a disturbance told police he was on the run from a “pink squirrel with sharp teeth.” He was later taken in for psychiatric evaluation.

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Squirrels are gonna shut you down

Squirrel-related power outages recently happened in Redding, CA, Charleston, RI, Tampa, FL (again!), Forest Park in Cincinatti, OH (leading the local high school to be dismissed early), Santa Clarita Valley, CA, and Kansas City, MO.

“Chicken of the tree”

Eating squirrel is gaining popularity, it’s not just for J-Law and rednecks any more. The lean meat is supposedly gamey but tasty. I’m a veg, so I won’t be trying it out. You can even buy it on-line.

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Grey squirrel invasion

The grey squirrel controversy continues, with the UK about to spend millions of tax payer’s money to kill grey squirrels in order to protect the endangered red squirrel. Some of that money will also go toward squirrel birth control. Some people are unhappy (at least about the cull, I’m not sure if the Catholics will opposed birth control for squirrels).

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Meanwhile Europeans fear a grey squirrel invasion of their own, with the French and Swiss up in arms about Italian grey squirrels hitting their turf (note, they are actually American squirrels who were brought to Italy many years ago).

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Squirrel sports

No we’re not talking about a sports event interrupted by squirrels, we’re talking about a competition designed FOR squirrels. This awesome British dude created an assault course in his back yard, the Squirrel Grand Nutional. It’s almost as good as the feral cat fish-lifting competition.

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kittyweight

Photo Ops

Holiday Stocking

stockingA little post-holiday joy, as if you haven’t had enough of santa, a cute squirrel playing with a stocking.

New meaning of “robo-squirrel”

roboNo, not the Republican-labeled "government pork" study - squirrels will eat from a giant horsehead mask, a squirrel head mask, so why not a robot mask?

Mom with babies

Watch a mama squirrel move her babies, then take a well-deserved nap.

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A squirrel makes a snowball

Or this photo was completely a set up

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Have you ever been peed on by a squirrel?

Twiggy the famous squirrel apparently loves waterskiing and water sports.

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Have you ever seen a squirrel tongue?

It’s a bit strange.

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“Shocking” incident

The Irish News reported that this park squirrel “shocked” children by climbing all over them looking for food. I guess nothing shocks me much anymore. At least not when it comes to hungry squirrels.

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Look up! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…squirrel nest!

If you take a moment to look up, you will likely see a drey (a squirrel nest) or two dotting the trees.

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Predator vs Prey

Bobcat carries dead squirrel around

bobcatKitty’s gotta eat

Flipping out

Watch these ground squirrels practice their evasive leap maneuver to avoid a simulated snake. These squirrels are known for throwing rocks at snakes, and perhaps even taunting them with their tail flagging.

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Who is predator and who is prey?

Eagles chase this squirrel out of their nest – squirrels are known for making snacks of birds’ eggs.

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Squirrel fashion

I’ve previously written about squirrel sweaters. Dita Von Teese (who is she again?) made a splash recently with this squirrel-skirt.

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Belding’s Ground Squirrels – in decline – and eating each other?

cannibalNote that this click-bait title is misleading, there is nothing about squirrels eating each other in this article. It does talk about the impact of climate change on this little rodent friend, and the impact of the BGS on the local crops.

 

 

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