Rats exploring a new environment do better with a buddy. Scientists measured rats second exploration of a novel space either alone or with another rat. Rats who had a buddy on that second trial were more exploratory, and the effect lasted through a third solo trial. Read more!
Bees sleep more after hanging out with bees than they do after spending time alone - five hours more! It could be the flood of information they have to process after encounter so many of their colony members - the extra sleep may help with learning and memory. Read more here!
Feeding corticosterone (a stress hormone) to zebra finches had the opposite effect of what scientists expected - it made the birds MORE social, but those "friendships" were more fleeting than those exhibited by control birds, who spent more time with family and closer friends. Read more about the recently published study here.
Too lazy to carve a Halloween pumpkin this year? Let a squirrel do it for you!
Just make sure they don't get their head stuck in it.
What is the deal with emotional support animals? For the record, they are not the same thing as a service animal - but there's a lot of confusion about what is allowed and what isn't - and it's easy to fake a letter. Patricia Marx goes undercover and explores what happens when you bring a "therapy turtle" to a museum. Read here!
(That's a line from Creepshow 2, in case you don't remember)
Scientists using camera traps with motion sensors weren't surprised to find a variety of animals among the nighttime photos in a South African park. But they were a little surprised to find a tiny mongoose relative, called a genet, using both rhinos and buffalos as a means of transport. The same genet was seen riding on the backs of several animals, in the same evening. Lazy or innovative? Or both?
