Critter Geek

via Lloyd’s Blog

As reported by the BBC, Baby chicks do basic arithmetic:
Scientists from the universities of Padova and Trento demonstrated chicks’ ability to add and subtract objects as they were moved behind two screens.
Lucia Regolin, an author of the study said the animals “performed basic arithmetic” to work out which screen concealed the larger group of objects.
The [...]

I grew up in a culture where where animals were simply put on earth to be used by people. To perpetuate this myth, corollaries like “animals don’t have feelings or emotions” were also espoused. If an animal “played”, it was simply a process of a young animal learning survival skills, or an older [...]

NPR’s Fresh Air program yesterday featured an interview with author, David Wilcove, about his book No Way Home: The Decline of the World’s Great Animal Migrations
He told interesting stories about migrating animals including salmon, whales, and Tiger Salamanders. I especially liked hearing about California Gray Whales, one of conservations great success stories, and how [...]

You know I’m a fan of clicker training. I notice a big difference when trying to train my dog with the clicker and without. With the clicker, she is more precise and attentive. It’s really interesting behavior.
But sometimes days pass by and I realize I haven’t worked with her as much as [...]

Some interesting animal stories were in the news this week; I just wish more of them were good news.

Study Sees ‘Global Collapse’ of Fish Species – this well-respected report has disturbing news. The study looked at data from 1950 through 2003…almost a third of the species are down to ten percent of previous levels. [...]

Have you heard about “clicker training”?
Clicker training is a fascinating method of training based on positive reinforcement. The difference is the clicker…a little device that makes a sound to mark the correct behavior. First you “charge” the clicker, which teaches the animal that the click means they get a treat. Then you [...]