Animalix - Magazine

When you play a game of fetch with your dog, they're picking up on a human social cue to retrieve the ball. Now, researchers have observed the same behavior in wolf puppies, meaning they also have the ability to understand human communication cues, according to a new study. A dog's ability to play fetch and other activities with humans is a learned behavior that likely occurred over time after humans domesticated dogs from gray wolves 15,000 years ago. Researchers believe dogs only began to interpret cues from humans after domestication happened. Modern dogs differ greatly from wolves not only physically and genetically, but behaviorally as well. Researchers decided to test 13 wolf puppies born in three different litters. Their goal was to determine if wolf puppies exhibit the same behaviors as domesticated puppies, which would help them pinpoint the origin of the behaviors. Their study published Thursday in  iScience , a Cell Press journal. Spontaneously, th...

Malindi the rare black rhino delivered a healthy baby rhino after a 15-month long pregnancy. There are only about 650 black rhinos left in the wild as their numbers have been decimated by poachers who are after their horn. The birth was unusual because rhinos usually give birth in the night, however, on this occasion Malindi gave visitors to the animal park a front row seat to one of the rarest occurrences in nature. The male rhino calf was delivered in about half an hour. Both mum and calf are fit and healthy. Within about 15 minutes after being born the wee rhino was up and walking around the enclosure and feeding on milk from his 12-year-old mother. Tim Rowlands, who is Chester Zoo's curator of mammals, said: "Visitors to the zoo were treated to something incredibly special when Eastern black rhino, Malindi, went in to labour in front of them. "With just 650 Eastern black rhino left in the wild, seeing the birth of a new calf and it's very first steps is a ve...

Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents. Rattlesnakes receive their name from the rattle located at the end of their tails, which makes a loud rattling noise when vibrated that deters predators or serves as a warning to passers-by. However, rattlesnakes fall prey to hawks, weasels, king snakes, and a variety of other species. Rattlesnakes are heavily preyed upon as neonates, while they are still weak and immature. Large numbers of rattlesnakes are killed by humans. Rattlesnake populations in many areas are severely threatened by habitat destruction, poaching, and extermination campaigns. Rattlesnakes are the leading contributor to snakebite injuries in North America. However, rattlesnakes rarely bite unless provoked or threatened; if treated promptly, the bites are seldom fatal. Like all pit vipers, rattlesnakes have two organs that can sense radiation: their eyes, and a set of heat-sensing "pits" on...

People are duking it out over custody of the family companion animal in divorce proceedings. People are suing for damages when a companion animal is injured or killed. People are demanding consideration of companion animals during disaster response. I guess that means laws giving rights to, at the very least, dogs and cats should be right around the corner, right? Not so fast, pardner. There are plenty of adversaries to face down before you ride into that town. Like who? Well, the American Veterinary Medical Association, for one. To be sure, they WANT you to consider your pet a beloved family member. But they don’t want you suing the crap out of them when you believe a member of their ranks provides substandard care. They do have a valid point. If dogs and cats had rights, the cost of veterinary care would go through the roof. Think your vet bills are high now? What would they be if the cost of malpractice insurance was tacked onto the cost? And that thing I’m doing now with us...

Jackals are a type of canine, animals that are related to dogs, coyotes, foxes and wolves. They look like a cross between a German shepherd and a fox. They have the fox's small face, delicate legs and fluffy tail, with the German shepherd's long, alert ears. Size and description There are three species of jackal. There's the black-backed jackal; the golden, or common, jackal; and the side-striped jackal. All three species are about the size of domestic dogs. They grow to 27 to 33 inches (70 to 85 centimeters) shoulder to rump, with a tail length of about 10 inches (25 cm). They stand about 16 inches (40 cm) at the shoulder and weigh 11 to 26 lbs. (5 to 12 kilograms), according to the Animal Diversity Web. (ADW). The distinguishing characteristics of each species are denoted in their common names, according to the ADW. The black-backed jackal has black hair running from the back of the neck to the tail. The rest of the body is reddish-brown or ginger and the chest is white...