Wolf puppies, like domesticated dogs, love to play fetch

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, three of the 8-week-old wolf puppies were intrigued enough by a ball that was thrown to retrieve it to a person they didn't know. It was the last thing the researchers expected.

"When I saw the first wolf puppy retrieving the ball I literally got goose bumps," said Christina Hansen Wheat, study author at Stockholm University in Sweden. "It was so unexpected, and I immediately knew that this meant that if variation in human-directed play behavior exists in wolves, this behavior could have been a potential target for early selective pressures exerted during dog domestication."

Hansen Wheat studies the effects of domestication on behavior. She and her colleagues raised both wolf puppies and domesticated puppies from the time they were 10 days old.

Then, both types of puppies went through a series of tests. One of those included a stranger throwing a tennis ball while encouraging the puppy to fetch and return it. None of the puppies, wolf or domesticated puppy, had experienced "fetch" before this.

The first two litters of wolf puppies weren't interested in the ball, and the researchers didn't expect them to be. They included the test because it was used for domesticated puppies.

But the third litter of wolf puppies ran after the ball. Two wolf puppies each retrieved the ball twice. One ran after the ball and returned it to the person three times.

"It was very surprising that we had wolves actually retrieving the ball," Hansen Wheat said. "I did not expect that. I do not think any of us did. It was especially surprising that the wolves retrieved the ball for a person they had never met before."

Previous research has shown that domesticated and non-domesticated species will follow human gestures if a food reward is given, according to the study. But in those cases, the animals were previously trained to follow the cues or knew the person conducting the study.

The researchers acknowledge a limitation of their study is how small it is, but it causes them to reassess that interpreting human social cues came from domestication. Instead, it's possible that this behavior can be traced back before wolves were domesticated into dogs.

Critically Endangered Black Rhino Gives Birth To Calf At Chester Zoo

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 very rare and special event indeed.



"The new born was delivered onto soft wood mulch and within next to no time it was up on its feet and running around - it couldn't have gone any smoother.

"Although it's still very early days, the little one is showing great signs by feeding regularly and mum and calf appear to have bonded very quickly.

"We just hope this new calf helps us to raise some much needed attention to this truly magnificent species, and inspires urgent action to protect their future on this planet. We cannot and must not allow this subspecies to become extinct - a fate which has, tragically, already become of some of its cousin." It is feared that only 650 wild black rhinos are out there now, which is a result of poaching for their much coveted horn. Rhino horns change hands for more money than drugs or gold because of their value to the Asian medicine market. There is absolutely no evidence that rhino horn has any positive health benefits, so it's just a senseless waste of life.

The zoo's Collections Director, Mike Jordan, said: "This new arrival is a real boost to a critically endangered species. It increases the number of Eastern black rhino at Chester to 11 and is another vitally important success story in a Europe-wide breeding programme for these highly threatened animals.

"A thriving, healthy population of this high profile species in good zoos is vitally important to the future of this species and a key component of our mission to prevent their extinction. "

Malindi has previously given birth to one other calf, back in 2013. The zoo has now seen the birth of 11 black rhino calves in 20 years.

Wild Animals | Rattlesnake

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 their faces that enable them to locate prey and move towards it, based on the prey's thermal radiation signature. These pits have a relatively short effective range of about 1 ft, but give the rattlesnake a distinctive advantage in hunting for warm-blooded creatures at night.

Heat-sensing pits

Aside from this pair of simple eyes, rattlesnakes are able to detect thermal radiation emitted by warm-blooded organisms in their environment. Functioning optically like a pinhole camera eye, thermal radiation, in the form of infrared wavelength light, enters, passes through the opening of the pit and strikes the pit membrane located in the back wall, warming this part of the organ. Due to the extremely high density of these heat-sensitive receptors innervating this membrane, the rattlesnake can detect temperature changes of 0.003 °C or less in its immediate surroundings. Infrared cues from these receptors are transmitted to the brain by the trigeminal nerve, where they are used to create thermal maps of the snake’s surroundings. Due to the small sizes of the pit openings, typically these thermals images are low in resolution and contrast. Nevertheless, rattlesnakes superimpose visual images created from information from the eyes with these thermal images from the pit organs to more accurately visualize their surroundings in low levels of light. Research conducted recently on the molecular mechanism of this ability suggests the temperature sensitivity of these pit organs is closely linked to the activity of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1, a temperature-sensitive ion channel saturated in the pit membrane.

Skin and circulation

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Rattlesnake skin has a set of overlapping scales which cover the entire body, providing protection from a variety of threats including dehydration and physical trauma. The typical rattlesnake, genus Crotalus, has the top of its head covered with small scales, except, with a few species, a few crowded plates directly over the snout. The skin of snakes is highly sensitive to contact, tension, and pressure; they are capable of feeling pain.
An important function of the skin is the sensation of changes in air temperature, which can guide the snakes towards warm basking/shelter locations. All snakes are ectotherms. To maintain a stable body temperature, they exchange heat with their external environments. Snakes often move into open, sunny areas to absorb heat from the sun and warmed earth, a behavior known as basking. Nerves in the skin regulate the flow of blood into the veins near the surface. Rubio states, "The skin's acceptance of radiant energy, its ability to determine the temperature, and the snake's ability to move toward or away from one temperature gradient to another are among the most important behavioral actions in its daily life."
The skin of rattlesnakes is intricately patterned in a manner that camouflages them from their predators. Rattlesnakes do not generally have bright or showy colors (reds, yellows, blues, etc.), instead relying on subtle earth tones that resemble the surrounding environment.
Creases in the epidermal tissue connect the scales of rattlesnakes. When ingesting large prey, these creases can unfold, allowing the skin to expand to envelop a much greater volume. The skin appears to tightly stretch to accommodate the meal, but in reality, the skin is simply smoothing out from its creased state and is not under very high tension.

Jane Worll for Animalix

If dogs and cats had legal rights, how would that impact other animals?

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 using a dog medication off-label with Bubba Cat? I’m sure THAT would not be allowed to continue.

Pet stores and Puppy mill breeders are most certainly not for animals having rights. Would that impact the sale of animals? Probably. At the very least, the standards of care required for breeder animals would be strictly regulated, unlike it is now.

Research labs would not be able to conduct the testing on dogs and cats, because dogs and cats cannot provide consent.

Dog food would be more expensive as the requirements for manufacture would become more stringent. Though, to be sure, dog food is already a cut-throat business, and manufacturers are already employing strict manufacturing standards to avoid recalls that can destroy a brand.

Shock collars would most certainly go by the wayside. Say good-bye to your invisible fence!

If you think the one-upmanship of pet owners is bad now, imagine how it would be if your neighbor could report you for not bathing your dog regularly or not taking him for a walk every day. It would be kind of like child abuse investigations are now: some investigations have merit, while others are nuisance calls made to harass the one being investigated.

If dogs and cats had legal rights, how would that impact other animals?

It wouldn’t take long for courts to rule that the Great Apes should also be afforded rights. After all, they are the animals most like humans in appearance. That would impact research labs and zoos.

Animal agriculture would most certainly be impacted. The cost of meat, milk, and eggs would rise as farms would be forced to provide humane living conditions for animals used to feed humans.

Extermination practices would have to change considerably, as it would no longer be acceptable to just poison rats and mice.

As you have no doubt figured out, this is not a change that people would willingly accept in one lump sum. It’s going to take time, and a continuing change in public perception to get us there.

Are YOU still willing to fight for animals to have rights, or is the cost going to be higher than you’re willing to pay?

The cost of eggs is going to go up because of the law recently enacted in CA. Even midwestern egg farmers will have to raise their prices if they supply to California, because they will have to comply with the new regulations, that require the chicken’s cage be large enough for it to move around and flap its wings. That means fewer chickens in the same amount of space, which means fewer eggs, and higher heating costs for farmers. Of course, you could just buy eggs from your local farms, where you can see the chickens running free the way they are meant to be. The cost will be comparable.

You can always cut meat and dairy out of your diet if the cost irks you.

There should be a way to grant animals more rights in terms of quality of life without granting full “personhood”.

It is good that someone is tackling this subject. Like you say, it is large and complex. Mostly, I see it as sad.

to help animals, and more who think it is lucrative…Their prices reflect their greed in many cases.

There are faults on all sides, over breeding, shelters–(badly named if they ‘kill’), lax laws for abusers, the people who ‘have to have purebreds over mixed breeds, (those people should look at the percentage of purebred animals that end up in “shelters” and are destroyed,) the list goes on and on.

Turning things around takes so long, it sometimes feels hopeless—actually a good deal of the time.

Granting ‘personhood’–I wonder….’Personhood’ is what is responsible for the status of things now….

Thought provoking post. I think animals do have ‘rights’ or at least protection in law. I stand by the RSPCA (and other charities) in their fight for fair treatment of all animals – domestic or farmyard. And to bring prosecutions where necessary. Only by debating animal rights, will more people become aware of the issues and perceptions will change. In the meantime, it is incumbent on all animal lovers to bring wrong-doing to the attention of the authorities and social media.

The protection laws we have in place here in the UK are clearly not working so rights are needed. I don’t care how it effects puppy mills and pet shops. I would be happy to pay more for food. And vet treatment is one of those things you expect as a pet owner. I would pay whatever it took. 

However I do take your point on the off the label medicines. When one of my guinea pigs was ill, they recommended an anti-biotic which was actually for cat use but it worked exactly as they promised. 

However we already see pets as members of the family, why doesn’t...

Wild Animal | The Jackal

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. Side-striped jackals are light gray to tan with a white stripe from elbow to hip and black side stripes. The golden jackal's coat is usually yellow to pale gold and brown-tipped, but the color can vary with season and region.
Habitat

Jackals live primarily in Africa, but in different regions.
The black-backed jackal stays mostly in savannas and woodlands. There are two discrete populations. One lives at the southern tip of the continent in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The other is found along the eastern coastline, including Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. The populations are separated by the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, an area with harsh terrain that is difficult to cross.

Some jackals are social creatures, while others are not. Some live together in small groups called packs, while others live alone or in pairs. Packs typically include around six members.

Jackal pairs do everything together, including eating and sleeping. They are also very territorial and defend their territory as a team. They also hunt together.

Jackals are often both diurnal and nocturnal. This means that they are active during dawn, dusk and night. Side-striped jackals are the exception. They are strictly nocturnal.

God Anubis

As omnivores, jackals like to eat both meat and vegetation. Their diet consists of leftovers from other animals' kills, ground-dwelling birds, reptiles, antelopes, fruits, insects, berries and grass. They're not picky, though.

Jackals have one mate for life, and both parents help take care of the young. After a gestation period of 57 to 70 days, the female will give birth to two to four babies in her underground den. They are born with their eyes sealed shut and it take them around 10 days for their eyes to open.

Baby jackals are called pups. Pups eat mother's milk and regurgitated food until they are weaned at 2 months. 

Most jackal pup deaths happen before they are 14 weeks old. Many are swooped up by eagles and eaten. To protect her pups, a mother jackal changes her den every two weeks.

Pups start hunting at around 6 months, but mom and dad still take care of them as long as they need it. Jackals become sexually mature at 6 to 11 months of age. Some jackals leave their parents at 11 months. Some stay and babysit, protect and feed their younger siblings. Jackals typically live 10 to 12 years.