animal behavior Archives - Page 2 of 7

The FWP weekly digest of wondrous wildlife happenings
and other interesting items from the natural world

Creatures to meet | Things to learn
Things to do

Lisa S. French

2.5-minute read

“Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have this wish I wish tonight.”

Anonymous

Depending upon where you find yourself on our home planet, making a wish upon a star is becoming increasingly challenging. The growing number of artificial lights that illuminate our land, city, and seascapes are also brightening the night skies, dimming our views of the stars and other celestial bodies.

According to astronomers, more than two-thirds of the U.S. population and one-fifth of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way with the naked eye. The skyglow (aka, light pollution) that diminishes our ability to marvel at the beauty of bright spots in the heavens and achieve celestial wish fulfillment is also having a profound impact on the survival of some of Earth’s most charismatic creatures, including everyone’s favorite body-armored reptiles—the critically endangered sea turtles.

Because many species of animals have evolved attuned to natural cycles of darkness and light, when those cycles are disrupted, it can affect how they interact with their environment and each other. According to researchers examining how artificial light affects animal behavior, light pollution can create confusion in wildlife that can alter migration, communication, foraging, and reproduction.

Sea turtles are especially vulnerable to the negative impacts of light pollution, relying on night-darkened beaches to help protect nests and keep hatchlings safe from disturbance. Turtles unable to locate a beach dark enough to obscure their nests have been known to abandon nesting attempts or discard their eggs in the sea.

Scientists monitoring hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, and green turtles have reported that hatchlings face the most significant hazards from light pollution. Aided by the cover of nighttime darkness, newly emerged baby turtles instinctually aim to make their way toward the sea. Hatchlings disoriented by artificial lighting can toddle off in the wrong direction, be overcome by exhaustion and dehydration, and sadly, never reach the water. A study of nesting sites in the Mediterranean found that only 21% of loggerhead hatchlings on well-lit beaches survived their sandy commute versus 48% of hatchlings emerging on unlit beaches.

Sea turtles aren’t the only animal species whose nighttime behaviors can become disrupted by ecological light pollution. Increasing levels of artificial light also affect birds, bats, fish, insects, and amphibians. Conservationists continue exploring innovative ways to manage light sources to keep night-dependent wildlife in the dark and help maintain life-sustaining biological rhythms.

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of good for people, good for wildlife natural nighttime, we’ve pulled together some resources to help you embrace the darkness:

The Skyglow Project
The World at Night Galleries
DarkSky

ICYMI Nature News

Behold Manhattanhenge
The city that never sleeps may never turn off the lights, but that doesn’t mean New Yorkers can’t appreciate (or perhaps prefer) nature’s way of illuminating their urban jungle. If you missed the sun’s perfect alignment with Manhattan’s street grid this week, you’ll get another chance to experience the glow on July 13th.

An Octopus’s Worst Nightmare
Scientists observing bizarre behaviors in a sleeping Brazilian Reef Octopus believe the sea creatures may have vivid, potentially terrifying narrative dreams. Visions of a tentacle-chilling downgrade from octo to bi-pus?

Young Gorillas Bounce Back from Adversity
Researchers from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund studying five decades of data have found that thanks in part to the benefits of tight-knit social groups, young mountain gorillas show tremendous resilience to traumatic life events, like the loss of a parent. Power to the supportive primates.

Because All You Need Is Love
A lowland gorilla born in captivity at Smithsonian National is off to a good start in life thanks to the loving care of attentive mom, Calaya. A happy plus one for the critically endangered species.

Sailboat Sabotaging Cetaceans
Killer whales off the coasts of Spain and Portugal have been busy sinking sailboats. Scientists aren’t sure whether the unusual behavior is orca boat biting gone viral or payback for a painful encounter with a super annoying sea vessel. Either way, it seems the sailboat saboteurs are sorry, not sorry.

And that’s all folks. Have a super weekend!

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Lisa S. French June 3, 2023

Bees Buzz the Garden Electric

2-minute read

In celebration of World Bee Day, we’re going to look at one of the unexpected ways the planet’s hardest working pollinators go about the business of helping to keep us stocked in essential fruit, flowers, and veg.

Capable of visiting up to 1,000 flowers a day in their quest for pollen, these brainy insects use a variety of sensory capabilities to detect color, pattern, texture, and fragrance to scope out prime floral real estate efficiently.

According to scientists at the University of Bristol, bees have one tool in their pollen-detecting arsenal that may come as a bit of a shock—an electrostatic field. We humans can’t see it or feel it, but honeybees and bumblebees can perceive a weak electric field around flowers, helping them to determine which plants are the best bets for providing floral rewards.

As a bee travels through the air, it accumulates a positive electric charge. When the positively charged pollinator zeroes in on a negatively charged flower, an electric field is created that helps to dislodge and transfer pollen from flower to bee and from bee to flower.

How bees interpret and use information gathered from the floral e-field is species-dependent. Researchers believe that bumblebees perceive the strength of the force of the e-field through sensory hairs on their bodies that communicate by way of their central nervous systems which flowers will provide the best pollen pay-off. Honeybees detect e-field locations through their antennae and carry pollen source information back to the hive, disseminating news of first-rate foraging locations via an intricate waggle dance.

Given that 75 percent of food crops rely on pollinators, we are glad to learn that everybody’s favorite buzzers are equipped with all the necessary capabilities to ensure they can get the job done. Another amazing way that nature’s adaptations provide big benefits.

If you would like to learn how you can help keep these industrious e-field detectives in top form, check in with the Bee Conservancy.

ICYMI Nature News

Pollinating Tree Frogs
Uh oh, look out bumblebees! Scientists believe they may have discovered a new species of pollinator to add to the list of planetary helpers—a tiny, pollen and nectar-feasting Brazilian tree frog.

Touch-Tasting Octopuses
According to scientists at the University of Texas, octopuses use sensory mechanisms in their tentacles to taste potential food sources. So, no long sleeves for these multi-limbed marvels, then?

Extinct Animals Re-Imagined
To help draw attention to the extinction crisis, author Lucas Zellers and the Center for Biological Diversity have created a role-playing game manual inspired by 70 extinct animal species. The book is due later this year, but you can get a preview here.

Video Chatting Parrots
The University of Glasgow researchers have discovered that isolated pet parrots taught to video chat with distant bird pals gained similar social benefits to living in a flock. Polly want a video call?

More Fascinating Bird Behavior
If you think video-chatting parrots are awe-inspiring, check out what these clever winged creatures get up to in the wild as captured by the 2022 Audubon Photo Award winners.

FWP Carbon Capture Report
Happy one-year Tree-Nation tree-versary FWP readers! From April 2022 through April 2023, we are glad to report that the trees we’ve planted across 12 projects bring our carbon capture total to 3459 tons. That’s the equivalent of 8,000 barrels of oil consumed, 389,204 gallons of gasoline consumed, or 3,874,454 pounds of coal burned.

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Lisa S. French May 19, 2023

Fish Feel Fear and Pass it On

2-minute read

Our innate capacity to feel what others feel is one of the traits that make humans human, and according to new research, it’s also what makes zebrafish—zebrafish. If the idea that our gilled friends have feelings sounds, well, fishy, you may be interested to learn that not only do some fishes have feelings, but it also seems they have feelings about other fishes’ feelings—at least when it comes to fear.

The spontaneous spread of emotions, known as social contagion, is regarded as one of the most ancient forms of empathy and has been widely recognized in humans as well as highly social mammals, including elephants, dolphins, and primates. But big-brained mammals aren’t alone in their ability to perceive and mirror the emotional states of their own kind—it’s an ability they seem to share with some species of fish.

Scientists studying the origins of how emotional states spread through social groups of animals believe that oxytocin, the hormone that regulates empathetic behaviors like trust, attachment, and bonding in mammals, enables zebrafish to sense and respond to fear in their finned comrades.

Observing two fish, one relaxed and swimming normally and one showing signs of fear, the zebrafish in the study mimicked the movements of the frightened fish and then approached and interacted with the distressed swimmer—what scientists believe could be perceived as an empathetic response. Zebrafish that lacked oxytocin were indifferent to the distress of the frightened fish and preferred the company of the relaxed fish. Some might call the cold-blooded creatures’ behavior—self-fish.

Although we may not yet know for certain if fish experience other emotions, we can imagine that a fish paralyzed by fear might feel comforted by the attentions of compassionate co-swimmers.

ICYMI Nature News

How Whale Sharks See in the Dark
Scientists studying how whale sharks can see in the darkness of the deep sea have come up with an answer—temperature-sensitive retinas. Handy! Read all about it here.

Strutting Spiders Have All the Moves
According to new research, male wolf spiders use fancy footwork and fluffy leggings to catch the eye (eyes) of lady spiders. See how they strut.

Monarchs in Serious Distress
Sad news for monarch butterflies and their habitats this week. Populations overwintering in Mexico have dropped by 22% since last year due to deforestation and climate change. Time for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Game On for the Planet
If you’re feeling the urge to do a little planet tending and don’t have an actual patch nearby, you can get some practice in virtual ecosystem restoration with the brand-new conservation game TerraNil. Eight percent of profits will be donated to the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Check it out!

Run For the Wild Ones
If you’re local to NYC, on April 29, you can make tracks for sloths and other endangered species by participating in the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Run for the Wild. Register here.

200? 200!
A little bird told us this is Wild & Wondrous’ 200th blog. Oh. Okay then! 🥳

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Lisa S. French March 29, 2023

The Whisker Vision of Seals

2-minute read

Of all the creatures under the sea, when it comes to precision prey tracking, seals (aka pinnipeds) have a distinct advantage—whisker vision. Although the mustachioed marine mammals can recognize a tasty fish when they see one, thanks to their super-sensitive whiskers, seals don’t need to see a fish to catch a fish.

Like all living beings, seals have evolved with the exact creature features and adaptations they need to thrive in their particular place on the planet. Scientists studying how seals can successfully hunt in low, or no, visibility conditions have concluded that the animals are ideally equipped to go with the flow.

Through finely tuned flow sensors in their whiskers, seals can detect the motion trail of prey from as far away as 600 feet. The whisker sensors also relay the size and direction of potential meals, indicating whether the calorie reward would be worth the energy required for a hot pursuit.

And what makes seal whiskers so exquisitely sensitive to disturbances in the water that they can even detect the exhalations of fish at the bottom of the sea? Following two decades of research, scientists have concluded that the wavy shape of a seal’s whiskers, unique in the animal kingdom, enables the specialized hunters to lock on to the frequency of preferred prey while tuning out noise from their own movement.

Besides being all-important for meal acquisition, seals’ extraordinary sensory perception and unusually shaped whiskers are now informing all manner of research into the development of biomimetic robots for underwater exploration. And you thought the innovation-inspiring marine mammals were just adorable, bristle-faced fish-eaters.

ICYMI Nature News

Green Is Good
In a much-needed boost to North Atlantic marine life, including porpoises, skates, and stingrays, 4300 miles of water along the Greater Skellig Coast have been recognized as Ireland’s first Mission Blue Hope Spot. Erin go bragh!

Free Butterfly Plants
If you participate in an urban, community, or school garden in the Northeastern U.S., the Xerces Society is now offering free native plants for your patch to help provide sustenance to endangered migrating monarchs. Find out if you qualify here.

NYC Sky Garden Opening
It’s officially spring, and NYC’s delightful, de-lovely, elevated gardens will soon burst into bloom. Starting April 1, you can tiptoe through the High Line tulips until 10 pm.

Pick Up the Pieces
From now through Earth Day, you can take part in the Great Global Cleanup to help rid our beautiful home planet of plastic pollution. Find a location near you in need of some TLC (tender loving cleanup).

Meditate on the Feather Star
If you’re suffering from mid-week Jell-O brain or just enjoy watching magical sea creatures do magical sea creature things, we highly recommend a few moments of peaceful meditation on the feather star’s multi-limbed locomotion. And go with the flow.

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Lisa S. French March 21, 2023

Do Sleeping Bears Dream of Missions to Mars?

2-minute read

What can we learn from bears about space travel?

Although the earthbound mammals have never achieved liftoff, according to research from the University of Minnesota, studying black and brown bears’ ability to bounce right back to roaming after a long winter’s nap may help scientists to develop strategies that would enable humans to overcome the negative physiological impacts of months-long interplanetary flight.

Every fall, as temperatures begin to drop, the power sleepers pack on the pounds (see Fat Bear week) in preparation for winter hibernation, an extreme state of starvation and dehydration. In the spring, after a half-year of physical inactivity and living off fat reserves, the animals can return to normal bear business within minutes of emerging from their dens, major organs intact and with little or no bone or muscle loss.

Amazingly, after consecutive months of immobility, bears lose only 23 percent of their strength, while humans would lose 90 percent over the same period. So how do they survive the big sleep without any debilitating bodily impacts? According to scientists, the burly omnivores have evolved with adaptations that significantly reduce their body temperature and heart rate to conserve energy. During hibernation, a bear’s temperature can drop by 8 -12 degrees and its heart rate to an average of just 4.3 beats per minute with minimal ill effect.

And what does that mean for the future of manned missions to Mars? Researchers are investigating whether inducing a bear-like state of hibernation would enable humans to endure the long haul of prolonged space travel—another beary good example of how we look to nature to inspire innovation.

ICYMI Nature News

First Bear Out of the Den
The first bear to emerge from winter slumber at Yellowstone has been spotted by a park biologist. It seems dreams of space have taken a backseat to securing a prime spot at the all-you-can-eat post-hibernation buffet.

The Loudest Animal on the Planet
Danish scientists have discovered how whales produce the loudest sounds in the animal kingdom—clicking nose lips. Listen to the nasal chatter here.

Pollinating Dance Instructors
We’ve written previously about how bees communicate food locations through an intricate waggle dance. Now researchers have discovered that newbies learn their honey-making moves from mentors. Swing your pollinating partner!

Fairy Lantern Flower Back from the Dead
Believed to be extinct for the past 30 years, the delicate fairy lantern flower has been rediscovered in Japan. You can see what the photosynthesis-free flower looks like here. Flower? Mushroom? Mushroom-flower?

Good News for the Earth’s Oceans
It took a long time, but the United Nations has announced the passage of a High Seas Treaty to protect marine biodiversity and 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. Not a moment too soon!

2023 National Wildlife Photo Contest
If you’re a nature-loving photographer anywhere in the world and over the age of 13, you can share your beautiful views to help protect nature in the National Wildlife Federation annual photo contest. Find out how to participate here. Go wild, happy snappers!

Btw, March 14th (3.14) is Pi Day
You can read how the number pi (π) manifests in nature here. And whether you’re into numbers or sweets and savories, you can find some delicious ways to celebrate right here! Strawberry slab, anyone?

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Lisa S. French March 13, 2023

Chimps are no Chumps

2-minute read

Whether or not we get treated fairly is one of the metrics that humans use to assess the quality and potential longevity of our relationships. Ideally, we seek to collaborate with partners in all realms of our existence who acknowledge our contributions and expectations and are as attentive to our treatment as they are to their own.

Unremedied inequity can lead to a negative interpretation of events, a breakdown in communication, and an unwillingness to cooperate on future endeavors. According to a series of landmark studies, we share our desire for fair treatment and rejection of injustice with some savvy members of the animal kingdom—particularly when it comes to equal pay for equal work.

Do I Look Like I Just Fell Out of a Tree?
Behavioral researchers from Emory University examining non-human primates’ response to equal versus unequal rewards for completing a task revealed that the perceptive animals did not respond well to being taken advantage of.

When chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys and their task partners both received cucumber slices for their efforts, they were equally satisfied with the outcome. Given a choice, however, the animals prefer to be paid in grapes. If only one partner received grapes, the unfair compensation resulted in outright primate protest from the other, and refusal to either continue the task or to accept the inferior reward. In some cases, the work stoppage and reward rejection were accompanied by water spitting and cage-rattling to drive the dissatisfaction home.

Interestingly, to preserve a valued long-term relationship, some chimps would react to the unfair treatment of their partners by refusing the better reward. Researchers believe that the short-term sacrifice was not necessarily driven by a desire to do the right thing but to increase the odds of future cooperation by maintaining a basic sense of fairness. Similar to the realm of human relations, more equitable individual outcomes for the chimps had a greater likelihood of leading to more stable and harmonious interactions in their communities—wise apes.

ICYMI Nature News

A Wondrous Whale Event
The lucky passengers of a National Geographic Antarctic cruise experienced an extraordinary event in January, the gathering of 1,000 fin whales. You can check out the largest pod seen in over a century here.

Must-See Eagle TV
If you haven’t been keeping up with the Big Bear bald eagle nest cam, you’re in for a treat. You can keep 24-7 tabs on how expecting raptors Jackie and Shadow are coping with California’s wintry weather while waiting for the arrival of their eaglets. Visit the nest!

Get Ready to Wear It Wild
If you’ve been looking for a legit reason to wear your zebra-striped jumpsuit or cheetah-patterned chinos to work or school, you are in luck. You can sign up today for the World Wildlife Fund Wear it Wild challenge and commit to one day of wearing a creature costume of your choice to fundraise to help protect nature. Whether you’re inclined to present as a tiger, tapir, or tree toad, you can find out how to participate here.

And Finally, Snow in NYC
Winter without snow is like cake without frosting. It took a long time, but after almost four worrisome months trending towards tropical, snow has finally fallen in NYC. Not big news, perhaps, nor a big pile-up, but we’re excited about it nonetheless. And more, please!

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Lisa S. French February 28, 2023

Desert Elephants’ Quest for Clean Water

1.5-minute read

You can lead an elephant to water, but you can’t make it drink.

The desert-dwelling elephants of Namibia live in one of the harshest, driest landscapes on Earth. The average annual rainfall in the Namib Desert, where the mega-mammals make their home, is just 2mm, and permanent bodies of water are few and very far between.

Conservation researchers studying the survival strategies of the water-dependent herbivores were surprised to learn that despite having traveled hundreds of miles across inhospitable drylands, the intrepid trekkers weren’t overwhelmingly slurp-happy to quench their thirst at human-made drinking pools. Rather than rehydrate with readily available water, the elephants would use their feet and trunks to dig their own wells in adjacent dry riverbeds.

You Don’t Expect Us to Drink This, Do You?
So, what compelled the parched pachyderms to take a pass on the life-sustaining fluid from pre-dug pools? A quest for clean water. After comparing samples from the two water sources, researchers discovered that the multi-user boreholes were contaminated with bacteria that made drinking from them a non-starter for the discerning animals.

Although elephants have an extraordinarily sensitive olfactory system, it’s unclear whether the bacteria were detected through taste or scent, or both. One thing is certain, continuing to study how megafauna adapt to changes in water availability in a warming world will be critical to their survival.

ICYMI Nature News

Easy Ways to Stop Extinction
As scientists scramble to conserve our planet’s remaining biodiversity, FWP’s favorite cartoonist, First Dog on the Moon, recommends three easy steps to stop extinction. Most importantly, we have to want to. Count us in!

Want to Live Longer? Plant Trees
Good news for city dwellers. According to new research from the U.S. Forest Service, planting trees in urban neighborhoods can increase longevity. Another great reason to dig in and green your block!

New Designs for Robo-Planting
Speaking of planting, scientists are developing new solutions for planting trees and crops and fertilizing soil that mimic natural seed dispersal. Good to know. Until further notice, we’re still planting the old-fashioned way.

Meet the DIY Cockatoos
These brainy handy-birds know just what tools to use to solve a puzzle box. Ooh, can they unclog a sink?

Nat Geo’s Photos of the Year
Don’t forget to feast your eyes on National Geographic’s award-winning photographs of the natural world. Enjoy the splendor!

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Lisa S. French February 20, 2023

Brainy Jays Cater to their Best Birds

1.5-minute read

How much do you imagine birds know about what their feathered friends might be thinking? Are they capable of putting themselves in another bird’s shoes—if birds wore shoes—or do they simply rely on instinct to navigate intra-avian interactions?

The ability to comprehend that another’s thoughts and desires may differ from our own was long believed to be a uniquely human cognitive trait. Recent research has revealed that predicting and interpreting the beliefs and intentions of others is a skill that we share with some members of the crow family. Despite having a distinctly different brain structure, these brainy birds are capable of perspective-taking, the complex thinking and behavioral flexibility that enables them to ignore their own preferences and predict and respond to the preferences of their mates.

A University of Cambridge study revealed that the courting male Eurasian jay could perceive that the way to his best bird’s heart was through her stomach. Given a choice between two types of favorite worms to feed his mate, and regardless of which wriggly delicacy he wanted, the insightful jay chose to feed her the type of worm she had not already eaten. Because both humans and animals would prefer not to eat the same food for every meal, researchers concluded that the male jays paid attention to what their mates ate and predicted that offering her food she had not grown tired of would be more likely to please her. It seems, for Eurasian jays, to love a bird is to cater to her worm wishes—food for thought.

ICYMI Nature News

Dolphins Return to Da Bronx
Delighted New Yorkers welcomed the return of dolphins to the Bronx River this week thanks to a decades-long cleanup effort to restore the aquatic habitat. Happy to have you back, finned fellows!

A Vaccine for Endangered Bees
Help is on the way for honeybees plagued by a deadly bacterial disease. The first bee vaccine developed to save hives has been approved in the United States. Roll up those teeny-tiny sleeves!

Turtle Moms Talk to Their Eggs
Researchers have discovered that giant South American river turtles chat to their eggs before they hatch. Not only that, but the pre-hatched turtles also chirp together to coordinate the big breakout. Ready, set, go!

These Frogs Hide their Blood to Go Stealth
Scientists in the Amazon have learned that tropical glass frogs can divert their blood to their livers to make themselves invisible. Ooh, amphibian party trick!

Keeping It Cool with Snot Bubbles
According to a study at Curtin University, echidnas, prickly egg-laying mammals native to Australia, cope with high temperatures by blowing snot bubbles to keep their noses wet. Wait, doesn’t everyone?

Time to Plan Your Pollinator Patch
To reach their goal of 25,000 new pollinator gardens across the U.S. in 2023, Save our Monarchs is inviting every school, scout troop, and 4-H club across the U.S. to pitch in and plant to help save the endangered butterflies. Find out how to get your free seeds here.

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Lisa S. French January 27, 2023

Planet-Protecting Pachyderms

2-minute read

Could protecting Earth’s largest mammals help tackle the two most critical items on our planetary to-do list: reducing the impacts of both climate change and biodiversity loss? According to new research from Oxford University, by virtue of their size, the most mega of megafauna may have a role to play in maintaining the healthy functioning of ecosystems negatively impacted by global heating.

One of the greatest hazards we face in a warming world is more frequent and intense wildfires. Between 2002 and 2016, 10.45 million acres a year were destroyed by fire globally—67% of the loss was in Africa. As the planet becomes hotter, drier, and more fire-prone, scientists are examining how protecting and increasing populations of endangered species of megafauna like elephants might help lower the temperature and limit the damage.

Beloved for their oversized ears, twisty trunks, keen intelligence, and exceptional empathy, elephants are also prolific stompers, chompers, and seed dispersers; those daily activities can reduce both CO2 in the atmosphere and the threat of wildfires. How so? It’s complicated, but the short story is that by consuming potentially flammable vegetation (and lots of it, up to 375 pounds a day), creating natural fire breaks by trampling soil, and dispersing seeds of trees with high capacity to store CO2, elephants, and other large herbivores, could limit the spread of fires and reduce the conditions that create them.

Elephants aren’t alone in their ability to influence the health of wild places. Conservation projects aimed at protecting ecosystem-engineering wildlife like whales, bison, sea otters, and wolves can help increase the resilience of natural environments under intense pressure from global heating. By continuing to examine the interdependence of wildlife and Earth systems and by creating conditions that allow nature to heal and flourish, amazing things can happen—like this.

ICYMI Nature News

Mighty Forest Mice
Even mini mammals can have a mega impact on the health of ecosystems. According to The New York Times, mice scurrying around forest floors are also important seed dispersers that help ensure the survival of trees exposed to environmental stressors.

Remember the Manatees
Pollution and habitat loss continue to take their toll on the Florida megafauna–over 2,000 manatees have perished in the last two years. It’s well past time to re-classify the charismatic creatures as endangered before they disappear.

NYC’s New Old Tree
In the spring of 2023, visitors to NYC’s High Line Park will be seeing red. A new rosy-hued sculpture installation, Old Tree, by Swiss artist Pamela Rosenkranz, will explore the indivisible connection between human and plant life. Have a look at the preview and swing by in the spring!

Christmas Bird Count
Okay, citizen scientists, if you need a good reason to tear yourself away from the fireplace and holiday cookie pile, Audubon’s 123rd annual Christmas Bird Count runs from December 14th through January 5th. Grab your binoculars and get those cookies to go. You can sign up here.

FWP Carbon Capture Report
We believe trees make a big difference in the health and well-being of people, wildlife, and the planet, and that’s why we keep planting them with the help of our partners at Tree-Nation. The trees that we’ve planted from April through November bring our carbon capture to 2,200 tons of CO2. That is equivalent to 2,235,456 pounds of coal burned, 247,604 gallons of gasoline consumed, and 267,669,777 smartphones charged. Oh, yeah, treeing is believing!

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Lisa S. French December 2, 2022

The Gesture Life of Gorillas

1-minute read

Somersaults, pirouettes, and disco-arms shake.

Body drumming, water splashing, and ice skating.

What may sound like new-fangled cross-training combos are actually some of the dozens of body movements that gorillas use to make themselves understood.

According to researchers at the University of St. Andrews, although gorillas are only capable of a fixed number of vocalizations, when it comes to communicating through gestures, they have a flexible and extensive repertoire of voluntary moves. And those gestures aren’t random; they’re intentional acts of communication aimed at achieving gorilla life goals.

Does This Gorilla Get Me?
Studying three groups of the primates in captivity and one group in the wild, researchers recorded 102 different gestures. Which gestures these movers and shakers used as invitations to travel, play, and cuddle, or requests to calm down, or back off depended on who they were communicating with and how they were responded to. If it was clear that a message was understood, a gorilla would continue the same gestures with the same partner for the same purpose; if not, the persistent primate would switch to a different combination of communication signals to get a point across. They don’t call the clever creatures great apes for nothing!

ICYMI Nature News

A Universal Language
Speaking of creature communications: this chimp mama’s loving gestures towards her newborn are universally understood.

Primates Share Cool Things
And scientists can add another great ape gesture to the list. A wild chimpanzee in Uganda was filmed by Universities of York and Warwick researchers showing an interesting leaf to her mother for no other reason than sharing something cool. Look, mom, beauty!

Rats Get Their Groove On
University of Tokyo researchers have discovered that rats have an innate ability to bop their heads to a good beat. And what’s on these rhythmic rodents’ playlist? Queen, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and Mozart. Eclectic!

Octopuses Are Mad Flingers
Australian researchers have discovered another way that octopuses put those plentiful arms to good use: throwing objects—at each other. Whether they’re playing or fighting, only the octopuses know for sure. Either way—”Take that, balloon head!”

Have a lovely weekend, everyone. Stay safe and warm, Upstate New Yorkers.

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Lisa S. French November 18, 2022