Mammals | Animals | The 7th Fire

He said officials don't believe the 877 dolphins' deaths are related to seismic oil exploration work that was carried out off northern Peru between Feb. 8 and April 8 by the Houston-based company BPZ Energy.
Dolphin deaths in Peru still a mystery, 4/21/12

This is so mesmerizing and beautiful, it is beyond words.
A Sperm Whale Encounter, 3/29/12

An international research team led by biologists at the University of California, Riverside and Texas A and M University has released for the first time a large and robust DNA matrix that has representation for all mammalian families. The matrix - the culmination of about five years of painstaking research - has representatives for 99 percent of mammalian families, and covers not only the earliest history of mammalian diversification but also all the deepest divergences among living mammals.
Researchers greatly improve evolutionary Tree of Life for mammals, 9/23/11

Dolphins "talk" to each other, using the same process to make their high-pitched sounds as humans, according to a new analysis of results from a 1970s experiment.
The findings mean dolphins don't actually whistle as has been long thought, but instead rely on vibrations of tissues in their nasal cavities that are analogous to our vocal cords.
Scientists are only now figuring this out, "because it certainly sounds like a whistle," said study researcher Peter Madsen of the Institute of Bioscience at Aarhus University in Denmark, adding that the term was coined in a paper published in 1949 in the journal Science. "And it has stuck since."
New Study Suggests Dolphins 'Talk' Like Humans, 9/7/11

Authorities in Germany on Monday called off a three-month search for an unpredictable fugitive deemed a threat to local residents and law enforcement officials alike.
But this fugitive – known only as Yvonne – isn’t your typical convict.
Yvonne is a six-year-old cow who made a last-minute escape on May 24 to avoid a trip to the slaughterhouse. She has been on the run ever since, first inspiring the wrath of law enforcement officials when she charged a police car in late July. The incident prompted authorities in Germany’s Mühldorf district to issue a shoot-to-kill order for hunters that might see the bold bovine. However, thanks in part to an outpouring of public support, the order was permanently revoked Monday.
Germany Calls Off Hunt for Fugitive Cow, 8/29/11

Braving sub-zero temperatures, she has thrown caution — and her clothes — to the wind to tame two beluga whales in a unique and controversial experiment.
Natalia Avseenko, 36, was persuaded to strip naked as marine experts believe belugas do not like to be touched by artificial materials such as diving suits.
The skilled Russian diver took the plunge as the water temperature hit minus 1.5 degrees Centigrade.
Princess of whales: How a naked female scientist tries to tame belugas in the freezing Arctic, 6/16/11

Members of the Hominidae family chimpanzees are the closest living relatives to human beings and like us, they have been found to experience emotions and retain memories. With that in mind, a team from the Hayashibara Great Ape Research Institute in Okayama, Japan has evidence to prove that we have more in common with these intelligent primates than we had originally realized.
The research team spent time living and sleeping with captive chimpanzees and came to realize that the animals give birth in a manner that had been thought to be unique to humans; with the babies exiting the birth canal facing away from the mother. Lead researcher Dr. Satoshi Hirata told BBC news that they had been trying to grow and keep strong relationships with the chimpanzees. He went on to say, "we stayed in the room when they gave birth, so we could record the behavour with a camera from a very close distance."
In the paper, which is published in the Royal Society journal Biology letters, the scientists explained that in non-human primates, such as monkeys, the newborn emerges from the birth canal facing the mother. They explained that this allows the mother to "safely lift the infant towards her and clear its breath passage soon after the birth."
Chimpanzees found to give birth in much the same way as humans, 6/10/11

Gorilla raised in captivity and released into the wild at age 5. Man who raised him reunited with gorilla 5 years later.
Gorilla Reunion

Have all woolly mammoths gone extinct? Perhaps not. Although orthodox science has declared the mammoth species to be long dead, it said the same about dinosaurs even though dinosaurs called tuataras still exist in New Zealand. Reports during the last several centuries suggest that small pockets of mammoth survivors may still walk the earth.
Sightings of living woolly mammoths, 3/20/11

Chimpanzee mothers establish close physical relationships with their young, carrying them for up to two years and nursing them until they are six.
But now scientists have filmed how one chimpanzee mother, whose 16 month old infant died, apparently begins the grieving process.
The ape continued to carry the body for more than 24 hours before tenderly laying on the ground. Then from a short distance she watches over her child.
Periodically she returns to the body and touches the face and neck with her fingers to establish it was dead.
She then took the body to other chimpanzees in the troop to get a second opinion. The following day the chimp had abandoned the body, according to a report by scientists from the respected Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.
Dr Cronin said the research provided "unique insights into how chimpanzees, one of humans’ closest primate relatives, learn about death."
Chimps 'mourn their dead infants', 1/31/11

It's a language that would twist the tongue of even the most sophisticated linguist. Prairie dogs talk to each other and can describe what different human beings look like, according to scientists. The species - only found in North America - call out to warn their friends when a predator approaches their habitat.
Prairie dogs have a language all of their own and 'can describe what humans look like', 1/21/11

Bet your Christmas puppy won’t be able to do this. Actually, you’d better hope it can’t, because your dog-toy needs might break the bank.
A border collie named Chaser has learned the names of 1,022 individual items — more than any other animal, even the legendary Alex the parrot.
Psychologists Alliston Reid and John Pilley of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., wanted to test if there was a limit to the amount of words a border collie could learn, so they taught Chaser the names of 1,022 toys, one by one, for three years. New Scientist reports that they got her to fetch the toy and then they repeated the name to reinforce her understanding.
Video: Smartest Dog Ever Can Pick Out 1,022 Toys By Name, 12/22/10

Incredible, short video of a white Labrador swimming with a dolphin. And he does it regularly, apparently. Watch video of Labrador and Dolphin.
Dog Swims with a Dolphin, 8/28/10

As the future of whales once more comes under global debate, some scientists say the marine mammals are not only smarter than thought but also share several attributes once claimed as exclusively human.
Self-awareness, suffering and a social culture along with high mental abilities are a hallmark of cetaceans, an order grouping more than 80 whales, dolphins and porpoises, say marine biologists.
If so, the notion that whales are intelligent and sentient beings threatens to demolish, like an explosive harpoon, the assumption that they are simply an animal commodity to be harvested from the sea.
Whales closer to us than thought, say scientists, 6/20/10

For many years, the expectation of dolphin intelligence has been drummed. Time and money has been spent. So far the results have been rather slim.
This suggests that we need to try a lot harder. The capability is there and the human need for an oceanic partner is obvious.
I think that the major difficulty so far is our inability to relate to the natural complexity of the dolphin environment. They must be able to sense many types of water conditions and sonic signals. These could be mapped with their own sonic generation in a way that is intelligible to them. We need a device able to produce similar sounds that is highly nuanced in order to provide us with sufficient complexity and it should now be linked to our own voice recognition software to possibly develop even a minimum form of two way communication.
Our present technical skill makes such an arrangement plausible. I have no doubt that once the dolphins can communicate they will enthusiastically. They have been trying forever.
Dolphins as Persons, 1/7/10

Elephant gives birth
Elephant Safari Park, Taro, Bali, 9/9/09

KEVIN RICHARDSON THE LION WHISPERER
Kevin has always shown an interest in all types of creatures large and small and from an early age at just 3, was breeding crickets under his bed and keeping a pet toad called “Paddajie”. He grew from a young boy who cared for so many animals that he was called “The Bird Man of Orange Grove” in his home town to an adolescent who ran wild and, finally, to a man who is able to cross the divide between humans and predators. As a self-taught animal behaviorist, Richardson has broken every safety rule known to humans when working with these wild animals. Flouting common misconceptions that breaking an animal’s spirit with sticks and chains is the best way to subdue them, he uses love, understanding and trust to develop personal bonds with them. His unique method of getting to know their individual personalities, what makes each of them angry, happy, upset, or irritated-just like a mother understands a child-has caused them to accept him like one of their own into their fold
Can you believe what you see?, 3/19/9
A very special Lioness, & her Cubs, 1/22/9
Leopard attacks Kevin!, 10/15/8
Lioness forgives Kevin in the End, 5/10/7