The Sciences
Crying Baby Mammals All Sound the Same to Mama
Distress calls of infant mammals are strikingly similar
Stories by Jason G. Goldman
The Sciences
Which Direction Home?
Mom and dad can give some migrating birds mixed signals about how to get home
The Sciences
Know the Jargon: “Human Shield Effect”
Animals aren’t as vigilant for predators when they know humans are around
Mind
Where Did The Thoughtful Animal Go?
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve no doubt noticed that things have been a little quiet around here. While this blog isn’t dead, per se, it’s on an extended hibernation...
Mind
Western Scrub Jays Are Capable of Metacognition
Evidence suggests that humans are not the only animals that can think about thinking
Evolution
Killing Big Animals Allows Rodents (and Their Fleas) to Flourish
Conservation may be important for human health
Squawking Birds Give Away Their Nest Sizes
How to count seabirds on islands using sound
Bees Living in Cities Are Building Their Homes with Plastic
It’s the first documentation of insects incorporating plastic trash into nests
Bucks Groan Loud and Fast to Get the Girl
A fallow buck judges a rival's call to tell whether he can be trounced in a mating contest
Talking Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria
Earlier this week I sat down with my friend Cara Santa Maria to chat on her excellent podcast, Talk Nerdy. The conversation was wide-ranging: we talked about the discovery of a new group of insects in which the females have what many are calling a “penis-like structure” (but which the researchers have labeled a gynosome), [...]..
Health
Are Pets Good for Kids?
People overwhelmingly believe that having pets is overall a good thing for children. Indeed, a 2003 paper by developmental psychologist Gail F.
Best of March, 2014
March was a busy month! Here’s everything I wrote last month. Here on The Thoughtful Animal: Oil Pollution is Making Gulf Dolphins Sick Studying Contagious Yawning Might Help Us Build Better Societies The Turtle with Human Eyes When Animals Act Like People in Stories, Kids Can't Learn At Conservation Magazine’s Conservation This Week blog: Move [...]..
Environment
More Oarfish And This Time They’re Alive
In October, two oarfish mysteriously washed up dead on beaches in Southern California. It’s unusual to find one intact oarfish carcass, so the fact that there were two within days of each other had scientists scratching their heads...
Mind
When Animals Act Like People in Stories, Kids Can’t Learn
"Yum, these grass and plants are delicious!" Mother cavy thinks as she eats her breakfast. "I will feed some to my baby cavies too!" she says.
No-Till Farming Is Even Better for Wildlife Than Thought
Some species adapt well to no-till fields
The Turtle with Human Eyes
At first glance, most eyes look the same. There’s a small opening through which light passes. That light goes through the transparent liquid behind the lens and strikes the retina, a thin film of light-sensitive nerve cells that line the back of the eye...
Studying Contagious Yawning Might Help Us Build Better Societies
We often turn to dogs and to chimpanzees to understand our species. Chimpanzees are our closest relatives (with bonobos), while centuries of selective breeding have turned dogs into a species uniquely suited to comprehend our own social cues...
Pupils Dilate or Expand in Response to Mere Thoughts of Light or Dark
Imagination triggers some of the same physical mechanisms involved in actual sight
Sustainability
Oil Pollution is Making Gulf Dolphins Sick
For eighty-seven days in 2010, 210 million gallons of oil from wells below the Deepwater Horizon poured into the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers announced recently that as a result, Bottlenose dolphins in Louisiana’s Barataria Bay are suffering from a host of maladies, including lung disease and adrenal problems...
Cows Learn Better With Friends
My schoolteachers took effort to separate close friends when arranging their classroom seating charts. The idea was that we’d pay more attention to our lessons if we were distracted by our buddies...
