Male Bark Beetles Have to Sing a Password to Be Given Access To a Female's Home
The males of many animals compete with each other for females. This can be through direct fighting, as in the case of crickets and fruitflies.
"behavior"
Is email one of the last private spaces online?
Given the large role email plays in our our online transactions, it can be unsettling when it seems like one of our associated identities has been commandeered by someone else.
Call of the Orangutan: The Importance of Play
The past couple of months have been excellent for our data collection, as we've encountered a number of parties of orangutans. This is a more common occurrence in the high productivity forests of Sumatra, where we’re working, than on Borneo, where animals tend to be much more dispersed due to limitations in food availability...
How Designers Can Improve Health Care For Everyone
The last place anyone expects to find a designer is in a hospital, clinic or operating room, but those are exactly the spaces where I embed myself.
Do Spayed and Neutered Dogs Get Cancer More Often?
Where I live, in America, it’s taken for granted that responsible owners spay or neuter their dogs. The population of homeless animals is still large enough that risking an unwanted litter is, to many owners, unthinkable...
Why Do Dogs Roll Over During Play?
A dog rolling over during play is a playful combat tactic, not submission
It's Not You It's Me: If a Dog Won't Play With You, It Could Be Your Fault
Do you use play signals when playing with dogs? (Hint: You should.)
Why Dogs Hump, Brought to Life In a Way You Can’t Unsee
I've been writing about dog humping for years. Jon Stewart mentioned my first piece, "H*mping: Why Do They Do It?" on air. Fine, it could have had something to do with the dog-friendly workplace at “The Daily Show” being featured in that issue of The Bark magazine, but for some reason, my humping article grabbed [...]..
Could Our Love of Dogs Obscure Their Most Important Parts?
Observing behavior can be part of loving dogs
The Emergence of Death and Dying as We Know It
Once upon a time, people died in their homes. Up until the time of death they were cared for by friends, family members, and appointed religious leaders.
Introducing The Psychology Podcast with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
It’s my great pleasure to introduce The Psychology Podcast with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, where we give you insights into the mind, brain, behavior and creativity.
Do Dogs Respond to Videotaped Commands?
This question was not proposed by a mad scientist bent on world doggie domination. The idea to see whether dogs follow life-sized videos is actually entirely sensible.
Submarine Tapirs, Sidewinding Anacondas and Other Unusual Animal Behaviors
Here are some amazing things that me and my friends have been talking about lately. They all concern fascinating discoveries or insights into unusual aspects of tetrapod behaviour.
Eight Great Octopus Videos!
It’s Octopus Chronicles‘ 88th post! To celebrate, I’ve gone on an all-arms hunt through the deep crevasses of the internet to find eight of my favorite octopus videos.
Is Data Really Changing the Nature of Wearable Technology?
Do you have a FitBit story? Last November, S came home with a Fitbit Flex. For those of you who don’t have one of these increasingly ubiquitous devices, it’s a small, plastic band that you wear on your wrist (there are other tracker options as well)...
What's a Dog For?
A few years back, John Homans, former executive editor of New York magazine, published What's a Dog For? — an intimate reflection on his beloved family dog, Stella, as well as a snapshot into the flourishing field of canine science...
Don't Judge a Dog By Its Coat
Pulp Fiction gangster Jules Winnfield is right. "A dog's got personality, and personality goes a long way.” Cross-species animal behavior studies confirm Winnfield's statement (although he's wrong about pigs: pigs have personality, too)...
Fear and Anxiety May Shorten Dogs' Lifespan
For some, it happens in the bathroom. For others, it's the living room. All across America, as fireworks go off on July 4th, many dogs experience varying degrees of fear and stress.
Free Will: Is Your Brain the Boss of You? [Video]
Philosophers have debated for years whether we deliberately make each of the many decisions we make every day, or if our brain does it for us, on autopilot.
Is Dog Training Scientific?
Dog owners seem pleased when they meet me because they can talk about their dog with someone who is truly interested. Sometimes they share intricate descriptions about something interesting that their dog does (often followed with the question, "Why does she do that?"), and other times, owners have a question like, "How do I get [...]..
