science
Study the science of animals to get a deeper understanding of your pet's brain, body and behavior.
Feral cats in urban environments Research/Survey grant proposal
*Authors Note - I wrote this research paper while I was in college. Since then, we have more scientific data that tells us more about feral cats and the behavior of all cats that spend time outdoors. This was a topic I was passionate about then and that I am still passionate about today. I believe we should all, as pet owners, be responsible pet owners. Limit the time your cat spends outside if you can and have your dogs and cats spayed or neutered. Sorry not sorry to get all Bob Barker on y'all.
By Floyd Doolittle5 years ago in Petlife
What Exactly is Animal Communication?
Human to human telepathy was given a name in the 1880s. It is a means of communication without speaking or using our best known senses of sight, touch and hearing to interpret the message. We have other senses that we use less often, like intuition. Anyone can tune in to the common language of the universe with a bit of practice and trust. In this language, it makes no difference if you speak Italian or Spanish and wish to communicate with a shark in Norway. The language is universal, and the information comes in pictures, words (in the language you understand) and feelings.
By Brenda Mockler5 years ago in Petlife
The Ochre Sea Star and Blue Mussel
INTRODUCTION Day by day, humans live out their lives, darting to and fro, rarely noticing the sheer beauty and complexity that lies only a few yards away. Beauty exists everywhere: in the sky, in the trees, in the ground, but one such beauty is purely immeasurable… the ocean. Waves circle and crash in an endless motion, the wind gently nips at the supratidal trees, and organisms thrive within watery caverns. Only a few yards away from the beach lies an amazing relationship between the sea star and the blue mussel.
By Shelby Wells5 years ago in Petlife
Recognizing Leucism In Our Furry Friends
We all get excited about animals with abnormal colorations. The all-yellow cardinal spotted in Alabama created headlines and attracted hopeful birdwatchers, and after many admired an unusual all-white buffalo calf, controversy ensued when it was tragically killed. But many of us don't know the causes or names of these conditions. Oftentimes, abnormally-colored animals are simply grouped under 'albino' by casual observers. Much of the time, this is incorrect. Truly albino animals have a complete loss of melanin, the pigment that gives fur, skin, and other parts of the body its color. It leads to lack of pigment in the eyes, oftentimes presenting as red or pink eyes. However, more common in the wild is leucism - a partial, but not complete, loss of pigmentation.
By Patrick Kuklinski6 years ago in Petlife
Fun Facts About Your Family's Furry Friend
We love our dogs and cats. They are a part of our family to the point where we want to always do what is best for them and take good care of them. We will even go as far as to look for home remedies for itchy dogs or cats from issues such as fleas because we want to give them a natural alternative to chemicals that can be harmful to them. After all, these are our faithful loving companions. But there are some things about our furry little friends that we may not be aware, so here are some fun facts that could give us new insights into them.
By Sasha McGregor7 years ago in Petlife
Dolphins Like TV?
Dolphins are known to one of the very few animal species that demonstrate behavioral traits that resemble that of humans. These include establishing complex relationships with other animals, accomplishing common goals, teaching each other basic survival skills that are needed to survive out in the ocean, and even helping out with caring for each other's calves. However, recently, a group of researchers based in Key Largo recently discovered a way on how to enrich dolphins in human care when they are not playing with toys, nor doing public and private training sessions with their trainers—by simply watching a little bit of TV (no joke here).
By Jenna Deedy7 years ago in Petlife
How Utah’s Clever Fish Conservation Efforts Might Save Southern Resident Orcas in Washington State
Last Tuesday, Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources posted a short video on its Twitter page that depicts conservationists raining dozens of tiny fish from the underbelly of an aircraft into one of the state's high-mountain lakes. The conservationists say that the fish, which usually measure around one to three inches long, tend to survive the fall around 95 percent of the time. In fact, the fish are deliberately released around that small size to ensure that the animals would survive the fall, which to most people would prove to a deadly one.
By Jenna Deedy7 years ago in Petlife
When the Water Turns Red: How Red Tide Affects Florida’s Marine Animals
Karenia brevis is a type of dinoflagellate that is known to produce toxins that can accumulate in marine organisms like shellfish, which can lead to poisoning when eaten by other animals. It’s adapted to get nutrients on the West Florida Shelf Oligotrophic where it feeds on copepods and their feces. In order for it to thrive, it also needs low light and an upwelling to initiate a bloom. The bloom occurs in four stages which include initiation, growth, maintenance and termination. Yet researchers have yet to determine which stage could serve as a primary factor to a bloom maintenance since there are multiple sources that are involved in the process. What is known, though, is that once a bloom begins, a combination of winds and current push the newly formed red tide to shore. As a result, the dangers it can have on animals begins to arise when K. brevis gets ingested because after all, they do produce a neurotoxin that bioaccumulate up the food chain of Florida’s marine ecosystem. This toxin can also be airborne when the cell breaks up from wave activity.
By Jenna Deedy7 years ago in Petlife
The Southern Resident Orcas Need Our Help
For 17 days, a 20-year-old adult female orca named Tahlequah, also known as J35, carried her dead newborn calf in a tragic effort to continue caring for the calf despite it having to have died just shortly after birth. Around the same time, her cousin, J50, also known as Scarlet, is grossly underweight as the result of possible malnutrition from the lack of the orca's primary food source, chinook salmon. Currently, as of now, there are ongoing efforts to rescue Scarlet from becoming another casualty by using boats to deliver her live salmon through a test feeder while collecting breath samples to monitor her health. Also, researchers also plan to use the live fish to provide medication to the sickly three-year-old orca even though there is no guarantee that she will eat live fish, but at the same time, the fact that scientists are making an effort to feed a wild orca is very unprecedented.
By Jenna Deedy7 years ago in Petlife
Shark Attacks
According to the International Shark Attack File, there are less than 1000 attacks a year by sharks on humans and only between 10 and 15 of these results in death. To put this into perspective, 1,000 are killed by crocodiles, 1,500 by tigers, leopards and lions and 60,000 from being bitten by a snake. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, people kill between 20 and 30 million sharks a year in sport and commercial fishing, putting some species of shark on the endangered list.
By Clare Scanlan8 years ago in Petlife
