Livin’ Veg

What Does A Coconut Have To Do With An Octopus? December 16, 2009

AR news has been a little slow this week, so let’s take a moment to appreciate some amazing octopus news. Apparently scientists have found an octopus in Indonesia (let’s call him/her Coco) who uses halved coconut shells as shelter. That’s right. Crafty Coco uses tools! The first invertebrate to be observed doing so. Not only does Coco pull the shell over his head, but he also transports the shell when he moves so he can have it for later use. Yep. We’ve got an octopus with a plan.

I love when animals baffle people with their sophisticated uses of nature. People tend to dismiss the intelligence of an animal if they aren’t doing something that people can relate to. Well, people can relate to shelter and protection. People can relate to using tools. It makes them give more credit to the animal kingdom. Watch the video. If nothing else, it’s incredibly cool.

Feel Good Story: Fawn And Baby Bobcat BFF May 19, 2009

For the past two weeks wildlife rescuers have been trying to help save animals from the Jesusita wild fire in CA. 300,000 people have had to evacuate their homes and over 8,700 acres of land have been consumed.

Out of all that terrible news, there are some happy stories. One in particular that I think you’ll love. A baby bobcat was found dehydrated and near death. The little guy was nursed back to health. While getting better, they brought him a unique roommate. A three day old fawn. Now, usually they would keep these two creatures separate, but because of the chaos and the lack of space, chance put them together. Here is what happened:

During the mayhem of the fire, they were forced to put animals anywhere they could, since they had run out of crates large enough for the fawn. The kitten ran to the fawn, and it was instant bonding.

Read more here and enjoy the pic:) How much do I wish there was video…

Evidence on Primates Making Plans States the Obvious March 10, 2009

I love when breaking news comes out about animal behavior. Like NEWSFLASH: Animals can feel pain. Or Animals mourn their dead. It’s like, really? We needed a study to confirm that animals do this?

Well, there is new evidence that chimps make plans. I know. Stating the obvious. A chimp held at the zoo in Stockholm did the following:

A canny chimpanzee who calmly collected a stash of rocks and then hurled them at zoo visitors in fits of rage has confirmed that apes can plan ahead just like humans, a Swedish study said Monday.

Now, I find it more interesting that the chimp resented the people coming to view him like some spectacle. His fits of rage were probably him fed up of people bugging him while he’s trying to live his life. (I don’t like zoos very much. Even the best of them are mere shadows of the normal lives these animals will never have. But that’s a whole other conversation.)

In the off season, the chimp didn’t collect rocks to chuck at visitors. Which goes even further to show his planning capabilities.

People are always amazed by chimp behavior, and yet, we still test on them and treat them like inanimate objects by putting them through horrible experiments. If you haven’t seen or read about HSUS’s undercover investigation into the Iberia Research facility you should - and take action here.