Whale sharks are one of my all time favorite animals. They are captivating creatures, and should be protected in any way possible. Unlike the shark from JAWS(1975), which was a great white shark, whale sharks are known to not attack humans because of how laid back they are. These are wonderful creatures, and they deserve as much attention as the rest of the animal kingdom.
In this blog I will be discussing new developments in different areas of science each week. I hope you enjoy! .
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Whale sharks are one of my all time favorite animals. They are captivating creatures, and should be protected in any way possible. Unlike the shark from JAWS(1975), which was a great white shark, whale sharks are known to not attack humans because of how laid back they are. These are wonderful creatures, and they deserve as much attention as the rest of the animal kingdom.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Pigs are smart? Who Knew?!
This is a picture of two pigs going into a maze looking for food. You may ask, "Why?" Well I can answer that, but first we need to talk about a few other important(and interesting) topics. Pigs are said to be nothing but dumb farm animals, yet what if I were to tell you that they are much more than that. Aside from being quite adorable, they are actually intelligent animals who possess an outstanding memory and are able to trick other pigs out of getting something that another pig might want. In a research study done by Candace Croney, pigs were put in mazes to see if they were able to find food, and even given the chance to play video games(that's crazy, right?!). In an article written by Andy Wright, Pigheaded: How Smart are Swine?, he explains the entire process and gives quotes from the researches themselves. Croney's pigs were given joysticks made just for them, and they were able to play a video game in which they moved the joystick around with their feet or snout and hit their target. (I think Crush from Finding Nemo said it best when he says, "That's so totally awesome!" I mean, a pig playing video games? That's unheard of!)
Now, I bet you're still wondering about the pigs in a maze picture. Okay, I'll tell you. They put one small pig into the maze and allowed it to go look for the food. It was allowed to try twice,and the second time it usually found the food faster because it was able to remember where it was from the first run. The researchers did this for a few days then put a much larger pig in with the smaller pig. The smaller pig was nervous around the larger pig, and laid low for a few of the runs. Until finally the smaller pig got tired of not getting any food, so he started to trick the other pig into believing the food was in a different spot than where it actually was, and the smaller pig went and took the food for himself. That's pretty impressive. I mean, if I was that pig I would of just laid in the corner and pouted so that I didn't get in a fight with the large pig who could just sit on me.
Now, I bet you're still wondering about the pigs in a maze picture. Okay, I'll tell you. They put one small pig into the maze and allowed it to go look for the food. It was allowed to try twice,and the second time it usually found the food faster because it was able to remember where it was from the first run. The researchers did this for a few days then put a much larger pig in with the smaller pig. The smaller pig was nervous around the larger pig, and laid low for a few of the runs. Until finally the smaller pig got tired of not getting any food, so he started to trick the other pig into believing the food was in a different spot than where it actually was, and the smaller pig went and took the food for himself. That's pretty impressive. I mean, if I was that pig I would of just laid in the corner and pouted so that I didn't get in a fight with the large pig who could just sit on me.
I think this research study has brought forth a lot of questions, such as, "Are pigs an animal that we should try and save from slaughter because of their intelligence?" or the question that Candace Croney gives, “If we've decided to eat pigs despite the fact that they are smart, should we not at least use the information that we have to make their lives as positive as possible up until the point when we decide, ‘Well now they've become food?’ These questions are ones that may not be answered for a very long time. The human race is to focused on what is right for us and not what is right for every living creature on this planet. Everyone and everything deserves a nice life, and the human race as a whole should make sure that everyone, including animals, has a nice life.
Here's a short video showing one of the pigs playing the video game!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Dogs can read your moods based on your facial expression!
So I read an article on live science, and it talks about how dogs (yes adorable puppy dogs!) can tell if their owner is happy, sad, or mad based on their facial expression. How cool is that?! Researchers took a group of dogs, and while they were training them they showed them different pictures of humans with different facial expressions and by the end of the training period the dogs could tell what mood the human was in. After their training was over, the researchers showed them different pictures of humans and the dogs were still able to distinguish between the moods. I think that's pretty awesome. Dogs are wonderful animals and a full of so much compassion and love for their owner. Maybe that's why when their owner comes through the door upset they know that a cuddle buddy is just what they need.
I mean..How can you be sad when this adorable face is looking at you!! |
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