About Bird Intelligence - Part 1

A BBC report shows that some crows that were caught from the wild were able to find food by studying its reflection...

Clever New Caledonian crows can use mirrors to find food, according to scientists.

Researchers from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, tested wild-caught crows' reactions to mirrors.

The crows did not recognise themselves but found cached food items by studying their reflections.

The results put the birds in an elite group of species - which includes primates and elephants - known to be able to process mirror information.

Either these crows can't recognize themselves in a mirror or a test hasn't yet been devised that this crow would respond to - it may be they are just so focused on food that they ignore the irrelevant or that some experience of a different type is needed for them to respond in a different way.

Here is an example of a small brained bird recognizing itself...




First the example of a crow experimenting in front of a mirror:




Next an example of a crow using problem solving skills that has developed of much experimentation:




Another example of crows using tools but in the wild:




A Raven works a puzzle:



A bird doesn't like a turtle, peers over edge to see what its done:




Note the careful observation and the two different methods used to cross the puddle by these two Penguins...



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Added 17th October 2011

'Criminal' penguin caught on film...

Click Here To Watch Video On BBC

A "criminal" stone-stealing Adelie penguin has been captured on camera by a BBC film crew.

The team, filming for the documentary Frozen Planet, spent four months with the penguin colony on Ross Island, Antarctica.

The footage they captured shows a male penguin stealing stones from its neighbour's nest.

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Finally, check out this Parrot's ability to interact...



End of Part 1

Some birds aren't as bird brained as some people believe...

Notice in the following story how the story tellers don't find it unusual that a Penguin from the Antarctic swam 2000 miles out of its range, how this has happened before, how people just want to keep out of its way ('cause the poor thing must be lost... really? It swam 2000 miles out of its way and it's lost?), assume the 'poor dumb animal'(my words) must be lonely...



... on the other hand, I'm proud of them (The New Zealanders) for protecting the Penguin until someone decided to get involved and find out what was wrong. In many parts of the world it would have been killed.

"The lonely emperor penguin that showed up on a New Zealand beach last week is critically ill from eating sand and sticks, veterinarians told TVNZ.

Mal Hackett, penguin keeper at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch, thinks the bird swam 2,000 miles from its Antarctic home because it was already sick, and she isn't optimistic about the outcome."

It is a well known fact that Great Apes can recognize themselves in a mirror, thereby proving that they have self-awareness...



It is not a well known fact that some birds can recognize themselves in a mirror as well, thereby proving that some have self-awareness...



It is also well known that Apes use objects as tools to accomplish objectives, that fact is not so well known about birds despite the extremely large body of growing evidence...

Useful Information About Horses

Tens of thousands of horses roam the American west! How cool is that?


Here is a link from PBS

So where did the modern horses come from, the ones that spawned America’s cowboy myth? Historians believe that Spanish explorers brought the animals with them on their voyages to the New World in the 1500s. Let loose upon the land, they soon reclaimed the prairies that had once been theirs alone, producing vast herds of wild horses.

Even today, as HORSES shows, tens of thousands of wild horses roam the American West. To prevent the herds from destroying their habitat, the U.S. government captures hundreds each year and puts them up for adoption. For some of the proud new owners, the chance to ride a wild-born horse is a dream come true — and the continuation of an age-old relationship that has made the horse one of our most revered and fascinating animal partners.


Learn about wild horse...




For some weird reason, the problem of wild horses is being solved in a brutal and inhumane way (as if the people who passed/support this law like to watch or think about torture)...

HORSE SLAUGHTER HAS BEEN BANNED SINCE 2006 IN THE UNITED STATES. Since 2006, horse slaughter has been banned in the U.S. In the annual agriculture appropriations bill, language with bipartisan support has been carried that eliminates federal funding for any activity involving the inspection of horse meat for human consumption. This restriction has effectively closed horse slaughter for human consumption facilities in the U.S. But this year the language was not included by the subcommittee for the first time in five years.

Last week, Jim Moran introduced an amendment during full committee markup to restore the ban on horse slaughter in the U.S. The language was approved, but a floor fight on the issue looms in the near future.Jim Moran wants to convince all of his colleagues of the need to continue to uphold current law making this inappropriate practice off-limits, and I want YOU, MY REPRESENTATIVE to continue to uphold current law making Funding of USDA Inspections for Horse Meat for Human Consumption ILLEGAL in the United States.

HORSE SLAUGHTER IS NOT HUMANE. Dr. Lester Friedlander, DVM & former Chief USDA Inspector, told Congress in 2008, “The captive bolt is not a proper instrument for the slaughter of equids, these animals regain consciousness 30 seconds after being struck, they are fully aware they are being vivisected.” (IN PLAIN ENGLISH that means that they are SKINNED ALIVE and CONSCIOUS as their insides are ripped out.)

DO WE SLAUGHTER DOGS AND SEND THE MEAT TO COUNTRIES WHERE DOG MEAT IS EATEN? While horse meat is considered a delicacy in some countries, it is not in the U.S. There are moral implications for allowing a practice that upwards of nearly three-quarters of the American people oppose. Just because there is a market for horse meat in some countries does not mean the U.S. must be their supplier. There is a market for dog meat in some societies, too, and an overpopulation of them in the U.S. Should man’s best friend face a similar fate? Of course not, and the same principle should hold true for horses.

There are alternatives to killing horses - you can sterilize them or even break them for consumers to use.

When Animals Attack!

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Wild animals that are like pets

Jeff Musial, Part 1 (3/28/11)

Show Clips Jeff stops by to show off unusual animals to Jimmy, including Felix, a ring-tailed lemur.




Jeff Musial, Part 2 (3/28/11)




Jeff Musial, Part 3 (3/28/11)

TV Show: Shark Men

Fox News: Swimming With 'Shark Men'



This show is brought to you by National Geographic;

In the second season opener, the Shark Men head to the rocky, barren Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco. The National Marine Sanctuary, which oversees all activity in the area, has granted the Shark Men the first-ever permit to hook a great white shark at the Farallones for research, with the caveat that a sanctuary observer be onboard. Their first catch does not go smoothly, and the crew must eventually release the shark with part of the hook still caught in its throat.

Baby ape rejected but is taken care of

Fox news: Abandoned Ape Adopted

Apr 7, 2011

- 1:08 -

Houston Zoo volunteers raise endangered orangutan after mother rejected her

New home for tigers in africa on an old sheep farm

There's a new show on National Geographic called Tiger Man of Africa: The Mating Game. Here is an extract:

A seemingly impossible dream: to create a new population of wild tigers outside their natural habitat. One man, John Varty, did just that. Starting with two young, zoo-born tigers, Varty now has more than 15 tigers at his Tiger Canyons reserve, and has used ever-present cameras to document two years of their lives. Whether mating, birthing or hunting, Varty shows these magnificent tigers with remarkable, up close and personal detail.

A bobcat escapes a mountain lion by climbing a cactus!

Dogs actually use their eyes to see you and don't - only - use thier ability to smell!

Giant Turtle Nabbed in Vietnam Lake

Giant Turtle Nabbed in Vietnam Lake

Soldiers help capture the rare 450-pound beast in Hoan Kiem Lake in effort to save its life