Animals and General Wildlife

[Shepherd]

A baby pocket gopher from last month in my yard. Like birds, they leave the nest in the spring.

He is wet because one of my dogs was licking him. Fortunately he didn't qualify as dinner.

@ 4" or 10cm long

[Joe > Average]

Fortunately indeed . Well, I do prefer to admire their cuteness in someone else's yard, but I do like them anyway.

[MauiKane]

Very cute and heartwarming, and there is a lesson for us human folk as well:

[MauiKane]

Rescued Puppy and Autistic Boy Helping Each Other

http://www.lifewithdogs.tv

Xena is an incredible puppy that has survived horrible abuse. Her story has touched thousands. Now fully recovered Xena is helping others, especially one little boy with autism.

In September Xena was found abandoned and so emaciated she was on the verge of death. The rescue group Friends of Dekalb Animals miraculously nursed her back to health. Her recovery was soon all over Facebook and her story was helping to raise thousands of dollars for the care of abused animals. Lynn Herron of Friends of Dekalb Animals says Xena’s followers on Facebook have donated around $30,000. That money has helped establish the Xena Shelter Fund to help severely abused and injured animals like Xena.

Xena doesn’t just help raise money with her story on Facebook, but helps with Friends of Dekalb Animal local fundraisers as well. It was at a fundraiser last November that Xena would have a chance meeting with a little boy. That meeting would change both of their lives. Jonny Hickey and his dad were at the fundraiser when Xena ran up to them and greeted them. Jonny has autism and he had become a very withdrawn boy that didn’t enjoy interacting with others. However with Xena he felt comfortable and the two instantly bonded.

When Xena was fully recovered in March she became part of Jonny’s family and the two friends have been by each other’s side ever since. Jonny has become more talkative since Xena has come into his life.

As it turns out April is both “autism awareness” month and “prevention of cruelty to animals month” and Jonny asked his mom if he could make a YouTube video to bring awareness to both these causes. In the video Jonny states, “My name is Jonny and this is my puppy, Xena. Well, my Xena was hurt real bad by some not-so-nice people. And I have autism. So I think we make a pretty perfect team to spread the word to be nice to animals, and nice to kids like me.”

Link to video: Jonny and Xena

http://bcove.me/yhtcbzm

[Joe > Average]

Nice one .

That reminds me of the adopted cat that rescued the owner shortly after.

http://us.yhs4.search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdOExTH9RPTYA7HYPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByZ3RtN3J1BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkAw--/SIG=13f7gkf7k/EXP=1367325873/**http%3a//www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/22/cat-saves-womans-life-hours-adopted_n_1293820.html

[La Parisienne]

Rescued Puppy and Autistic Boy Helping Each Other

Great article! Thanks for sharing.

[La Parisienne]

I love sheep. These animals are quite peaceful:

[Mahi]

I love them too.

Wow,my family has bought a cow on their farm,for 1st time I see a cow so close in real,always see them far ,it's so beautiful but so hard to handle at first,wild infact,I always thought cows to be peaceful creatures,but no, not right I think.

[Joe > Average]

Temperaments vary and they do eat quite a bit, but I definitely like them . Of course, its best for them and the environment if they eat grass instead of grains though .

[La Parisienne]

Wow,my family has bought a cow on their farm

[Joe > Average]

[Joe > Average]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA7j7VF9A1M

[Mahi]

Temperaments vary and they do eat quite a bit, but I definitely like them . Of course, its best for them and the environment if they eat grass instead of grains though .

You mean sheep,why is it better to feed them grass insread of grains?I think both are needed for their feeding,or what?

[Mahi]

Some wildlife photography,[bears]

I used to like bears and always thought they're cute[relying on their image as cute,lovely animals in stories and toys] until I saw the movie Legends of the fall when I was a kid [in 1995] and I saw my favourite hero at the movie Brad Pitt get killed after a fight with a wild brown bear,since then I knew they're wild and fearful and I semi hated them,except Pandas ofcoarse.

[La Parisienne]

42 Saint Bernards.

[Shepherd]

Honey bees swarming in my mesquite tree, April 2009

[MauiKane]

[MauiKane]

Dolphins 'call each other by name'

 

Scientists have found further evidence that dolphins call each other by "name".

Research has revealed that the marine mammals use a unique whistle to identify each other.

A team from the University of St Andrews in Scotland found that when the animals hear their own call played back to them, they respond.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr Vincent Janik, from the university's Sea Mammal Research Unit, said: "(Dolphins) live in this three-dimensional environment, offshore without any kind of landmarks and they need to stay together as a group.

"These animals live in an environment where they need a very efficient system to stay in touch."

 

Signature whistles

It had been-long suspected that dolphins use distinctive whistles in much the same way that humans use names.

Previous research found that these calls were used frequently, and dolphins in the same groups were able to learn and copy the unusual sounds.

But this is the first time that the animals response to being addressed by their "name" has been studied.

 

To investigate, researchers recorded a group of wild bottlenose dolphins, capturing each animal's signature sound.

They then played these calls back using underwater speakers.

"We played signature whistles of animals in the group, we also played other whistles in their repertoire and then signature whistles of different populations - animals they had never seen in their lives," explained Dr Janik.

The researchers found that individuals only responded to their own calls, by sounding their whistle back.

The team believes the dolphins are acting like humans: when they hear their name, they answer.

Dr Janik said this skill probably came about to help the animals to stick together in a group in their vast underwater habitat.

He said: "Most of the time they can't see each other, they can't use smell underwater, which is a very important sense in mammals for recognition, and they also don't tend to hang out in one spot, so they don't have nests or burrows that they return to."

The researchers believe this is the first time this has been seen in an animal, although other studies have suggested some species of parrot may use sounds to label others in their group.

Dr Janik said that understanding how this skill evolved in parallel in very different groups of animals could tell us more about how communication developed in humans.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23410137

[La Parisienne]

Dolphins 'call each other by name'

 

WOW! They are extremely intelligent!

[2324lebron]

Amazing pics here

Look out, he's behind you! Eight-ton orca leaps 15ft into the air to finally capture dolphin he wanted for dinner after two-hour chase

Warning: Violence

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2377154/Eight-ton-orca-leaps-15ft-air-finally-capture-dolphin-hour-chase.html?ICO=most_read_module
 

Killer Whales are dolphins and it is believed that they were first known as "Whale Killers".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale