Animals

April 22, 2025

Study Finds That Dogs Can Tell if Someone Is Untrustworthy

Fool a dog once, shame on you. Fool them twice? A study says you may not get away with that. Scientists from Kyoto University found that dogs can determine if you're trustworthy based on your actions, and even act according to that. More so, they may only follow commands from people that they believe in. The study, published in the journal Animal Cognition in 2015, was led by researcher Akiko Takaoka.

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April 18, 2025

Study Finds Crows Understand Basic Geometry, a Skill Thought to Be Unique to Humans Up Until Now

Alongside creatures like chimpanzees, dolphins, and dogs, crows are widely considered to be one of the world’s smartest animals. In fact, past research has proven that these birds can distinguish between human faces and voices, vocally count up to four, create and use tools, and even grasp the concept of water displacement better than an average 5- to 7-year-old child.

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April 16, 2025

Watch How Zoo Elephants Protect Their Herd During a Recent Earthquake in Southern California

Earthquakes are frightening experiences for anyone, but for elephants, who “hear” with their feet, they can be particularly terrifying. A video from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido shows how their elephants came together when a 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California on Monday, April 14. The video, published by the San Diego Wildlife Alliance, shows the elephants coming together in an “alert circle” as the camera shakes.

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April 8, 2025

100-Year-Old Tortoise Becomes First-Time Mom and Savior of a Species

There’s great news coming from Philadelphia Zoo. The institution has announced the hatching of four critically endangered Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises. Given that prior to their birth, there were only 44 individual tortoises of their kind in all U.S. zoos combined, the arrival of these baby turtles is essentially a lifeline for the survival of this species. The hatching marks a first for both the zoo and the hatchlings’ mother.

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