Scientist proposes a ‘lunar ark’, a vault on the moon, to store frozen samples of endangered animals (infographic)

This story is both interesting – particularly if you are interested in science – and concerning. It might even be very worrying to some people. The lead author of this report, Mary Hagedorn, a marine biologist at the Smithsonian institution in Washington DC, has suggested that initially the frozen tissue of endangered animal species …

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Domestic dogs and cats have smaller brains than wild wolves and wildcats because of domestication

In general domestic dogs have smaller brains relative to body size compared to wild wolves

It is no surprise to me and perhaps others that both domestic dogs and cats have smaller brains than their wild cousins from whom they have descended: the grey wolf for dogs and the Eurasian wildcat for cats. The reason is obvious: domestication, which has removed the challenges for survival and the lesser need …

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Disconnect between the phrase ‘people of color’ and the science of colour

Disconnect between the physics of colour and the phrase ‘people of colour’

There is currently a big debate about Critical Race Theory (CRT) – an academic framework which examines race and racism. It’s a very complicated issue but advocates of CRT link animal welfare and/or the lack of it with their theories. And therefore, to discuss race and racism and CRT is indirectly to discuss animal …

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Crows can count back numbers through vocalisations (infographic)

Crows can recognise and count back numbers through their vocalisations like 3-year-old kids

This test by Dr Diana Liao confirms yet again that the crow is one of nature’s smartest creatures. The crow can look at a number such as the numeral 4 and confirm to researchers that they recognise the number by making their typical vocalisation, the caw, four times. They were imperfect however which indicated …

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Free-roaming domestic cats in Natura 2000 sites of central Spain

Fantasy image of a part of Spains Natura 2000 network of wildlife reserves

I am referring here to a study called: “Free-roaming domestic cats in Natura 2000 sites of central Spain: Home range, distance travelled and management implications”. The study is about how domestic cats are allowed to enter an extensive network of wildlife conservation reserves and sites in Spain called the Natura 2000 sites. There are …

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