Date, time and venue:
Thursday 25 June 2009
7.00pm – 9.30pm
Prince Albert Suite, ZSL London Zoo, Outer Circle, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY
Jane Goodall and friend. Image (c) Michael Neugebauer
Dr Jane Goodall’s pioneering studies of wild chimpanzees revolutionised our knowledge about the sentience of these amazing animals.
This event is an exciting chance to meet Dr Goodall, hear more about her fascinating life and work, and take part in an informative question and answer session. Tickets are £20 for members of the Jane Goodall Institute and £40 for non members.
For more information and to book tickets, please contact Claire Quarendon at The Jane Goodall Institute, UK .
Tel: 023 8033 5660 or email claire@janegoodall.org.uk
Tags: chimpanzee, Communicating, Emotions, event, Jane Goodall DBE, Natural behaviour, sentience, tool use, wild
Posted in Chimps, Events | 1 Comment »
Mockingbirds can quickly recognise individual humans who seem to be a threat to their nest. After only a short time, the birds recognise someone who has bothered them and make big efforts to drive them away. But they ignore other passers-by or nearby strangers.
This research took place at the University of Florida, where Professor Doug Levey, a zoologist, is reported as saying:
Mockingbirds can quickly learn to recognise individuals
“We don’t know whether it’s unique to mockingbirds, but it does suggest these birds are a heck of a lot more intelligent than people have ever given them credit for. People have known for a long time that crows and parrots for example have a lot of intelligence. But these birds are fairly small. … It’ll change the way people view the intelligence of birds like this.”
The mockingbirds live in what is considered to be a natural environment, and researchers say their scientific paper will be the first published research to show that “wild animals living in their natural settings recognize individuals of other species.”
These clever birds show us yet again that we need to respect animals’ abilities when human actions affect their lives.
Tags: Communicating, Intelligence, Memory, mockingbird, Natural behaviour, recognition, sentience, wild
Posted in Birds, Intelligence | No Comments »
LuLu the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig is a star pig. When her human companion suffered a heart attack in their isolated holiday home, thirteen-month old LuLu charged to the rescue.
She squeezed through the ‘dog door’, scraping herself in the process, and headed for the road. This meant her leaving the fenced yard, which she never usually did on her own.
Then she laid in the road waiting for a car to stop. According to witnesses, it took 45 minutes before a kind driver did get out to see what was up. LuLu led him to the house and Jo Ann’s life was saved.
A follow-up article reported that the world was fascinated by LuLu’s courage and clever action. LuLu has had worldwide media coverage and TV appearances and she has been given a gold medal from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Tags: animal agriculture, animal farming, Communicating, communicatio, pig, sentience
Posted in Farm Animals, Pets (Companion animals), Pigs | 1 Comment »