When boars attack: Terrified shoppers flee from crazed creature on rampage in shopping centre

By Ian Sparks


Rampage: The boar ran amok in a shopping arcade in the city of Nancy, France, before finally being brought down by a tranquiliser dart (red arrow in its flank)


A crazed wild boar wreaked havoc when it went on the rampage in a shopping centre in France.

The ten-stone 'hairy pig' with pointed tusks charged into a supermarket through a service entrance, smashing through product displays and sending shoppers fleeing in panic.

The animal then burst through a checkout, along a shopping arcade and into a hairdressing salon in Nancy, Lorraine.

As customers ran to safety, security men managed to trap the boar inside and lock the door.

Knocked out: The boar slumps on the floor after the sedative finally worked through its system


The beast then 'smashed everything in sight' in the salon at the commercial centre of Nancy on Tuesday, eye-witnesses revealed.

The shopping centre's security chief Gregory Gobin said: 'Once the boar realised it was cornered it went berserk.

'It tore sinks from the walls, ripped and trampled the furniture and sent hair products flying in all directions.

'The room was devastated and the entire damage caused by the animal will run into tens of thousands of euros.'

The boar was locked inside the salon for an hour before a vet was called who shot it with a tranquilliser dart.

A fire service spokesman at the scene added: 'It is likely this animal strayed into the supermarket from fields nearby where there is a population of boars. It will probably now be put down.'


Extreme measures: A security man readies a rifle loaded with a tranquiliser after being called to the shopping centre


Source:dailymail

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Four in ten of us can't stand next door's pet

By Daily Mail Reporter



Man's best friend? Four in ten people said they couldn't stand the pets that their neighbours owned


While we see our pets as part of the family, it seems those living next door seldom take such a kindly view.

In fact, four out of ten homeowners admit to hating their neighbours’ pets, according to a survey.

Dogs barking through the night, cats fouling the lawn and pets digging up gardens are just some of the most common complaints.

Other pet hates are cats’ footprints left on cars, dogs jumping up with muddy paws and cat ‘burglars’ sneaking into houses and stealing food.

The study of 2,000 adults found that a third are tormented by the animals next door while one in ten have warred with a neighbour over their annoying pet.

One in 20 people have moved house because they couldn’t stand living next door to the problem pets any longer.

Understandably, fighting and wailing cats were also unpopular, as were dogs allowed to mess on lawns, while some people just hate the smell of their neighbours’ pets.

Phil Paterson-Fox, of Gocompare.com, which conducted the research, said: ‘It is hard enough to get on with neighbours as it is, without pets making a nuisance of themselves.’

He added: ‘It can sometimes be difficult to approach neighbours about their pets as, in many cases, pet owners treat their pets as another member of the family. In all fairness, many neighbours with pets will be blissfully unaware of the trouble their pets are causing.’


Source:dailymail

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Blind man keeps his old guide dog after it loses its sight... and then gets a new one who now leads them both around

By Daily Mail Reporter


Man (and dog's) best friend: Graham Waspe cuddles up with guide dog Opal (left) and Edward at his home


After six years of loyal service, Graham Waspe was devastated when his guide dog Edward was left blind after developing cataracts.

But his devastation turned to joy when his replacement Opal turned out to be a real gem.

Mr Waspe's new dog is not just aiding his owner to carry out everyday tasks, but also helping Edward to get around.


Mr Waspe, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, received his new dog last November after Edward developed the inoperable problem which resulted in him needing both eyes removed.

And the two-year-old bitch has stepped in where Edward left off as they tour their old haunts together.

While Edward is well know across the schools and community groups of Suffolk, Opal is now building his own reputation as their owners give talks about the Guide Dogs charity, training for such special dogs and the incredible ways they help their owners.

Graham said: 'Opal's been great for both of us. I don't know what we'd do without her.'

And his wife Sandra, 58, said that despite the loss of his eyes, Edward still loved nothing more than to be around children, have his tummy tickled and receive lots of attention.

The eight-year-old has been retired for four months but the loss of his eyesight has shown no sign of slowing him down.

Sandra said: 'We were both devastated and cried buckets on the night they told us they were going to remove his first eye.

Best buddies: The Waspes say the two dogs have got on fine since they came together, with Opal taking Edward to all his old haunts


'Graham said then "do you think he will ever be happy again?" and then they said they would have to remove the second eye.'

She added: 'He is still very popular - just as much, if not more than before.

'People ask lots of questions about how he copes and he is probably more famous now because even more people stop to talk to him.'

Sandra said Opal had arrived shortly after Edward retired and the two dogs got along fine.

'Opal arrived far quicker than expected because, sadly, a couple of people in the Stowmarket area with fairly young guide dogs had died,' she said.

Popular: The two dogs have attracted a large number of admirers during their tours of schools and community groups in Suffolk


'We got Opal on November 12 and she started training with Graham on the 16th and they were qualified in early December.'

Mr Waspe has limited vision in only one of his eyes following two separate incidents earlier in his life and coped without a guide dog until 2004.

As well as carrying out their school visits to raise awareness, the Waspes also do vital fundraising and run a local group.


Source:dailymail

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Moments from tragedy: Just seconds after this picture was taken, the rider was crushed to death when her horse fell on her

By Andy Dolan


Jo Rugman, 37, fell from her horse at the next fence and was killed as her husband and young daughter stood yards away


Focused and determined, she sails over the fence on the cross-country course.

But Jo Rugman was just seconds from tragedy when this picture was taken.

The mother-of-two fell from her horse at the next fence and was killed as her husband and young daughter stood yards away.


Mrs Rugman, 37, is thought to have been crushed by the horse after the animal clipped the top of the fence and fell on her.

Her death is the first fatality of a rider in the sport of team chasing since its inception in 1974.

Mrs Rugman, an experienced rider who was secretary of the Warwickshire Hunt, was following her three team-mates over a tyre fence at the course on a farm outside Cirencester, Gloucestershire, when her gelding, Fitzwilliam Square, stumbled.

The horse was unhurt, but the seriously injured Mrs Rugman was airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

The photograph was given to the Daily Mail with the blessing of her husband John, 40, a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers who heads the professional services firm’s regional valuations practice.

He was at the event with their seven-year-old daughter Isabel. The couple’s son Harry, nine, was not there. Mr Rugman was yesterday being comforted by relatives at the family’s £700,000 farmhouse outside Banbury, Oxfordshire.

He said their children were both ‘keen riders’ and added: ‘Jo was a wonderful wife and mother, and an inspiration to her family. She was a gifted horsewoman operating at the top of her game, who will be sorely missed by everyone.’

The seriously injured Mrs Rugman was airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where she was pronounced dead a short time later


Mr Rugman said his wife had ‘really connected with a great many people, and it is their support now which is giving me such strength’. In team chasing the teams set off at intervals and race against the clock, the time of the third member of each team being taken as the time of the team.

Many teams use four riders and horses so they can still compete if one horse falls or refuses a fence.

Mrs Rugman’s team, A Class Act, was the second of around 15 teams set to negotiate the course. The event on Sunday, organised by the Vale of White Horse Hunt, was abandoned after the tragedy.

Yesterday team member Jessica Lewis said Mr Rugman had persuaded the team to keep competing in his wife’s honour.

Miss Lewis, speaking on behalf of team-mates Andrew Shipley and Charlotte Alexander, said: ‘Jo was a beautiful and brave rider, and fiercely competitive. She was always smiling and was a true team player.

‘The team will never be the same without her, but in our hearts we know she will always be with us.’

Sam Butler, joint master of the Warwickshire Hunt, said Mrs Rugman was ‘as good on a horse as anyone I know in Warwickshire’.

Sunday’s event was a qualifier for the national championships and attracted competitors from across the country.

Minutes before the tragedy involving Mrs Rugman, a horse snapped a leg bone while galloping between fences and had to be put down.


Source:dailymail

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Tracked for the first time: The incredible 4,500-mile Atlantic Ocean journey of tiny turtles as young as four months old

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Incredible journey: A baby loggerhead turtle carries one of the specially adapted 9gram satellite tags as it sets off on its epic journey


Scientists have lifted the lid on an incredible 70-day journey that wild turtles, some younger than six months old, take for the first time.

Researchers tagged some of the smallest and youngest ever baby turtles to be tracked, revealing the epic 4,500 mile journey in the Atlantic Ocean.

The young Loggerhead turtles were monitored by satellite as they made their journey - the equivalent of travelling from London to Mumbai.


Scientists customised the 9gm tracker tags normally used for birds, making them waterproof, before gluing them onto the reptiles' shells.

Jeanette Wyneken and Kate Mansfield, from Florida Atlantic University, said they were amazed at the length of the journey made by the 17 tiny turtles.

'This is the first time turtles aged four months have ever been tagged and tracked by satellite,' said Dr Wyneken.

'Previously we have never known what these young turtles do once they leave their beach nests and swim off into the ocean.

'It was important to us that the tags did not stop them from behaving normally. Thankfully they acted as as if there was nothing attached to there backs at all.

'Seaweed is an important habitat for the turtles and they had no problem moving around it.'


Dr Jeanette Wyneken snorkelling with a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle. It is hoped the research can help identify areas that need protecting


Using data transmitted by the tags, the team was able to map every movement.

Dr Wyneken said: 'The turtles varied a lot in their movements, more so than we expected. They're likely doing much more than just paddling straight to the deep water and riding the current.

'We're very happy and excited by the results.'

The 17 satellite tags cost £32,000 and allowed the animals to be monitored from anywhere on the planet.


The 17 satellite tags cost £32,000 and allowed the animals to be monitored from anywhere on the planet. Researchers now know that their movements vary a lot more than they thought


The little loggerhead turtles were captured from their Florida beach nests especially to take part the tagging project.

The hand-sized reptiles were between four and six months old when they were released 10-miles east of Palm Beach and weighed only 300 grams.

When they are between six and eight months of age they outgrow the tags which fall off into the sea.

'We're trying to protect them from harm,' said Jeanette.


4,500 miles: This map of Florida shows the routes taken by five of the turtles on their epic 70 day trip into the North Atlantic Ocean


'The question is one of basic natural history: where are they going? For how long and what are the risks in between?

'If you don't know where they are or what places they're visiting you don't know what areas you need to protect.

'And if you don't have this information you're gambling with the method you're using to protect them and enhance their survival.'

Funding for the project came from the University of New Hampshire's Large Pelagics Research Center, Save Our Seas Foundation, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, and the Florida Sea Turtle Licence Plate Grants Program.

The full results of the tracking are expected to be published later this year.

source: dailymail

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If there's a mouse in the house he's probably singing love songs

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Mice are born with an innate love of singing in a series of chirps and whistles


For lovers of whimsy, the 1970s TV show Bagpuss was a delight, not least because it featured mice who sang in falsetto tones.

But it seems those animated rodents were closer to the real world than we imagined.
Scientists have discovered that far from being quiet, mice are actually born with an innate love of singing.

When a male comes across a potential mate, he bursts into a complex series of loud chirps and whistles that sound remarkably like birdsong.

Although the ultrasonic calls are too high-pitched for the human ear to pick up, the love songs allow females to weigh up the most suitable father for their offspring.


The 1970s TV show Bagpuss featured mice who sang in falsetto tones


Scientists have previously known that mice emit squeaks that are inaudible to humans. In 2005, U.S. researchers discovered that these noises are made up of repeated phrases just like the songs of birds and whales.

Since then, researchers have been trying to find out whether the songs are programmed into the brains of mice from birth, or whether they learn them from their mothers.

Now a team of Japanese scientists has found the answer. They used two strains of laboratory mice with distinct songs. Males from each strain were raised in litters of the opposite strain until they were weaned.

At the age of ten to 20 weeks their calls were recorded and analysed. Dr Takefumi Kikusui, who led the study, told journal PLoS that the mice sang the songs of their biological parents – not their foster mothers.

source: dailymail

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This is a shaggy dog story: Norman the hound likes to scooter round town

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Norman gets his foot up on the scooter and prepares himself for the off


As shaggy dog stories go, the one about Norman the very bright Briard who is a wizz riding his scooter ranks high on the list.

The clever canine, who lives with the Cobb family in Canton, Georgia, competes in many obedience competitions and received his Companion Dog Title at just 15 months of age after four first place finishes.

But it's his razor scooter that has remained the pooch's passion since he was a mere pup when his owner, Karen Cobb, took him out for his first spin.

'He began playing with the kid's scooter in the backyard and we thought it would be fun to give him a ride on it,' says Karen. 'Then we decided to teach him to push it, and now he loves riding his scooter.'

His scooting antics have already made him popular on the Internet, and his Facebook page has quite a following.


Let's get this show on the road: Norman puts his back into it


Off we go: Norman gets both feet on the platform and starts to build up a bit of speed


Norman, now 20 months old, has even attracted the attention of television show host and comedian David Letterman and last month made an appearance on Stupid Pet Tricks on The Late Show.

Briards originate from France and their recognised talents include search and rescue, police work, military work, herding, watchdogging and guarding, but they also also make excellent companions, finding favour with Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson.




source: dailymail

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Giant Pandas, new home at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo

In this March 4, 2011 photo released by Tokyo Zoological Park Society Wednesday, March 9, 2011, a female giant panda, one of two five-year-old pandas arrived from China on Feb. 21, is photographed in her new home at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. The panda whose name was Xiannu in China now has new name Shin Shin in Japan, the society announced Wednesday. Shin Shin and male panda Bili whose new name is Ri Ri are going to debut for the public on March 22, the society said.



In this March 6, 2011 photo released by Tokyo Zoological Park Society Wednesday, March 9, 2011, a male giant panda, one of two five-year-old pandas arrived from China on Feb. 21, is photographed in his new home at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. The panda whose name was Bili in China now has new name Ri Ri in Japan, the society announced Wednesday. Ri Ri and female panda Xiannu whose new name is Shin Shin are going to debut for the public on March 22, the society said.



source: Daylife
photo: AP Photo

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I'm feeling a bit up and down today: Wonky waterbuck stands out from the crowd with his lop-sided horns

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

One of a kind: This waterbuck's unusual appearance made him look like he had been fitted with an extraordinary head set


Look who's bucking the trend.

An unusual twist in this waterbuck's horn made him look like he had been fitted with an extraordinary head set.

Unlike his pals, who had two straight horns, this chap had one which had grown in a bizarre curl.

The animal's lop-sided appearance made him stick out like a sore thumb.

Amateur photographer Ingrid Bunse snapped this photograph while on safari in the Ongava Wilderness Reserve, Namibia.

The 49-year-old, from Cologne, Germany, has been visiting Africa for several years but admitted she had never seen a sight like it before.

She said: 'When I spotted this animal I knew I had to get a picture because it was so unusual - I've never seen anything like it.


Safari: The unusual specimen was spotted by a keen-eyed German tourist on holiday in Namibia


'I don't know what caused the horn to curl like this but it didn't seem to be too bothered by it.'

Waterbuck are a large species of antelope found across the savannah of sub-Saharan Africa.

The solitary males can grow up to 54in at the shoulder and a weight of 660lb. In their prime, they can command a territory of around 300 acres.

The long spiral structured horns, found only in males, usually sweep back and up.
Despite their name, they do not spend much time in the water, except to take refuge from predators.

Mrs Bunse, who works in a publishing house, added: 'I think it is something special and rare.

'Everybody can do the perfect lion shot if the animal is close and posing but this waterbuck is special, something I will probably only see once in a lifetime.'


source: dailymail

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British couple told to keep quiet after spotting shark close to Egyptian holiday resort

By Daily Mail Reporter


Killer: A British couple saw a tiger shark biting into a human corpse off the Egyptian coast


A British couple holidaying in Egypt saw a shark feasting on a human body but were asked not to mention the incident.

Richard King and Laura Hooper were on a dive boat near Sharm el-Sheikh when they saw a tiger shark eating a corpse only a few hundred yards from the shore.

But rather than stopping the boat to fish out the female body, the tour company kept going and told their passengers to keep quiet about seeing the shark.

Egyptian authorities had temporarily banned all diving at the resort last December after a German female tourist was killed by a shark in front of horrified swimmers.


At least four other tourists were thought to have been injured in shark attacks at the same time.

Mr King, from Swindon, told The Sun his partner was reduced to tears by the gruesome sight as they went on a scuba diving excursion.

‘We were asked by the crew not to say anything as it would be bad for tourism,’ he added.

‘We couldn't believe it when there were people swimming in the water the next day. There was no mention of sharks in the water or a dead body.’
The pair cut short their holiday after their shark encounter as their taste for the ocean had been ruined.

A spokesman for the tour company involved said the corpse had not been killed by a shark and insisted the dive boat crew reported the sighting even as the vessel kept moving.


Diving fears: Sharm el-Sheikh saw several shark attacks last year


Source:dailymail

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Chickens may be birdbrained - but they can still 'feel' each other's pain

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Pecking order: Female chickens have shown signs of anxiety when their young were in distress


You might think chickens are way down the pecking order in the animal kingdom when it comes to emotional intelligence.

But it turns out that mother hens are such attentive, caring parents that they ‘feel’ their chicks’ pain.

In experiments, female chickens showed clear signs of anxiety when their young were in distress. It is the first time scientists have discovered empathy in a bird.

The ability to feel someone’s pain or see their point of view was once thought to be uniquely human. But recent studies suggest animals may also experience empathy.
The tests on hens have important implications for the welfare of chickens in battery farms and science laboratories.

The British researchers chose hens and chicks because empathy is assumed to have evolved to help parents care for their young.

Jo Edgar, the PhD student at Bristol University who led the study, said: ‘The extent to which animals are affected by the distress of others is of high relevance to the welfare of farm and laboratory animals.

'We found that adult female birds possess at least one of the essential underpinning attributes of empathy – the ability to be affected by, and share, the emotional state of another.’


The researchers tested the mother hens’ reactions when their chicks’ feathers were ruffled with a puff of air.

When the chicks were exposed to the gusts, they showed signs of distress that were mirrored by their mothers. The hens’ heart rates increased, they became increasingly alert and, in a recognised sign of stress, their eye temperature lowered.

Levels of preening were reduced and the mothers clucked at the chicks more, according to the findings reported online today by the Royal Society.

The researchers said chickens reared commercially regularly encounter other birds showing signs of pain and distress ‘owing to routine husbandry practices or because of the high prevalence of conditions such as bone fractures or leg disorders’.


source: dailymail

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It's a frog's life!

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Having a vine time: A tomato plant is a great place to hang


They're not everyone’s idea of the perfect model — but these frogs have spawned a brilliant set of photographs.

It’s all the work of amateur photographer Bob Garas, 53, who patiently snapped the tiny amphibians at his home in Orlando, Florida.

‘We have lots of frogs around here,’ he says. ‘After it rains it’s not unusual to find dozens of them at the doors and windows.'


Cracked it: This little fellow felt he needed to come out of his shell


By the book: But is this chap in the frame for a bestseller?



One for the toad? Perhaps this frog's been on the bottle a little too long


In search of the perfect shot, he will often spend hours working with his unusual subjects.

Bored of humans and more obvious pets he turned his talents to frogs, but admits the the task takes a great deal of patience.


Tricky treat: Two scamps climb inside a pumpkin ready for Halloween


'I love animals and so I decided to try and do something a bit different with the frogs which were paying me a visit.

'Every now and then I will just take a frog into the studio and sit it on a a prop, I just choose things which I believe will make for an interesting photograph.

'Of course it's not always easy. Sometimes I strike lucky and I get one which is happy to co-operate with me, but other times they just end up jumping everywhere including half way up the walls.


Hello petal: This tiny Kermit's found a really daffy place to hide


Getting it taped: Inch by inch, this frog has the measure of this obstacle


'Once I have captured the shot I simply put the frogs back outside.

'I have been taking pictures since I got my first digital camera ten years ago and I've worked with lots of other animals before including chickens and dogs.

'I have to admit frogs are the biggest challenge but the result is definitely worth it.'

They’re not harmed, of course, and after they’ve had their close-ups, Bob makes sure they hop it, safely, back into the wild.


Budding climber: Hanging on by his fingertips, he's determined to conquer this heavy plant


source: dailymail

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Love in a cold climate: Meet the penguin with a heart-shaped breast

By Daily Mail Reporter


While most of us might wear our hearts on our sleeve, this little chap shows it off in just the right place.

He is an Emperor penguin chick whose change of plumage into adulthood was brrrrrilliantly blessed by Mother Nature.

The white heart-shaped patch on his chest is a natural formation due to the moulting of his feathers.

Big-hearted: The baby Emperor penguin, frozen in time, with a unique heart-shaped plumage on his chest. It was pictured by award-winning photographer Sue Flood in the Antarctic


The baby penguin is blissfully aware that not only is he the focus of a heart-warming image, but that he is also literally one in a million too.

Award-winning photographer and wildlife film-maker Sue Flood said that in the 20 years she has been taking pictures in the Arctic and Antarctic, and on more than 30 trips to the frozen plains, she had never picked up such a penguin phenomenon.

She said: 'It's the only one I have ever come across with a bib of this shape.

'I took the picture at a time when Emperor penguin chicks are gaining their adult plumage and are a mix of grey baby down and "penguin suit" colours.

'This one is one in a million and in all my time as a photographer he's the only one I have seen with a bib of this shape - when I saw it, I just couldn't believe it'.
The Emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species.

Its diet consists primarily of fish but can also include crustaceans, such as krill, and squid.

While hunting, it can remain submerged for up to 18 minutes, diving to a depth of 535m and is able to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential organ functions in order to do this.

The Emperor penguin is perhaps best known for the sequence of journeys adults make each year in order to mate and to feed their offspring.

The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, it treks as many as 120 km over the ice to breeding colonies which may include thousands of individuals.

The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed.

Mrs Flood, who has worked on some of the BBC's most successful natural history programmes including Blue Planet and Natural World, has won a clutch of awards for her photography.

Some of her amazing pictures have now been drawn together for her first book, Cold Places, which is published later this month.

It coincides with an exhibition - Cold Places: From Pole To Pole - of 50 of her photographs at London's prestigious Getty Images Gallery.

She said: 'There are times when I question why I'm so drawn to the Poles - for instance, when camping in -40 degree temperatures, enduring the hardships of macho ice-breaker life or when my eyes won't open because my eyelashes have frozen together.

'But there is something magical about the light, the isolation and the stillness, and something inspirational about how resolute animals and people have to be to survive there.

'Yes, the Poles are cold places but they also warm the heart, as I hope my book and images show.'


Source:dailymail

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Send for the tusk force! Why elephants really are good at teamwork

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Teamwork: Researchers were amazed at how quickly the elephants started working together


They are famed for their feats of extraordinary memory. Now a new study has shown that elephants are equally good at lending a helping trunk.

In a series of experiments the gentle giants showed off the kind of co-operation skills normally seen in humans or chimpanzees when trying to get food.

The researchers who studied the elephants were amazed how quickly they learnt to work together.


Cambridge University psychologist Dr Joshua Plotnik who carried out the study at a Thai elephant sanctuary, said there was plenty of anecdotal evidence of elephants helping each other out.

'There are reports of an elephant falling into a mud pit - and two other elephants standing on each side to left them out,' he said. 'Elephants have been seen coming back to the location of dead family members and touching their bones. And in groups, elephants will wait to allow others to catch up if they have fallen behind.'

With colleagues from America and Thailand, Dr Plotnik designed an experiment to test the social skills of six pairs of adults.


Helping: In the wild elephants take care of one another and the females help look after one another's young


The researchers placed a tray laden with two bowls of food behind a net and arranged two 'lanes' for elephants to stand in front of the net.

A rope was then threaded through the tray and each end lay in one of the lanes for the elephant to pick up.

The tray was arranged so that the food could only be pulled towards the elephants if both ends of the rope were tugged in the same direction. If just one elephant pulled on the rope, the rope would become unthreaded and the food would not move.

The elephants were briefly taught that pulling on the ropes moved the tray and then put through their paces.

In the first series of tests the creatures quickly learned to pull the rope only if their partner had the rope in his or her trunk.

In a variation of the same test, one elephant was released into its lane before the other one. In the vast majority of cases, the elephant only picked up the rope once a second elephant had been released into the neighbouring lane and was standing next to it.

The researchers also tested the problem solving skills of the elephants by occasionally curling up one of the ropes and putting in sight but out of reach.

Four out of five elephants didn't bother trying to pull the tray if their partner was standing next to them - but couldn't reach their rope, the researchers report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

'Elephants may have reached a cooperative skill level on a par with that of chimpanzees,' the authors report.

One of the elephants even found a way to cheat the test by standing on its rope with a foot. Its partner then did all the work, but it still got the food reward.
'I wasn't surprised they could do this because I have worked with elephants,' said Dr Plotnik. 'But I was surprised how quickly they learnt to work together in this way.'

In the wild, elephants live in large single sex family groups. The female groups - which contain several generations - are particularly sociable and help each other raise young calves.

'If you have closely related females living together, taking care of the young, there's no need for conflict,' he added.


source : dailymail

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The best-fed pets in Britain (Part 1)

By LORRAINE FISHER

Pampered: Susan Richardson feeds her three Yorkshire Terriers only the best ingredients and hand makes the meals in her kitchen


My husband sells dried dog food and says it’s all they need, but I don’t believe him. I think dogs have to have fresh food, too. But I won’t feed them just anything — supermarket dog food may be only 50p a tin, but what’s in it?

Not just meat, but ground up bones, feathers as well as sugar, which makes dogs fat and damages their teeth. I’d never feed that to my little Yorkies.


I go to the butchers and buy proper meat — tonight it’s organic minced steak with pasta, all hand-cooked. I also make them eat peas, cauliflower and carrots, bones to gnaw on and half a teaspoon of yumega oil on their evening meal to make their coats shiny.

And I serve it all up on white china plates trimmed with gold, sitting with them while they’re eating to make sure they eat only their own.

And because dogs need a bit of crunch, they get Healthy Option dried food for breakfast and natural chew sticks to help their teeth, not to mention bacon ribs to clean their teeth — although I am careful to boil them first to get rid of the salt.

While I haven’t consulted dog experts about their diet, it’s obviously working — they’re very healthy and their teeth are incredibly white. And why shouldn’t it? I believe if it’s good for us, it’s good for them. Thankfully, because they’re so small, they cost us only £10 a week in meat.


Abi Pope feeds her two Burmese cats organic pet food and doesn't mind that is costs double the price of supermarket pet food


If we’d fed Coco and Milo on normal supermarket pet food, I think they’d be dead by now. It nearly killed them.

They were perfectly healthy when we bought them from a breeder aged just 12 weeks for £500 each.

We fed them on boiled fish and chicken for the first six weeks. But the problems started when we tried to wean them on to adult cat food. They went downhill quickly, being sick and having diarrhoea all the time. They became shadows of their former selves.

The vet said they’d either picked up a bug or eaten something bad in the garden, but they continued being sick for weeks. I suspected their food and tried lots of different varieties, but with no luck.

But it got so bad Coco ended up on a drip in the vets for four days because she was so dehydrated. I thought we were going to lose her. The vet recommended Royal Canin dry food and it worked immediately. We were so relieved.

But soon after, Coco and Milo got bored with it — they’d never really liked it and wanted wet food, too, but there was nothing we could give them.

In desperation, I tried tuna — it’s not something I eat because it’s not sustainable — but it worked for them. Despite this, I didn’t like having to abandon my principles even for my cats. Surely there was an alternative?

Then last Christmas, I walked past a ‘pop up shop’ for Lily’s Kitchen which sells only organic pet food. By this time, I was scared of trying anything different — the cats were so allergic to most things, they became ill immediately.

But miraculously, the new food worked — they loved it and, as it’s ethical, I’m happy, too. It costs just over a pound a sachet compared to the 30-40p of supermarket pet foods but, as far as I’m concerned, it’s worth every penny.


source: dailymail

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