Ever had your pet beg to you for food? Well this is no different. This is Emma, performing her signature “hands out” behavior to indicate that she would like you to share whatever scrumptious things you have with her. Emma is a long tailed macaque that lives in a tourist park outside of Kuala Lumpur,…

Madagascar love birds are the smallest lovebirds and one of three sexually dimorphic (meaning males and females look different in size or color) lovebirds. Lovebirds got their names as they often sit in pairs preening each other’s feathers [Photo and caption by Meredith Lutz] Dubuc, R. G. Family Tree of the African Love Bird. AFA Watchbird, 5(1),…

Ruffed lemurs, like the black and white ruffed lemur pictured here (Varecia variegata editorum) exhibit a unique infant rearing strategy among primates. They give birth to litters of 2-3 altricial (meaning that they are rather helpless and not as developed at birth) babies in a nest. The babies stay in the nest while one adult…

It only takes one of these caterpillars to royally ruin a perfectly good field day. Caterpillars like these are covered in irritating hairs to avoid predation. However, if a human has an unexpected encounter with one, it can result in an uncomfortable skin rash that can last from minutes to hours. Thankfully I found this…

Geophagy, or eating soil, is observed in a variety of folivorous (leaf-eating) primates, including diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema) in the Maromizaha Protected area. This behavior may help to protect against harmful chemicals found in the leaves that they consume. [Photo and caption by Meredith Lutz] Semel, B. P., Baden, A. L., Salisbury, R. L., McGee, E….

This is what science looks like! That is if your science involves building enrichment puzzles for seals to help them learn how to forage for food! Enrichment and is a tool used to promote positive behaviors and provide cognitive stimulation to animals. This stimulus aims to encourage a species-typical “rock flipping” behavior in Hawaiian monk…

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) can be an elusive species, especially concerning the weaning process (going from milk to prey) in pups. Using stomach temperature telemetry (sensor that can detect changes in stomach temperature), researchers could detect patterns of food ingestion in pups. The results showed that 63.7% of milk ingestions occurred while the pups were…

Red slate-pencil urchins (Heterocentrotus mamillatus) often have permanent housemates (called obligate simbionts) a small shrimp (Levicaris mammillata) or the aptly-named red slate pencil urchin shrimp. While the relationship hasn’t been thoroughly researched, it seems that the shrimp keeps things nice and tidy, while the red-slate pencil urchin protects the shrimp from predators. [Photo and caption…

Although they may not look much like their more famous dancing sifaka cousins, woolly lemurs (Avahi) move by vertical clinging and leaping. Eastern woolly lemurs (Avahi laniger) like the one seen here are nocturnal, pair-living, folivorous (leaf-eating) primates only found in Madagascar. Madagascars’ 112 and counting lemur species are currently the most threatened mammal group…

Ever have a coastal picnic and have a uninvited guest sneak onto your picnic blanket and make off with your sandwich? Research shows that to protect your food, try staring down the gull that is eyeing that delicious feast you brought to the beach. When stared at, gulls took on average 21 seconds longer to…