Weekly Recap, August 11 2012
It’s the ecology, stupid … The movie shooter’s animal connection … parrots know which box has the food … Are cats wiping out birds? … India’s out-of-control dog problem … Colbert v. Rep. King … Dog meets dolphins … Bears climb out of dumpster … lots more.
It’s the Ecology, Stupid: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’s on his knees every day saying prayers to help break the drought. But the drought is not a natural disaster; it’s man-made. And neither of the two presidential candidates will even discuss it.
Also NASA’s top climate scientist says that even his grimmest projections turn out to have underestimated what’s happening.
The Movie Shooter’s Animal Connection: I guessed, last week, that we’d hear of an animal cruelty and violence connection when more details emerged about the suspect in the Colorado movie theater massacre. Here it is.
Parrots Know Which Box Has the Food: It’s called inferential thinking. And, as usual, we humans used to assume that no other animals have it. (We don’t have it until we’re three years old.) Turns out African grey parrots have it in spades.
Are Cats Wiping Out Birds: Yes, and much more so than we thought. If your kitty has free access to the outdoors, she’s doing more damage than you know about. Five hundred million birds fall prey to cats every year, along with three billion other small animals. Feral cats are part of the problem, too. Check out the new info.
India’s Out-of-Control Dog Problem: Tens of millions of free-roaming dogs, millions of dog bites every year, 20,000 people dying from rabies each year (99 percent of them from dog bites). India’s stray dog problem is off the charts.
Also: Stephen Colbert takes Rep. Steve King apart for his idiotic comments about dog fighting. Priceless. Dogs meet dolphins in the ocean … Baby bears climb ladder out of dumpster … Bees on a Plane: Perhaps they considered themselves frequent flyers? … Blue Whale Poop: (Everything about them is the most!) The view from a passing plane. … A toast to wasps and hornets … Natalie Portman’s vegan Jewish wedding … And Lisa’s favorite video picks – check out the baby hedgehog snoozing!