News

This is Dan. Dan is a Baboon. Read, Dan, Read

NEW YORK, Apr. 12, 2012 (Reuters) — No one is exactly using the words "reading" and "baboons" in the same sentence, but a study published Thursday comes close.

Researchers report in the journal Science that they trained six Guinea baboons (Papio papio) to distinguish real, four-letter English words such as "done" and "vast" from non-words such as "dran" and "lons." After six weeks, the baboons learned to pick out dozens of words — as many as 308 in the case of the clever Dan, and 81 for Violette — from a sea of 7,832 non-words.

A baboon from the study by Dr. Grainger and colleagues is shown in this undated handout photo.

Each of the monkeys performed significantly better than 50 percent, which they would have scored by randomly guessing which letters formed words or non-words. They averaged almost 75 percent right, with some scoring 90.

The study is "extraordinarily exciting," said cognitive psychologist Stanislas Dehaene of the College de France in Paris, an expert on the neural basis of reading who was not involved in the research. "For the first time, we have an animal model of a key component of literacy, the recognition of the visual word form."

ANCIENT BRAIN CIRCUITS

The study was intended less to probe animal intelligence than to explore how a brain might learn to read. It suggests that, contrary to prevailing theory, a brain can take the first steps toward reading without having language, since baboons don't.

"Their results suggest that the basic biological mechanisms required for reading have deeper evolutionary roots than anyone thought," said neuroscientist Michael Platt of Duke University, who co-authored an analysis of the study. "That suggests that reading draws on much older neurological mechanisms" and that apes or monkeys are the place to look for them.

Reading has long puzzled neuroscientists. Once some humans started doing it (about 5,000 years ago in the Middle East), reading spread across the ancient world so quickly that it cannot have required genetic changes and entirely new brain circuitry. Those don't evolve quickly enough. Instead, its rapid spread suggests that reading co-opted existing neural structures.

For the new study, scientists at Aix-Marseille University in France trained the six baboons by setting up nine booths, equipped with computers and touch screens, in two trailers in the monkeys' 80-by-100-foot (25- by-30 meter) enclosure. The animals wandered in when they felt like it.

Once a baboon was at the screen, it was shown a string of four letters that was either a real English word ("them") or a non-word ("telk"). The baboon learned to touch an oval on the screen when it saw a word, and a plus (+) for a non-word. Every correct response brought a reward of dry wheat.

Once they got the hang of things, it was test time.

Again strings of four letters appeared on the screen, but now they were never-before-seen strings. If a baboon decided the letters formed a word, it pressed the oval sign; for non-words (always three consonants and a vowel), it pressed a plus. In a video released by the scientists, the baboons swat the screen ("itcs": plus!; "kite": oval!) with the alacrity and assurance of a 12-year-old acing a video game.

The baboons were engaging in "orthographic processing," said Aix-Marseille's Jonathan Grainger, who led the study. That term means recognizing letters and their positions. It has nothing to do with sounding out a word, let alone understanding it. Still, it is a necessary early step in reading.

STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF WORDS

The scientists' best guess as to how the animals were able to identify real words is that they learned "the statistical properties that distinguish words from non-words," said Grainger. That is, they learned that "sl" and "dr," say, are found in many words, but "dl" and "sr" are not.

"When people learn words, and when we learn to distinguish words from non-words, we're doing statistical pattern recognition, too," said Duke's Platt. "The critical finding is that the baboons were able to transfer this learning to words they had never seen before."

Grainger called the baboons' accuracy remarkable, since the words were so superficially similar to the non-words (not a "sxjayud" in the bunch).

To be sure, other animals have learned to recognize letters. In a 1982 experiment, for instance, pigeons were able to identify all 26 letters of the English alphabet.

But the baboons were not simply memorizing which strings of letters were words, said Grainger. When shown a word for the first time, they identified it correctly about 70 percent of the time, suggesting the animals were applying the statistical rules they had inferred.

The word-savvy baboons may be drawing on "more generalized learning mechanisms and visual processing abilities rather than specialized mechanisms unique to humans," said Diana Reiss of Hunter College in New York, who has done pioneering work in animal intelligence.

A prime candidate for those processing abilities lies in a region of the brain that becomes active when people read. Discovered by Dehaene, it is called the "visual word form area" and is located behind the left ear. It recognizes strings of letters, and the more active it is in 7- to-18-year-olds, studies show, the better readers they tend to be.

"Neuroimaging shows that this region is specific for words and not meaningless strings of letters," said Duke's Platt.

Since reading arrived on the scene a mere blink of the eye ago, evolutionarily speaking, the visual word form area cannot have developed in order to support reading. If baboons or human ancestors also had this structure, the question becomes what they used it for. Best guess: recognizing objects by visually assembling their parts, such as tall cylinder + bushy top = tree.

Among the many surprises in the study is that it involved baboons rather than a primate known for braininess.

"Guinea baboons have a lot of social savvy, since they have to learn about complex male-male and male-female interactions in their troop," said primate curator Craig Demitros of the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago. "They're smart, but not at the level of chimps."

Apart from the glimpses it provides into the evolution of the brain's ability to read, the study has implications for education. "You might conclude that phonics doesn't work" as well as teaching children to read by recognizing the entire word, said Platt. "This study suggests that reading is all about pattern recognition and not working out phonemes."

Koalas Are So Cute! (And Threatened)

by Claire O'Neill

Koalas: They're downright adorable, and that's obvious.

(Don't even try to suppress the high-pitched coo.)

"They're pretty much exactly what you think," admits National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, who was on assignment in Australia last October for a story in the magazine's current issue.

Except — his job was to photograph a scene that isn't so cute. In fact, a bit of an editor's note: Some of these photos are kind of grisly to look at. "The goal," he says, "was to tell the story of the plight of the koala in the northern half of Australia."

So what's causing this "plight," exactly? Well, somewhat obviously, it's us.

"You think we're developing stuff here [in the States]," Sartore says over the phone, "you should go to Australia. Koalas can't take it. They're not fast; they can't defend themselves against dogs and against traffic."

Some research shows that we humans almost can't help but find koalas cute; and that, to a degree, might work in their favor toward survival.

But they're just not the brightest crayons in the box. They need about 20 hours of sleep in order to live off their nutrient-deprived diet of eucalyptus. They also, obviously, need trees. So when eucalyptus is wiped away in huge swaths for development, koalas aren't smart or fast enough to relocate.

Though it's tempting to fantasize about having these cuddly creatures in your front yard, the reality (and it has become a reality) seems a lot less enchanting. You can read more about it, and what rescue groups are doing for koalas, in the article.

But there's a silver lining. This past Monday, certain koalas in Australia's northern regions, were officially recognized by the government as "threatened species."

"Koala populations are under serious threat from habitat loss and urban expansion," the official news release reads, "as well as vehicle strikes, dog attacks and disease."

According to Sartore, that's a step in the right direction.

Credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic

Photogragrapher Joel Sartore says koalas really are as cute as they seem. "They're pretty much exactly what you think," he says. Here two joeys cling to each other at an animal hospital in Australia.

A critically injured koala is treated at the Koala and Wildlife hospital on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Founded by Steve Irwin, the hospital adjoins Australia zoo, and provides medical care and rehabilitation to sick and injured wildlife, predominantly koalas.

A koala rescue road sign in Queensland. Koalas are also at risk from vehicle strikes in built-up areas.

Mass Animal Deaths Around the World

As you're likely aware, there's been a pretty bizarre spate of mass animal deaths reported around the world. First, it was the thousands of birds that fell from the sky in Arkansas on New Year's Eve. Some 100,000 fish also washed up on the shores of a river 100 miles away. Birds fell from the sky in Louisiana and Kentucky, too. Two million fish washed up dead in Chesapeake Bay. 50 birds fell from the sky in Sweden. 100 tons of fish washed ashore in Brazil. 40,000 crabs were found dead in England. All of this carnage has left people around the world wondering the same thing: What the hell is going on?Unfortunately, there's no good answer. The explanations offered up so far run the gamut -- from being dismissed as a series of unrelated, unfortunate coincidences to the suggestion that the deaths are a result of unusually cold weather to full-bore conspiracy theories that claim the US government is behind it all -- but nothing conclusive has been determined. Here's a closer look at the various incidents:

Thousands of Dead Birds Falling from the Sky
The AP reports that "Environmental service workers finished picking up the carcasses on Sunday of about 2,000 red-winged blackbirds that fell dead from the sky in a central Arkansas town." The blame? Still open to speculation (though the loud-noise theory has gained traction):

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said Saturday the birds showed physical trauma, and speculated that "the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail." The commission said that New Year's Eve revelers shooting off fireworks could have startled the birds from their roost and caused them to die from stress.

Then, around 300 more dead birds fell from the sky in Louisiana, and still more were reported found dead in Kentucky. 50 more were found fallen from the sky in Sweden. And around 100 blackbirds dropped out of the sky in New Zealand as well.

2,000,000 Dead Fish Wash Up in Chesapeake
Here's the Baltimore Sun: "An estimated 2 million fish have been reported dead from the Bay Bridge south to Tangier Sound, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which investigates fish kills. The dead fish are primarily adult spot, with some juvenile croakers ... Large winter kills of spot have been documented at least twice before, the MDE spokeswoman said, with about 15 million dying in early 1976 and a smaller number in 1980."

40,000 Crabs Wash Ashore in Kent
The Daily Mirror reports that "More than 40,000 Devil crabs - also known as Velvet swimming crabs - were found strewn along beaches in Thanet along with dead starfish, lobsters, sponges and anemones." Scientists have blamed the death on colder than usual waters, which may have induced hypothermia in the sea life.

100 Tons of Fish Dead in Brazil
According to the Brazilian news outlet ParanaOnline, "A survey conducted by the Federation of Fisherman's Colony of Parana, Paranaguá on the coast of the state, indicates that at least 100 tons of fish (sardine, croaker and catfish) have turned up dead since last Thursday off the coast of Parana." The fish have washed ashore, and no cause has been determined yet.

All in all, these incidents have led to a search for a unified theory that explains the phenomena -- what could be killing all of these animals? The conspiracy theorists that point to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP (a government research project that investigates the ionosphere that's been blamed for many of the mysterious events) as the culprit certainly don't have me convinced. But the patchwork, "great big coincidence" theory leaves something wanting as well.

Though the phenomenon may indeed be partly the result of self-fulfilling prophecy; the Washington Post points out that "when one news report about dead birds becomes big news, a few dead birds anywhere in the world becomes big news." After all, sudden mass animal deaths do occur more often than most of us realize: "About 500 million to 1 billion birds are killed every year and mass deaths have been noted about 16 times in the past 20 years," the PBS NewsHour reports. Even so, there's plenty to chew on here, and you can't blame the conspiracy theorists for tackling this one head on.

$1,000,000 Deer

A deer farm in Leonard, Texas

Not A Doe.

No Not Any Of Them.

Nice But Not Him.

You Won't Find Him Here.

Isn't He Wonderful But No Not Him Either.

This is the Man!
He is 7 years old and is valued at $1,000,000.00

Could You Image Seeing Him In The Wild?

He Looks A Little Top Heavy.

Defiantly Related To The Moose.

AR Puppy Mill Dogs Hit the Road to Find Homes

December 20, 2011 ASPCA Blog

On November 7, ASPCA responders helped remove 175 small dogs from an Arkansas puppy mill. These sweet and frightened dogs were suffering from various diseases and ailments, but after six weeks under our care, they’re feeling much better...and now the dogs—and some puppies born after the raid—are ready to find their forever homes!

We worked with our Shelter Partners to find space for these brave little pups, and organizations in Arkansas, New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., stepped up to the plate. Today, we packed up our Animal Transport Trailers and hit the road.

Here’s where these brave little pups are being welcomed with open arms:

    Twenty dogs stayed close to home with Arkansas’ Stop Animal Cruelty in Hot Spring County.
    St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey, is taking in 30 dogs.
    Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, New Jersey, has accepted 20 dogs.
    Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA in Hudson, New York, will find homes for 10 dogs.
    And Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C., will welcome 100 dogs!!

A huge thank you to our Shelter Partners for giving these former victims of a cruelty a second chance at finding love and companionship.

The Hardest Day of my Life

December 18, 2011 by Ric O'Barry, Earth Island Institute

By Heather Hill
Cove Monitor
Save Japan Dolphins
Earth Island Institute

Photography by Heather Hill

NOTE: Today, Japanese police raided the hotel in Kii-Katsuura, near Taiji, where Save Japan Dolphins’ Heather Hill and volunteers from Sea Shepherd Conservation Society were staying. The raid was apparently prompted by the arrest last week of Sea Shepherd volunteer Erwin Vermeulen, who allegedly was involved in an altercation with an employee at the Dolphin Base hotel. While Heather was detained briefly while her room was searched and her computer and cameras were checked, all her equipment was returned to her after it was clear she had no connection to Sea Shepherd. No arrests were made. Earth Island's Save Japan Dolphins and Dolphin Project do not condone violence of any kind in Japan and have never broken any laws in Taiji. We are very grateful for the work of Heather and other volunteers like her who, under very difficult conditions, keep us informed of what is happening in Taiji with the dolphin hunts.

Today was, and will probably always be, the longest and hardest day of my life. Last week we saw five slaughters in six days. The dolphin killers of Taiji took yesterday (Saturday) off, so we had one day of peace, but today they were right back at it. My hopes were soaring high when we spotted several banger boats headed back in this morning, but suddenly the boats turned and sped off to meet others that had apparently located a pod of striped dolphins.

From the lookout on Takababe Mountain, I could see that this pod still had a lot of energy, despite being chased towards the shores of Taiji. Unlike the striped dolphins caught a few days ago that were all too exhausted to panic in the shallow Cove, these ones were quickly frightened by their ever-tightening world. The fishermen had already prepared nets in the Cove to try and keep the dolphins from throwing themselves out of the water and getting stuck on the rocks, but it made no difference. Once the final net was drawn, terror broke out amongst the dolphins. Skiffs tried to position themselves between the rocks and dolphins, and divers sat on the rocks to push and kick the dolphins that slammed their bodies into the wall, tearing their skin open and staining the water with blood. One dolphin made a mad dash into the net and became entangled, wrapping itself tighter and tighter as it thrashed, trying to get a desperately needed breath of air. A diver jumped in to set it free, knowing we were watching with our cameras. The chaos ensued for what felt like an eternity, and we tried in vain to put our cameras between the situation and us, hoping to make it seem less real and therefore easier to document. I later had to clean the dried salt off of my camera from all the tears that had dripped down the view screen.

About Us Affiliates Blog Business Associates Business Links Contact Pet Links Site Map