Dolphins' ability to mimic one another is tested in new 'blindfold' study

GRASSY KEY, Fla. — In a lagoon in the Florida Keys, trainer Emily Guarino blindfolds a male dolphin named Tanner with special latex goggles. "You ready, Tanner?" Guarino asks the young dolphin, waiting beside his companion, Kibby.

At a command, another trainer gets Kibby to say "hello" by flapping his fins on the water, splashing noisily in the enclosed lagoon at the Dolphin Research Center here, which houses 22 dolphins and is one of the leaders in dolphin cognitive studies.

"Can you imitate what Kibby is doing?" Guarino asks Tanner. Within seconds, Tanner is splashing "hello" -- a seemingly extraordinary feat given the blindfolded dolphin appears to only be using sound to perceive and imitate the actions of his fellow dolphin.

It turns out dolphins are master imitators that somehow can "see" their environment despite blindfolds. But exactly how such a dolphin can mimic another's action is a matter of ongoing scientific study.

Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, director of the nonprofit marine mammal research center, said the research to better understand dolphin intelligence will surely help further their conservation. She said such studies may also be helpful in better grasping the complexities of human intelligence.

At work or play?

Working dogs, with their keen sense of smell, have long helped authorities sniff out narcotics in airports, bombs in war zones, fugitives and lost humans, both dead and alive. Now their noses are being put to use in the wild -- helping wildlife biologists find cryptic animals, hidden animal scat and rare plants that so easily elude human detection.

Read more about it in a story in Saturday's Los Angeles Times, which follows one detection dog that shows puny-nosed humans how to sniff out grizzly bear scat in western Montana.

It's a rare dog that makes the cut in this line of work. Trainers look for those with intense focus and high play drive. Theirs is the kind of temperament that can drive casual pet owners nuts, but will power these pooches to race up and down mountains and across vast landscapes in search of their target -- all so they can get their ball or other reward.

Most come from the working dog breeds -- the shepherds herders, etc. But from the dog's perspective, are they working or playing? The line blurs.

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-- Kenneth R. Weiss

Photo: Pepin, a Belgian Malinois, loves to play tug with Megan Parker, director of Working Dogs for Conservation. He got his reward for following his nose to locate grizzly bear scat in Montana's Blackfoot Valley. Credit: Kenneth R. Weiss/Los Angeles Times

Video goodness: Border collie plays three-card monte

We knew border collies were smart, but we didn't know any dog was this smart.

Storm, a border collie from the U.K. who is also adept at playing Yahtzee, really impressed us with his latest trick. Grabbing a playing card from a deck -- that's already more than many dogs would be able to accomplish. Somehow selecting it after watching it be shuffled about with two other cards is an entirely different matter. (Skeptics, we accept the possibility that all three cards Storm's owner shuffles here are the ace of hearts. Even if that's the case, we'd still be impressed!)

Of course, border collies are known for their well-above-average intelligence. Psychology professor Stanley Coren, in his 1994 book "The Intelligence of Dogs," ranked dozens of dog breeds based on their ability to learn new commands. Coming in first? You guessed it, the border collie. (Rounding out the top 10 were the poodle, German shepherd, golden retriever, Doberman pinscher, Shetland sheepdog, Labrador retriever, papillon, Rottweiler and Australian cattle dog. At the bottom: borzois, chow chows, bulldogs, basenjis and Afghan hounds.)

Though he clearly knew border collies were good at learning new things, we bet even Coren couldn't have anticipated Storm's skill at three-card monte.

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: StormsAntics via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Piglet learns to sit

If there's something cuter than a piglet's huge grin (think "Babe" as he sings his own version of "Jingle Bells"), we are at a loss to imagine what it might be. 

Well, maybe we can think of just one thing: a piglet grinning as it learns to do tricks.

We're big fans of Lulu, the piglet pet of YouTube user CowboysDelight shown learning to sit on command in the video above. We knew pigs were smart -- just one look at another pig, Lola, playing a set of musical bicycle horns was enough to tell us that -- but Lulu just goes the extra mile, smiling like a beauty pageant contestant while she learns her new trick.

If we were judging a pig pageant, we'd definitely give Lulu high marks in the talent category -- and we're pretty sure we'd name her Miss Congeniality, as well.

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: CowboysDelight via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Dog and bird play ball

We were astounded when we first saw YouTube user MASSEUR1956's video proof of the camaraderie between a clever raven and a patient dog.

We knew that members of the corvid family (which includes crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws and other similar birds) are often extremely intelligent with impressive problem-solving abilities and reasoning skills. But we did not know they enjoyed interspecies animal friendships, nor did we know they had a penchant for playing sports!

These two unlikely friends can also be seen sharing a meal or just hanging out together on MASSEUR1956's channel. One video even shows the raven -- for reasons unclear to us but, we suspect, incredibly obvious to a fellow bird -- plucking the fur from a wire slicker brush as his canine pal is groomed. Perhaps most oddly charming of all is a video that shows the dog gently licking his raven pal. (That's an "awww" and an "ewww" moment all rolled up in one.)

RELATED SMART CORVID FAMILY MEMBERS:
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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: MASSEUR1956 via YouTube

New research suggests chimpanzees mourn their dead much like humans do

Some chimpanzees seem to grieve similarly to humans in the face of a fellow chimp’s death, two new studies have found, appearing to comfort the dying, experience trauma after death and have trouble letting go.

The research, published Monday in the journal Current Biology, provides a window onto a less public aspect of primate life, the authors said.

In one study, researchers at the University of Stirling and at Blair Drummond Safari Park in the United Kingdom watched how three chimpanzees, kept in heated indoor quarters during the winter, reacted as a fourth chimp, an elderly female named Pansy, sickened and died.

Park officials had separated Pansy from the other chimpanzees for treatment when she became ill in November 2008. But when her breathing became erratic a few weeks later, the other three chimps were allowed to join her.

In the 10 minutes before she died, the three animals -- an elderly female named Blossom, Blossom's adult son Chippy and Pansy's adult daughter Rosie -- frequently groomed and caressed Pansy. They crouched in close, and Chippy shook her arm, apparently testing for signs of life.

The veined octopus' coconut shelters may be first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate

Biologists studying the habits of veined octopuses in the waters of Indonesia have noticed that the animal has a most unusual hobby: collecting discarded coconut shells and using them for shelter.

Beyond the fact that it’s hilarious to watch the octopuses slithering across the ocean floor dragging halved coconut shells and even assembling two of them to make a creative hiding spot (watch the embedded video above), it also could be the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal.

According to the Associated Press, two Australian scientists -- Julian Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods, and Mark Norman of Museum Victoria in Melbourne -- observed the behavior in four of the veined octopuses during a series of dive trips in Indonesia between 1998 and 2008. Their findings were published this week in the journal Current Biology. "We were blown away," Norman told National Geographic of the strange discovery. "It was hard not to laugh underwater and flood your [scuba] mask."

Similar to hermit crabs, octopuses often use foreign objects as shelter, but the veined octopus takes the idea one step further. It's been observed preparing the shells by cleaning them out, carrying them long distances (up to 65 feet) and reassembling them as shelter in another place. 

New Scientist says dogs are smarter than cats -- by a hair

They fetch, they hunt, they sniff out contraband from luggage. Has it ever been in doubt that dogs are smarter than cats?

But according to the cover story of the latest New Scientist magazine, the divide between cats and dogs is really closer than some may believe. The magazine created 11 categories to pit the animals against each other. After the first 10 categories, including problem solving (dogs won) to vocalization (cats won), our four-legged friends were in a dead heat.

So it came down to the final battle -- utility, a category in which dogs have no peers. Other than being easy on the eyes and relaxing to pet, the only real utility that cats provide, besides companionship, is the ability to protect a home from vermin. Although that may be priceless to some households, dogs can perform numerous  important tasks, including leading the blind, sniffing out land mines, finding bedbugs and searching for crash victims.

Pearls before swine: Animal cognition study says pigs may be smarter than we think

These animals love food, know where all the best eateries are, and selfishly try to keep the best treats for themselves -- and no, we're not talking about humans. Or apes. We're talking about domestic pigs.

Thank goodness for something redeeming about these porky little swine. According to the New York Times, a recent study in the science journal Animal Behaviour presents evidence that domestic pigs can learn how mirrors work and use the reflected images to scope out surroundings and find food.

Pig cognition is a relatively new area of study; other researchers have found that pigs can deftly remember where food stores are cached and how big each stash is relative to others. The New York Times summarized another one of the findings:

[Studies have] shown that Pig A can almost instantly learn to follow Pig B when the second pig shows signs of knowing where good food is stored, and that Pig B will try to deceive the pursuing pig and throw it off the trail so that Pig B can hog its food in peace.

In the study presented by Animal Behaviour, seven out of eight pigs primed with a mirror found food reflected in the image. Naive pigs shown the same reflection looked behind the mirror for the food. The study abstract predicts, "The results may have some effects on the design of housing conditions for pigs and may lead to better pig welfare."

The Heidi Chronicles, Chapter 52: Stay tuned ...

This is Heidi. Last year, she was "discovered" in the park by a pet talent agency; since then, she has embarked on a one-dog quest to break into the business. This is her Hollywood story as chronicled by Diane Haithman. And this is her "head shot": That longing look was achieved by placing a biscuit just out of reach.

As of last Friday, I am no longer a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times. Ergo, this is the last chapter of "The Heidi Chronicles" for L.A. Unleashed. I'd like to thank the blog for unleashing an obsessed doggie stage mother, and providing a forum for documenting the approximate first year of Heidi's attempt to take Hollywood by storm.

I'd also like to thank Heidi's fans and her entourage of one, Layla the Labrador mix, for sticking by Heidi through thick and thin. However, I visited Layla and her parents, Jim and Irene Dorsey, recently and Layla seem thrilled to enjoy a little quality time without Heidi, just this once. Recently, the patient Layla has been somewhat taxed by the many canine guests at the Dorseys, including small and frequent visitor Kiki Newberg, a Norwich terrier cute enough to get away with murder one.

But I encourage Layla, Kiki Newberg and all of your dogs to be sure to tune in for "Don't Walk on the Grass," the Nov. 1 episode of "Desperate Housewives." Heidi and I are waiting to see whether our background appearance in a restaurant scene made the cut.

And despite my own recent career change, let it be said that Heidi fully intends to continue her pursuit of Hollywood stardom.