Cats can smile and giraffes can (possibly?) use statistical reasoning, which means our animal friends could be more like us than we think. Read on to learn more about that and other good news you might have missed this week from Yahoo News partners.
Yes, your cat may smile at you, but not in the way you expect.
you may have heard that your dog can smile at youbut how do cats express happiness? USA Today decided to find out.
Marci Koski, a feline behavior and training consultant, said your feline friend is unlikely to flash you a friendly toothy grin. Cats tend to bare their teeth only when they feel threatened or are trying to defend themselves, so if your cat bares her teeth, back off.
And unlike humans, Koski said, cats don’t use all the muscles in their faces to express a wide range of emotions.
“Cats don’t have that variety of facial expressions,” Koski explained. “They evolved in an area or areas that had relatively limited resources, so their territories were very large and close interactions between cats were quite limited.”
Instead, cats smile with their eyes “squinting, partially or completely shut”, sometimes with dilated pupils. His body language is also an important sign that he’s feeling relaxed, and a happy kitty will lie on his side with his tummy exposed, ready for a tummy rub.
Dolphins saved off the Massachusetts coast after swimming near shore
Rescue teams from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) helped a pod of dolphins return to the ocean this week after becoming trapped in shallow water off the Massachusetts coast. ABC News reported.
On Monday, rescue teams received reports of nine Atlantic white-sided dolphins swimming in the shallows of Wellfleet Harbor, which sits on the eastern side of Cape Cod Bay. Eight dolphins were rescued, while the 9th was able to swim shortly after rescue teams arrived.
At least one of the eight rescued dolphins later returned to shore on Tuesday. After evaluating, treating and tracking the dolphin, rescue teams used kayaks to herd it before transporting it into deeper water.
Later, another dolphin, which ABC News says was supposed to be the dolphin that swam away on Monday, was found just offshore again near Wellfleet Harbour. She was assessed and treated before being transported to a release site.
ifaw says the 12 miles along the shores of Cape Cod are a hot spot for dolphin and whale strandings, where dolphins are stranded more often than anywhere else in the world. Nearly 80% of stranded dolphins can be returned to the wild, thanks in part to “revolutionized” field health assessments and treatments.
Giraffes can make predictions based on statistics, study suggests
a little study published Thursday suggests that giraffes might be smarter than you think. In fact, they may have the ability to make predictions based on statistics, just like humans. Pennsylvania media reported.
The study found that four giraffes at Barcelona Zoo in Spain could estimate the odds of getting their preferred treat from a keeper in 17 of 20 experiments “based on the relative frequencies of food in the bins, and not on other information such as meaning.” of smell.”
Previously, it was believed that only animals with larger brains, such as primates, had this reasoning ability, but the study suggests that giraffes “may have more sophisticated statistical abilities than previously thought.”
“The results of the study suggest that relatively large brains are not a necessary prerequisite for the evolution of complex statistical abilities,” said study co-author Álvaro L. Caicoya, PhD. student at the University of Barcelona.
104-Year-Old Great Grandmother Shares Tips for a Long and Happy Life
Antoinette Inserra, a resident of Staten Island, NY, celebrated her 104th birthday on April 21 and recently shared his best tips with “Today“for staying happy and healthy well into a ripe old age.
Inserra, who has four children, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, said she eats a balanced diet that includes her favorite vegetable, spinach, as well as a daily glass of beer. She is a big fan of shopping and gambling, and loves to get out of the house with the help of her daughter and her trusty walker.
“He got to see my son get married, which we didn’t think he would. He had COVID twice and survived,” Inserra’s daughter, Phyllis Scotto, told “Today.” [my son] have your first baby. So it’s been quite an achievement what he’s done. She surprises everyone.”
When faced with challenges, Inserra says to “just let it go” and “do what you can.”
And his happiness advice?
“I’m just saying look good and make good friends,” Inserra said. “Be nice to them and you’ll have good friends. That’s how I see it.”