Pet Scoop: 50 Cent the Goose Is a Survivor, Scientists Say Gorillas Are Good at Baby Talk
June 14, 2012: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.
Goose Survives Seven Pellet Shots
This waterfowl has serious street cred. After being shot seven times by a pellet gun, a goose was taken to a northern Arkansas animal hospital, where employees named the bird 50 Cent — after the rapper who was infamously shot 9 times and survived. Now, 50 Cent (the goose) is waiting to be adopted. — Read it at The Washington Post
Plus: Speaking of 50 Cent, the rapper (not the goose) named his dog Oprah. He explains why in an upcoming interview with the media mogul that airs this Sunday on OWN. — Read it at People Pets
National Zoo Announces the Birth of Twin Fishing Cats
The furry new additions to the National Zoo are the first ever fishing cats to be bred in D.C. — an important milestone since the endangered species' population has decreased by 50 percent in the past 18 years. For now, scientists are closely monitoring the pair, but the cats should make their public debut late this summer. — Read it at MSNBC
Pain May Be at the Root of Some Dog Aggression
Researchers in Barcelona have found that sudden episodes of aggression in dogs can often be explained by undiagnosed pain. The most common culprit: Hip dysplasia, which affects more than 40 percent of Golden Retrievers, Labradors and Rottweilers. — Read it at Science Daily
Gorillas Have Their Own Form of Baby Talk
A recent study published in the American Journal of Primatology found that adult gorillas use modified gestures when communicating with baby gorillas, suggesting that they understand an infant’s lower maturity level and adjust for it. “We were surprised that . . . [gorilla] infants are addressed differently," said study co-author Dr. Eva Maria Luef. The scientists were the first to identify the phenomenon — called “motherese” — in Great Apes. — Watch it at the Huffington Post
Scientists Create a Social Network Site — For Birds
In an effort to study the social activities of Wild Great Tits, researchers attached transponders to thousands of the birds to track their movements over two years. They then posted the more than one million observations on a Facebook of sorts, identifying the most popular gathering events, as well as which birds flocked together most often. The findings support the scientists' hypothesis that "birds not only visit the feeder as part of such small flocks but also have a preference to the members of the flock they choose to forage with." — Read it at Live Science
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