The hottest Animal Behavior Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Culture Topics

Thanks But I'll Walk, Scotty

Everything Is Amazing • 1031 implied HN points • 03 Feb 25
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Cognitive Science Research Methods
  1. Animals, like wild mice and rats, have been observed using wheels just for fun, without any obvious benefit. This suggests that play and enjoyment are important to all creatures, not just humans.
  2. Our brains can be easily tricked by illusions like pareidolia, where we see faces in random objects. This highlights how our perception can change quickly based on how we look at things.
  3. Having fun should be a priority in how we interact with each other. Embracing joy can improve our lives and connections, just like it does for animals.

Why Are Rat Populations In Big Cities Really Exploding? Leash Laws!

C.O.P. Central Organizing Principle. • 36 implied HN points • 01 Feb 25
🎭️ Culture Urban life Animal Behavior Public Policy Transportation Environmental Issues
  1. Keeping un-neutered and un-spayed pets roaming in cities may help control rat populations. Allowing animals to do their natural job can help keep rodents in check.
  2. The rise of car culture in America has harmed pets and reduced their ability to manage rodent populations. By prioritizing cars, many cities have made it unsafe for pets to do their jobs.
  3. Rats are often blamed for problems caused by humans. Historically, they have been wrongfully accused of spreading diseases due to human actions and messy situations.

The Mantis Shrimp Edition

Why is this interesting? • 241 implied HN points • 20 Nov 24
🔬 Science Biology Zoology Marine life Animal Behavior Ecology
  1. Mantis shrimp can punch very fast, making them the fastest strikers in the animal world. It's incredible how quickly they can hit their targets.
  2. These shrimp are very protective of their territory and will aggressively defend their space against intruders.
  3. Their powerful punches are so strong that they can even break glass, showing just how strong these small creatures really are.

Wolverine: The Creature Most Voracious

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 239 implied HN points • 06 Jun 24
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Ecology Natural History Mythology
  1. Wolverines are known for their huge appetites and can eat a lot of food at once. They are so gluttonous that they can overeat and need to find narrow spaces to relieve themselves.
  2. These animals have a varied diet and are both hunters and scavengers, eating everything from birds to rodents. They do face tough winter conditions without hibernating, relying on their hunting skills.
  3. People often view wolverines negatively, calling them destructive and cunning. However, they are simply doing what they need to survive in harsh environments and shouldn't be unfairly blamed.
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Urban Umwelt in Awe of Animals

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 199 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
🔬 Science Biology Ecology Animal Behavior Urban wildlife
  1. Animals have unique ways of sensing their world that we often can't understand. For example, dogs like Taylor use their amazing noses to gather information that goes beyond what we can perceive.
  2. The concept of 'umwelt' shows that each species experiences their environment differently. This means animals interact with their surroundings in ways that are complex and rich, not simple or automatic.
  3. Learning about how animals sense the world can help us appreciate their lives and experiences more. It reminds us that our way of sensing things isn't the only way and that every creature has its own valuable perspective.

Birds being other birds

Splattern • 19 implied HN points • 20 May 24
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Ecology Ornithology Evolution
  1. Some birds, like the Stellers jay and raven, can imitate the sounds of other birds, which can be surprising and confusing. It's interesting to see how these smaller birds can mimic larger ones.
  2. Birds like mockingbirds and parrots are known for their ability to mimic various sounds, sometimes up to 200 different ones in their lifetime.
  3. Only a few species, including humans, parrots, and songbirds, can learn and repeat sounds they hear, which is quite rare in the animal kingdom. This ability is also linked to the capacity to dance to music!

My Little Cockroach

Banana Peel Pirouette • 79 implied HN points • 22 Nov 23
🔬 Science Biology Ecology Evolution Urbanization Animal Behavior
  1. Cockroaches have been around for millions of years and are found on every continent except Antarctica, adapted to urban environments due to global commerce.
  2. Humans have a unique disgust towards cockroaches, though other pests like mice and pigeons coexist with us and are even celebrated in popular culture.
  3. Our fear and loathing towards cockroaches stem from the way they challenge our perceptions of hygiene and control over the environment, showing how closely intertwined our lives are with these creatures.

Meaning and the firefly

Banana Peel Pirouette • 79 implied HN points • 28 Jun 23
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Communication Biodiversity
  1. Animals like songbirds and insects communicate through sounds and movements that hold specific meanings for them, unlike the fixed characteristics of their appearances.
  2. Fireflies communicate with light patterns, where their visual signals guide them in finding mates and coordinating activities; their world of light holds deep communication that contrasts human mediums like language.
  3. The impact of human actions, like light pollution, can disrupt the meaningful communication patterns of fireflies, leading to potential disturbances in their mating behaviors and survival.

Paradox of the Horse

The Heart Attack Diet • 59 implied HN points • 07 Nov 23
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology Animal Behavior
  1. Paradoxically, horses need high-calorie foods like oats to survive even though they're known for being unable to properly self-regulate their food intake.
  2. Horses, as we know them today, are not naturally evolved animals but products of long-term selective breeding by humans.
  3. The existence of wild horse herds in North America raises intriguing questions about their history and the role of humans in their evolution.

Can a Hermit Crab Be Rich?

Creating Inequality • 39 implied HN points • 07 Oct 23
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Wealth Distribution Ecology
  1. Hermit crabs can be seen as 'rich' based on the size of the snail shells they possess, which determines their level of wealth.
  2. The distribution of wealth in hermit crabs closely resembles that of human societies, showing similarities in terms of inequality.
  3. Factors like individual differences and wealth transfer through vacancy chains may explain the similarity in wealth distributions between hermit crabs and humans.

Scolding Crows

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 159 implied HN points • 09 Jun 22
🔬 Science Biology Ecology Animal Behavior Environmental Science
  1. Crows are very protective of their young and can become aggressive towards humans and other animals that come too close to their territory. It's not uncommon for a crow to scold you if you're in their area.
  2. Crows have been observed to mob other predators, like hawks and eagles, to protect themselves and their young. This shows their smart and social behavior as they work together to fend off threats.
  3. Studies have shown that crows can recognize faces and remember individuals who pose a threat to them. They teach younger crows to scold these dangerous figures, demonstrating their ability to learn and pass on knowledge.

Animals Play Coordination Games - Coordination Part I

Living Fossils • 10 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology Animal Behavior Game Theory
  1. Animals play coordination games to survive, such as cicadas coordinating emergence to avoid predators.
  2. In coordination games, like fireflies with unique flashing patterns, the key is for all individuals to use the same strategy for successful coordination.
  3. Coordination games are not only seen in animals playing over evolutionary time but also in real-time situations, like fish schooling or starlings murmuration.

Flying Rats or Models of Evolution?

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 59 implied HN points • 18 Nov 21
🔬 Science Biology Evolution Animal Behavior Urban Ecology Natural History
  1. Pigeons are often seen as dirty or bothersome, yet they play an important role in urban ecosystems by cleaning up food waste. Instead of just seeing them as pests, we should recognize their contributions to keeping our cities cleaner.
  2. Pigeons are surprisingly intelligent and adaptable birds. They learn from each other, can navigate long distances, and have been used in important historical events, like carrying messages during wars.
  3. Charles Darwin studied pigeons to understand natural selection better. He saw how humans influenced their breeding, which helped him develop ideas about evolution that still matter today.

The Intricate Beauty of Pecking Orders

Creating Inequality • 4 HN points • 14 Jun 23
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Social Dynamics Research Methods
  1. Pecking orders in animals might not be based on individual abilities but on dynamic interactions within a group.
  2. Linear pecking orders can arise from intricate behavioral dynamics rather than differences in individual qualities.
  3. Pecking orders are not stable and enduring, but rather constantly changing structures formed by ongoing aggressive interactions within a group.

Dogs Don’t Bark Anymore, They Speak

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 03 May 23
🔬 Science Animal Behavior Communication Artificial Intelligence Research Technology
  1. Animals like dogs, cats, and horses have their own ways of communicating, which we often find hard to understand. New technology is helping us make sense of their sounds and what they mean.
  2. The effort to decode how animals communicate has been going on since the 1950s. Although there hasn't been a big breakthrough yet, a lot of research has contributed to our understanding.
  3. Recently, advancements in technology have sparked new hope in the study of animal communication. This could change how we interact with and understand our pets.