Science: Animal Research & Intelligence

Louie Psihoyos' THE COVE pulled off a pretty remarkable feat tonight, winning the Writers Guild Award for Documentary Screenplay and thus becoming the first nonfiction feature to sweep all four of the guild prizes awarded for documentaries -- the Producers, Directors and Editors. The American Society of Cinematographers does not offer a documentary prize.

At 70, Ric O’Barry would love to be at home watering his bamboo and playing with his five-year-old daughter. Instead, he spends most of his time with people who hate him. 

What do painting elephants, orangutans and hound dogs, two of the world's smartest dogs, singing and dancing birds, friendly ducks, cats and rats who play together, and VERY affectionate elephant seals have in common? They're all featured on a new video page on Pulse: Amazing Animals...

A cat with an uncanny ability to detect when nursing home patients are about to die has proven itself in around 50 cases by curling up with them in their final hours, according to a new book.

“We suspected the killing would resume once the initial publicity from the film died down,” said O’Barry. “Sadly, this is exactly what happened. Bottlenose dolphins are being hunted and killed in Taiji again. The no kill policy didn’t last and was most likely a strategic short-term publicity stunt aimed at quieting the international media.”

Scientists studying dolphin behavior have suggested they could be the most intelligent creatures on Earth after humans, saying the size of their brains in relation to body size is larger than that of our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, and their behaviors suggest complex intelligence. One scientist said they should therefore be treated as "non-human persons" and granted rights as individuals.

But before we cede the entire moral penthouse to “committed vegetarians” and “strong ethical vegans,” we might consider that plants no more aspire to being stir-fried in a wok than a hog aspires to being peppercorn-studded in my Christmas clay pot. This is not meant as a trite argument or a chuckled aside. Plants are lively and seek to keep it that way. The more that scientists learn about the complexity of plants -- their keen sensitivity to the environment, the speed with which they react to changes in the environment, and the extraordinary number of tricks that plants will rally to fight off attackers and solicit help from afar -- the more impressed researchers become, and the less easily we can dismiss plants as so much fiberfill backdrop, passive sunlight collectors on which deer, antelope and vegans can conveniently graze. It’s time for a green revolution, a reseeding of our stubborn animal minds.

As the year draws to a close I want to thank you for helping us win dramatic victories in our battle for dolphins, and also let you know that we still need your help! We have a real opening to end the dolphin bloodshed in Japan and need to grab this chance before it's gone.

Welcome to the Journal. When Jane Goodall walked into our building this week, faces lit up. Our security chief told me she does animal rescue work after hours because of Jane Goodall. Our stage manager whispered into my ear, "She's been my hero for decades." And the nine-year-old daughter of our editor hurried to the studio because she's writing a school book report on Jane Goodall. Is there anyone who doesn't know who Jane Goodall is?

When Surya the orangutan meets a lonely hound dog out by the river, the two greet each other like long lost pals. Now, Surya and Roscoe like doing anything they can together, even if it’s just lounging around and sharing a hug.