Get to know a most unusual primate: the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana). These colorful, social, and tough monkeys live in the mountains of central and southwestern China - and it’s more than just their appearance that makes them unique.

Elephants indicate a playful mood with specific trunk positions and head movements. Now, a new study in African elephants demonstrates rapid motor mimicry of these play signals — a behavioral phenomenon shared with other mammals and linked to empathic abilities.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Play Encourages Cooperation and Tolerance in Elephants.

Relying on lab-based studies of captive-bred fish may lead us to underestimate their intelligence. Now, researchers have developed a way to run cognitive tests of fish in the animals' natural environments. The results may reveal that fish are smarter than previously assumed.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Fish Are Smarter Than You Think.

It’s not often that an octopus is described as cute or whimsical. But dumbo octopuses have a certain squishy charm about them. With their large eyes and prominent, ear-like fins, they resemble the floppy-eared Disney elephant. But there is more to these elusive octopuses than just their adorable appearance.

With their leggy strides and long, eyelash-like feathers, they are the supermodels of the bird world. Native to savannahs and grasslands in sub-Saharan Africa, secretary birds are the one and only members of their family (Sagittariidae). Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis leveraged their unique charisma to touching effect in the 2024 animated movie Flow, but these birds are more than just pretty faces.