Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys Nurse Other Females' Infants
Being a mom is hard enough, but imagine mothering someone else’s kids, too. That’s the norm for golden snub-nosed monkeys, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances. Scientists found that over a five-year period, more than 87 percent of golden snub-nosed monkey infants were nursed by females other than their mothers – a phenomenon called allonursing.
Read the whole story at National Geographic: Why Do These Monkeys Nurse Each Other's Babies?
Bats Provide Pest Control Services to Deer
There are a dozen or so species of blood-sucking flies that plaguewhite-tailed deer. There is little a deer can do to defend themselvesfrom these biting fly attacks.
But what is a painful nuisance to a deer is also a dinner buffet for bats. In a new study, researchers report numerous instances of insect-eating bats feeding on the swarms of flies attracted to white-tailed deer.
Read my post about it here: Bats Provide Pest Control Services to Deer
Do Animals Feel Anxious During Molting?
Animals are vulnerable during molting and frequently seek safe places to hide for its duration. For some scientists, this raises the question of whether arthropods experience anxiety during molting.
Read my latest Animal Minds blog post: Does Molting Make Animals Anxious?
Natural Disasters and Public Health
2018 brought multiple, unprecedented natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, and in the United States, the deadliest wildfire in California’s history. After the immediate emergency is over and the media attention wanes, communities must deal with the long process of recovering and rebuilding. Yet some of the greatest challenges that disaster victims face come not from the disaster itself but from long-term health problems stemming from the event. In the immediate aftermath, physical injuries and infections must be treated and controlled. Longer-term needs include mental and psychological assistance and reinstatement of the infrastructure of the health services system. While immediate casualty numbers are often cited following a natural disaster, it’s the insidious and long-lasting health effects that can hurt communities for years.
Read more at IEEE Pulse: Natural Disasters and Public Health.
Jammin' Bats to Keep Them Safe
Wind turbines are a valuable source of renewable energy, but they’reeco-unfriendly in one particular way: the giant spinning bladesfrequently kill birds and bats.
A new system that jams bats’ echolocation with ultrasound is showing promise in reducing fatalities at wind energy facilities. Researchers at Texas State University, in partnership with Bat Conservation International (BCI), found that the ultrasonic Bat Deterrent System developed by NRG Systems reduced overall bat fatalities at the Los Vientos Wind Energy Facility in Starr county, Texas, by 54 percent.
Read the whole story, my first for Mongabay: Jammin' at Wind Farms May Help Save Bats.