Like humans, animals engage in certain behaviors for reasons of basic survival – to nourish, avoid predators, and reproduce – as well as to socialize and even play. This collection opens a window into the variety of behaviors that help animals survive and thrive. There are stories of dolphins that learn important skills from their friends, bumblebees and spiders that play tricks to protect themselves from predators, and a story filled with the sounds of creatures – gorillas, rats, and parrots – laughing. Listen to hear about the surprising and ingenious behaviors that help animals thrive in their environments.
From "Shiloh" to "Lassie" and "Old Yeller," young adult literature is full of stories about friendship between people and dogs. People love animals but what do animals feel? There is a debate in the scientific community and in popular culture about what emotions animals are capable of and how they display these emotions. Does recognizing that animals can feel take away from human emotion? Or does it help us recognize where these traits came from? This story discusses recent research on the emotions of animals. Listen to learn more about what researchers discovered, and the controversy surrounding the emotional lives of animals.
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A variety of adaptations help animals survive the winter, when temperatures drop and food is scarce. Some migrate, some change how they eat and find ways to stay warm, and some hibernate, essentially going to sleep for many months. Listen to learn about how different animals adapt to the changing seasons and find out what happens when bears hibernate.
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Pollinators are animals that help plants reproduce by carrying pollen from one flower to another. Many plants that benefit from the help of pollinators bear fruit or nuts, providing healthy foods for people and other animals to eat. A variety of pollinators carry powdery pollen on their bodies from one flower to another, but bees are pollination superstars. Bees live in well-organized colonies and work quickly and productively. Their populations are in decline, however, and scientists are trying to understand why. Listen to hear how queen bees keep hives running smoothly and learn what can be done to help bees survive.
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Picture this: a gardener hears a humming sound in a garden full of flowers. What is the source of the noise? It might be a hummingbird! These tiny creatures fly so fast that they can be hard to see. Listen to hear a scientist describe the unique features of a hummingbird, including extra fast wing speed and a quick metabolism, that make them expert flyers, and learn how to attract them to a garden.
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Wolverines are fierce predators and scavengers that live in the remote forests near the Arctic Circle. As these solitary animals need at least 500 square kilometers of space each and can travel vast distances each day, they are very difficult to spot in the wild. Wolverines play an important role in the ecosystem as they scavenge the carrion left behind by other predators. Listen to hear more about this elusive mammal, including why people walking through the forest shouldn’t worry about being attacked by one.
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Animals communicate through sounds, touch, visual signals, and scent, and each species has its distinct communication methods. In this audio story, Earth Ranger Emma presents examples of communication among various species, including elephants, and explains the messages and emotions that are being communicated. Listen to learn how and why animals communicate, how animal sounds reflect an environment’s health, and how people can safely respond to communications from animals.
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Animals employ all sorts of techniques to avoid becoming prey. This is a story about one species of spider that have learned to mimic the movement of ants to avoid detection by predators. Listen to learn more about the life of a professional insect impersonator.
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Have you ever wondered what chirping birds might be saying to each other? Squirrels seem to understand communications between their feathered neighbors, and they use this information to help them stay alive. Recently, scientists decided to see just how much information “eavesdropping” squirrels gather from birds. Listen to discover what they learned and how these animals’ networks operate “almost like Facebook.”
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Would you be willing to wade into swamp water filled with bloodsucking worms? That is exactly what scientists did in order to learn more about leeches. Their efforts paid off when they discovered a brand new species of leech. Listen to hear how this recently discovered parasite uses its three jaws and why it is called a “medicinal” leech.
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Are bees smarter than some people think? Scientists studying bee behavior noticed the insects taking tiny bites out of plant leaves. It turns out that this surprising behavior actually helps bees, though not immediately. Listen to learn how biting leaves benefits bees, and hear about another interesting trick bees use to get a good meal.
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Bats and humans may look very different, but it turns out they have something surprising in common. A bat researcher discovered that mommy bats change their voices when they talk to their babies, just like human mothers often do. For both species, this special tone is a way to help the young learn language. Listen to hear recordings of adult and baby bats vocalizing, and learn more about how mother bats teach their pups to communicate.
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Whales are highly intelligent animals that live in social groups. One way they communicate is through vocalizations, or whale “songs.” In fact, every year, whales create – and memorize – new songs! Recently a photographer took pictures of whale activities and examined the role that singing plays in whale culture. Listen to learn more about the sophisticated social life of whales and hear some of their songs.
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Humans are not the only species that laughs during play. Scientists have identified dozens of other animals, from gorillas to rats, that giggle, chuckle, and guffaw, and they are investigating the meaning of these behaviors. Listen to hear the sounds of animal laughter and find out what researchers hope to learn by studying it.
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Mother dolphins have long taught their young how to find food. Recently, though, marine scientists have noticed that young dolphins also pick up hunting tips from their peers – strategies the older generation may not know about. Listen to hear about the different tools dolphins use to find their food and the tips and tricks young dolphins are learning from their pals.
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Elephant researcher and National Geographic explorer Joyce Poole has been studying African elephants and how they communicate for nearly half a century. She and her husband have created the African Elephant Ethogram, a comprehensive audio-visual library of the animals’ behavior that is now available to the public. Listen to hear elephant sounds and what they mean, and learn what Poole hopes the ethogram will accomplish.
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Ecologists have determined that cockatoos, which are big, white Australian parrots, are learning from one another how to open trash bins. This surprising and complex behavior has spread from cockatoos in three suburbs of Sydney, Australia, to cockatoos in forty-four suburbs. Listen to hear how scientists determined that cockatoos were learning this skill socially and to find out what the scientists hope to study next about the clever trash bin raiders.
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Scientists have a new explanation for why it can be so difficult to swat a fly. According to research, body parts called the halteres help flies elude humans. These sensory organs are dumbbell-shaped evolutionary remnants of wings. Listen to hear about the experiment that led to this discovery and learn about the advantages that help flies escape swatters so effectively.
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Even wild animals can have good manners. That’s what scientists found when they researched how apes communicate and discovered that they use a system of gestures and other physical contact to begin and end social interactions. The ape behavior is similar to the way that humans greet each other and say goodbye when they leave each other’s company. Listen to learn more about ape etiquette and how it compares to human behavior.
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