Image in the public domain.
Toys play an important role in children's development. They are also important to animals, even elephants. This public radio story is about how artists designed and built toys of elephants that were based on animal behavior and their environment. You’ll be inside the zoo with the elephants, hearing their joy when playing with the new toys.
Story Length: 6:56
WBUR
AIR DATE: 08/24/2013
Marine biologists are studying the sounds that fish make. They believe that sounds are key to understanding fish behavior. This audio story explores how listening to fish may also be a way to help protect fish. By studying the sounds that fish make when trying to attract mates and when breeding, we may be able to stay clear of them during those times to help them reproduce more productively.
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Scientists are trying to settle the age of question of nature versus nurture. This audio story is about a science experiment on ducks to determine whether animals are born with no knowledge of the world and only learn things form experience, or whether they emerge with some knowledge already intact. Listen to hear more about this experiment.
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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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Infectious diseases like plague don’t just impact humans, they can spread and decimate animal populations as well. One scientist saw the impact of plague in prairie dog colonies and among black footed ferrets. He questioned whether the scientific understanding of plague cycles and transmission was accurate. Listen to learn what scientists discovered about plague and its larger impact on ecosystems.
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