Spot of Understanding - Songbirds have songs wired in

Zebra finch - Image from Wikipedia

New research findings on the singing of zebra finches could enlighten us more about how humans learn to speak. Michale Fee a researcher with MIT and his colleagues have fresh findings that show how songbirds like the zebra finch know how they ought to sing. They even have a separate region that enables these birds to identify mistakes in their songs. By monitoring the electrical activity of cells in the zebra finches while they sang the researchers found that some cells became active when they made a mistake allowing them to correct themselves, according to lead author of the report, Professor Richard Hahnloser, of the University of Zurich.

Read more here and listen too here

Parroting guardian

Willie the saviour - Image from CBS4Denver

We have heard of brave dogs and even cats so far. But a parrot? Well Willie the Quaker parrot saved the life of a two year old girl by alerting others to her choking. Willie belongs to Meagan who was babysitting Hannah, in Denver, Colorado. Meagan had gone to the restroom when she heard Willie screeching and flapping his wings furiously. He started saying "mama baby" repeatedly until Meagan reached the scene, where she saw Hannah blue in the face choking on her tart. Immediately, Meagan performed the Heimlich maneuver on Hannah and recued her. She said that if Willie hadn't created such a ruckus she wouldn't have come out sooner from the bathroom and it would have been fatal for Hannah. Her mom, Samantha Kuusk, was very grateful towards both Willie and Meagan for being there in time to save Hannah's life.

Watch Willie

Master cat

Tama with her jaunty cap - Image from CNN

Some animals do have exalted jobs. Like Tama the nine year old cat. Tama was born on 29th April 1999 and she had a pretty simple life near her home in a grocery store near the Kishi train station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan until a couple of years ago. The small town with a few thousand people was the last stop in what had been a falling train line. In 2006 the Wakayama Electric Railway converted all stations on the Kishigawa Line from manned to unmanned to save costs and station masters were selected from employees of local businesses near each station. For the Kinokawa station, Toshiko Koyama, the grocer was selected as the station master. Koyama had adopted Tama among other stray cats and would regularly feed them at the station.

Tama's life changed in 2007 when railway officials decided to make her the official station master in which her primary duty would be to greet passengers. They gave her a station master's hat and free cat food as her salary. Amused passengers began to enjoy Tama's presence and ridership grew by 17% in one month. Tama's star status was elevated when this year she was given the title of "super station master" complete with a new office - a converted ticket booth furnished with a litter box.

Watch a couple of videos of Tama

EndangeRed - Mexican Axolotl

The Mexican Axolotl resembles a slimy, squishy thing. Also known as the "water monster" and the Mexican walking fish", the axolotl held pride of place among the ancient Aztecs. Against all odds, it survived until now in Mexico city's polluted canals of Lake Xochimilco, now a tourist hotspot. Scientists are desperate to save this salamander from extinction its life endangered by the draining of its habitat and deteriorating water quality. To add to its woes, foreign fish introduced to the waters are eating baby axolotls stopping its expansion.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN) has included it in its annual Red List of threatened species. Some researchers estimate that it could disappear in a matter of five years. The disappearance of the axolotl, which is iconic of the Mexican culture, will prove to be disastrous. Its population has dropped from roughly 1,500 per square mile in 1998 to a mere 25 per square mile this year. Legend has it that Xolotl, the dog-headed Aztec god of death and lightning, feared he was about to be banished or killed by other gods and thus changed himself into an axolotl to flee into Lake Xochimilco. But it looks like he is not safe anymore.

Read more about the axolotl

Some more

Special Feature: If only they could talk

One of my friends/readers sent me an article about the anguish that some animals go through while serving the role of a pet. I am posting it here as a Special Feature and if any of you have similar stories feel free to send it across to me and you too will see it here as one :)

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From my window on the second floor, I witness a ritual thrice everyday, which makes me want to scream blue murder. I wonder why people keep Cocker Spaniels, Dalmatians, German Shepherds and the like, as pets in the closed confines of their apartments already crowded with furniture and crystal, which demands absolute immobility.

All these dogs have been lovingly christened with the sweetest of names from Polka, Judy, Mischief to the obviously whimsical choice of Armour, Travel, and Brandy. They look well fed. But care to look into their eyes. More agony than you can imagine wells up in the twin pools of sadness.

Never have I once seen these adorable creatures in the company of their owners, who every morning slam the doors of their imported cars very hard, perhaps to seal off the anguished whimpers of their dogs stranded for the rest of the day to the care of the most soul less dog walkers.

Their bodies stiffen visibly, as fear ridges these canines from nose tip to tail tip at the approach of these born sadists. Once the walkers take rough charge, the dogs have little choice, except to submit to the perverse ways of this abusive lot.

Armed with restless sticks whose utility they have honed to fear psychosis inspiring perfection, the walkers thrill to the sight of these dogs, flinching away in terror, or darting dread- filled, sidelong looks towards them. To the dog walkers delight most dogs have a choke chain. These they fling with savage regularity on the flanks of the dogs. Otherwise they yank them with such severity that the dog’s head snaps back, causing them to writhe as they choke helplessly.

On these walks, the dogs are held on a short leash, forcing them to move in a sullen shuffle. Sometimes they are yoked in the most terrible partnerships, such as a long legged retriever and a stubby little daschund. Their pace is mismatched enough, to make the dog walker have a schizophrenic seizure. A Bull Terrier and a Cocker Spaniel face a dilemma of another kind. The spaniel is deliberately pampered to slight the boxer, who judging from its stiff dodgy trot, ears flattened to the sides of its head, eyes distended with fear and body tensed up, clearly remembers from the past vicious kicks on it ribs.

Once they are out of the gates of the colony, the lordly walkers, basking in the reflected glory of their pedigreed charges, tie up these poor creatures to the nearest lamp post, while they gather with evil intent to laugh their heads off at the idiosyncrasies of their elitist owners.

Even as these dogs stand motionless, resigned , defeated, a slow whimper of yearning, barely audible, builds up and sneaks out. From the corners of their eyes, the only part of them which can move without arousing paranoid suspicion, they see Missy a sleek black Labrador, going every morning and evening with her master to a wooded hillock. There she bounds freely for two hours in search of doggy mischief. Guggloo a lucky German Shepherd is allowed the indulgence of endlessly nosing around boulders and bushes, and relieving himself on every available culvert or tree stump. Cuddles and Pepsi call out to their fan following of strays and generously share their doggy biscuits, before they find dust bowls and have a proper mud bath. Every muscle in their body is relaxed with the happy assurance that they are deeply cared for. In return they have a friendly ‘woof woof’ to every passer by.

In marked contrast, the dogs with the caretakers stand to rigid attention. Any change in stance invites unspeakable harshness. Out comes the stick brought down on them with merciless repetition. The walkers wisely choose an area of heavy traffic, which helpfully muffles the soul searing cries of these dumb animals.

These dogs, distinctly under stress imposed by assault over extended periods, are a far cry of their former pedigreed selves, for which they were prized. Their inherent traits have been assiduously kicked out of their system. Their lives have been so programmed, that they have no control over their destinies. Happy is the mongrel which enjoys boundless freedom. I wonder who is more cruel the dog walker or the owner? Why, you may ask am I a mute witness to this unforgivable cruelty? Because I have tried to get the message across to one or two owners, to be met with the elaborate cultivated shrug of the shoulders, that says it all!

By Radha Nair

Leo the brave

Leo licking one of the kittens

There are reasons why dogs make best friends. Here's one reason why. A terrier cross named Leo claimed news front lines last week after he risked his own life to save a litter of newborn kittens from a burning house in Melbourne, Australia. After his brave rescue Leo had to be revived with oxygen and a heart massage. Fire broke out due to unknown reasons in the house where Leo was entrusted with the safety of the four week old kittens. When firefighters arrived at the scene they found that the inhabitants had managed to escape but Leo was standing immovable and unshaken next to his wards engulfed by thick smoke.

Watch Leo

Another video