The scientific study of animal behaviour, and a sub-topic of zoology.
Questions tagged [ethology]
65 questions
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Can mice find their way back to your home from 1+ miles away?
I've read on many pest control websites that if you catch a mouse in your home that they must be taken 1+ miles away, otherwise they will easily make their way back to their old home (ie. your house).
I live in a suburban street in an urban part of…
Django Reinhardt
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Can a skunk spray with its feet off the ground?
A colleague has a family story that if confronted by a skunk, if you can get its rear feet off the ground, it's unable to release its foul-smelling spray.
Evidence for or to the contrary?
Mark Mayo
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Can Rambo, the German shepherd, follow written commands?
An article on The Laughing Squid shows a German shepherd seemingly following written commands.
An impressively intelligent German shepherd named Rambo, who’s learning how to read with the help of his human Lily, deftly demonstrated his…
SQB
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Do pigeons and doves refrain from mating after their lifelong mate dies?
I just came across this quote by Jerome (I don't know in what book he originally wrote it):
Even the pigeons and doves don't take another partner if their companions pass away.
I don't take Jerome's statement to mean that it has literally never…
Mr. Bultitude
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Did lions in Ethiopia save a 12 year old girl from rape?
The story goes, with a youtube video:
A 12-year-old girl was kidnapped in Ethiopia, beaten, and almost forced into an awful and disgusting marriage, but luckily, that marriage didn't happen because she was saved by LIONS.
... Here's what the police…
Brian M. Hunt
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Can chickens be hypnotized by drawing a line in front of them?
It's commonly said that if you hold a chicken's beak to the ground and draw a straight line in front of it, it will stare at the line and not move. There's no shortage of footage on youtube to prove that it does seem to work. But have any scientific…
Jack M
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Does chicken manure keep cats away from garden areas?
This article mentions that chicken manure can keep cats away.
Chicken manure around established plants can also deter cats as they don't like the smell.
Is it true?
Larry Morries
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Is tickling a form of torture for slow lorises?
The campaign Tickling is Torture by international animal rescue campaigns against people keeping slow lorises as pets (for very good reasons). One claim they make however is that tickling is torture for slow lorises, something that they do not seem…
David Mulder
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Do orangutans rape women?
Following up from the lions-attacking-menstruating-women question, I read an account that claimed male orangutans will rape a human woman, especially if she is in menstruated. Are there verified occurrences?
Example of source with this claim:…
Tyler Durden
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Do bitter apple or actual orange peels prevent cats from scratching?
This article - http://www.allourpets.com/feline/stop-scratching.shtml - mentions that bitter apple or actual orange peels prevent cats from scratching?
If your cat still scratches in appropriate places, use some sprays like bitter apple or actual…
Larry Morries
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Does human excrement or toilet paper attract wild animals?
One commenter on Clarification sought on the six-inch-cat-hole rule says of toilet paper, "One issue is that (even if it does biodegrade), animals may dig it up and scatter it around..."
I've heard this in various forms, the two basic claims being…
Don Branson
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Can dolphins learn a symbol based language?
I recently stumbled across the following article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1240334/Dolphins-clever-humans--treat-like-people-say-scientists.html
which makes the claim that dolphins are almost as clever as humans and:
In one…
Kenshin
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Would a ferret (or any other animal, for that matter) insist on its caregiver to handle its offspring?
There is a video of a ferret biting on someone's hand, guiding it towards a shoebox filled with kits (baby ferrets). It tends to appear alongside the claim that the ferret wants its caregiver to meet her kits.
As adorable as that may sound, it also…
user1999728
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Do roaches die (naturally) on their backs?
First, a major qualifier here; by naturally, I mean not forced to die on its "stomach" (like by being stepped on). Secondly, I live in the U.S., so maybe this applies to only American roaches.
Literally every time I remember having seen a dead roach…
Just Some Old Man
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Did a rabbit bite Justice David Souter?
In a panel discussion titled HLS in the World | A Conversation with Six Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court [partially transcribed at Harvard At 200: Justices Look Back On Their Law School Days — And Beyond : NPR], Justice Stephen Breyer told an…
user16959