Newly-hatched ducklings are known for “imprinting,” or latching on to the first thing they see as their mother. That way they know who to follow and who will protect them. Imprinting is considered to be instinct, and ducklings have been known to imprint on animals and even objects that are not their mother. A recent experiment hijacked the imprinting period to determine how intelligent ducklings are, as in whether they can distinguish the abstract concepts of “same” and “different.”

To explore how ducks think, researchers exposed newborn ducklings to a variety of objects, showing them pairs that were either the same or different, in characteristics like shape or color. Later, when shown completely different objects, three-fourths of the ducks got up and followed the pair that had the same relation they'd originally seen—whether it was one of color or shape, sameness or difference—parading after them the same way they'd line up and follow Mrs. Mallard.

For example, newborn mallards who were first exposed to two spheres (same), later chose to follow a pair or triangles (same) rather than a cube and a cuboid (different). “We hatch them, we give them about 12 hours to dry off, and once they able to walk they are able to do this and learn it with great accuracy,” says Antone Martinho a cognitive scientist at the University of Oxford and co-author of the new study.

This kind of relational matching behavior has been observed in certain primates, like monkeys and apes (and of course humans), and a few other birds, like parrots and crows. But again, these animals are all generally considered to be far more intelligent than ducks.

This experiment brings up a few thoughts. 1. Who is going to care for those experimental ducklings and show them how to duck? B. If newborn ducklings can distinguish same from different, maybe that concept isn’t really “abstract thought.” 3. Could this have been an ancient observation that led to the story of The Ugly Duckling? After all, the ducklings were aware of how different the cygnet was. Read more about the duckling experiment at Smithsonian.  

(Image credit: Alexey Gomankov)

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Celine Chasteen and a friend were paddleboarding in Jupiter, Florida last week. To her surprise, a charming and bold manatee popped up out of the water, placed his flippers on her board, and made eyes at her.

Chasteen was delighted. And although the manatee didn't get her number, his chances are excellent. The Dodo quotes her:

I thought he was really cute. He was really nice and stuff. I hope he drops by again.

-via Huffington Post

Attend a bird of prey show and you expect to see magnificent animals stretching out their wings and snatching up prey for the sake of human amusement.

Spectators might even get hit in the face with a wing, or get a scare when a bird comes flying towards their head, but nobody expects to see a bird trying to take off with one of their kids.

But that's what happened at the Alice Springs Desert Park in Central Australia- a wedge-tailed eagle swooped down and sunk his claws into the head of a boy wearing a green hoodie, acting like he wanted to carry the kid off.

The eagle looked a bit confused about the situation as well afterwards, and witnesses say the boy was playing with his zipper during the show, which may have initiated the attack.

-Via Metro

We all wonder what our pet's non-domestic ancestors would look like, but what if you go a little bit further back -to the Ice Age, for example? Thanks to the famous film franchise, now you can actually help visualize what your fur baby would look like in the distant past (and learn which Ice Age character they most closely resemble. 

I went ahead and did my two pups on the site and as you can see, the results are pretty insightful as well as delightful. So check out your pet's pre-historic roots at AnimalAncestry.com.

Cody is an undersized alpaca who thinks she’s a member of the family. Because that’s how Amber Isaac treats her. She’s been a house pet for two years, since Isaac took her in as a newborn when her alpaca mother wouldn’t care for her. Cody doesn’t look like your average house pet.  

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Cody is both cute and lovable. You can follow her adventures at her website. -via Tastefully Offensive
 

Before there was radio or TV, we used to sit around and laugh at the cat. Then we got movies, TV, and then the internet, and now we sit around and watch other people’s cats do funny cat stuff.

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Cats love boxes, and kittens are playful, so a kitten in a box its a double delight! Enjoy this compilation from CrazyFunnyStuff. -via Tastefully Offensive

It's rare to come across a dog who actually likes to take a bath, and even rarer to find a dog who doesn't immediately run outside and roll in the dirt after getting clean.

But Brady the golden retriever is such a clean freak he gives himself a bath every day, then Brady wraps himself in a towel afterwards rather than shaking water everywhere like a cur.

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Brady's humans should hire him out so he can teach other dogs the value of bathing regularly!

-Via CountryLiving

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The African Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) is the biggest in Africa and noted for his aggressiveness. He's big and tough, but a complete sweetheart when it comes to caring for his kids.

In this video from the TV series Nature, his tadpoles grow up in a puddle next to a pond. The sun is drying up the puddle, placing his kids in mortal peril. So he digs a channel from the puddle to the main pond, providing them a means of escape.

-via Gifsboom

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— HANGİ UMUT ? (@oumutdeyil) May 7, 2016

Cockatiels can whistle and sing pretty well if you train them early in life. This cockatiel learned the theme to the TV series The Addams Family, including the finger snapping part! For that, he raps his beak. A friend almost joins in, but with one searing look, he goes back to a solo performance. -via Tastefully Offensive

This baby knows where it's at! For true relaxation, gather four Pit Bulls into a clump, then settle down for a nap. And the dogs enjoy it as much as he does!

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But I don't have 4 dogs handy. If I find 4 cats, will this technique work as well?

-via Gifsboom

Redditor naxuuu's Smooth Collie has a proper helmet for raiding missions. Look into those eyes: she means to bring unrelenting suffering upon you.

But Scroglan is correct:

-via Tastefully Offensive

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In every pack there are alpha leaders and omega followers, canines who are the first to jump into the pool and show the others how to act and those who doggy paddle in a blind panic.

Can you guess whether Beja, the “non-swimming” dog in this video, is an alpha or an omega?

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Beja is a regular at the Happy Tails resort in Norfolk, Virginia, and even though she has been coming to the resort for years, and knows how to swim, she'd rather stand in the shallow water and stare. Way to make the doggy pool party awkward, Beja!

-Via Boing Boing

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So who knew that fleece works as a treadmill for snakes? This python can't go anywhere as long as he wriggles along the blanket.

Via Digg

Three rare Scottish Wildcat kittens were introduced to the public this week at Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent, UK. The 11-week-old kittens are named Oban (male) and his sisters Fearn and Little Rhu. The mother Carna and the kittens have been separated from the father, RJ, for their safety, but will be reunited when the kittens are bigger. Scottish Wildcats were once numerous in Britain, but were hunted to near-extinction and now only exist in the Highlands of Scotland. They have a tendency to interbreed with house cats, so Wildwood does DNA studies on their cats in order to use the purest wildcat specimens for their breeding program, which is conducted by the organization Scottish Wildcat Action. Read more about the kittens at Kent Online. -via Fark


(Image credit: The Wildwood Trust at Facebook)

He shares some bologna-like sausage with his cat. She is excited about that nice, thick slab of meaty goodness. She wants to take it upstairs to eat, but the vacuum cleaner is on, and that’s terrifying. And then she gets the bologna stuck in her mouth in a weird manner. Why doesn’t she just eat it downstairs?

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Well, it is tempting, since she has to wait for so long. Just a bite. Or two. But then the infernal noise goes away, and she can finally go upstairs! That’s when we see why she didn’t just gobble it all down. Sparta is a good cat. And beautiful, too! -via Tastefully Offensive