My Science School

Kanzi’s trainers do not claim that he can create grammatical sentences, but he does produce two words and three words statements that appear spontaneous, he communicate on his actions and describes to his trainers those he intends to carry out. He uses the keyboard to communicate with other pygmy chimpanzees undergoing the same training, so as telling one to tickle the other. His sentences also represent his own response to a situation. For example, when deprived of the company of another chimpanzee called Austin, Kanzi apparently felt lonely without the normal bedtime visit from his friend. After several nights, he punches the symbols for Austin and TV on his keyboard, and was shown a videotape of Austin, after which he went happily to sleep.

There is no evidence yet that animals are capable of abstract ideas or of active conversations. Even if we do improve our understanding of how they communicate, they may not have anything of enormous interest to say to us.

 

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Similar experiments have done the chimpanzees, orang-utans and other apes. Because they do not have the same vocal cords as humans, apes cannot be expected to speak. So the pioneers of this research, Allen and Beatrice Gardner of the University of Nevada, had the idea of teaching one of them sign language. In 1967 they obtained a one year old female chimpanzee named Washoe, and by 1971 had taught her to use American sign language, the method used by the deaf in the United States. She was repeatedly shown the signs and then was rewarded with a tickle or with food when she responded correctly. Washoe learned fast and soon knew a large number of words. She was eventually able to use 150 hand gestures.

Walking by a Lake one day, her trainer pointed at a dog. ‘What’s that?’, He asked in sign language. ‘Water bird’, said Washoe, apparently inventing her own word for ducks. Encouraged by this, other American scientists started training their own chimpanzees, using a range of different methods of communication. Some involved the identification of plastic shapes which symbolised, among other things, objects such as apples, or the trainers name. Others meant pressing different keys on a computer to communicate words or phrases. The result seemed to show that the chimps could indeed master language: they could respond to simple commands and use the language to ask for things.

Later, cold water was poured on the whole idea by another American psychologist, professor Herbert Terrace of Columbia University, New York. When Terrace analysed all Washoe two word phrases, he found that the word order was in fact a random. Washoe might just as easily have said bird water. Terrace also found that unlike human babies learning language, the chimps did not gradually increase the complexity of their sentences.

More recently, a pygmy chimpanzee called Kanzi has rekindled interest. Kanzi lives at the language research Centre near Atlanta, Georgia. His success in picking up the elements of language appears to show that pygmy chimpanzees have greater intellectual potential than gorillas, orang-utans and common chimpanzees.

Kanzi has been provided with a keyboard, linked to a computer. Each key is marked with the geometrical symbol which represents a word. As a baby, Kanzi played in the laboratory while his mother was taught to use the keyboard, and apparently picked up the skill by watching her. To the surprise of the scientists, Kanzi began using the symbols correctly at the age of two and a half, and by the age of three had acquired skills which common chimpanzees could not manage at the age of seven.

 

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The understanding that can develop between people and animals is often almost uncanny. Dogs are good at interpreting their owner’s wishes so that at times they appear to possess a sixth sense. Horses, too, can respond to the subtlest of cues, as the complex movements of Dressage demonstrate. But will it ever be possible for people to communicate with animals using ordinary language?

Some years ago intensive efforts were made to communicate with dolphins. These mammals have brains which are similar in size to that of a human being, and they seem to be very intelligent. Dolphins are also capable of making a wide range of sounds, including squeaks, groans, clicks, barks and whistles, to indicate alarm, threat and a recognition.

Attempts to interrupt this language have not been successful. But scientists have proved that these creatures, and sea lions, can recognise hand gestures - a form of language - and can respond correctly.

Rocky, a 13 year old sea lion at the Long Marine laboratory in Santa Cruz, California, has been trained to identify objects, by being rewarded when he gets it right, and he can now collect from his pool only the toy that he is asked for. His trainer, Ron Schusterman of the university of California, scatters up to a dozen different toys in the pool- balls, discs, bottles and so on. An assistant who sits on the edge of the pool makes signs to the sea lion asking him to collect a particular toy, and Rocky picks up the right item 95% of the time.

More significantly, he has also been taught the meaning of much more complex commands such as ‘take the ball to the disc’, or ‘take the small Black disc to the bottle’. The success rate of his responses on such a task is only 40%. However it would be impossible for him to do even that well by chance. To some extent at least, he appears to understand simple sentences.

 

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Extinct in Malaysia

The saddest news I heard last week: The Sumatran rhinoceros is now extinct in Malaysia.

Iman, the last female in Malaysia, at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, in northeast Borneo, died in November 23, 2019. Another Sumatran rhino, Puntung was put to death in 2017. He had cancer. Tam, Malaysia’s last male rhino, died in May 2019. Fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos are thought to exist in the wild, most on the nearby island of Sumatra. The rest are scattered across Kalimantan in Indonesia Borneo.

Christine Liew, Sabah State’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, said, “Iman was given the very best care and attention since her capture in March 2014 right up to the moment she passed. No one could have done more.” The saddest part is this. Once these rhinos roamed the jungles of Malaysia in large numbers. With habitat loss and killing of these animals for their horns, their numbers came down. Now, no Sumatran rhino is left in Malaysia.

Tam’s death is a wakeup call to find more animals in the wild, say experts coordinating WWF International’s Sumatran rhino efforts for the last two years.

This is Tam’s story. Forest officials noticed Tam wandering around an oil pam plantation in 2008. He was captured and transferred to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in the state of Sabah. Efforts were made to mate him with two female rhinos – Puntung, captured in 2011, and Iman, captured in 2014. They were not successful.

Where do they live?

Sumatran rhinos live in remote areas of tropical rainforests. The Leuser Ecosystem, which abounds in mountains and tropical rainforest, in Indonesia is home to several small, scattered populations of Sumatran rhinos. Since these are thick jungles, sightings of rhinos are rare. No one can say exactly how many exist. Forest officials count the rhinos through what they see in camera traps.

In 2015, Sumatran rhinos were declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia. Naturalists count these reasons for the population count of rhino diminishing in Malaysia and elsewhere.

Sumatran rhinos live in small herds, scattered across islands. A small population means the Sumatran rhino’s potential to reproduce is reduced. This puts the rhino at a higher risk for extinction.

The number of Sumatran rhinos everywhere has dropped an estimated 70% in the past twenty years. This is mostly due to poaching. Fewer than a hundred remain in Indonesia, in isolated pockets. Besides, Sumatran rhinos give birth about every three to five years. So their population remains small.

Efforts to save the species

In 2018, the world’s leading conservation NGOs including the National Geographical Society, decided to form a collaboration group called the Sumatran Rhino Rescue. The members would go out, find and safely capture as many wild rhinos as possible and bring them together for captive breeding. Officials at the WWF International said, “Tam’s death underscores how critically important the collaborative efforts driving the Sumatran Rhino Rescue project are. We’ve got to capture those remaining, isolated rhinos in Kalimantan and Sumatran and do our best to encourage them to make babies.”

The experts, however, were able to understand the kind of animal Sumatran rhinos are by monitoring Tam in captivity. This information should help biologists in their rhino breeding efforts in the future. “The work that the Borneo Rhino Alliance did with advanced reproductive techniques, especially harvesting eggs and attempting to create embryos, took us one step further towards understanding of the species’ biology,” said Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation.

What can we do?

We must understand how precarious the survival of Sumatran rhinos is. Don’t we want this small rhinoceros to survive? The death of Tam represents roughly one percent of the Sumatran rhino population.

But there is good news. The coalition group, Sumatran Rhino Rescue has managed to capture a new female named Pahu. She has been transferred to a new breeding facility in Kelian, Indonesia. This effort was seen as extremely important and the rhino was given escort by the Indonesian police who helped to clear the mudslides on the way with bulldozers. As far as experts can tell, Pahu does seem to be reproductively healthy. She is doing well in her new home, and we can all keep our fingers crosses for her to have company soon. Pahu’s capture shows that there are other rhinos still roaming in Kalimantan’s forests and that in turn gives hope for the animal species future. Experts say that the world needs to be laser-focused on saving the remaining 80 Sumatran rhinos, using a combination of intensive protection and captive breeding, and working with local people to instill pride that the rhino is part of their biological heritage. “This is a battle we cannot afford to lose.”

 

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In one of the oddest animal pairing, a wild lioness in a Kenyan reserve dubbed kamunyak, adapted a baby oryx in 2001. The lioness wouldn’t let it out of her sight. Neither ate while they were together – the lioness didn’t hunt and the young calf had no way to get milk. For weeks, the pair travelled together. One morning, another lion leapt out of the bushes and killed the baby. Kamunyak went on to adopt five more oryx calves in this way!

It is believed that in the past, Kamunyak had a sister. However, her solitary life could be a result of being kicked out of a pride. Perhaps her pride became too large and sub-groups split off to form new lion prides. Perhaps she was cast out as a single lioness and had to fend for herself, in between warring territorial prides, as a vagrant nomadic female, eking out an existence on the periphery.



Kamunyak was last sighted in February 2004, then she eventually disappeared, and despite a number of searches, has not been seen since.

 

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When the 2004 tsunami hit, a baby hippo was separated from his family in Kenya. The orphan found a home in Haller park a sanctuary in Mombasa. In the beginning, to help him adjust, Owen was housed with a 130-year-old Aldabra tortoise called Mzee.

The tortoise did not respond initially but with Owen’s repeated nuzzling, he warmed up. The two slept together, ate together and appeared to cuddle up! The tortoise taught the hippo to eat cut leaves and carrots, so it became easy for the keepers to look after Owen.

The pair inspired a website and children’s books, but eventually Owen was introduced to a female hippo and Mzee got a new tortoise companion of his own.

 

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Doc Antle is the founder of a sanctuary in South Carolina, USA. A stray dog Roscoe, followed Antle and Suryia, an orangutan in the Centre, through the park’s gate in 2006. Suryia immediately began playing with the dog. The two animals would frolic in the enclosure for a few hours every day, swimming in the pool and rolling on the grass. The orangutan would even take Roscoe for a walk on a leash!

Suryia will take Roscoe for walks around the enclosure and even feeds him some of his monkey biscuits. When they are both feeling a little lazy they will go for a ride on the back of Bubbles, our 27-year-old African elephant.’  That was two years ago and they’ve been fast friends since.  Their story has been featured in many articles and TV shows including National Geographic’s Unlike Animal Friends.

 

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Wister, a donkey and Safi, a German shepherd forged a friendship on a ranch in Wyoming, USA, in the 1990s. the two would romp about, with the dog even teaching Wister to fetch a stick! If Safi did not appear, Wister would stand at the door and bray. If he accidentally kicked Safi during play, he would stand still as if to say sorry. Safi would jump up and nip his neck gently in acceptance!

They love to chase and nip each other. They share the same food bowl and take naps together.  Safi taught Wister to fetch a stick and carry it around. When Safi and her owner go on hikes, Wister follows them.  In the morning, Wister stands outside the house and brays until Safi comes out to play.

 

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At the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, USA, Bella, a dog and Tarra, an Asian elephant, were best buddies. Bella played, slept and ate with her. Elephants are very careful around their young ones, so Tarra was equally careful with Bella. When the dog was injured in an accident, Tarra maintained a vigil outside the room and called to her constantly. Only when Bella was brought outside did she cease her crying!

When Bella was killed by coyotes, sanctuary workers believe Tarra picked her up and carried her body to the spot where they usually spent time together.

 

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Though a few animals of different species cooperate while hunting in the wild, it is rare. A fish known as a grouper will recruit a moray eel to help it extract prey that is hiding in a crevice. The honey guide, an African bird, will lead a honey badger, or even a person, to a beehive it wants to plunder of wax and grubs.

Another kind of bonding behavior is ‘imprinting’, in which newborn animals or birds will follow the first moving thing they set eyes upon, whether it is their own mother, a machine, another animal or a human.

 

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Different animals use their tails for different purposes. Animals such as monkeys and opossums have what is called a prehensile tail, which allows them to grasp tree branches. Grazing animals like horses and cows use tails to swat flies. Cats like lions and tigers use it for balance, especially when running. Kangaroos too use their tails for balance. Tails are also used for communication – dogs wag their tails to express affection; deer flash the white underside of their tail to warn other deer in the vicinity of possible danger, and female deer do so when they are ready to breed; and beavers slap the water with their tails to indicate danger. Some species use their tail to escape from their enemies (lizards dtech their tails to prevent an attack, from its predator), while others use it to attack their enemies (Scorpions have venom at the end of their tail, while rattlesnakes have a special organ at the end of their tail that enables them to warn intruders and keep enemies at bay).

Crocodiles and alligators store fat in their tails.

Feathers and fins are tails for birds and fish respectively. Birds and fish use their ‘tails’ for steering.

 

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The elephant seal has a nose that looks like a trunk, hence its name. When the time to mate comes around, the seals inflate their noses by nearly a foot or 30 centimetres! They face off in snorting contests to prove their value to the females.

Walruses on the other hand, puff up their necks to create a natural pillow. The two sacs keep the walrus afloat when it is sleeping in the water.

Among snakes, the puff adder is the only one that can inflate its entire body and let out a loud hiss for good measure. It is a large venomous snake found in some parts of Africa.

 

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Among simians, the howler monkey can make one of the loudest calls among animals by inflating the air sacs in its throat. It is not only used for communication, but also as a mating display.

Orangutans have a little-known physical feature – an inflatable pouch along their necks that expands to hold nearly six litres of water! Amazingly, the pouches inflate when the orangutan breathes out rather than in. the sac helps amplify its calls and to climb, breathe and float.

Each social group of howler monkeys consists of 10-20 members organized in a strict hierarchy, with a dominant male as the leader.  Group members spend nearly 2/3 of their time sleeping; this is due to the energy-poor diet of the monkeys.  Much like the sloth, howler monkeys feed mainly on leaves.  This means that they are folivores, or leaf-grazers.  These leaves, however, are a poor source of nutrition because most of the calories in the leaves are bound up in hard-to-digest cellulose.  To gain a sufficient amount of energy, an adult howler monkey thus needs to ingest more than 15% of its body size per day in leaf matter. 

 

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Indian and Polynesian sailors have historically been guided by lodestars to find their way at sea. But research shows that harbour seals have been doing it much before humans attempted it. Harbour seals are marine mammals. They live along the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere, and hunt for food at night. Obviously, in the dark, they cannot follow the landmarks that are visible on land.

In 2006, German and Danish scientists placed two harbours seals – named Nick and Malte – in a specially constructed floating planetarium. The team trained the two to swim in the direction of specific lodestars. They discovered that the animals could identify a single star out of a projection of the Northern Hemisphere night sky. This showed that the seals followed specific lodestars as navigational aids when they swam far from the shore. Remember, this was an experiment. So do the seals in the wild navigate by following individual stars? Researchers believe they do. Star-based navigation enables the seals to efficiently search an area for food.

 

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Scientists say migrating birds rely on the magnetic compass after sunset. They also use the individual stars for navigation at night. All animals with “camera eyes”, the kind of eyes humans have, can make out individual stars. Insects with compound eyes cannot do this so they see the starry sky and the Milky Way as patterns of light. But scientists do not have an answer for one question: how do birds flying at night change the point of reference when they cross the equator? How do they follow the stars that change their orientation across the equator?

One example of birds that understand stellar navigation is the indigo bunting of North America. These birds fly south for winter, and they do it at night. There is less competition for food at night and there are fewer disturbances after dark. In one experiment, researchers captured these migrating birds and placed them under a starlit dome. And this is what they found.

Indigo buntings watch the rotation of close star patterns around a centre point, such as the North Star. From this they determine the directions. Before migrating, songbirds orient themselves by hopping in the direction they want to travel. In the experiment, the starlit dome rotated around the North Star, which is what happens in the night sky. The smart birds observed it and began to fly south. Then the researchers removed the constellations within 35 degrees of the North Star. The birds became disoriented and couldn’t fly anywhere.

So, individual stars are not that important for the birds. What they need to see is the rotation of the close star patterns around a centre point. This helps them to determine where north is. They use this information to fly south.

 

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