Some monkeys in Panama may have just stumbled into the Stone Age
One group of capuchins uses stone tools, but neighbouring groups do not – suggesting primates - including us - might enter the Stone Age simply by chance
Sperm whales are tracking fishing boats and stealing their fish
Fishing boats in the Gulf of Alaska are being stalked by enormous sperm whales, which charge in and rip huge volumes of fish from the lines
Chimp evolution was shaped by sex with their bonobo relatives
Some chimpanzee populations gained useful DNA from interbreeding with bonobos, and one may even have become more gentle and “bonobo-like” in its brain structure and behaviour
Ape ‘midwives’ spotted helping female bonobos give birth
When female bonobos went into labour, other females gathered around to keep them safe, swatting away flies and even seemingly trying to catch the baby as it emerged
Cute but dim quolls have been taught to stop eating toxic toads
Northern quolls are an endangered species thanks to an epidemic of poisonous cane toads in Australia, but now some of them have been trained to steer clear
Horses remember if you smiled or frowned when they last saw you
Horses can remember the expressions on people’s faces and use them to make judgements about whether people are nice or unpleasant
Wasps drum with their stomachs to tell each other about food
German yellowjacket wasps alert each other to food by drumming their abdomens against the nest wall, in a wasp equivalent of the famous honeybee “waggle dance”
Virtuoso bowhead whales constantly make up new songs
Bowhead whales are such talented singers they can make two sounds simultaneously, and they invent new songs every year
Dog brain scans show if they are looking at a happy or sad face
Dogs can recognise different human facial expressions, like happy or sad, and now a simple brain scan can reveal which expression a dog is looking at
Heavy metal poisoning may be changing birds’ personalities
Great tits exposed to toxic metals like cadmium and lead alter their behaviour, becoming less exploratory and more cautious, suggesting their personalities have been reshaped