A couple of very interesting articles on the cognitive abilities of bees.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...-it-all-began/

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...-we-re-at-now/

Can't quite remember the source, but I was well impressed by the way they 'scout' for a new hive location. It's as if they measure a potential new location and report back. Then other scouts learn where it is through the 'wiggle dance' and check it out. If there's "agreement" the whole swarm moves in one great mass. That's amazing.

Very intelligent little creatures and absolutely vital to most of the world's terrestrial ecosystems.

More on that study of crocodilian play behaviour.

They love a bit of fun just like us!

http://blog.everythingdinosaur.co.uk...-have-fun.html

A neuroscientist once tried to explain degrees of consciousness to me. To greatly paraphrase, he said something like:

If it rains a bird will instantly flee for shelter; a gorilla will consider fleeing for shelter, while a human will consider why it wants to flee for shelter.

Interesting although I would credit corvids with at least the same capacity as apes.

As many posts in this thread have demonstrated fish are far more intelligent (and devious) than we previously suspected.

http://www.nature.com/news/animal-be...f-fish-1.17614

Also the myth of the 'short memory' of the humble goldfish should be put to rest forever - as anybody who has kept them in a small pond or aquarium will know anyway.

An interesting new book on the ocean's very own eight-legged Einstein.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...or-ngbooktalk/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...ve-a-soul.html

I'm convinced that there's literally thousands if not millions of undiscovered marine /sea species.
Perhaps it is the oceans for which we should raise our expectations for intelligent life rather than outer space!

I think it's pretty much a fact that the corvid species are some of the most intelligent animals on Earth.

I totally agree.

Also I think it is rather wonderful that most people can see such incredibly intelligent animals as corvids every single day.

I agree that as our research methods become ever more sophisticated there could still be some huge surprises for marine biologists in the years to come.

Personally I would like another huge cephalopod or shark species to be discovered.

The Megamouth only came to light in 1976.

and a craven haven will jump and kick in teh puddles, all day long

An interesting article.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....ocial-insects/

A couple of recent articles on that remarkable apex predator the Orca.

Reading them shows just how despicable Seaworld really is.

Imprisoning such a huge, empathic and sentient animal in little more than a small concrete box - to then be forced to play dumb tricks for people's 'entertainment' for the rest of their (usually vastly shortened) lives.

Disgusting.

http://www.salon.com/2015/06/27/are_...a_presumption/

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...ng/morell-text

....: The lord Raven now has his own patch.... he has now claimed his area in the garden.
I have named him 'Jonty'.... he has scared the cats away .... and the other birds thinks he is a 'super star'..... but he is not happy because he wants food at 5 o clock in the morning and No way I am waking at that time... With work etc..

....He is too 'intelligent'.

You are being far too literal in terms of communication, e.g. language. My cats' body language, the shape of their eyes, the tone of a meow or a growl instantly atunes me to their needs. One of them will "mirrip" back and forwards with me, and I'll mimic cat movements so he does understand.

Wonderful stuff!

Why everyone's favourite eight armed genius is just bloody weird.

http://www.livescience.com/51842-oct...sequenced.html

An incredible species of social octopus that is one of the very few animals to make love face to face and displays totally unique hunting behaviour.

Wonderful stuff.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...cience-oceans/

http://www.livescience.com/51836-biz...-behavior.html

http://www.livescience.com/51835-coo...us-photos.html

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...eak-180956251/

Video game playing fruit flies may be self aware.

Just think about that for a moment - if even a humble little creature like this is actually conscious what does that say about other animals?

And how we treat them.

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/71...video-game.htm

http://www.natureworldnews.com/artic...s-possible.htm

Those pesky corvids again with the Jackdaw and it's ability to instantly recognise faces.

http://www.natureworldnews.com/artic...nize-faces.htm

A heartwarming wild inter-species friendship between a wolf and a bear in Finland.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dail...184811892.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...tographer.html

http://www.theplaidzebra.com/so-ther...ably-majestic/

Sperm whale culture.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34197333

http://news.discovery.com/animals/wh...ure-150909.htm

http://www.natureworldnews.com/artic...tter-means.htm

Humpback whales have been documented defending other species against Orcas - who says compassion and empathy are unique human traits?

In addition how many people would risk their lives for another species that was not their pet?

Wonderful.

http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/exp.../save-the-seal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/candac...b_8093080.html

Alex the parrot is very interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yGOgs_UlEc

I'd have a bloody good go in some circumstances. Should I ever have to witness some of the unspeakable acts of cruelty committed by humans on animals, I can't believe that I wouldn't go on the attack unless, of course, I was left paralysed by fear of reprisals on my person.

Could you have stood by while that obscene creature hunted down Cecil the lion and left him mortally wounded before finishing him off however many hours later?

Good post.

Facial recognition in fish.

The more we learn about non-mammalian species the more intelligent they become.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...cience-oceans/

People killing animals for trophies is different to sea animals killing another because they're hungry.