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<Scientists Trained Goldfish to Drive a Little Car It's proof that fish are capable of navigation even in unfamiliar environments. Scientists often create elaborate studies in order to tease out secrets and truths from the animal world. One such work has recently been published, with a group from Ben-Gurion University hoping to determine the true nature of a fish's navigation capabilities, as shared on Twitter. Several goldfish were tasked with driving a robot towards a goal, with the sea creatures proving more than up to the job. As per the paper available online, the apparatus for the test was relatively straightforward. Goldfish were placed in a small transparent tank of water placed on top of a robot chassis. A camera mounted above the tank tracked the fish's position and orientation. If the fish swam outward towards a given wall, the robot would move in that direction. When the fish drove up to a pink target on the wall, they would be rewarded with food. Initially, the six fish in the study drove around largely at random. However, tests were regularly performed three times a week, and the fish quickly began to learn that if they drove over to the target area, they would receive food. Over time, the fish became more capable, and could trigger the reward mechanism more times in a single given 30 minute test session. The researchers wanted to further determine just how well the fish had learned to understand their terrestrial environment. The starting position in the room was changed, and the fish were still able to navigate to the target for a reward. Similarly, adding decoy targets of different colors in the room did not stop fish from achieving the task. As a further test, the pink target was moved to a different location in the room and the fish were tested again. Initially, fish drove towards the old target location in an attempt to receive a reward. When none was forthcoming, the fish eventually learned that the pink target itself was the key to the task, and began to drive there instead. The study suggests that a goldfish's navigational abilities are not solely limited to the underwater environment to which they are accustomed. Indeed, a fish can learn to drive a robot in order to secure food. Furthermore, the tiny creatures are also able to build a greater understanding of their world, proven by learning that reaching the pink target, and not simply the original target location, is key to receiving a reward. It also helps clear up the widely-disproven myth that the common pet fish only have a 3-second memory. We've seen similar studies before, which may seem frivolous, but they teach us a great deal about how organic brains work and their true capabilities. We're still likely a ways off from teaching dogs to drive cars, but such insights are of key importance to learning about animal behavior. Creative test design is key to really determining what's going on inside the brain of a goldfish who otherwise can't tell us what's going on, as ably demonstrated by this study.>

Bros ... need your help in trying to identify this animal which has been entering my parents' back yard almost every night. There is usually a cat that walks along the wall and poos in the garden but this animal started coming into the house approx 3-4 weeks ago. I need to identify so I can take preventive measures. Any thoughts? Wife thinks it is a squirrel but seems toooo big. 1605635838160.mp4

https://mothership.sg/2020/08/wrs-adopt-an-animal/ Animal lovers looking to show support for Singapore's zoological institutions and the creatures they care for, here's some news. Members of the public can now adopt an animal of their choice from the Singapore Zoo. Choose from 10 featured species Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) launched its "Adopt an Animal" programme on Aug. 13. Under this programme, people can choose to symbolically adopt one of 10 of the zoo's featured species. These are: 1. Ah Meng the Sumatran orangutan 2. Ben & Bella the African penguins 3. Bosco the red ruffed lemur 4. Bunny the two-toed sloth 5. Coco the Aldabra giant tortoise 6. Matahari the Malayan sun bear 7. Pedro the California sea lion 8. Psota the pygmy hippopotamus 9. Rambo the eastern grey kangaroo 10. Ronnie the rex rabbit There are three tiers of adoption, with prices ranging from S$200 to S$1,500. Each contribution is accompanied with special privileges such as adoption e-certificates, admission tickets and invitations to WRS events and previews. The higher the adoption tier, the more the privileges. You can make an adoption here: https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/get-involved/partner-with-us/become-a-wildlife-partner/select-your-contribution.html Funds contribute to care of animals Funds collected from these symbolic adoptions will be channeled towards the care of animals, such as providing for their daily meals, the purchase of medical equipment, and the general upkeep of animal habitats. These contributions will also support research and education programmes across WRS' parks, as well as conservation projects in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Such a programme helps provide the public with accessible ways in which they can "play active roles in conservation and be inspired to care for wildlife," said WRS Senior Director of Partnership Isabel Cheng. This was after visitors visited the parks and felt a particular connection with the animals. "After visiting us and making a connection with these species, many have followed up to ask how they can do something for wildlife and make meaningful contributions towards our animals and the conservation work we do around the world." Although adoption is currently only available for animals from the Singapore Zoo, there are plans to expand the programme to include creatures from Jurong Bird Park, River Safari and Night Safari.

Anyone heard or approached a Animal Communicator to communicate with your dog before? I have heard of SG animal rescue groups getting AC to ask missing dogs abt their well being Following comments from a dog fb group a little back story here the reason for asking is my wife has been asking to get an animal communicator for our little dachshund suffering from acute kidney failure about a month plus since onset. countless visits to the vet she is lethargic and breathing heavily most of the time vet says condition is stable but no improvements for her blood test (BUN level) she is home now and we have to learn to administer subcutaneous injection twice a day it is extremely stressful for my dach as well as for us because she refuse to eat her meals and meal times becomes a fight and a struggle. they can be stubborn force feeding takes about 45 mins. that actually means 1 hour of unhappiness for her 2 times a day since the onset of acute renal failure everything has been going down hill for our little girl. we are also truly aware that many fail to recover from renal failure even if its acute and not chronic Wife hope to find out from AC how is our girl feeling, is she still coping, is she tired? is she fighting just because she doesn't want mama and papa to feel sad? we also want her to tell us if she's truly tired please tell mama and papa, we don't want her to be suffering i'm skeptical when it comes to this (AC = psychic? unbelievable) hence don't wish to post on fb (wife can see and don't want to hurt her feelings). this is a car forum but i'm trying my luck here. will be good if anyone has firsthand experience or heard of something like this and let me know if it truly works or just a scam or a "feel good" for ourselves that we've done it right for our fur pals thank you

Do you keep pets? Introduce yours with a short description and pictures.

There are so many cases of animal abuse these days that I think these humans deserve all our respect to save our fur friends. If you come across any such videos, please share! Dog rescued from frozen river: Warming the rescued dog in the ambulance:

This guy tua ki liao.....sure kana fine very heavy. 10 years back, that person who got caught is my friend brother....also kana fine heavily by the AVA. ============================================ SINGAPORE - The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) seized over 30 wild animals from an individual living in an HDB flat on June 3, its largest inland seizure of wildlife since 2002. The seized animals include highly endangered and threatened species like the slow loris, marmoset, Indian star tortoise and ball python. Other animals seized include three black-tailed prairie dogs, two sailfin dragons and five ornate horned frogs These animals are not allowed to be kept as pets in Singapore. The seized animals have been sent to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore for proper care and custody. A man is currently assisting AVA in the investigations. In Singapore, a permit is required for any import and export/re-export of animals. In addition, as Singapore is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it is an offence to be in possession or to trade in any illegally imported or acquired CITES species. If found guilty, the offender shall be liable, on conviction, to a maximum fine of $50,000 per specimen (not to exceed an aggregate of $500,000) and/or jail term of up to 2 years. AVA would like to remind the public not to import or keep wild animals as pets as demand for such animals would fuel illegal wildlife trade. Also, wild animals are not suitable pets as some may transmit zoonotic diseases to humans and can be a public safety risk if mishandled or if they escape into our dense urban environment. Should members of the public have information on illegal wildlife activities, please contact AVA at 6325 7625 to make a report immediately. All information shared with AVA will be kept strictly confidential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F99faLJYpo8

Do you think ah Meng will be Dulan if he was still alive?

A. Which animal is most popular as car model names? B. How do you nickname your ride? For (A), four-legged animals are in the lead, followed by no-leg aka snake? ------ jaguar, mustang, etc, And viper, cobra, etc. For (B), my siblings and I always drive different colour cars, so we just nickname them Red, Blue, Grey, etc etc.... No imaginations whatsoever....

http://temasektimes.wordpress.com/2012/04/...alay-community/

Please be serious, I am not talking about Changman, Sabbie or Chemie What

So many animals killed because of one suicidal madman. Amongst them 18 endangered tigers... From CNA: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp...1160574/1/.html Police shoot escaped zoo animals in Ohio Posted: 20 October 2011 1014 hrs CHICAGO: Police in the US state of Ohio shot dead dozens of lions, tigers, bears and wolves in a frantic hunt Wednesday after the owner of an exotic farm freed the dangerous animals and then killed himself. The bloody toll - which included 18 endangered Bengal tigers - sparked outrage from conservationists and calls for restrictions on the largely unregulated ownership of exotic pets. Sheriff Matt Lutz defended his shoot-to-kill order, telling reporters that officers were in a race against the oncoming darkness when they arrived at the farm around 5:30 pm (2130 GMT) Tuesday and saw the wild predators running free. "Public safety was our number one concern," Lutz said. "We are not talking about your normal, everyday house cat or dog." He praised the bravery of the men who left their squad cars to confront the animals armed only with handguns, but said he wished they never had to face such a terrible choice. "These killings were senseless. For our guys to have to do this, it was crazy," Lutz said. "We don't go to the academy and get trained on how to deal with 300 pound Bengal tigers. I'm just glad they had the courage to get out of their cars." Game wardens, SWAT teams, and experts from the nearby Columbus Zoo were called in to assist with the hunt as night fell and residents were warned to stay in their homes. But they only had four tranquillizer guns -- which carried drugs that can sometimes take a while to put a large animal to sleep -- and couldn't risk losing the animals in the dark or the woods. One "very aggressive" tiger was shot dead on Wednesday morning when it went "crazy" and started to run towards nearby woods after it was shot with a tranquillizer, Lutz said. "We could not have animals running loose in this county. We were not going to have that," he added. Of the 56 animals set loose, only six were captured alive: a grizzly bear, three leopards and two monkeys. The other slain animals included two wolves, six black bears, two grizzly bears, nine male lions, eight lionesses, one mountain bear and a baboon. At least one of the animals was struck by a vehicle on a nearby highway and the mauled body of a monkey was also recovered. A monkey that might be infected with Herpes was still unaccounted for, but may also have been eaten by one of the lions. The animals were buried on the 73-acre farm Wednesday. It is a "tragedy" that the animals died but officials had no other choice, said Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and the host of an animal television show. "I'm sorry that this had to be done but if you had 18 Bengal tigers running around in these neighbourhoods, you folks would not have wanted to see what happened," Hanna, who helped to organize the hunt, told reporters. The remaining animals were taken to the zoo but were expected to eventually be returned to the estranged wife of Terry Thompson, 62, who was found dead in the driveway. Ohio has few laws governing the ownership of exotic animals, but Hanna said he was working with the governor's office to enact regulations to try and prevent a repeat of the tragedy. Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich issued a statement urging swift passage of a bill restricting the ownership of exotic animals, noting that there have been 22 incidents in the state involving such animals since 2003 including the death of a man last year while feeding a pet bear. A spokesman for Governor John Kasich told AFP that a task force already working on new rules for exotic animals is expected to have legislation ready within 30 days and defended the decision to shoot-to-kill. "The safety of the populace has to be the paramount concern -- period," spokesman Rob Nichols told AFP. Local news reports said federal agents raided the farm in June 2008, seizing more than 100 guns, and that Thompson had previously been fined for letting his animals wander. But WWF Tiger expert Leigh Henry said the fact remained that people "can go buy a tiger in Ohio" or in seven other states that have no requirement for any kind of license or permit to do so. "I would say the current patchwork of laws in the United States regulating these captive tigers is inexcusable," she said. Born Free USA, an animal protection group, said the death of so many animals should be a call to action against private ownership. - AFP/fa

After a year-long investigation by PETA Asia-Pacific and the National Bureau of Investigations, police have now charged a Philippine couple with cruelty to animals and other crimes related to producing a series of pornographic videos in which young girls torture and kill animals. Faced with the charges, suspects Dorma and Vic Ridon have fled. Warrants have been issued for them. WARNING: Graphic descriptions follow. The "crush" videos that the Ridons are believed to have produced show scantily clad 12-year-old girls as they stomp on live animals, a rabbit as he or she is skinned alive, other rabbits as they scream while their ears are cut off and they are set on fire, a dog as he or she is burned with a clothes iron, and a monkey who was repeatedly hit in the eye with the sharp end of a stiletto heel. There is more, including puppies crushed until they vomited their own internal organs. A bill currently in the Philippine Senate would criminalize the sale of such "crush videos," already illegal in the U.S. and other countries. PETA Asia-Pacific is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of Dorma and Vic Ridon. Anyone with information on the couple can e-mail [email protected] and we will pass it along. You can also make a donation to PETA Asia-Pacific to help the group fight cruelty to animals in this case as well as in many others. Written by Michelle Sherrow Posted by PETA PETA.ORG this is inhumane...

BARBARIC!!! How on earth they can call themselves human beings?!!! It is an insult to all the animals in the world to name these idiots animals.... From STOMP: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sg...k_and_beat.html China students tie pigs up, then kick and beat them with metal poles These horrific photos show students in Nanning, China, tying up some pigs before beating them with metal poles, stepping on them and trying to drown them in a pail of water. STOMPer Freakazoid, who sent in these pictures, said: "This is just horrible! "The pigs were seen bleeding from the torture. "It's uncertain if the pigs survived the ordeal. "What's with these people abusing animals? I can't comprehend what they get out of this. "It's just disturbing to see people behaving worse than animals."

http://www.chinahush.com/2010/11/22/uncove...t-killing-girl/ Disgusting bitches

Sigh.... So sianz.... Feel so fustrated yet cannot do anything about it...... How about you. do you feel the same when you see people abuse and kill animals or even skin them alive? The only thing I can do is keep praying hoping they will be punished one day. May those poor animals RIP...... Esp. one country called China.... I hate that place and their people.

I thought i will only encounter these in Little India, not in a neighbourhood estate. Not refering to any races. Some of them had problem understanding on how to cross the road. I felt like a crocodile moving and waiting slowly along a river and these buggers are like animals trying to make a dash across the rivers about 2m away from me. Normally, i have see cars e-brake to avoid 1 or 2 animal, but never in my life to see at least 3 cars e-brake together to avoid at least a bunch of animals.. and all three are moving at around 50 only.. Oh yeah, the circle things are the animals, and the rectangle are us

Guys, wanna relate an incident I chanced upon earlier. Was walking along Indus Road (off Ganges Ave) just outside Emerald Park and I saw this black cat ran over by a silver IS200. I'm not sure why the driver missed the cat because he was going very slowly. The cat convulsed and flipped in the air for a good 30-60s before laying motionless in the middle of the road. I know its extremely painful for her to be ran over in that manner and my heart just broke seeing the pain it went through and yet there's nothing I can do. I brought her semi-unconscious body to the grass patch (at the bottom of a big tree) by the road and laid her there. She was in a horrible state. Her eye popped out of the socket and her head was twisted in a weird angle and there's no doubt that she'll die. She was pretty bloody as well and I got my hands stained. I left her there because there ain't nothing further I can do short of giving her a burial but she was still alive at that moment. Undoubtedly, she would have moved on as I'm typing this message. So please drivers... PLEASE WATCH OUT FOR THE ANIMALS ON THE ROAD! BE KIND AND SLOW DOWN FOR THEM BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE PAIN INFLICTED ON THEM BY RUNNING THEM OVER!

U know U can't avoid it, it's too late, too dangerous to swerve out.... Small animals like stray mongrels, cats, lizards and mynahs tends to be knocked down very frequently almost to the tune of 100+ animals every 2 weeks. (NZ is about 5 Kangaroos a day on average) Have you knocked anything down before apart from that tree? (juz joking) I have accidentally murdered a mongrel once, felt very bad for weeks.... Felt even more worst when I realised I did not track back and clean up the mess... Come! Share your experience....

Guys and Gals, I have 8 ticket for FiRST 2nd Birthday Party... Date: 10 Nov 2004 Venue: Zouk Time: 8:30pm to 10:30pm 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.