Australian water rats cut cane toads open with 'surgical precision' to feast on their hearts
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/o...eir-hearts
INTRO: Australian water rats have learned how to kill cane toads, eat their hearts and carve out their organs with “surgical precision”. In only two years, highly intelligent native rakali in the Kimberly region of Western Australia discovered how to safely destroy the deadly toad – by removing its gallbladder and feasting on the heart. The rats even targeted the biggest, most poisonous toads they could find, leaving their bodies strewn by the riverside, according to research published in Australian Mammalogy.
Cane toads were first introduced into Queensland in the 1930s and have been marching slowly west ever since, devastating native animals and driving them towards extinction. The toads first arrived in a site monitored by the researchers in WA in 2011. But to their surprise, the scientists found the native water rat – better known as the rakali – was fighting back. The highly intelligent rodent has extremely sharp claws and teeth, and can grow to up 1kg in weight.
Dr Marissa Parrott, the paper’s co-author, said the scientists began to see dead toads appear, cut open in a “very distinctive” way. “It was a small area of creek, three to five metres in size, and every day we were finding new dead cane toads,” she said. “Up to five every single morning. “They were flipping them over, making a very distinctive, almost surgical precision cut down the chest. They would even remove the gallbladder outside the body, which contains toxic bile salts. They knew to remove that bit.”
“In the medium-sized toads, as well as eating the heart and liver, they would strip off the toxic skin from one or both legs and eat the non-toxic thigh muscle. They have very strong sharp teeth, very dextrous little hands. They can pick up a fish or a yabby and open them up very quickly and target the areas they like.” According to the paper, researchers observed 38 toad carcasses, floating in the river or on the creekbank, over 15 days. (MORE)
Why rats prefer company of the young and stressed: Research sheds light on rats' preference to socialize with stressed-out youngsters
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...095806.htm
RELEASE: Researchers have identified a neural pathway implicated in social interaction between adult and juvenile animals, according to new research in rats published in JNeurosci. Adult rats have been shown to prefer the company of stressed-out juveniles. This preference could be mediated by connections between the insular cortex, an area that integrates emotional and sensory information, and the nucleus accumbens, an area involved in determining reward.
Rogers-Carter et al. manipulated this pathway in adult rats to see how it affected their interactions with stressed and relaxed rats of various ages. When the insular cortex was inhibited, the rats lost their preference for stressed juvenile rats, but their avoidance of the stressed adults persisted. The researchers believe that young, stressed animals trigger parental instincts, whereas a stressed adult might be a sign of danger. This parallels the increased empathy humans have towards children over their peers.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/o...eir-hearts
INTRO: Australian water rats have learned how to kill cane toads, eat their hearts and carve out their organs with “surgical precision”. In only two years, highly intelligent native rakali in the Kimberly region of Western Australia discovered how to safely destroy the deadly toad – by removing its gallbladder and feasting on the heart. The rats even targeted the biggest, most poisonous toads they could find, leaving their bodies strewn by the riverside, according to research published in Australian Mammalogy.
Cane toads were first introduced into Queensland in the 1930s and have been marching slowly west ever since, devastating native animals and driving them towards extinction. The toads first arrived in a site monitored by the researchers in WA in 2011. But to their surprise, the scientists found the native water rat – better known as the rakali – was fighting back. The highly intelligent rodent has extremely sharp claws and teeth, and can grow to up 1kg in weight.
Dr Marissa Parrott, the paper’s co-author, said the scientists began to see dead toads appear, cut open in a “very distinctive” way. “It was a small area of creek, three to five metres in size, and every day we were finding new dead cane toads,” she said. “Up to five every single morning. “They were flipping them over, making a very distinctive, almost surgical precision cut down the chest. They would even remove the gallbladder outside the body, which contains toxic bile salts. They knew to remove that bit.”
“In the medium-sized toads, as well as eating the heart and liver, they would strip off the toxic skin from one or both legs and eat the non-toxic thigh muscle. They have very strong sharp teeth, very dextrous little hands. They can pick up a fish or a yabby and open them up very quickly and target the areas they like.” According to the paper, researchers observed 38 toad carcasses, floating in the river or on the creekbank, over 15 days. (MORE)
Why rats prefer company of the young and stressed: Research sheds light on rats' preference to socialize with stressed-out youngsters
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...095806.htm
RELEASE: Researchers have identified a neural pathway implicated in social interaction between adult and juvenile animals, according to new research in rats published in JNeurosci. Adult rats have been shown to prefer the company of stressed-out juveniles. This preference could be mediated by connections between the insular cortex, an area that integrates emotional and sensory information, and the nucleus accumbens, an area involved in determining reward.
Rogers-Carter et al. manipulated this pathway in adult rats to see how it affected their interactions with stressed and relaxed rats of various ages. When the insular cortex was inhibited, the rats lost their preference for stressed juvenile rats, but their avoidance of the stressed adults persisted. The researchers believe that young, stressed animals trigger parental instincts, whereas a stressed adult might be a sign of danger. This parallels the increased empathy humans have towards children over their peers.