New, tail-swinging research from the urination-duration lab

Ig Nobel Prize winner David Hu and colleagues published a new study investigating why elephants and other tail-swinging mammals swing their tails. Specifically, they looked at how (and how well) tail-swinging repels insects. The new study is: “Mammals Repel Mosquitoes With Their Tails,” Marguerite E. Matherne, Kasey Cockerill, Yiyang Zhou, Mihir Bellamkonda, David L. Hu, Journal […]

Attracting Wildlife – for research (or shooting) [new patent]

Inventor Harrison Forrester, from Greenwood, SC, USA, has just received a patent for a wildlife attractor device which may help scientific researchers (or hunters), “The present invention is related to a hunting device that is particularly suitable for attracting wildlife and animals, such as deer, antelope, and varmints to a particular location.” The device, which […]

Dogs Tail Wagging (Robotic and Otherwise): an Update

Back in 2010, Improbable reported ongoing investigations regarding tail-wagging in robotic dogs. We can now provide readers with an update, thanks to researcher Stephen Leaver, who has posted a video of Robodog in action via his research lab webpage. The accompanying paper : ‘Behavioural responses of Canis familiaris to different tail lengths of a remotely-controlled […]