Kanzi the bonobo chimp learns to create tools by himself - repeating humanity's first steps towards civilisation

Chimpanzee who has grown up with humans and loves fires learns to create flints and scrapers to get to hidden food


By Eddie Wrenn


A world-famous bonobo chimp known for his skill at sign-language has taken one step closer to humanity - by learning to create tools.

The 31-year-old, Kanzi, is able to understand and communicate with humans and is believed to understand around 500 words - 30 to 40 of which he uses on a daily basis.

Now he has stunned researchers at the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines, Iowa, by creating his own tools during a mission to extract food from a container.

Tool-building: Kanzi the bonobo picks up one of the logs, which contains treats inside, and sets to work scraping it open

New Scientist reports: 'Kanzi the bonobo continues to impress.

'Not content with learning sign language or making up 'words' for things like banana or juice, he now seems capable of making stone tools on a par with the efforts of early humans.'

The tool-making was part of an exercise devised by Eviatar Nevo, of the University of Haifa in Israel.

He and his colleagues placed food inside a sealed log, mimicking marrow locked inside long bones, and then watched as Kanzi tried to tackle the problem.

His companion bonobo went for the tried-and-trusted approach: repeatedly smashing the log on the ground in order to get to the food within.

But Kanzi took a different approach, building the tools early man is believed to have come up with tens of thousands of years ago.

While his companion only succeeded in cracking two logs, Kanzi managed to get his way inside 24 of the treat-filled logs, using a variety of methods.

New Scientist reports: 'Kanzi used the tools he created to come at the log in a variety of ways: inserting sticks into seams in the log, throwing projectiles at it, and employing stone flints as choppers, drills, and scrapers. In the end, he got food out of 24 logs, while his companion managed just two.'

Kanzi also used flakes to unearth buried food, after making the tool by chipping off bits of stone

The choppers and scrapers devised by Kanzi are believed to be similar to the tools men created as they marched towards civilisation, fuelling a debate as to whether tool-making is the mark of modern human culture - or if it something innate in other species as well.

Kanzi and his companion had both been taught to break flint flakes in the 1990s using a stone and a hammer, but the rest of the tool-creation appears to be Kanzi's initiative alone.

Kanzi is one of eight bonobos in the care of Dr Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, one of the world’s leading experts in ape behaviour and language.

He had previously been taught to light matches and create fires.


Intelligent cooking: The chimpanzee searches for the perfect site for a camp fire then carefully piles sticks onto a bed of dry leave


Adept: His hands look almost human as he strikes a match and, with a look of satisfaction, watches the smoke start to rise as the fire takes hold

And for dessert... he pops a marshmallow on a long stick and toasts it with care making sure he doesn't get his fingers burnt

Dr Savage-Rumbaugh, of the Great Ape Trust, in Des Moines, Iowa, adds: ‘Kanzi makes fire because he wants to.

He used to watch the film Quest For Fire when he was very young which was about early man struggling to control fire.

He watched it spellbound over and over hundreds of times.
'He was also fascinated by the camp fires his keepers made to cook food.

'And he was encouraged to interact with humans and copy them.

'At the age of five, he was making small piles of bone dry sticks.
'He was taught to use matches, a skill he picked up quickly.

'There’s something eerie about watching Kanzi strike a match.

'The way he then holds the flame - taking care not to burn himself - is remarkably human.'

Kanzi, who weighs 12st, is the brightest of the apes at the Great Ape Trust.

With two other apes at the centre, he uses paper keyboards to communicate with Dr Savage-Rumbaugh and fellow primatologist Liz Pugh.

In conversation with the researchers he points to symbols, known as lexigrams, on the keyboards representing different words.

He has learnt to ‘say’ around 500 words through the keyboard, and understands 3,000 spoken words.

Bonobos are one of the most endangered species and there are around 10,000 to 50,000 left in the wild, all in Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo.

They share 98 to 99 per cent of their DNA with us.

New Scientist speculated: 'Do Kanzi's skills translate to all bonobos? It's hard to say.

'The abilities of animals like Alex the parrot, who could purportedly count to six, and Betty the crow, who crafted a hook out of wire, sometimes prompt claims about the intelligence of an entire species.

But since these animals are raised in unusual environments where they frequently interact with humans, their cases may be too singular to extrapolate their talents to their brethren.'


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Astonishing pictures of the young gorillas who worked together to dismantle the poachers' trap that killed their friends

By Mark Prigg


Just days after a poacher's snare had killed one of their own, two young mountain gorillas have been spotted working together to take apart poachers traps.

Staff at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund were stunned when they spotted the plucky young duo, called Dukore and Rwema, destroying a trap in their forest home.

'Today our field staff observed several young gorillas from Kuryama’s group destroying snares!' Veronica Vecellio, gorilla program coordinator at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's Karisoke Research Center, which is in the reserve where the event took place, blogged.

The astonishing moment when two young mountain gorillas were spotted working together to find and destroy traps in their Rwandan forest home.

'John Ndayambaje, our field data coordinator, reported that he saw one snare very close to the group; since the gorillas were moving in that direction, he decided to deactivate it.

'Silverback Vuba pig-grunted at him (a vocalization of warning) and at the same time juveniles Dukore and Rwema together with blackback Tetero ran toward the snare and together pulled the branch used to hold the rope.

'They saw another snare nearby and as quickly as before they destroyed the second branch and pulled the rope out of the ground.'

The pair we able to rip the snare apart without harming themselves.

Vecellio said the behaviour was unheard of.

'This is absolutely the first time that we've seen juveniles doing that,' she told National Geographic.

'I don't know of any other reports in the world of juveniles destroying snares.

'We are the largest database and observer of wild gorillas ... so I would be very surprised if somebody else has seen that.

''Today we can proudly confirm that gorillas are doing their part too!'

Staff at the park were still reeling from the death last week of a young gorilla called Ngwino who was caught in a snare.

The young animal was found too late by workers from Karisoke, and died of snare-related wounds.

Her shoulder had been dislocated during escape attempts, and gangrene had set in after the ropes cut deep into her leg.

The two young gorillas in Rwanda who were spotted taking apart poachers traps

Bush-meat hunters set thousands of rope-and-branch snares in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, where the mountain gorillas live.

The traps are intended for antelope and other species but sometimes capture the apes.

Poachers build the snares by tying a noose to a branch or a bamboo stalk, Vicellio said.

The gorillas were spotted near the Karisoke Research Center, located in the reserve where the event took place.

Every day trackers from the Karisoke center comb the forest for snares, dismantling them to protect the endangered mountain gorillas, which the International Fund for Nature (IUCN) says face 'a very high risk of extinction in the wild.'

She believes the snare busting team must have dismantled other traps.

'They were very confident,' she said. "They saw what they had to do, they did it, and then they left.

'Quite Ingenious'


A young gorilla at Ape Action Africa, based at the Mefou Primate Park near Yaounde, Cameroon. It homes orphaned primates, many of whose family are caught in snare traps. Luci is another Gorilla baby at the park. She has a full time Cameroonian carer, Jeanne who acts like a surrogate mother.



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'Genetic experiment' terrifies Chinese city as residents fear mysterious animal is escapee from nearby research centre

By Rob Waugh


Xinxiang is close to several scientific research centres and a local medical school - and locals became convinced the creature was an experiment gone wrong, on the run from a nearby lab

With a mohawk-style plume of hair and pink flesh covered in leopard-esque spots, the mysterious animal terrified locals in Xinxiang, Henan province

Xinxiang is close to several scientific research centres and a local medical school - and locals became convinced the creature was an experiment gone wrong, on the run from a nearby lab.

One witness said: ‘The pink skin makes it look just like pig gone wrong in some sort of genetic experiment.’

One witness said: 'The pink skin makes it look just like pig gone wrong in some sort of genetic experiment'

But police say the dog is actually a pedigree breed called a Chinese crested hairless dog is a pet - and expensive.

‘It is definitely a dog, and quite an expensive one at that,’ said a spokesman.

The bizarre breed with just tufts of hair on its head and tail and a bare, spotted body regularly features as a contender in the World's Ugliest Dog contest.

One celebrated example, Yoda (pictured below), won the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma Marin Fair for her short tufts of hair, protruding tongue, and long, seemingly hairless legs.

The 1.8lb pooch had lived a rough life before Terry Schumacher found her abandoned behind an apartment building and mistook her for a rat.

The dog went on to bag $1,000 and a trophy 15 times her size when she won the contest held in Petaluma, California last June.


But police say the dog is actually a pedigree breed called a Chinese crested hairless dog is a pet - and expensive


Best paw forward: Yoda was a first-time competitor and beat fierce competition for the title


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Scientists unveil 20 new species ... including a giant blue scorpion and massive hairy spider (how DID we ever get by without them?)

By Eddie Wrenn


Brave scientists: To discover a species such as the goliath bird-eating spider is one thing - to put your hand next to it is quite another

For 20 years, field scientists working with Conversation International have been exploring some of the world’s most abundant, mysterious and threatened tropical ecosystems.

To date, they have discovered more than 1,300 species new to science - although so far only 500 or so have been formally described by taxonomists, in terms of classification and naming.

And now, to celebrate their 20 years of cataloguing, the group has released 20 of their favourite finds.

While some - like the fish that flashes a beautiful array of colours when it is in love - make a great sight, others are more than likely to quiver, such as the giant blue scorpion, or the ants which hook on to each other with sharp barbs when threatened.

And arachnophobes - take a deep breath, because this is what is thought to be the largest tarantula known to exist - oh, and it eats lizards.

Sends a shiver: This is the largest (by mass) spider in the world, reaching the weight of 170g and a leg span of 30cm

The giant spider is the Goliath bird eating spider (theraphosa blondi) and is the largest (by mass) spider in the world, reaching the weight of 170g and leg span of 30cm.

It was observed by Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program scientists in Guyana in 2006, where it lives in burrows on the floor of lowland rainforests.

Despite the name, it feeds primarily on invertebrates - but have been observed eating small mammals, lizards and even venomous snakes.

They have venom fangs, which are not deadly to humans, but their main line of defense are hairs that cover their entire body – when threatened their rub their legs agains the abdomen and send a cloud of microscopic barbs that lodge in the skin and mucus membranes of the attacker, causing pain and long-lasting irritation.


The Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator): With an eight-inches-long body, this is one of the largest scorpions in the world (a species from India is reputedly slightly longer)


Meanwhile the emperor scorpion (pandinus imperator) has an eight-inches-long body, this is one of the largest scorpions in the world - a species from India is reputedly slightly longer.

Observed by scientists in Atewa, Ghana in 2006. Despite their enormous size they feed primarily on termites and other small invertebrates, and its venom is not particularly harmful to humans.

The venom of this species contains compounds that are being tested as potential drugs to control arrhythmia (a heart disease) and the blue fluorescent betacarbolines that cover its body (visible only in ultraviolet light) are studied in order to understand degeneration of proteins in human eye lenses, which leads to cataract blindness.

Not new to science, but observed by the RAP team, is the fish-hook ant. Scientists, as well as mammal and bird predators, think twice before messing with this large (1.5 cm) ant in the forests of Cambodia - their curved spines can easily slice through skin and tend to hold on for a while.

These ants live in large numbers in nests in dead tree trunks on the forest floor, and when attacked they swarm out and hook onto each other, making extracting an individual ant by a predator difficult.

The hooking together behavior is inadvertent - they do not seek each other to hook together - but nevertheless quite effective as a defense mechanism.

Ants play an important ecological role as scavengers - they are often some of the first organisms to feed on dead insects and animals, which help to recycle organic material back into the ecosystem and to keep dead animals from piling up.


A fish-hook ant spotted in Cambodia in 2007: These ants live in large numbers in nests in dead tree trunks - their curved spines can easily slice through skin and tend to hold on for a while


The RAP project's achievements are highlighted in the new book 'Still Counting…'

edited by Leeanne Alonso, Director of CI's Rapid Assessment Program in collaboration with other leading scientists.

Part memoir, part historical report, part methodology guide, 'Still Counting…'
revisits RAP expeditions to some of the most remote and least known areas on the planet, recounting the physical challenges and personal highlights experienced by its scientists and features more than 400 amazing color photographs of rare and exciting species from around the globe.

'It's been an amazing adventure,' said Alonso, who has coordinated and led surveys for the past 13 years.

'Despite the pressures we put on nature, it continues to mystify, inspire and teach us with a wealth of hidden treasures and ecosystem services that people rely on, and that we're still only beginning to understand.'

To mark the twenty years, CI has designated the Top 20 'RAP stars' of the program's history. Species include some of the most biologically surprising, unique, or threatened discoveries of the teams' surveys, and include poster species that have captured the public's and media's imagination with popular nicknames like the 'Pinocchio frog'.

Launched in 1990, the idea behind the creation of CI's Rapid Assessment Program was to build a team of the best field biologists from different disciplines, and create what CI founder, CEO, and Chairman Peter Seligmann described in the foreword to the book as 'An ecological SWAT team that could accurately assess the health of an ecosystem in a fraction of the time it would normally take'.

Among the program's achievements, are the completion of 80 surveys in 27 countries, including 51 terrestrial RAPs, 15 MarineRAPs and 13 freshwater AquaRAPs.

The next animal on the list is the strumigenys tigris ant, which lives in the leaf litter of rainforests of Papua New Guinea.

This tiny ant, about 2 mm long, walks around with its mandibles held wide open so that it can capture small invertebrates with a lightning fast snap.

Its colour pattern may help it blend into the rotting sticks in which it lives.

Predaceous ants such as these help to keep populations of small organisms in balance.


This tiny ant (about 2 mm long) walks around with its mandibles held wide open so that it can capture small invertebrates with a lightning fast snap

The ant, carrying a larvae, blends in with its surroundings

Nyctimystes is a large tree frog, approximately 15cm long, with enormous eyes was found next to a clear running mountain river during an expedition to Papua New Guinea’s highlands wilderness in 2008.

It belongs to a group of frogs with an unusual vein-like pattern on the eyelid and its tadpoles have enormous sucker-like mouths that allow them to graze on exposed rocks in torrential stream environments.

The abundance and diversity of amphibians are indicators of an ecosystem's general health. Amphibians are often referred to as 'the canary in the coal mine', as they have permeable skin meaning that they all too easily absorb toxins or pollutants to which they are exposed, making them some of the first species to disappear from ecosystems declining in health.

Their disappearance can be used as an early warning sign that something bad is happening to a given environment - including environments humans inhabit.

A large tree frog, approximately six inches/15 cm, with enormous eyes was found next to a clear running mountain river in Papua New Guinea

Uroplatus phantasticus, is 'the satanic leaf-tailed gecko', observed in Madagascar in 1998 - the species was first described in 1888.

The gecko is the smallest of 12 species of bizarre looking Leaf-tailed geckos and are nocturnal, with extremely cryptic camouflage.

They are only found in primary, undisturbed forests, so their populations are very sensitive to habitat destruction. Large uroplatus species have more teeth than any other living terrestrial vertebrate species.

In 2004, WWF listed all of the uroplatus species on their 'Top ten most wanted species list' of animals threatened by illegal wildlife trade, because of it 'being captured and sold at alarming rates for the international pet trade'.

The satanic leaf-tailed gecko was observed in the Mantadia-Zahamena corridor of Madagascar in 1998: They are usually nocturnal animals - and very sensitive to landscape changes

The tube-nosed fruit bat nyctimene, from the Muller Range mountains does not yet have a name but has been found in other parts of New Guinea. It is likely restricted to hill forests on the island. Fruit bats are important seed dispersers in tropical forests.


What a hoot: The tube-nosed fruit bat is likely restricted to hill forests on the island of New Guinea. Fruit bats are important seed dispersers in tropical forests.

This genus of salamanders has fully webbed feet which help them climb high into the canopy of tropical forests; they also have no lungs and breathe instead through their skin

The walking shark (hemiscyllium galei), found in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia in 2006, can swim, despite the name.

However, it prefers to walk along the shallow reef flats on its fins, preying on shrimp, crabs, snails, and small fish. They emerge above the reef, show off their grandeur with lateral displays and just as quickly dive back into their coral lairs.

The chinchilla tree rat was discovered in the Vilcabamba mountain range, very close to the world famous ruins of Macchu Picchu.

It is pale grey in color, possesses a stocky build, has large claws, and is characterised by a white stripe along its head.

It is related to the chinchilla rats which are known to have been buried alongside the Incan people in their tombs.

The fact that this is a new genus (i.e. a group of individuals that have similar characteristics) made the discovery even more exciting for the team, as it suggests there could be many more similar species just waiting to be uncovered.


Don't be fooled by its name, this shark can swim! However, it prefers to walk along the shallow reef flats on its fins, preying on shrimp, crabs, snails, and small fish

The chinchilla tree rat was discovered in the Vilcabamba mountain range, very close to the world famous ruins of Macchu Picchu

The peacock katydid (Pterochroza ocellata) observed on an expedition to Guyana's Acarai Mountains in 2006.

It is a large rainforest insect that employs two effective strategies to protect itself from predators: at a casual glance it looks just like a dead, partially damaged leaf, but if threatened is suddenly reveals a pair of bright eye spots and starts jumping excitedly, which gives the impression of a giant head of a bird suddenly pecking at the attacker.

Males of this species produce very loud but almost entirely ultrasonic and thus inaudible to humans courtship call.

Peacock katydids are found across the Guiana Shield in lowland, undisturbed rainforests. While not currently threatened, their survival is closely tied to the survival of their habitat.

The RAP katydid (brachyamytta rapidoaestima) – discovered in Ghana and Guinea is a newly discovered species and a sit-and-wait predator, hiding on the underside of leaves, and attacking small insects that make the mistake of landing on the leaf.

Males communicate with the females by producing ultrasonic songs that are inaudible to humans.

It was named after the RAP program because it was first discovered during a survey in 2002 and it lives in the most threatened habitats of West Africa that the RAP program is trying to save.


At a casual glance it looks just like a dead, partially damaged leaf, but if the peacock katydid is threatened is suddenly reveals a pair of bright eye spots and starts jumping excitedly


So.... er... Don't mess with it


Dragonfly platycypha eliseva have a unique combination of colors which differentiate it from other species; specifically the yellow tipped abdomen and the red and white tibiae


The dragonfly platycypha eliseva, discovered in 2004, has a unique combination of colors which differentiate it from other species; specifically the yellow tipped abdomen and the red and white tibiae.

The species was found on three clear sandy streams within 5km of the Congo River.

Two streams were in dense forest and largely shaded, while the other ran along an oil palm plantation and was largely sunny. The species may be localized: despite being conspicuous, it is absent from the substantial collections from surrounding areas.

Dragonflies are good indicators of water quality since they need clean water, aquatic nymphs feed on other insects and aquatic organisms (predators), adults are also predatory and thus help to regulate insect populations including mosquitoes, serve as food for larger animals.

Many dragonfly larvae are voracious predators on mosquito larvae and have been used in human-health programs to control disease-carrying mosquitos

Moving on to fishes, the male paracheilinus nursalim go through an amazing courtship ritual in which "electric" colours are flashed periodically to attract nearby females

The courtship dance takes place every afternoon, beginning about one hour before sundown and continuing until dusk.

The modified mouth and lips allow the fish to feed, breathe, and attach to the substrate through suction.

Parental care is usually well-developed and the male guards the eggs and sometimes the larvae.

Meanwhile the RAP katydid (brachyamytta rapidoaestima) discovered on a survey in Ghana and Guinea.

This newly discovered species is a sit-and-wait predator, hiding on the underside of leaves, and attacking small insects that make the mistake of landing on the leaf.

Males communicate with the females by producing ultrasonic songs that are inaudible to humans. It was named after the RAP program because it was first discovered during a survey in 2002 and it lives in the most threatened habitats of West Africa that the RAP program is trying to save.


The male paracheilinus nursalim goes through an amazing courtship ritual in which 'electric' colours are flashed periodically to attract nearby females


The RAP katydid newly discovered species is a sit-and-wait predator, hiding on the underside of leaves, and attacking small insects that make the mistake of landing on the leaf

The honeyeater was discovered at an altitude of 1,650m (5,445 feet) above sea level, in the Foja Mountains of Western New Guinea

A new species called 'smoky honeyeater', discovered in the Foja Mountains of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea in 2005.

The honeyeater was discovered at an altitude of 1,650 m (5,445 feet) above sea level, in the Foja Mountains of Western New Guinea.

This medium-sized, sooty-gray songbird has a short black bill, and each eye is surrounded by an orange-red patch of bare skin, below which hangs a pendant wattle.

It is these features that distinguish it from the more widespread Common Smoky Honeyeater.

In addition, the species is exceedingly quiet, rarely giving any vocalizations. The Wattled smoky honeyeater is a common and unwary inhabitant of the Foja uplands. The Honeyeater eats nectar and thus pollinates flowers, it also eats insects and thus helps to regulate their populations, food for larger animals

The 'Pinocchio' frog has a long, protuberance on its nose that points upwards when the male is calling but deflates and points downwards when he is less active

This frog (litoria sp. nov.) was also discovered in the Foja Mountains in 2008.

The frog has a long, Pinocchio-like protuberance on its nose that points upwards when the male is calling but deflates and points downwards when he is less active, represents a particularly distinctive find that scientists are interested in documenting and studying further.

Its discovery was a happy accident, after herpetologist Paul Oliver spotted it sitting on a bag of rice in the campsite.

The abundance and diversity of amphibians are indicators of an ecosystem's general health. Amphibians are often referred to as 'the canary in the coal mine.

Amphibians have permeable skin meaning that they all too easily absorb toxins or pollutants to which they are exposed, making them some of the first species to disappear from ecosystems declining in health. Their disappearance can be used as an early warning sign that something bad is happening to a given environment - including environments humans inhabit.

Meanwhile the ET salamander - bolitoglossa - found in Ecuador in 2009.

This genus of salamanders has fully webbed feet which help them climb high into the canopy of tropical forests; they also have no lungs and breathe instead through their skin.

So there you have it - a lot of new species making themselves known to man, just some of the 1,500 new ones out there - and some of the potentially 10million, maybe 50 million species out there in total.



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Beware the hot defensive bee ball: Video reveals how bees can overwhelm inch-long hornets by COOKING them inside huge ball of bodies

-Up to 500 bees swarm over huge predators
-Vibrate wings mercilessly to 'cook' hornets to death in 'bee ball'

By Rob Waugh


Honey bees should have no chance at all against the ferocious Japanese hornet - the predators are an inch long, and watching the two battle is like watching infantry racing hopelessly towards a tank.

But the tiny creatures can actually triumph - by swarming over their foes in such numbers that hornets are 'cooked' inside a ball of bees.

Scroll down for video

The defence mechanism is known as a 'hot defensive bee ball'.

When hornets attack, they kill all the worker bees, before 'looting' a nest for larvae and food. So the bees developed the defence mechanism to stop the predators.

The bees swarm over the hornets in groups of up to 500, and start vibrating their wings until the temperature reaches 47 degrees centigrade. The heat is fatal for the hornets.

Researchers in Japan watched the bees as they assaulted an inch-long hornet - pulling them off the ball as they attacked and scanning their brains to see how they coordinated their attacks.

The scientists, Takeo Kubo of the University of Tokyo and Masato Ono of Tamagawa University sampled bees at different points during the assault - and found that bees engage higher brain functions as they swarm into the ball.

The bees coordinate their attacks, sharing information about heat in the ball - which could be a trigger for the bursts of brain activity.






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@FeedToby: Meet the dog fed his 'Tweet Treats' by contraption controlled remotely by Twitter

By Ted Thornhill


A dog-lover has invented a high-tech way of feeding his pet - by Twitter.

Computer buff Nat Morris, 30, has rigged up a system to give his pet pooch a ‘tweet treat’ by sending him a Twitter message.

Border terrier Toby gets a snack from an automated food dispenser whenever Nat sends a message to ‘@FeedToby’.


Byte to eat: Mr Morris can send his faithful hound a treat from anywhere in the world - just by posting a message to Twitter

IT consultant Nat spends a lot of time working away from home and isn’t always able to feed Border Terrier Toby by hand.

But using his new invention he is able to send his dog a treat from anywhere in the world.

Nat said: ‘Toby absolutely loves it. At first he didn’t know what was going on.

‘Now he sits underneath, wagging his tail and waiting for the treats to drop.’

Nat loads up the feeder with crushed dog biscuits - but not too much in case four-year-old Toby gets too many messages.

When a comment is received the mechanism drops a helping of crushed up dog biscuits out of the tube.

And Nat has even rigged up an online camera so he can see Toby enjoying the food at his home in Milford Haven, West Wales.

Nat is even considering patenting his system.

But one problem is that friends and family have been amazed with the ‘Tweet treat’ dispenser.

And they have been joining in to send Tweets to Toby - so Nat has had to introduce restrictions to make sure Toby doesn’t turn into Tubby.

Nat added: ‘People have been sending him food at all hours of the day - so I had to limit it to between nine in the morning to nine in the evening.

‘I’m thinking of doing an updated version which features a scale to weigh him before he is fed just to make sure he’s not putting on too much puppy fat.’


Hungry hound: It didn't take long for Toby to work out where the treats were coming from



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Drunken monkey business: Meet the cocktail-loving primates who raid Caribbean bars

By Ted Thornhill


Thirst for fancy drinks: This vervet monkey cheekily sips a tourists' cocktail

Monkeys may be closer to humans than we previously thought – because they even ape our drinking habits.

There are gangs of vervet monkeys on the Caribbean Island of St Kitts that regularly raid the local beach bars for cocktails to satisfy their thirst - and they can be seen getting their paws on them in a hilarious YouTube video.

The cheeky boozers first arrived on the island 300 years ago with slaves from West Africa who were shipped there to work in the rum industry.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Shipped in: The boozing monkeys first arrived on the island 300 years ago

They developed a taste for alcohol from eating fermented fruits on forest floors – and have now been filmed for the BBC’s Weird Science show moving on to stealing beachgoers’ fancy tipples.

However, not all of them like alcohol.

The show discovered that their drinking habits match that of human populations.

The voiceover explained: ‘Some monkeys are teetotal and reject alcohol in favour of soft drinks.


This monkey was caught enjoying a cocktail - but some are teetotal


Thieves: The monkeys regularly steal drinks as beachgoers sunbathe

‘The percentage of teetotal monkeys matches the non-drinkers in the human population.

‘In line with human habits, most drink in moderation, 12 per cent are steady drinkers and five per cent drink to the last drop.

‘It shows that our liking for alcohol is determined largely by our genes.’

Just like humans, the monkeys that have been drinking end the day by falling over a lot and getting involved in scuffles.

But unlike humans, the monkeys that drink are respected by those that don’t.




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Discovered: The mini-meleon that is one of the smallest reptiles on the planet

By Wil Longbottom


Tiny: This chameleon is smaller than a finger nail and was discovered on an islet off Madagascar


His species is renowned for its ability to blend in, but this tiny critter is even better than most as the world's smallest chameleon.

Balanced on the tip of a scientist's fingernail in Madagascar, the-three centimetre reptile is no bigger than the flies that form his average-sized cousin's lunch.

Scientists discovered four new species - called Brookesia micra - on a small islet just off the main island.


This particular chameleon is now thought to be one of the smallest reptiles on the planet.

Ted Townsend, of San Diego State University, carried out genetic testing on the new species.

He said: 'Their size suggests that chameleons might have evolved in Madagascar from small and inconspicuous ancestors, quite unlike the larger and more colourful chameleons most familiar to us today.'


A real match: The three-centimetre chameleon is thought to be one of the smallest reptiles on the planet


Hard to spot: Scientists believe chameleons may have evolved on Madagascar

The new additions to the chameleon species are only found in an area just a few square miles in size.

Experts believe they may be especially sensitive to habitat destruction.



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'Dracula' monkey comes back from the dead in Borneo

By Rob Waugh


One of the rarest and least known primates in the world, Miller's Grizzled Langur, has been found in Borneo - despite the fact that it was thought the species had been wiped out in 2004

An 'extinct' monkey has been rediscovered in the rainforest of Borneo by an international team of scientists on a new expedition.

One of the rarest and least known primates in the world, Miller's Grizzled Langur, has been found alive - it was thought the species had been wiped out in 2004. The species has a distinctive dark face and white, Dracula-esque 'collar' of fur.

Some of the only photos in existence of the rare animal were snapped by camera traps and have provided the first solid evidence that it is still alive

Some of the only photos in existence of the rare animal were snapped by camera traps and have provided the first solid evidence that it is still alive and well

The endangered monkey was discovered living in the Wehea Forest, East Kalimantan, Borneo, a largely undisturbed rainforest where it was previously not known to exist.

Brent Loken, from Simon Fraser University Canada, said: 'While our finding confirms the monkey still exists in East Kalimantan, there is a good chance that it remains one of the world's most endangered primates.'

'I believe it is a race against time to protect many species in Borneo. It is difficult to adopt conservation strategies to protect species when we don't even know the extent of where they live.'

Brent Loken, from Simon Fraser University Canada, said: 'While our finding confirms the monkey still exists in East Kalimantan, there is a good chance that it remains one of the world's most endangered primates.'


The Miller's Grizzled Langur is part of the small primate genus Presbytis, found across Borneo, Sumatra, Java and the Thai-Malay Peninsula.

In Borneo, it was only found in a small corner of the county's north east and its habitat has suffered from fires, human habitation and conversion of land for agriculture and mining.

But the team of scientists stumbled upon the monkey when trekking through the 38,000 hectare rainforest which contains at least nine known species of non-human primate, including the Bornean orangutan and gibbon.

Mr Loken said: 'Discovery of P.h canicrus was a surprise since Wehea Forest lies outside of this monkey's known range.

'Future research will focus on estimating the population density for P.h. canicrus in Wehea and the surrounding forest.'

'Concern that the species may have gone extinct was first raised in 2004, and a search for the monkey during another expedition in 2008 supported the assertion that the situation was dire.'

His team spotted the primate by watching mineral licks where animals congregate and setting up camera traps in the areas west of its previously recorded geographical range.

Mr Loken said: 'It was a challenge to confirm our finding as there are so few pictures of this monkey available for study.'

'The only description of Miller's Grizzled Langur came from museum specimens. Our photographs from Wehea are some of the only pictures that we have of this monkey.'

Dr Stephanie Spehar, from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, added: "East Kalimantan can be a challenging place to conduct research, given the remoteness of many remaining forested areas, so it isn't surprising that so little is known about this primate.

'We are very grateful to our local partners.

'This discovery represents the hard work, dedication, and collaboration of Western and Indonesian scientists, students, NGOs, as well as local communities and government.

The team's findings are published in the American Journal of Primatology.


source:dailymail