r/AnimalBehavior

I have a *cough* friend who smokes cannabis regularly, often in different settings.

He’s noticed that regardless of whether he smokes it in his back garden or the forest near his house, lighting up a joint seems to pique the curiosity of different types of animals.

When at the house, the neighbour’s cat usually makes its way into his garden to investigate (the next door neighbours’ dogs HATE it though and will bark continuously)

Likewise, if he smokes in natural surroundings, he notices squirrels and other wildlife a lot more often, seemingly lingering around the smell.

Is there any truth in the theory that certain types of animals enjoy the smell of weed, or at least they are curious about it?

Like would the tiger suddenly become more docile and the rabbit more aggressive

A common point of discussion around cats is that adult cats often have to learn to meow louder like kittens for humans to hear them. What I’m wondering is what factors drive adult cats to default to quieter meows?

Is it purely instinctual or is there some social pressure telling them to quiet down? Are older cats telling adolescent cats “Keep your voice down. You’re grown up now.”?

We know some animals, like elephants, great apes, and dolphins, can recognize themselves in mirrors, suggesting a level of self-awareness. But what about recognizing other animals in a mirror? If two elephants look into a mirror together, do they understand they’re seeing themselves and each other? Can they recognize other animal species in a mirror?

Also, researchers assume animals that fail mirror tests lack self-awareness - but what if they just have a different internal sense of self, one that doesn’t need a reflection to confirm it?

Researchers mark a spot on an elephant’s back, visible only via mirror. Elephants that pass don’t paw at the mirror - they reach for the mark on their own body. What exactly are we measuring here?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Also, does context matter? If animals grow up with mirrors, would they develop a deeper understanding of reflections?

What do you think? Are there studies on animals recognizing others in mirrors, and how does self-recognition vary across species?

Are these experiments really showing self-awareness, or could there be other explanations?

They don't drink to stay hydrated; they drink when they've already hit a mild dehydration threshold. By the time they go to the bowl, they're already behind.

I work at The Farmer's Dog and our research found dogs eating fresh food were taking in 20% more total water than kibble-fed dogs while actually drinking less from the bowl. Most of it was coming through the food itself. Kibble is only about 10% water, which may be part of why kibble-fed dogs seem to always be hovering around that bowl.

Do you add water to their food or have you noticed a difference after switching to fresh?