Rakuen Growlithe's stories

Japan's cat cafés
Sat 5 Feb 2011 - 09:58

Cat cafés are coffee houses including a seperate room where customers are able to play with cats. They are particularly popular in Japan, perhaps due to many apartments forbidding pets, with Tokyo having between 30 and 40 such cafés.

At the request of Jerry Coyne, Japanese blogger Yokohamamama visited one of these cafés, the Neko Café Leon, and posted a report about her experiences.

7 comment(s) – read more

South Afrifur 2010 report
Thu 20 Jan 2011 - 10:52

South Afrifur reportAlthough South Africa has a small number of furs, with just under 200 registered users on the ZAfur forum, it does hold an annual, national furmeet, South Afrifur. As there are so few furs in South Africa the meet is intended to gather as many as possible together, once a year, to get to know one another.

The first South Afrifur meet was held in Cape Town and was organised primarily by Dracius. In 2009 the meet was intended for Johannesburg but was cancelled by the organisers.

The 2010 meet, organised by Nanukk, Electrocat and Cat147, was held in Port Elizabeth from 7–15 January 2011. The meet was hosted by Nanukk and attended by about 14 furs from around South Africa, though that varied from day-to-day.

3 comment(s) – read more

Chaser learns 1000 words
Sat 8 Jan 2011 - 09:46

Chaser, a Border Collie, has been shown to have learned the names of 1022 objects. The researchers working with Chaser showed that she not only remembered the names of the objects but was able to understand certain aspects of language.

John Pilley – a master animal trainer – was getting a new puppy in 2004, just as a German study was released on Rico, a dog who learned the names of 200 objects. Pilley decided to find the limits of dog intelligence, and began language training with Chaser when she was five months old. Chaser's training continued for three years under psychologists Alliston Reid and John Pilley.

5 comment(s) – read more

SoFurry 2.0 interface preview released
Tue 21 Dec 2010 - 13:17

Alex Vance has revealed a preview of the SoFurry 2.0 interface.

SoFurry is the sequel to furry porn site Yiffstar and was released at the end of 2009. However the user interface was not popular with users. Work began on SoFurry 2.0 in April 2010.

SoFurry 2.0 is not yet available generally, but is scheduled for release in first quarter 2011.

2 comment(s) – read more

Mozilla's two new firefoxes
Sat 4 Dec 2010 - 11:14

Ailurus fulgensThe Mozilla Foundation has adopted two baby red pandas, a move intended to highlight the species' threatened status.

The red pandas, or firefoxes, were born at the Knoxville zoo in Tenessee and can be observed 24 hours a day through a dedicated webcam. The cubs also have a Twitter feed. They are currently unnamed, but you can submit name suggestions.

1 comment(s) – read more

The science of cats' lapping
Fri 12 Nov 2010 - 02:16

Roman Stocker, of MIT, was inspired by his cat, Cutta Cutta, to study how cats drink. Although humans are able to suck liquids, dogs and cats are unable to seal their cheeks and so need to lap. While dogs bend their tongue to form a scoop cats, both domesticate and wild, were found to use a different mechanism.

5 comment(s) – read more

Research uncovers new depths to dolphin sociology
Wed 3 Nov 2010 - 02:29

Recent research on how dolphins interact with one another has shown surprising levels of complexity. Groups of dolphins have been observed working together and dolphins of different species may even be able to communicate – or at least attempt to.

Science NOW reported on two dolphin papers showing social co-operation, while the BBC covered preliminary research on dolphin communication.

Furries in the WWE
Thu 28 Oct 2010 - 02:22

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has a history of doing strange things and not taking itself completely seriously.

Now one wrestler, Jack Swagger has got himself a mascot: Swaggers Soaring Eagle.

4 comment(s) – read more

The real Longcat
Fri 22 Oct 2010 - 02:12

Guinness World Records has named a new record holder for longest cat in the world.

Longcat is long

Although Stewie was unable to claim the title in 2008, he now measures 123.5 cm (48.5 in). The previous record holder, also a Maine Coon, was 121.92 cm (48 in).

6 comment(s) – read more

Hares exhibit permanent pregnancy
Wed 22 Sep 2010 - 12:55

While foxes have the reputation of being sluts in the furry fandom, perhaps this title should rather fall to hares, who have been shown to have simultaneous pregnancies.

The hares show superfetation — the ability to become pregnant before giving birth from an earlier pregnancy. Scientists at the Liebniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research found that pregnant European brown hares can become pregnant again about four days before delivery. This decreases the amount of time between litters and makes the hares capable of being permanently pregnant.

6 comment(s) – read more