Throughout reading the #2026MMM battles, I've been thinking "dark mane and torn ear sound a LOT like Tibu and Jacob!" And that's because they are!!!! Brilliant last battle between them and the croc, and here's some real life Tibu & Jacob pics from just the other week 🥰 @mmmletsgo.bsky.social

🚨 New paper 🚨 (1/8) In meerkats, pregnancy isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some mothers gain weight steadily, others delay all growth until the final weeks 📈 What drives this striking variation, and how does it affect the (adorable) pups? OA PAPER: doi.org/10.1111/1365... Details (+cute pics!) below👇

Delighted to see our paper featured on the cover of the Journal of Animal Ecology @animalecology.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org Thanks Pam Hurkens for the lovely image of a heavily pregnant meerkat being weighed at our field site.

🚨 New paper! 🚨 In exploring maternal traits and social and environmental conditions on rate of gestational weight gain in meerkats: 🍼 Gestational growth is strongly nutrition-dependent 📈 Faster prenatal growth increases pup survival & more! besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🚨 New paper! 🚨 In exploring the ontogeny of foraging in cooperatively breeding meerkats: 🐛 Foraging skill development doesn't align with the delayed onset of breeding 🪲 Foraging performance likely constrained by physical traits @asab.org #AnimalBehaviourJournal Read more ✨ doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

FOCAS Fest 2025 was a success! 🥳🐻🐯🐵🌿 So proud of our Learning & Discovery team and everyone involved at The Wildheart Animal Sanctuary and all visiting exhibitors! 🤩 An incredible time bringing conservation, science and art all into one jam packed weekend to start the IOW Biosphere festival! 💗

Today on "favourite thing a young child said to me"(whilst running a busy education stall at a conservation and science festival).... *Me making the badge-making dramatic by saying "here is where the magic happens"* *Deadpan 4 year old*: "that isn't magic, that is science" 😆😆😆

🚨New PrePrint out on the Kalahari Meerkats. In this study we quantified two axes of sociality to explain how developmental needs of pups shape meerkat social life. @zoejturn.bsky.social Neumann Christof & Tommaso Sacca ecoevorxiv.org/repository/vie…

📣 Registration for #ABL2025 is now OPEN! Join the Animal Behavior Live Annual Conference on 13–14 November 2025 — a free, global, online event celebrating animal behavior research🧠🌍 🆓 The event is FREE, but registration is mandatory. 📄 Register here: ablaoc25.sciencesconf.org

New paper accepted on the complexities of feral cattle social behaviours. 🎉🐂 led by @ghodgson.bsky.social - well done Team. More news to follow in a few weeks.

Alongside being busy with a couple of papers currently in review or in press (!!), I'm extremelyyyy busy right now with my current visitor experience and education roles! Here's a few snaps of the last weeks! Lots of fun craft activities, and even better seeing CeCe enjoy her enrichment we made!!

🚨 New preprint! ✨ From the work I conducted for my MSc thesis, we explored the social niche of meerkats in relation to the social and ecological needs of cooperative pup care during foraging. doi.org/10.32942/X26... 🐾 🐾 🐾

📣SEMINAR SERIES 2025📣 We are kicking off 2025 with our first seminar. 📆Tuesday 29th April 2025 at 2pm GMT on our Youtube channel: @damienfarine.bsky.social will talk about “The costs of collective behaviour” 🐦 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc9z... This event is free, no registration required. 🤗

ANYWAY @adampjohnson.bsky.social says much of these things much more politely & scholarly than me here: anthropology365.com/2025/04/07/r...

NO THEY ARE NOT DIRE WOLVES. These animals do not have their ecosystem to return to. These animals do not have a real pack to rear them. And DO NOT BE BAMBOOZLED- storing and archiving animal's genetic material is NOT an effective bulwark against the human-driven planetary extinction crisis.

Me: I'm ready for some CARNAGEEEEE 💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼 Also me, when CARNAGE comes in the wildcard battle removing my first combatant: #2025MMM @mmmletsgo.bsky.social

Northern Flying Squirrel won't have to wait for spring eggs & baby birds for FRESH MEAT #OpportunisticOmnivore (Wells-Gosling & Heaney 1984) #2025MMM

#2025MMM WILDCARD EMOJI BATTLE RESULTS 🐿️🆚🐸: 🌲🌕🌌/🐸🌳⬇️/🐿️🛫🌲/ 🐸🦶🏼🪂/🐸🪂🪄/🐿️🔎🍄/ 🐸⬇️🐿️/🐿️😠🔊/🐸🦵🏼🐿️/ 🐿️🍽️🐸/🏆🐿️

The AMAZING @oddangel.bsky.social, Operation Ermine, and the INCREDIBLE voice talent from ASU Library (among other familiar notables), dropped the Wild Card Video earlier than expected! Welcome TO THE RUNDOWN!!! #2025MMM youtu.be/msRkhgL-fqs?...

Readmore Books on #worldbookday!

MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS BRACKET DROP!!!! #2025MMM Did you get the combatants you dreamed of? HAPPY RESEARCHING THE SPECIES!! libguides.asu.edu/MarchMammalM...

What if we could compare animal social structures across time and space? Now we can! The MacaqueNet database spans 14 macaque species and 61 populations over 40+ years, unlocking new possibilities in comparative social behaviour research. 🔎 Explore the project at doi.org/10.1111/1365...

On the cover of @royalsocietypublishing.org Proceedings B: We show that moving as a group constrains energy efficiency in wild vulturine guineafowl making large displacements (relative to individuals moving alone). A cost of collective movement! shorturl.at/nKhI0 @jamesklarevas.bsky.social

Remembered that the bracket drops tomorrow and I cannot wait 🙌🏼

FINE starts again next week with exciting free online seminars. In its 10th season we will hear about whales, parental care, neuroethology, aging, group-living lizards and much more!

Let's celebrate all of the female scientists we know! Who is the woman in science that inspires you the most? :) Recommended reading on Women in Animal Behaviour and Welfare: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Curious about what this course is like? Here is a glimpse into the experience youtu.be/qJD1tOXZYZY?... @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social @uni-konstanz.de

📢Gain hands-on experience in animal behavior research! Fully funded field course opportunity for South African university students. www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/cbfc/ Spend two weeks at the Kalahari Research Centre learning about collective behavior and communication. Register until March 16th! 🧪

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 🥳👩🏼‍🔬👩🏼‍💻🔬🧪🐒🐱 Very very grateful for all the incredible, supportive, and inspirational women I've been able to work alongside on this crazy crazy journey 🥰

Happy New Year! 🎊 After feeling like death for a week after my thesis submission 🥲😅 I finally enjoyed a good Christmas break with my family, and have a few days ahead celebrating mine and my best friend's birthdays 🥰 Hope everyone else has also managed some good rest! 🫶🏼🥂

It's been a couple of weeks of very up & down emotions, but after my presentation yesterday and initial version submission of my thesis today, the relief is kicking in and the finish line is in sight! 😅🥹 Second round of presenting next week, then a much needed Christmas break! What a year! 🥂

In today's hour of procrastination, I managed to finally guess *most* of the Hidden Books game... Except this one!!!! Begging for help here, as any extra hints I've found still don't help 😅

Brrr! With temperatures plunging, here's how we can help wildlife weather the cold. ❄️

Meerkat skull with my favourite Kalahari flowers 🌺 skull approximately to actual size! all design and tattooing credit to Holly Valley tattoo 🫶🏼 #ScienceInk

I think hugging the wall heaters is a meerkat's equivalent to getting a sunrise lamp to combat S.A.D 🤭

As part of Switzerland's "future day", some children lucky enough to have parents/family working at UZH helped me with caring for our meerkats today! It's always a fun time sharing meerkat facts to the next gen of animal enthusiasts! 🥰 (pic is from the last time I did a bigger outreach event!)

Corvids calling! New PhD opportunity on corvid communication in the wild. Sep 2025 start. Fully funded by @SWBio_DTP . Application deadline 11 December. How to apply: tinyurl.com/mu9y2nj9 @SHOALgroup @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social @SimonWTownsend

Once again, I have been excited by finding the Hidden Books Game has begun, and getting hyped with knowing one immediately!... And then the realisation hits that this is going to once again be a painful source of ongoing procrastination 🥲

🚨 We're delighted to announce that applications have opened for our residential, long-term volunteer positions in 2025. Vacant roles: 🪶 Bird Observatory Assistant 🐧 Seabird Fieldworker 🦭 Seal Fieldworker 🪚 Assistant Ranger Accommodation and meals are provided free for the duration of the roles.

Today’s #AutumnArrivalSpotlight is the Snow Bunting! ❄️ These hardy winter visitors are the world's most northerly breeding passerines. Watch for lively flocks on shingle and sandy shores, their plumage a mix of white and warm rusty hues. A charming winter spot!

Here is a list of labs in #ecology and #evolution who are recruiting graduate students for next year: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... PIs looking to recruit can enter information here: t.co/Fn1LRAA5Ip I believe this list is thanks to @drcarl.bsky.social #evosky #ecoevo #evolbio #AcademicJobs

I made a starter pack for animal behaviour researchers / ethologists! please share and feel free to self-nominate or suggest others to be added as this is very much still a work in progress and not an exhaustive list 🌍🧪😊 #SciSky #BioSky #AnimalBehaviour #AnimalBehavior #Ethology go.bsky.app/Tr8VZpV

Alright, I mean, I am not going to mention that we announced in October via the 2024 Compendium that the #2025MMM tournament would be here at bsky, but I will mention that @grumpator.bsky.social is very disappointed that you didn't read to the end keep.lib.asu.edu/items/197060

Figured I should probably start using this app more, and start with a proper intro! 🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Zoe, currently almost finished with my MSc thesis based upon meerkat sociality 🫂 Huge interest in animal behaviour, social systems, and interactions. 😸 Been a "meerkatter" for almost 5 years now!

Had a wonderful time at #ECBB2024 catching up with cool projects - and we even found some Dahomey cattle at the zoo!

It has been a busy but incredibly rewarding week 🥰 glad to have been able to help with such a great event!