Sure, opportunities to play are important contributors to the welfare of captive animals - but observing play behavior may also provides clues to an animal's emotional state. My latest post at Psychology Today:

Fist bump to anyone else caught between the need to bow down & accept the dire, broken reality of the attention economy to continue surviving via their creativity & a desire to disconnect which becomes more vast, and more potentially vital to their sense of inner peace, with every year that passes.

In humans, personality similarity between partners can lead to better compatibility and well-being. Is the same true for other pair-bonding primates? Check out my latest blog post:

Watch the sinuous dance of this newly discovered dwarf mantis species in my new @nationalgeographic.bsky.social story. The male performs a snake-like courtship dance - and he avoids getting eaten by his mate! www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

A few photos from my trip last month to Monteverde, Costa Rica - a beautiful place with wonderful people and amazing wildlife.

What are rats to bats? Video from recent research shows rats can be predators, competitors - and sometimes prey!

What happens when bats meet rats? New research suggests it's complicated. For my latest Nat Geo article, I wrote about the the surprising dynamics of bat-rat relationships — and how human activity is fueling these interspecies conflicts.

This time of year, spiders receive a lot of attention for their creepier qualities. But researchers value them year-round for pulling off impressive cognitive feats with very little brains.

Cephalopods have plenty of tricks, and they may be strategic about using them, demonstrating sophisticated cognitive abilities like understanding others' perspectives. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anim...

Human exceptionalism - the idea that we are somehow separate from nature and not inherently linked to (or even like) other beings - is a myth. www.scientificamerican.com/article/huma...

Some captive apes have more experience participating in research than others. Could this prior experience affect how they think and behave, biasing results from cognitive studies? Check out my latest blog post!

Morris and Pepper wonder how you are celebrating International Cat Day.

Are consumer neurofeedback devices more than just hype for brain health? My latest for IEEE Pulse:

Please enjoy some of my embroidered brains and neurons for #worldbrainday.

What's your call on the golden snub-nosed monkey: cute or terrifying? Yes, they can stare into your soul, but they also love hugging.

We are six months into the second Trump administration and the scale and severity of its assault on our nation's science and democracy has been unrelenting. Today, @ucs.org releases a detailed assessment of the damage so far and where we go from here: www.ucs.org/resources/sc... #ProtectScience

Does playfulness support a cooperative and tolerant society? A new study links play, tolerance, and empathy in elephants.

Mexico's "Batman," ecologist Rodrigo Medellín, shares his love and admiration for bats. They are incredibly ecologically important - and look at those adorable faces!

Playful pachyderms promote peace! Rapid motor mimicry of play signals may help keep elephant play sessions from getting too rough.

I love this article by @brandonkeim.bsky.social asking if animals can appreciate beauty. psyche.co/ideas/what-i...

Thinking about my guinea pig companions over the years on this Guinea Pig Appreciation Day - including Tiger, Stella, Stanley, Lentil, and Garbanzo. They were all very good pigs.

Trail cameras in the Amazon captured an odd couple - an ocelot and an opossum - wandering around together. “Like two old friends walking home from a bar,” according to one scientist. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/s...

It was a pleasure talking to Mary about our apparatus to take fish cognition research into the wild! 🐟🧠 Read it on Psychology Today ⬇️⬇️ with @kotrschal.bsky.social and @amydeacon.bsky.social

Fish are smarter than you think! They can distinguish and remember individuals, navigate with mental maps, cooperate and communicate with one another, build complex structures, use tools, and keep track of quantities.

Hey, I'm back to blogging about animal behavior at Psychology Today! Check out my article on studying fish cognition in the wild, featuring the work of @catarina-vp.bsky.social and colleagues.

Vampire bats' habit of grooming one another can help spread a gel-based rabies vaccine applied to the fur! www.science.org/content/arti...

Researchers have documented 34 instances over two decades in which wild orcas have offered food to humans. www.apa.org/news/press/r... And the original paper: psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

For Dolphins, Echolocation May Be More Like ‘Touching’ Than ‘Seeing’ www.scientificamerican.com/article/for-...

My latest for American Scientist Magazine helps give scientists the tools to fight back against politicized charges that our research is silly or pointless- tools that will work whether you’re asked “why are we funding this” from your asshole uncle at Thanksgiving or an asshole US Senator. 🧪🌎

What marine creature is adorably blobby, neutrally buoyant, and at home on the deep sea floor? It's the dumbo octopus! marybatessciencewriter.com/home/the-cre...

Sometimes you just have to take a break to nap in a pile with friends.

Trump claims climate change is a “hoax.” Now, his administration is silencing government research that proves him wrong. Climate-monitoring spacecraft will be shut down, thousands of scientists have been dismissed, invaluable data eliminated. The assault has just begun www.eenews.net/articles/how...

Since Inauguration Day, 418 actions by the administration may have undermined science—66 in the last month alone. Check out @jbd-phd.bsky.social’s snapshot of this chaotic moment and find ways to help protect federal science.

Velvet worms are squishy, cute, and shoot slime to trap their prey.

There is a barred owl family living in the woods near my house - two adults and a juvenile!

Happy Pride Month! 🧠🌈

Congrats to researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and partners for bringing us closer to understanding dolphin communication!

Director Gints Zilbalodis chose to feature a secretary bird in his animated movie "Flow" because of their imposing presence and natural majesty. But did you know they are champion kickers?

I found this little guy sunning on our front walkway. Possibly a DeKay's brownsnake?

A pair of mallards has discovered our bird feeder, much to Pepper's delight.

The Brood XIV cicadas are coming - and so is a fungus that turns them into disintegrating, sex-crazed zombies.

Sorry, there are no comfies left. Pepper has taken all of them.

Just a little guy, hard at work.

Lessons from adopting lab mice: "In the end, we are all vulnerable beings who are here only briefly. The best thing we can do is take good care of one another." 💜

Favorite quote: "Those who know me well know I was eventually going to build a giant curlew."

The physics of how bats grab a drink on the wing

lot of negativity towards AI lately, but consider : are these tools ethical or environmentally sustainable? No. *but* do they enable great things that people want? Also no. *but* are they being made by well meaning people for good reasons? Once again, no. maybe you're not being negative *enough*

This statement about the transphobic Supreme Court ruling by the UK's Crab Museum (yes a museum about crabs) is better than 99% of the statements I've seen on the topic www.crabmuseum.org/visit 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

Tiny, tough tardigrades - the most resilient animals known to science! www.cell.com/current-biol...

It’s time to celebrate the bilby! These cat-sized marsupials are ecosystem engineers with giant ears and backwards-facing pouches. Plus, they're a native Australian Easter mascot. marybatessciencewriter.com/home/the-cre...