Meet 3 Animals Who Saved Human Children

The new book “Unlikely Heroes: 37 Inspiring Stories of Courage and Heart from the Animal Kingdom” (Workman) will have you looking at dogs, cats, seals, horses and even cows in a different light.  Author Jennifer S. Holland shares unexpected stories of heroism and empathy, from a horse who protects his owner from a pit bull, to a hippo who rescues a wildebeest from drowning.

http://tinyurl.com/njkqlol

What Were They Thinking? Studies Reveal Animal Intellect

The more we study animals, the less special we seem. Baboons can distinguish between written words and gibberish. Monkeys seem to be able to do multiplication. Apes can delay instant gratification longer than a human child can. They plan ahead. They make war and peace. They show empathy. They share. "It's not a question of whether they think — it's how they think," says Duke University scientist Brian Hare. Now scientists wonder if apes are capable of thinking about what other apes are thinking.

http://tinyurl.com/7mww4p4

New Questions About Animal Empathy

The emotions of rats and mice and the mental infrastructure behind them promise to illuminate the nature of human emotions, including empathy and nurturance, a Washington State University neuroscientist writes in a recent issue of the journal Science.

http://tinyurl.com/d5mvq4b