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Quoting Fan et al. (2017): “Group-level manual laterality in humans is related to hemispheric functional lateralization and cognitive functions”.... Just kidding, sometimes hand and brain stuff can sound very complex and confusing, we know! So here's the lowdown just for you: The intricate and detailed connections in primates between how our brains function and how our hands work IS really complex. And it’s REALLY cool too! Because when you take a moment to pause and appreciate how amazing it is that you can think a thought in your mind with your imagination and then actually bring that idea to life in the physical world by using your hands, it’s an astonishing reminder of just how amazing our human bodies really are. Your dog can’t do that. Nor can your cat, or the bird flying by outside. Not even that raccoons who manage to pull the lid off the garbage cans no matter how hard you try to stop them from getting in there, can use their brains and hands the way we do.

Indulge in the sweet side of saving gibbons this Easter by reading the labels of all the chocolate and candy products you buy to ensure they are palm-oil free. Palm oil is pretty much everywhere, it’s one of the most widely used vegetable oils in the world, and a very popular choice amongst manufacturers due to its high yield and versatility. But there are alternatives if you look for them and it just takes a few extra seconds to scan the label of the products you buy to ensure they are palm oil free. Why do we recommend avoiding palm oil completely? Sadly palm oil development for global consumption is the main culprit fueling deforestation in South-East Asia. The top three regions where palm oil is produced are: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, where more than 85% of the global supply of palm oil is grown. The industry is linked to major environmental and humanitarian issues driving deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses

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A study published in the American Journal of Primatology this month has described a new species of hoolock gibbon ranging in eastern Myanmar and southwestern China. Now these aren't an entirely new group of animals never seen before, but researchers looking at their pelage colouration and song patterns have determined that certain gibbons previously identified as  Hoolock leucogenys  are actually distinctive enough from other  leucogenys  species to warrant a new name classification. The new scientific name is:  Hoolock tianxing and the new common name they recommend is: "Skywalker Hoolock Gibbon". A Direct Connection To Star Wars?  Well it just so happens, as the authors explain in their paper, that "tianxing" means heaven's movement or skywalker in mainland Chinese phonetic alphabet - a name they picked referring to the unique mode of locomotion gibbons use termed: brachiation.... But we also happen to know that principal investigator Peng-Fei Fan a

Recent events at the Cincinnati Zoo have been bombarding our PE newsfeeds lately and while I am pleased by the outpouring of emotion all over social media from concerned people, the rampant attacks and finger pointing is also driving me nuts. So I offer some perspective here in an effort to help make sense of a tragic incident for our friends and followers who may be wondering what to think, and to provide some useful tips for the next time you visit a zoo… First, it's important to recognize that this was a terrible tragedy and the Cincinnati Zoo Staff/Response Team faced an incredibly difficult decision. As far as I am aware, they followed their protocol to protect the child. I think Jeff Corwin has done a great job of discussing the facts we know as outside observers and offers some important points to consider (unlike Jack Hanna who made several problematic statements). Zoos have come a long way since the Cincinnati Zoo was first established in the 1930s, and often AZ

Wanderlust: an irresistible desire to travel to understand one’s very existence. … Moments before midnight on January 25 th 2007, I stepped off a Boeing 777 and shuffled my way through air-con-icebox corridors following a wave of people into the expansive white warehouse style rooms of the Suvarnabhumi airport. I collected my backpack and walked out into the thick humid Bangkok air for the very first time. I climbed into the prearrange car service I set up only a few hours earlier from Hong Kong, and was rocketed off to a mysterious hotel booked by my friend who’s flight was delay until the next day. It’s been 6 and a half years since that initial tentative excursion, but now traveling to Thailand is just a habitual part of my way of life. I think about it all the time. My friends will tell you I talk about it all the time. Sometimes I even take it for granted, and “I could never do that” comments from friends and strangers when referring to my life startle me. Anyone can do th