Category Ask the Psychologist

Dog experts disagree over why canines chase their tails in a race they can’t win. Some breeds – German shepherds, Finnish bull terriers, and miniature terriers – hit the spin cycle more than others, leading scientists to think tail-chasing is tied to genetics. But studies show puppies that aren’t properly socialized (for instance, they’re removed from their littermates too early) grow up to be habitual tail-chasers. Another cause could be a lack of vitamins in a dog’s diet. Some trainers suspect this hyperactive habit is a sign of a bored dog that wants to play; other trainers think tail-chasers are overstimulated by other dogs in the house or rowdy kids nearby. In any case, most dogs can be broken of the habit through patient training.

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There’s reason you say “awww” whenever you see a puppy or a smiling baby. We have evolved to think that any creature with a big head, large eyes, and a button nose – features that most human babies share – is cute. Anyone who has had to babysit knows that toddlers require a lot of time and attention – more than the offspring of other animals. Evolution has wired our brains to think babies are cute, which makes us more willing to drop everything we’re doing and care for them. In fact, studies show that babies who are considered extra cute get extra attention. Animals with similar facial features – from kitties to koalas – also set off our cuteness response.

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Kangaroos (along with koalas, opossums, and Tasmanian devils) are marsupials, a type of mammal that nurtures its defenseless newborns in a pouch outside its body. While other types of mammals (known as placental mammals) grow their offspring inside the womb, marsupials give birth relatively early and continue their pregnancies in their pouches. The pouch fulfills all the life-support functions of the womb until the baby kangaroo (called a joey) is ready to hop on its own two feet. Sometimes, older and younger joeys will squeeze into the same pouch. Bet you’ll never complain about your room being cramped again.

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Although wolves are social animals that like to live in happy pack families, some wander the wilderness without ever finding a mate, while others lose their pack members to tragic fates. These lone wolves face many hardships not experienced by those living in packs. Unable to use teamwork to bring down large animals, they must settle for easier-to-kill prey such as birds, beavers, and rodents – mere morsels compared with typical pack feasts. Wherever they wander, lone wolves have to be extra wary: They risk a vicious attack if they enter another pack’s territory.

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A wolf pack relies on teamwork to hunt prey and defend its territory. By working together, a pack can take down much larger animals. And nothing builds team spirit like a good group howl, one of nature’s most haunting sounds. Wolves howl in a chorus often: when they wake up, before a hunt, perhaps even for fun. Audible up to ten miles (16 km) away in the right terrain, a howl also functions as the pack’s long-distance phone service. Wolves will howl to call members to a meeting site, warn of danger to the pups, or tell neighboring packs to keep off their land.

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Of all the cats, lions and tigers produce the loudest roars – loud enough to rattle the suspension of any nearby vehicles. Fatty folds in the throats of these big cats vibrate to create and amplify that sandpapery roaring sound with just a little bit of air pressure from the lungs. Leopards and jaguars – the only other cats that can roar – also have these folds.

The cats are also aided by the strength of their vocal folds, which can withstand stretching and shearing as air moves past them and the folds vibrate. The size of the animal or the vocal fold, or the frequency of the sound, didn’t matter. Elk have vocal folds about the same size, but they make high-pitched sounds. And humans speak in a range of sound frequencies similar to those of lions’ and tigers’ roars, but obviously our voices are much softer.
 

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