Is Your Pet Left Handed or Right Handed

Cats, dogs, parrots and even fish are right or left-handed, scientists have revealed.

The discovery was made by psychologists from Queen's University Belfast, who as part of their research played with 42 pet cats for weeks on end.

Dogs are the same - until they are spayed or neutered, when the difference disappears, suggesting hormones play a role in left or right-handedness. They found that females are 'right-handed' while toms favor the left.

Paw preference: Female dogs favor their right front paw and males choose their left, according to the study.

The scientists also reported that parrots will pick up objects with their 'dominant' foot, toads are mostly right-handed and fish will have a preference to left or right when they dodge a predator - and even humpback whales prefer the right side of their jaws when feeding.

Dogs wag their tails to the right when relaxed and to the left when agitated, this week's New Scientist reports.

The experts said: 'Male and female cats differ in their behavioral patterns, for example hunting styles and parental care, and it is possible that these place different demands on motor functioning.'

Female felines use their right paw while toms tend to use their left

Dr Culum Brown, a behavioral ecologist, said they also tested the theory with parrots: "Anything they are interested in they will pick up with their dominant foot".
Curiously, those parrots that favor their left or right rather than liking both equally, have been shown to be brainier.

With goldfish, the way they dodge predators is likely to allow them to use a specific eye and side of the brain to deal with the threat.

To test it out, place an unfamiliar object in the center of your fish tank and watch which way your pet swims round it.

Toads, however, prefer their right, and pounce more quickly on morsels of food that enter their line of vision from their right.

Humpback whales prefer to use the right side of their jaws to scrape up sand eels from the ocean floor.

While there are advantages in following the crowd, it can also be good to be different. For instance, those humans or animals that are left-handed, or pawed, in a right-handed world, have the surprise on their side when they launch an attack.

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An Alabama Man Makes Custom Hats for Toad

An Alabama man has found internet fame for his hat-making skills — not suited for humans, but for a toad that keeps frequenting his home.

So, he decided to put a hat on it.

“I have a background in art and design, but I’ve never made hats,” Newsome said. “I just sort of winged it, and used scissors to figure it out."

He said he folded together some foam paper, and placed his design on the amphibian’s head.

“It just sat there,” Newsome said. “[The toad] did not seem to mind, and I didn’t keep the hat on him for longer than the time it took to take a picture.”

He explained toads often come out to play in his area over the summer, but this one, which he named Mr. Toad, would keep showing up on his porch, and even made friends with his cat and dog.

Newsome said he eventually revisited the photos, and uploaded them to Imgur last week, where fans have now started commissioning him to make foam hats for their own pets.

"I’m sure I can make a few more," Newsome joked.

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Florida Residents: Beware! The Recent Rains in Southwest Florida Are Bringing Out Toxic Bufo Toads That Put Your Dog as Risk

Florida residents: beware! The recent rains in southwest Florida are bringing out the toxic Bufo toads. Also known as Cane Toads, Giant Toads, and Marine Toads, the populations of these invasive amphibians are growing and putting your pets at risk.

Dogs are especially susceptible to Bufo toads because the toad’s mating call attracts curious dogs.

Bufo toads secrete a milky white toxic substance from their shoulders as a defense mechanism, and a single lick can be very dangerous. If untreated, pets will always die.

Some of the symptoms of Bufo toad poisoning includes seizures, profuse salivation, and lack of coordination. If you suspect your pet mouthed, licked or ingested a toad, rinse the mouth out immediately and get your pet to its veterinarian right away.

To help protect your pet, it’s recommended you collect water and food dishes that remain outside. These toads are so fatal that dogs can be poisoned by drinking or eating out of containers the toads have sat in.

The toads, which have grayish brown, warty skin, are not native to Florida, but were introduced to eat cane beetles. They became established in Florida in an accidental release of about 100 specimens in Miami in 1955 and further release by pet dealers in the 1960s, according to the University of Florida Wildlife Extension.

If pet owners suspect an animal has bitten a Bufo toad, rinse its mouth and paws with water and seek veterinary help immediately. Use caution, however, so the pet does not aspirate the water with toxins, Gicking said.

Pet owners should also be careful about being bitten by animals who become unruly while intoxicated by the toxin, he said. Pet owners should wash their own hands after rendering aid and be careful not to get the toxin in their own eyes or mouth.

Gicking suggests vigilance is the best course of action to prevent toad poisoning.

“Don't just leave dogs out in the yard unsupervised, especially people who live near water sources,” he said. “Leash walks during a high incident times are best.

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Borneo Rainbow Toad Spotted for First Time in 87 Years

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Scientists scouring the mountains of Borneo spotted a species of toads last seen by European explorers in 1924, providing the world with the first photographs of the colorful, spindly legged creature.

In recent years, the Washington-based Conservation International   placed the Sambas Stream Toad, also known as the Bornean Rainbow Toad, on a list of the world's "Top 10 Most Wanted Lost Frogs" and voiced fears that it might be extinct.

Researchers found three of the slender-limbed toads living on trees during a night search last month in a remote mountainous region of Malaysia's eastern Sarawak state in Borneo, said Indraneil Das, a conservation professor at the Sarawak Malaysia University who led the expedition.

Only illustrations of the toads previously existed. Das said his team first decided to seek the toad last August, but months of searching proved fruitless until they went higher up the Penrissen mountain range, which has rarely been explored in the past century.

"It is good to know that nature can surprise us when we are close to giving up hope, especially amidst our planet's escalating extinction crisis," Robin Moore, a specialist on amphibians  at Conservation International, said in a statement announcing the discovery.

The toads found on three separate trees measured up to 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) in size and comprised an adult male, an adult female and a juvenile, the statement said.

Das declined to reveal the exact site of his team's discovery because of fears of illegal poaching due to strong demand for bright-hued amphibians. Researchers will continue work to find out more about the Borneo Rainbow Toad and other amphibians in Penrissen.

Conservationists say many endangered animals in Borneo are threatened by hunting and habitat loss sparked by logging, plantations and other human development.

The Search for Lost Frogs

 This photo, taken June 13, 2011 and released by Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental

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