It pays to listenHarbour seals off the coast of British Columbia have a remarkable capacity to memorize the songs of local killer whales. These seals have learned to distinguish between the songs of indigenous fish-eating whales that are harmless to seals and other unfamiliar killer whales that may fancy a feast at their expense.This keeps them from being feasted on by non-native “transient” killer whales that roam the Pacific coast of North America. These killer whales have enormous range and hunt in groups. Researchers show that harbour seals continue their normal activities when songs of neighbourhood killer whales are played back on underwater speakers. However, on hearing the songs of unknown killer whales, the seals quickly recognize them as the unfamiliar tunes of a potential predator, and disappear underwater where they are less conspicuous. Local whale families have a large repertoire of songs, making the seals’ ability to identify them that much more impressive. Source: Nature–Hassaan Abdul BasitVultures die and the corpses pile upIndia may soon find itself waist-deep in rotting corpses due to a crash in the country’s vulture population. The Indian white-backed and the long-billed vulture numbers have decreased by 96 per cent over the past three years. This spells disaster for the members of the Parsee people, who cannot cremate or bury their dead since their Zoroastrian faith prohibits them from defiling any of the cardinal elements (earth, air, fire, water). Traditionally, the Parsees have left their dead in stone citadels called Towers of Silence for vultures to devour. Without enough vultures, the carcasses are piling up. Already this has resulted in a feral dog population boom, and since half of the world’s rabies cases are already found in India, the implications are serious indeed. The vultures examined thus far were all plagued with severe visceral and renal gout, which scientists believe may be caused by a new virus. While scientists hunt for the cause of the epidemic, breeding programs for the vultures have already been established. Source: The Guardian –Zoe Cormier