Latest news with #Behaviour
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Chimpanzees engage in cheeky trendsetting behavior — proving they're more human-like than you realize, study reveals
Move over, fashion week — the hottest accessory of the season is a blade of grass shoved in your ear. Or, for the truly daring: your butt. Chimpanzees at a Zambian wildlife sanctuary are going viral — not for escaping or throwing poo, but for their bizarre behavior that's as puzzling as it is cheeky. At the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, one group of captive chimps has taken to dangling grass out of their ears, a trend researchers first spotted back in 2010, originally reported on by Live Science. But now, a second chimp clique has upped the ante — by sticking it where the sun don't shine. Yes, you read that right. A new study published July 4 in the journal 'Behaviour' reveals the latest primate pastime involves wedging grass into their rectums and letting it hang like the world's worst tail. Why? Even the experts are scratching their heads. The first trendsetter, a female chimp named Julie, kicked off the grassy-ear craze over a decade ago. After she died in 2013, her son and a few others kept the tradition alive. But it wasn't until 2023 that the butt-branch brigade burst onto the scene. Enter Juma — a male chimp and apparent innovator — who debuted the rear-end version of the fad, which spread faster than lice in a middle school locker room. A new study published July 4 uncovers the chimps' latest pastime: stuffing grass up their behinds and letting it dangle like a sad excuse for a tail. Paul – Within a week, his entire group was in on the gag — er, grass. Researchers, who watched the apes closely over a year, say the trend isn't about hygiene or comfort. It's all about clout. 'In captivity, they have more free time than in the wild,' van Leeuwen said. 'They don't have to stay as alert or spend as much time searching for food.' So with extra downtime and no TikTok to scroll, these chimps are showing off their flair — and perhaps strengthening their friend groups in the process. 'It could also serve a social purpose,' van Leeuwen added. 'By copying someone else's behaviour, you show that you notice and maybe even like that individual. So, it might help strengthen social bonds and create a sense of belonging within the group, just like it does in humans.' As The Post previously reported, wild chimps in West Africa were recently caught on camera cracking open cold ones of their own — in the form of fermented African breadfruit laced with booze. Researchers from the University of Exeter spotted the buzzed behavior in Guinea-Bissau's Cantanhez National Park, where the furry foragers shared the fruit — which clocked in at a light 0.61% ABV — in what may be the original happy hour. 'For humans, we know that drinking alcohol leads to a release of dopamine and endorphins, and resulting feelings of happiness and relaxation,' ecologist Anna Bowland, lead author of the study, noted in her report. Experts say life in captivity gives chimps plenty of downtime — with meals delivered and no predators to dodge, they've got extra time to get weird. Kitch Bain – While the chimps likely didn't get tipsy off the low-proof fruit, scientists are digging into whether these jungle juice hangouts are rooted in early evolutionary bonding rituals. Overall, Charles Darwin never said evolution would be glamorous — just weirdly on-trend.
Metro
08-07-2025
- Metro
Foot fetishist bombarded police and NHS with 1,200 calls asking about their feet
A creep who bombarded the emergency services with hundreds of nuisance calls so he could pester the operators about their feet has been spared jail. Richard Cove, 49, made repeated bogus calls to the police's non-emergency 101 line so he could 'indulge his sexual foot fetish', Worthing Magistrates Court heard. Already well-known to NHS 111 operators as 'The Foot Fetish Caller', he would give his name as Michael Foot or Helen Cheeseman to manufacture a conversation. Cove would then steer the chat to asking about the size of their feet or trying to manipulate call handlers into saying the phrases 'cheesy feet' or 'smelly feet'. The pervert pleaded guilty to wasting hours of police time over the calls to the 101 number and was given a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for 24 months. He previously received a 16 week prison sentence suspended for two years over calls to the NHS 111 line. Investigating officer, Rose Horan, said of the latest weird offences: 'A number of police staff reported strikingly similar conversations from withheld numbers which we were able to link to Richard Cove. 'He pretended to be an elderly woman so that he could manipulate call takers into giving him time and attention. 'He specifically targeted female officers, some in busy departments dealing with serious sexual offences and online child abuse, wasting scarce public resources to indulge his sexual fetish.' Natalie Roepke, prosecuting, had told the court: 'He was asking the call handlers about their feet and height and telling them about his feet. 'He admitted a sexual foot fetish which he indulges during the calls. 'He said he is aroused by feet and especially aroused by the thought of the call handlers feet.' More Trending Cove, who runs an eBay selling business from home, said: 'What I did was very silly. 'I enjoyed talking about feet, but I made it clear to police I wasn't getting off on it, there was no masturbation.' He was issued with a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order preventing him from contacting 999 unless in a genuine emergency and stipulating that he uses his real name and does not withhold his telephone number. Cove must also report non-emergency matters in person at a police station, providing correct details. He was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and pay court costs of £85. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Jeffrey Epstein's 'client list' explained after FBI claims it doesn't exist MORE: Man shot by police after bomb squad and terror police descend on pub car park MORE: Terrifying moment war zone-like mass shooting leaves three dead in Philadelphia
Fox News
07-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Higher dementia risk seen in women with common health issue
An estimated 80% of women have some type of menopause symptoms — and the more symptoms they experience, the greater the chances of developing dementia later in life. The findings were published in the journal PLOS One following a study by the University of Calgary. The researchers analyzed the data of 896 postmenopausal women who participated in the Canadian Platform for Research Online to Investigate Health, Quality of Life, Cognition, Behaviour, Function, and Caregiving in Aging (CAN-PROTECT) study. 4 KEY WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED, EXPERT SAYS The women reported their perimenopausal symptoms to researchers. Their cognitive function was measured using the Everyday Cognition (ECog-II) Scale and the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C), with higher scores indicating greater severity. Those with greater menopausal symptoms had higher scores for both cognitive tests, indicating more severe decline. "One of the most interesting findings was the association between menopausal symptom burden and mild behavioral impairment (MBI) symptoms — a syndrome increasingly recognized as an early indicator of dementia risk," lead study author Zahinoor Ismail, M.D., professor of psychiatry, neurology, epidemiology and pathology at the University of Calgary, told Fox News Digital. "These novel findings highlight the need to consider not only cognitive changes, but also mood, social interaction and personality changes that emerge and persist in later life following menopause." "These novel findings highlight the need to consider not only cognitive changes, but also mood, social interaction and personality changes." While hormone therapy was not significantly associated with cognitive function, it was shown to have a significant link to fewer MBI symptoms, according to the researchers, emphasizing the need for further research into the potential role of hormone therapy in long-term brain health. "Interestingly, participants who reported using estrogen-based hormone therapy during perimenopause had significantly lower mild behavioral impairment symptom severity," noted Ismail. Alexa Fiffick, a board-certified family medicine physician specializing in menopause, stated that previous data has shown higher symptom burden is somehow related to decreased cognitive function and possibly dementia. Some studies have shown that even when hot flashes aren't perceived by the woman, they are still associated with worsened cognitive function, according to the Ohio doctor. TESTOSTERONE THERAPY COULD HELP BOOST WOMEN'S SEX DRIVE AS THEY AGE, BUT RISKS EXIST, EXPERTS SAY "It is believed that the vasomotor symptoms are correlated with development of white matter hyperintensities in the brain, akin to what vascular dementia looks like on imaging," Fiffick, who was not involved in the new study, told Fox News Digital. "We have yet to obtain the data that treating VMS will prevent cognitive decline, but are hopeful that with menopausal hormone therapy and other non-hormonal options, we may be able to obtain this data in the near future." Potential limitations The researchers acknowledged several limitations of the study. "This study is cross-sectional, meaning it captures a snapshot in time rather than tracking changes over the years," Ismail told Fox News Digital. This means it can only identify associations between menopause symptoms and cognitive and behavioral health, but cannot determine whether the symptoms directly cause the changes in brain health. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER "To better understand the long-term impact of menopause on dementia risk, future research should follow participants over time and incorporate biological data, such as hormone levels and brain-related biomarkers (we are, in fact, doing this now)," Ismail added. The study also did not assess the severity of the symptoms, which could play a key role in understanding risk. Another limitation is that the study focused on the most commonly reported menopause symptoms, but it's possible that some participants experienced additional symptoms. "In fact, it's reported that there may be 30+ symptoms that females may experience when undergoing the menopause transition," said Ismail. "While we included an 'other symptoms' category, it may not fully reflect the range of experiences." The study also did not distinguish between different types and formulations of hormone therapy. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "Future studies will be able to explore whether specific types of HT have different effects on brain health," Ismail noted. "Brain scans of women in menopause reveal real structural and metabolic changes, and this study reinforces that we can't just brush these symptoms off as 'normal aging.'" Tamsen Fadal, a New York menopause expert and author of the upcoming book "How to Menopause: Take Charge of Your Health, Reclaim Your Life, and Feel Even Better than Before," said she was not surprised by the results of the study. "Research has been pointing to this connection for a while," she told Fox News Digital. "Brain scans of women in menopause reveal real structural and metabolic changes, and this study reinforces that we can't just brush these symptoms off as 'normal aging.'" For more Health articles, visit "For too long, women have been experiencing brain fog, memory lapses and mood changes, and many of us have been dismissed," Fadal went on. "This research just reinforces that menopause is a neurological shift as much as it is a hormonal one."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Two Edinburgh drivers hit with ASBOs for excessive revving
Edinburgh Police have slapped two Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBO's) on drivers for excessive noise and revving. Officers were out on patrol after residents in South Queensferry complained of antisocial driving issues in the Ferry and surrounding areas. Sharing the information on Facebook, Police Scotland Edinburgh wrote: "Officers from the Almond Community Policing Team have been out over the last two nights addressing antisocial driving issues in South Queensferry and surrounding areas. READ MORE: Huge delays on Edinburgh Bypass as drivers urged to 'use caution' READ MORE: Edinburgh mental health charity raises alarm on 'lifeline' services facing the axe "This is in response to complaints from local residents. Two ASBOs were issued to drivers in relation to excessive noise and revving." But patrols won't stop there, officers will continue to police the are for the remainder of the week in an effort to curb the antisocial behaviour. They continued: "Officers will be out for the rest of the week and across the weekend focusing on deterring antisocial, careless and dangerous driving." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Edinburgh Live
28-05-2025
- Edinburgh Live
Two Edinburgh drivers hit with ASBOs for excessive revving
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Edinburgh Police have slapped two Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBO's) on drivers for excessive noise and revving. Officers were out on patrol after residents in South Queensferry complained of antisocial driving issues in the Ferry and surrounding areas. Sharing the information on Facebook, Police Scotland Edinburgh wrote: "Officers from the Almond Community Policing Team have been out over the last two nights addressing antisocial driving issues in South Queensferry and surrounding areas. "This is in response to complaints from local residents. Two ASBOs were issued to drivers in relation to excessive noise and revving." But patrols won't stop there, officers will continue to police the are for the remainder of the week in an effort to curb the antisocial behaviour. They continued: "Officers will be out for the rest of the week and across the weekend focusing on deterring antisocial, careless and dangerous driving."
