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Successful Reading of Cat's Facial Expression Not Linked to Ownership

Reggie, the cat who plays Goose in Captain Marvel, poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, California. (Reuters)
Reggie, the cat who plays Goose in Captain Marvel, poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, California. (Reuters)
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Successful Reading of Cat's Facial Expression Not Linked to Ownership

Reggie, the cat who plays Goose in Captain Marvel, poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, California. (Reuters)
Reggie, the cat who plays Goose in Captain Marvel, poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, California. (Reuters)

Cats have a reputation for being independent and even aloof, so it is no surprise that their facial expressions are difficult to read. Perhaps more unexpected are findings indicating that very few people can decode the emotions in feline facial expressions and that this ability has little to do with cat ownership.

During the study, a research team at the University of Guelph, Canada, recruited 6,329 people from 85 countries and asked them to watch 20 YouTube videos of cats.

The videos depicted cats in either a negative or a positive emotional state. In the negative videos, for example, the felines were showing signs of avoidance by withdrawing from an object or person or fleeing to a hiding spot. In some, they were struggling against physical restraint or being denied opportunities like going outdoors. The cats in these videos also had health problems, such as malaise or physical pain.

In the positive videos, the felines had sought out favorite spots or interaction with people, such as being petted. None of the videos depicted obvious facial expressions, such as open mouths or flattened ears, although all the videos focused on the cats' eyes, muzzles and mouths.

Most participants performed poorly at the facial recognition tests, with the average score being barely above the chance average, 11.85 points out of 20. However, 13% of participants were individually significantly successful scoring more than 15 points out of 20.

Surprisingly, personal contact with cats (e.g., pet-owning) had little effect on the results, as few of the people who scored high were cat owners.

These people were more likely to be women than men, and more likely to be veterinarians or vet technicians. Younger adults also generally scored better than older adults.

In a report published Saturday by the Medical News Today website, study lead author Prof. Georgia Mason said: "The fact that women generally scored better than men is consistent with previous research that has shown that women appear to be better at decoding nonverbal displays of emotion, both in humans and dogs."

"The ability to read animals' facial expressions is critical to welfare assessment. Our finding that some people are outstanding at reading these subtle clues suggests it's a skill that more people can be trained to do," she added.

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Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
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Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP

Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs, but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart, and devour voles.
That's the startling finding of a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of Ethology -- the first to document widespread carnivorous behavior in these seemingly innocent creatures.
"There is always something new to learn and wild animals continue to surprise us," lead author Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire told AFP.
"In a changing world with many technological advances, there is no replacement for direct observation of natural history, including watching the squirrels and birds that often visit our backyards."
The observations were made this summer, during the 12th year of a long-term study conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.
Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California ground squirrels and voles, with 42 percent of them involving active hunting of their fellow rodents.
Co-author Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, admitted she was initially skeptical of the reports brought to her by undergraduate students who first witnessed the behavior.
"I could barely believe my eyes," said Wild. But "once we started looking, we saw it everywhere."
It was previously known that as many as 30 species of squirrels opportunistically consume meat, ranging from small fish to birds. However, it was unclear whether this behavior stemmed from scavenging or active predation.
The new study is the first to confirm that hunting is, in fact, a common behavior.
Researchers observed squirrels crouching low to the ground before ambushing their prey, though more often, they chased voles, pounced, and delivered a neck bite followed by vigorous shaking.
The study also found that the squirrels' carnivorous behavior peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with a surge in vole populations reported by citizen scientists on the iNaturalist app.
Other animals, such as raccoons, coyotes, and spotted hyenas, have been known to adapt their hunting strategies in response to human-induced changes in their environments.
"In a changing world, it can be daunting to consider all of the challenges that human presence, habitat loss, and climate change impose on animals," said Smith.
"Our study offers an exciting silver lining, demonstrating the incredible flexibility that some animals possess."
Several questions still remain unanswered.
Researchers hope to investigate how widespread hunting behavior is among squirrel species, whether it is passed down from parents to pups, and how it affects their broader ecosystems.