Oh yeah?

[ksmith]

Remember the bearded dragon that was teased with fake ants on a smartphone screen.

African Bullfrogs aren’t quite so agreeable.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Comments

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

I hope some psychology folks are watching these things. What is the bullfrog's state of mind when it turns on the person who produced the inedible ants? What was the bearded dragon's state of mind when it didn't?

Fascinating. (And...how hard does an African bullfrog bite, besides hard enough to make someone drop the game?)

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Did the bullfrog think the thumb was an ant? Did it think it was finally getting some real food, or was it a snap of frustration.

No idea how hard those toothless jaws could pinch. The guy's shout could have been from surprise more than anything.

Interesting study in contrasts between two types of beasties.

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

I suspect that the bullfrog thought the thumb was interfering with its hunt...though it could have thought "Tadpole! That's a better meal that ants any day." American bullfrogs eat a variety of critters: small birds and snakes, insects, crayfish, other frogs, minnows.

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

I don't know about that particular species of frog, but some frogs have spiny little pointy things in the roof and floor of their mouths that help keep wriggling prey from exiting before the frog can swallow them - it might be somewhat painful to get bitten like that. It was obviously *surprising*, lol.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I feel sorry for the poor resigned lizard, and feel the guy with the bullfrog totally got what he deserved. Hmph. :)

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

I actually thought the lizard was having fun. Here's why: critters repeat what they find rewarding. You can train them to repeat stuff not intrinsically rewarding by rewarding them (that's how positive reinforcement training works...Google Karen Pryor to learn more) but if they're not being rewarded apart from that, then they find the activity intrinsically rewarding. They don't do "resigned"....they do what feels good. Feeling good can be more than getting food or other physical pleasures (rolling to scratch an itch, stretching.) Border collies will herd things for the fun of it, and so will some cowhorses--chasing cattle in and out of a pen, for instance. Cats and dogs make a game of chasing objects they *know* are not edible and entice their humans into playing with them.

So this lizard...would know with one touch of its tongue on that screen that the "ants" were not edible. If what the lizard wanted was food, it would have quit as soon as it satisfied itself that the "prey" wasn't going to be catchable or edible.

But...it kept at it. That means it was getting *something* from the game. The lizard's keeper wasn't forcing it to tap the screen. It's possible it had been trained to tap the screen (in which case its keeper is a skilled trainer!!) but the more likely thing is that something about the game itself rewarded the lizard

Easy way to find out: teach the lizard to turn the device on, and then see if it turns the device on when not prompted.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

Cracked me up! Totally deserved, for taunting the poor critter that way.

I hope the frog and the bearded dragon got real bugs very shortly after.

[scottakennedy.livejournal.com]

That's hysterical.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I have to think that the bullfrog was justified in its actions. And I, too, hope that someone fed the poor things after they proved that they could smash ants with the best of them.

[christymarx.livejournal.com]

LMAO!