Clip of the Week

Since I refuse to post anything Tebow-related in the leadup to Saturday night's showdown with my Patriots (and since the rest of the NFL Playoff games last weekend were, frankly, worthless), I'm left with little else to choose from for this week's Clip of the Week (since it seems that the rest of the world outside of sports hasn't really woken up to 2012 yet... still).

So while I considered giving Clip of the Week to this awesome save in the World Hockey Juniors, I just couldn't pass up this crazy video of a crow... apparently teaching himself how to snowboard. The animals are learning to use tools, and we need to be aware. As usual, I blame the penguins.

Be careful out there, folks. It's Friday the 13th.

Draw your own conclusions

Following up on this item from earlier this month, I came across another BBC article detailing some interesting behavior by dolphins.

Wild dolphins in Australia are naturally learning to "walk" on water.

Six dolphins have now been seen mastering the technique - furiously paddling their tail fluke, forcing their body out and across the water.

The dolphins seem to walk on water for fun, as it has no other obvious benefit, say scientists working for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

That makes the behaviour a rare example of animals "culturally transmitting" a playful rather than foraging behaviour.

Look, I'm not saying that dolphins and penguins are trying to take over the world, and I'm not saying they're not. I'm just saying to keep an eye out. Especially for the penguins. "Flightless" birds are not to be trusted. 

[BBC]