Good News Iguana Press Item

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Posted by Wes von Papine�u on July 02, 1999 at 09:16:51:

Dear Iguana-people: I'll bet your forum has known this all the time. :) Cheers, Wes

NEW SCIENTIST 03 July 99 Oh, it's you (Nell Boyce)
Despite their cold-blooded demeanour,
lizards can form personal relationships with
people. A team of scientists has shown that
iguanas recognise their human handlers and
greet them differently, compared with
strangers.

Scott McRobert and his colleagues at Saint
Joseph's University in Philadelphia had often
joked that their lab's pet iguana "Fido" would
bob his head when McRobert approached but
ignore everyone else. They decided to design
an experiment to find out if Fido really did
know his handler. They also wanted to see if
the twelve-year-old lizard remembered a lab
student who had cared for him four years
earlier.

McRobert, the student and around forty
strangers took turns reading the Dr Seuss
children's book Oh, the Places You'll Go! to
Fido. They read it aloud or silently, in front of
Fido's cage or behind a screen, while another
researcher counted the iguana's head bobs.

When Fido could see the readers but not hear
them, he bobbed his head roughly equally to
both the student and McRobert, but almost
totally ignored the strangers. When they read
aloud, however, Fido bobbed his head around
three times as often to McRobert than to the
student. "Visual cues alone are enough for him
to recognise individuals," says McRobert, but
he suspects that Fido "fine-tunes" his
response with audio cues.

"I'm pretty sure that this is the first time
human recognition by a lizard has been
demonstrated in a scientific way," says
McRobert, who described the study this week
at a meeting of the Animal Behavior Society in
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He suspects Fido
singles him out because iguanas are not
normally handled and see handlers as a
threat: "It's not that he loves me," McRobert
says.

He plans to use recorded voices to see what
Fido will do when visual and audio cues don't
match up. "We may actually learn something
about how these animals recognise
individuals."

New Scientist 03 Jul 99 Iguana Article

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: Dear Iguana-people: I'll bet your forum has known this all the time. :) Cheers, Wes : NEW SCIENTIST 03 July 99 Oh, it's you (Nell Boyce) : Despite their cold-blooded demeanour, : lizards can form personal relationships with : people. A team of scientists has shown that : iguanas recognise their human handlers and : greet them differently, compared with : strangers. : Scott McRobert and his colleagues at Saint : Joseph's University in Philadelphia had often : joked that their lab's pet iguana "Fido" would : bob his head when McRobert approached but : ignore everyone else. They decided to design : an experiment to find out if Fido really did : know his handler. They also wanted to see if : the twelve-year-old lizard remembered a lab : student who had cared for him four years : earlier. : McRobert, the student and around forty : strangers took turns reading the Dr Seuss : children's book Oh, the Places You'll Go! to : Fido. They read it aloud or silently, in front of : Fido's cage or behind a screen, while another : researcher counted the iguana's head bobs. : When Fido could see the readers but not hear : them, he bobbed his head roughly equally to : both the student and McRobert, but almost : totally ignored the strangers. When they read : aloud, however, Fido bobbed his head around : three times as often to McRobert than to the : student. "Visual cues alone are enough for him : to recognise individuals," says McRobert, but : he suspects that Fido "fine-tunes" his : response with audio cues. : "I'm pretty sure that this is the first time : human recognition by a lizard has been : demonstrated in a scientific way," says : McRobert, who described the study this week : at a meeting of the Animal Behavior Society in : Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He suspects Fido : singles him out because iguanas are not : normally handled and see handlers as a : threat: "It's not that he loves me," McRobert : says. : He plans to use recorded voices to see what : Fido will do when visual and audio cues don't : match up. "We may actually learn something : about how these animals recognise : individuals."

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