The time is approaching for students to heave a collective groan and start hitting the books once again. And while we don't condone copycatting, these brainy animals would be great cats to copy off if you find yourself seated next to one this semester:

• Art: Octopuses understand the power of artistic expression. They can change the color patterns on their skin to blend in with their surroundings, and when threatened, they shoot ink to blur the potential predator's view and make an escape. Michelangelo, eat your heart out.

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• Algebra: In math classes, buddy up with a dolphin. These math-minded mammals rely on complex nonlinear mathematics to help them navigate the ocean and hunt for food via sonar.

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• Gym: Give a dog a ball, rope, or even just some open space and watch what happens. Canines can always show us how to score an A+ in fun.

• English: Baboons can tell whether a group of letters is a real word or just gobbledygook, so they might even tell you where your Grapes of Wrath paper needs some help.

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• Sociology: Empathetic rats will free their restrained cagemates, even if it means they will then have to share a mound of chocolate. So you know they'll have no problem sharing their notes on helpful behavior in social groups.

• Choir: If you forget the words, stand next to a nightingale. They can learn 60 different songs after hearing them just a few times. (And their melodic singing might mask any off-key notes from their human classmates.)

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• Geography: Loggerhead turtles are geography whizzes who navigate by reading the Earth's magnetic field.

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• Psychology: Since elephants flirt with each other and argue about directions, they're likely always up for a rousing Mars vs. Venus debate.

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• Political Science: No matter which side of the aisle your political beliefs fall on, try to buzz on over next to a diplomatic bee in poly sci. When decisions affect the whole hive, bees put it to a vote.

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• Home Economics: Perhaps they're an exclusive "in crowd," but prairie dogs describe humans based on physical characteristics, including clothing. Pair up with one in the sewing room, and hopefully you'll never hear, "Oh, here comes the girl who always wears that god-awful purple tracksuit."

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And the most important lesson that we can learn from animals? Having compassion for them.

Winter Olympics, make way for Apolo Crowno. An enterprising bird turned a jar lid and a snowy roof into a thrilling winter sport.

Daisy the cow doesn't need Pop-A-Lock. When she wants to go for a stroll, she just unlatches the barn gate with her tongue.

After being swept away in an avalanche that claimed the life of one of his guardians, a dog in Montana used his wits to find his way back through 4 miles of snow to the exact hotel room where his family had been staying before the incident. A search-and-rescue team member drove the dog home to his grateful family.

Another intrepid dog's rescue was caught on tape when he swam up to a kayaker (whose boat was equipped with a video camera) a half-mile out into the Gulf of Mexico. The dog and his guardian had been hit by a drunken driver, and after seeing his guardian die, the terrified dog ran blindly into the sea. The kayaker was eventually able to track down the dog's family.

Perhaps the injured dog could tell that the kayaker would know what to do, thanks to dogs' uncanny ability to read human intent.

Many people, including scientists, hold that animals have a "sixth sense." One researcher has compiled thousands of cases in which animals sensed events such as an impending natural disaster or the imminent arrival of a family member.

Of course, anyone who has ever loved an animal knows how intelligent and sensitive each one is.

© Carla Wilson

 
PETA supporters in Orlando, Florida, spent the Fourth of July weekend declaring independence for whales and dolphins held captive at SeaWorld. Here are the top five reasons that freedom should include marine animals.

1. Twenty-four dead orcas – and counting. Of the 24 orcas who have died at SeaWorld since 1986, not one died of old age. Many of their deaths were caused by captivity-induced illnesses.  
2. Life in a bathtub drains marine mammals' spirits. Forcing animals who naturally travel up to 100 miles a day in the open ocean to swim in continuous circles in tiny, barren concrete tanks causes stress-related behaviors, including suicide.
3. SeaWorld tears families apart. In the wild, dolphins spend their entire lives in a pod with their mothers and sisters. Capturing even one dolphin disrupts the entire pod. Dolphins born in captivity are often taken away from their loved ones and shipped to other facilities.
4. Frustrated animals are dangerous to people. Aside from the trainers killed by angry captive whales, the USDA has cited SeaWorld for several instances in which dolphins injured people in its swim-with-the-dolphins program.
5. If you don't support the jailing of innocent people, you shouldn't support SeaWorld. Scientists at Emory University mapped the brains of dolphins and concluded that they are second only to humans in intelligence. Captivity is as hard on these sensitive animals as it is on people, but the dolphins are being punished without having committed a crime.

You can help by writing to SeaWorld and asking the company to let its prisoners go free—to transitional coastal and wildlife sanctuaries.

Written by Michelle Sherrow