Some dogs ‘as clever as human infants’

Some of breeds of dog can learn the names of a dozen toys in a single week and still recall them two months later, a study has found. According to scientists who ran the Genius Dog Challenge, border collies, German shepherds, Pekinese and mini Australian shepherd dogs are particularly bright. The researchers concluded that some dogs have “cognitive skills that are functionally similar to those of human infants”.

Chicken-sized dinosaur found in Wales

Fossilised remains of a dinosaur related to Tyrannosaurus rex but with a body the size of a chicken has been discovered in a quarry in south Wales. Stephan Spiekman, from the Natural History Museum, said the Pendraig milnerae lived near the beginning of the evolution of the meat-eating dinosaurs. “Early in the evolution of this group these animals were quite small, in contrast to the very famous meat-eating dinosaurs like T rex which evolved much later,” he said.

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Police untangle baby squirrels

Police in the US were called to detangle seven baby squirrels who were tied together by their tails. The officers found the “scurry of young squirrels” in Grand Blanc, Michigan. A spokesperson said the cops separated the babies “under the watchful eye of mama squirrel”. A local resident named Barbara said it was “one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever heard of”.