South Bank
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Postcode district | SE1 |
|---|---|
| Restaurants | Ping Pong Southbank |
| Wahaca Southbank | |
| Skylon | |
| Hotels | Sea Containers London |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 2587449 |
About South Bank
Beside the River Thames, the South Bank is a dynamic area at the heart of London's cultural scene. The Southbank Centre, National Theatre, and BFI film theatre are all world-class arts venues. The riverside walkway is lined with trees, restaurants and historic pubs, and is the site of frequent fairs and events. Sightseers admire iconic landmarks like Big Ben and St. Paul's Cathedral from the London Eye Ferris wheel.
Why did a dog in Newmarket end up nursing a litter of kittens?
... So what is going on? Biologist Dr Rachel Grant, at London South Bank University, says such interspecies " adoptions" are likely the result of " fixed action patterns" in which the adopting animal is responding to a " certain trigger" from the adoptee...
University of Bradford tops list for social mobility for third year
... Prof Phoenix, who is Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University, said the index measures certain groups access to each university, the rate at which students continue after the first 12 months, and the outcomes for graduates...
Obituary: Sir Michael Gambon, star of The Singing Detective and Harry Potter
... Fantasy worldAnd there was further acclaim for his role as Jerry in Peter Hall s production of Harold Pinter s Betrayal, which opened on the South Bank in 1978...
Mercury Prize 2023: Loyle Carner and Young Fathers among favourites to win
... Much of the album was recorded on the move, on tube journeys, in airport lounges or simply sitting on London s South Bank...
Mercury Prize 2023: Arctic Monkeys, Jessie Ware and Fred Again lead shortlist
... Much of the album was recorded on the move, on tube journeys, in airport lounges or simply sitting on London s South Bank...
Manchester Collective: Award-winning group a mission to shake up classical music
... Their collaboration with Selaocoe has just been nominated for the classical music prize at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards, and they were named best ensemble at the recent Royal Philharmonic Society Awards...
Ukraine dam: Maps and before and after images reveal scale of tragedy
... The entire South Bank of the Dnipro River as far as the eastern end of the vast Kakhovka reservoir has been occupied by Russian forces since the invasion last year...
Nikki Allan: A mother's 30-year search for her daughter's killer
... Dozens of friends, families and neighbours mounted a search, scouring the streets and derelict buildings scattered across Hendon on the South Bank of the River Wear...
Why did a dog in Newmarket end up nursing a litter of kittens?
By Laurence CawleyBBC News, Suffolk
Hours after Sue Stubley brought home six abandoned kittens, something peculiar happened - Her dog began lactating and the hungry kittens latched on to feed. Cute? Certainly. But why would a dog want to nurture a kitten and how common is inter-species nursing and adoption?
The original plan was to look after the kittens for One Night and take them to a local cat rescue The Next morning.
Teasel,
" My dog decided that she was going to look after them, " says Ms Stubley, who lives in the Suffolk town of Newmarket. " She was cleaning them, and within a few hours, was making milk.
" She stays cuddled up to them All Night . "
Teasel's maternal instincts do not stop with feeding and cuddling Her kitten-pups.
" If anybody comes in who she doesn't know and the kittens have gone astray, she'll pick them up and put them back into bed, " says Ms Stubley.
Such upending of the stereotypical canine-feline relationship is far from unheard of.
In Liverpool, for example, a shih-tzu puppy named Hope, which was rejected by its mother, whose kittens were born on the same day.
Of course, it is not just cats and dogs that occasionally adopt each another's young.
In 2016 took on an additional labour of Love - Becoming a " mother" to two rescued baby squirrels.
Then, in 2017, eight orphaned hedgehogs in The Russian city of Vladivostok were saved when their mother died in a lawnmowing accident.
And (the two species are typically mortal enemies) under their wings in 2017 and raised it along with their own three chicks in The Nest .
So What is going on?
Biologist Dr Rachel Grant , at London South Bank University, says such interspecies " adoptions" are likely the result of " fixed action patterns" in which the adopting animal is responding to a " certain trigger" from the adoptee.
" This sets off a cascade in The Brain that elicits a pattern of behaviour, " says Dr Grant.
Baby birds, for example, will see the red area on the mother's beak and peck at it. The mother returns the gesture by responding to the red area of The Baby birds' gaping mouths.
" It is a signal, " says Dr Grant.
A signal, it turns out, that can be manipulated. Cuckoos, for example, exploit these " fixed action patterns" Baby cuckoos tend to The The largest red mouths in The Brood , meaning they are well taken care of.
Dr Grant says The Closer species are to one another, the more likely a cross-species adoption will take place, meaning it is very unlikely you will ever read about a crocodile nursing a chihuahua puppy.
" In baby mammals there will be certain features that mammals share with other mammals, " Dr Grant says.
" Cats and dogs, for example, are both mammals and the cues which are driving maternal behaviour are very similar. They will be responding to certain cues. "
As for the young, they too are acting on instinct. So the kittens in the case of Teasel are instinctively " rooting" - just like human babies or Puppies - for a nipple to feed on.
" These things are not under conscious control, " says Dr Grant.
While cross-species nursing might be deeply endearing and eminently shareable on Social Media , it surely runs counter to our understanding of evolution.
Yes and no, according to Dr Grant.
" As long as it works 99% of The Time it will be selected by evolution, " she says.
So The Strong maternal instinct shown by Teasel stands Her in good stead to raise Her own young, should she One Day have pups of Her own.
That those instincts have been co-opted by a litter of needy kittens works out well for the kittens - and does not harm Teasel.
What would be interesting, according to Dr Grant, was what would have happened if Teasel already had a full litter of Her own pups.
It is, perhaps, far less likely Teasel would have been quite as maternal towards them.
What does The Future hold for Teasel and Her kittens?
" I think once weening has occurred, The Bond is likely to lessen off, " says Dr Grant.
Which is just as well, because all of the kittens have new families lined up to give them homes.
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com
