mammal

Up until recently, habituation -- a simple form of learning -- was deemed the exclusive domain of complex organisms with brains and nervous systems, such as worms, insects, birds, and mammals.

Tiny mammals scamper out of the path of its thunderous footsteps.

Kawoaka told The Times in an interview that the mutations seen in this particular isolate have appeared elsewhere in past outbreaks in birds and mammals, “so in that sense, it’s a very orthodox mutation.”

But it does have a long history of training marine mammals for military purposes.

This year, biologists collected samples from nine sites in California, swabbing the diminutive animals’ noses and forearms, said Katrina Smith, statewide coordinator for small mammal conservation for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.