Today’s news: hero dogs, chimpanzees and evil girl scout cookies
Here are some fascinating articles that the humans (and animals ) at Current Instincts are reading today. Did we miss something major? Let us know below or send us an email.
1. Dog reportedly part of bin Laden raid.While the identities of the Navy SEALS who captured and killed Osama bin Laden are being kept on super secret classified status, it’s being reported that at least one military dog took part in the raid. The military is increasingly relying on dogs in combat situations. (NPR)
They dropped in like this - like Rambo or something equally badass.
2. Chimpanzees use at least 66 gestures to communicate. A team of researchers in Scotland recently studied a group of chimps in the wild and discovered that they use way more gestures to communicate than originally thought. The researchers believe that chimpanzees in the wild use a lot more gestures then they do while in captivity. (BBC News)
3. Richard Branson’s dumb attempt to save lemurs. Crazy rich person Richard Branson is at it again. This time he has good intentions, however misguided they may be. His plan involves moving lemurs to one of his islands in the Caribbean in an attempt to increase the population. However, introducing non-native species to new areas almost never goes well. (Duke University)
4. Lawsuit accuses government of failing to protect the Earth. Now here’s a lawsuit we can get behind. A group of advocates in San Francisco is suing the federal government for failing to protect the Earth and damaging it for future generations. Most of the plaintiffs are teenagers and there are similar suits around the country. (NYTimes)
5. Girl scouts censor criticism on Facebook. This is about animals we promise. And evil girl scout cookies. The delicious treats little girls sell door to door have palm oil as an ingredient. Palm oil is a major reason for deforestation in Malaysia and is significantly damaging wildlife like orangutans and tigers. There is currently a huge push on social media to get the scouts to change their recipe and the girl scout organization has been erasing negative comments from their Facebook page. Not the right move girl scouts. (Grist)
Current Instincts 
Kudos to those teenagers in the 4th story!
Dogs have a long and sometimes unrecorded history with the U.S. military. There were several dogs that stormed the beach at Normandy on D-day, yet how many people have heard of that? In fact, several German shepherds are credited as saving soldiers’ lives on that beach. Every major war, dogs have participated with the U.S. military, it’s a shame this story isn’t told more often. Thanks for helping spread the word.