PURRFECT STUDY A.V. PROFESSOR TO EXAMINE BEHAVIOR OF DOMESTIC CATS.Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer LANCASTER - An Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. professor is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. mangled, half-chewed mice, sparrows, gophers and other critters killed by house cats. Dr. Callyn Yorke is studying the ecology and behavior of domestic cats, and wants Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley residents to bring in the creatures their cats have killed and carried home. ``I think people are actually pretty proud of their cats and what they bring in,'' said Yorke, a zoology zoology, branch of biology concerned with the study of animal life. From earliest times animals have been vitally important to man; cave art demonstrates the practical and mystical significance animals held for prehistoric man. professor. ``In talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to cat owners some of them actually keep what their cats bring in, in the freezer.'' The cat study is a project Yorke tried to implement several years ago but couldn't get enough cat owners to participate in. Yorke hopes to find 100 cats and their owners for this study, which will last through the spring semester. Yorke says he is neither a cat lover, nor a cat hater. ``I don't have any cats, but I'm interested in their behavior,'' said the professor, who once taught a course called Biology of Behavior. One of the questions Yorke hopes to answer is what impact cats have on native species of birds and mammals. Other questions are: Does the age of a cat affect the number and kinds of prey taken? Are female cats more effective hunters than males? ``There are actually a lot of different questions that can be answered,'' Yorke said. ``We want to increase the general understanding of domestic cat ecology and we want to give the students a hands-on project that they can work on during the semester and learn the scientific procedure - in other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently a science project they can tackle - and lastly to educate the cat owners as to what they (cats) do.'' Owners who wish to enroll their cat in the study will be asked to fill out a profile listing their cat's age, weight, sex and hunting habits. Whenever their cat catches a creature, the owner will bag it and fill out a form to accompany the deceased victim to a freezer in Yorke's classroom. For squeamish squea·mish adj. 1. a. Easily nauseated or sickened. b. Nauseated. 2. Easily shocked or disgusted. 3. Excessively fastidious or scrupulous. cat owners, Yorke said his students will retrieve the dead critters if necessary. Yorke will start collecting information on the cats as soon as owners sign up. He will then turn the information over to several biology majors to work on when the next semester begins in January. Yorke said he may invite the cat owners to attend his students' final presentation on their findings. ``We're gonna have some fun with this,'' Yorke said. As an incentive for cat owner assistance, Yorke will offer a drawing for prizes including a one-year membership to the Los Angeles County Museum Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, Calif. The original museum opened in 1913. Among its important patrons was William Randolph Hearst, whose enormous collection brought the museum major status among the country's art houses. of Natural History and a membership to the Los Angeles Audubon Society. Those interested in participating in the study can contact Yorke at (661) 722-6437 or by e-mail at cyorke(at)avc.edu. |
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