• Question: What's the most exciting science experiment you have ever done and what were you trying to find out?

    Asked by 492anmh47 to Rupert, Ines, Ellen, Cedric, Carrie on 7 Mar 2017. This question was also asked by Joansauleda, Grace.
    • Photo: Carrie Ijichi

      Carrie Ijichi answered on 7 Mar 2017:

      I was trying to find out if an animal’s personality affects how they cope when they’re in pain. I’ve looked at this in horses and dogs now when they’re at the vet and we’ve discovered that two personality factors – Neuroticism and Extroversion – affects how they experience and respond to pain. That’s so exciting because it’s just like what you see in humans and it would let us hlpe the animals that don’t make a big fuss when they get hurt.

    • Photo: Rupert Marshall

      Rupert Marshall answered on 7 Mar 2017:

      Sometimes it’s the small things that you find most exciting. I remember playing birdsong over a loudspeaker and being amazed when a bird flew down and sat on the speaker – it thought there was an intruder nearby! We then used this to ask whether birds from noisy cities recognised the song of birds from quiet countryside. They do but they take longer. This made me wonder if birds might become different species in cities and the countryside – I don’t think they will but it makes an interesting question to try and answer

    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 9 Mar 2017:

      I have done projects rather than experiments as such. I think the most exciting project was probably the biggest one. I was working as a Research Assistant on a project which was looking at if we can assess an elephants welfare based on its behaviour. We were trying to develop basically a ‘tool’ that keepers could use – so they would watch their elephants and answer a series of questions about their behaviour. They would then store this data and use it to monitor behaviour (and therefore potential welfare changes) over time. This has now been implemented across the UK and Ireland which is quite exciting 🙂

    • Photo: Cedric Tan

      Cedric Tan answered on 10 Mar 2017:

      The most exciting would be to find the clouded leopard and where it prefers to live in. Because I had the opportunity to trek the forest for days (hard work) and live in it. It was truly an inspirational experience, when it sealed my love for the forest!

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