January 7. “So my younger daughter gave you a tight hug today, Button!”

“I love being hugged. And now that you’ve made me sit on the floor, I’ll be at eye level with Rani and Mowgli when they come to chat with me. But it was you who asked your daughter to hug me: Thank you so much.”

“You’re very cuddly. I must tell you what I observed for quite a while this morning. I was in the kitchen when I saw this ant on the counter with something between its tiny jaws. It looked like some kind of food particle. It then raced ahead, dropped the morsel which was picked up by another ant and this process continued till a third and a fourth ant came by, picked up the morsel and disappeared inside a small crevice. I watched with rapt attention and figured that they were obviously storing food for the rainy day.”

“But how did the second, third and fourth ant know that the first had found food?”

“Ant language, I guess! Animals, reptiles and insects must be having some kind of language or communication method they use to talk with each other. I am sure they find our way of communication strange like we don’t understand their means of communication. ”

“Interesting.”

“A New Zealand researcher found that the undersea isn’t as quiet as we think. Fish actually ‘talk’ to each other through noises including grunts, chirps and pops, discovered University of Auckland marine scientist Shahriman Ghazali. All fish can hear but not all make sound. Fish are believed to communicate with each other for different reasons including attracting mates, scaring predators or orienting themselves. Do you know the fish that has the ability to hear very well but doesn’t make any sound whatsoever?”

“No. I don’t have a clue.”

“Goldfish: The fish we have at the club.”