It’s been a good week for ... procreation

FIRST there were high-pitched squeaks from the den. Now the new arrival has been confirmed. The first polar bear cub to be born in the UK for 25 years has emerged at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig.

Previously, the December birth had only been signaled by noises heard from the maternity den.

Una Richardson, head keeper responsible for carnivores, said: "Both mum and cub appear to be doing well, though this is still a sensitive time and they need as much peace and quiet as possible."

The enclosure has been closed to the public but is expected to be reopened to park visitors later this month.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s only western grey kangaroo baby can now be seen down under at Edinburgh Zoo. The first ever joey to be born at the zoo arrived in December and has recently started to peek out of its mother’s pouch.

Scotland still waits, however, for those famous pandas to deliver ...

It’s been a bad week for ... pets

Another vital scientific study has been under way. It wasn’t concerned with developing wonder drugs or life-saving vaccines. It was to find out how to talk to dogs.

Scientists from the University of York have found that using "dog-speak" is important in building a bond between dog and owner.

During a series of tests, dogs were spoken to in a high-pitched voice and again in a normal adult voice.

Researchers then monitored which speaker the dogs responded to and wanted to interact with. The tests found that dogs were more likely to favour the speaker who used a high pitch.

The scientists wanted to test whether speaking to dogs in "dog-directed" speech was useful to the animals, or whether humans did this simply because they view pets in the same way as babies.

"Dog-directed" speech involves speaking in a high-pitched voice with exaggerated emotion – in a similar way that adults often talk to small children.

It was found that dogs were more likely to want to spend time with the speaker who had used both "dog-directed" speech and dog-related content. I’m guessing dog-related content means biscuits.

All this is most interesting, but why go to all that bother when everyone knows that dogs just like to talk pawsh?