W hen a predator approaches, does an ostrich bury its head in the sand thinking: “If I can’t see it, it can’t see me.”? Do red rags make bulls lose their cool? Will the relatives of a deceased stoat carry its body in a solemn funeral procession? Elephants, who ‘never forget’, are said to grieve, as do magpies. What truth, if any, lies behind such notions?