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Maggie Richards
Richmond, California, US
I am pretty sure my leopard gecko knows who I am. When she was a couple of years old, I went away for several days, leaving her in the care of my son. Upon my return, I went in to say hello to her. She looked out, did a double-take, then came all the way out of her hide, apparently to see if it was really me. She may recognise me using scent and aural cues as well, but this was the first – and only – indication that she can identify me by sight alone.
Geoff Sawers
Reading, Berkshire, UK
In her answer to this question, Sara Paisa writes about her local magpies in Bucharest recognising her face. Where I work, a colleague of mine has a small patch of flat roof just beside his desk and he regularly throws unsalted mixed nuts onto it for the local carrion crows to enjoy.
Now, he and I are both slim, white men in our 50s and might look similar to a crow, but if I approach his window, the birds scatter at once. I am clearly not the human that they have so carefully trained to bring them treats.
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