Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is a cause of major economic losses to goat producers in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Disease is caused by members of the Mycoplasma genus – usually "Mycoplasma capricolum" subsp. "capricolum" but sometimes by "M. mycoides" subsp. "capri" or "M. mycoides" subsp. "mycoides". It is extremely contagious with very high morbidity and mortality rates, causing an interstitial fibrinous pleuropneumonia in infected goats. Infection is spread by close-contact aerosol, therefore overcrowding and confinement increases disease incidence. Stress factors such as malnutrition and long transport can also predispose animals to disease. Goats are the
Talking animal Talking animal A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal language, however, these are not defined as language because they lack one or more of the defining characteristics, i.e. grammar, syntax, recursion and displacement. Researchers have been successful in teaching some animals to make gestures similar to sign language. However, these animals fail to reach one or more of the criteria accepted as defining language. The term refers to animals which