Mila is a beluga whale at an aquarium in Harbin, NE China. The pool she lives in has an arctic temperature and is also used by divers. In a recent exercise, diver Yang Yun got into trouble and was unable to kick her way back up the surface. But suddenly she felt herself being pushed upwards – Mila was rescuing her.
According to reports, “Mila had spotted her difficulties and using her sensitive dolphin-like nose guided Yun safely to the surface.”
One of the staff is quoted as saying: “Mila noticed the problem before we did. She’s a sensitive animal who works closely with humans and I think this girl owes her her life.”
Belugas are very social and because they are so chatty, they are also known as sea canaries. When you have to swim great distances under ice in the Arctic Sea, it helps to be a good communicator so you can keep up with your pod and let each other know what’s going on. Sadly, beluga whales are yet another threatened species.
Apes, crows and dolphins have been seen to make and use tools. Now, captive rooks have joined the band of animals who are “tool users.”
Rooks have not been seen to use tools in the wild. But not only can they use tools, they can use two in succession and they can make new ones. This BBC article reports research in which the rooks worked out how to get a food treat from a apparatus consisting of a tube and a small trap door. They needed to choose a suitable stone and drop it into a tube to release the trap door and get their treat. They chose the heaviest stone as the most likely to be weighty enough to make the trap door open. They also had to choose from different-shaped stones, not all of which would fit into the tube. They chose the best-shaped stone! Here’s the film of the clever rooks with rocks.
Rooks are even more clever than we thought. Photo: foxypar4
The birds also quickly learnt how to bend a straight piece of wire to make a hook, so they could pull up a small container with food in it from the bottom of a test tube. It is amazing to see! Watch the film clip.
Betty, a captive New Caledonian crow, was the only captive bird who had previously been seen to do this. Crows in the wild do use tools, such as twigs and leaves. They use their beaks to make these tools into a satisfactory shape and then pick up ants and other insects. They also use grass stems. The rooks showed they can use and make tools too; three out of four made a hook in their first trial. One of the researchers pointed out: “The study shows the creativity and insight that rooks have when they solve problems.”
Rooks also understand that they can work in pairs to get a good food source. In this experiment, also reported by the BBC, researchers put two hooks on a small tray which had treats for the rooks, and then put a length of string through the hooks. The rooks were in an enclosure and the tray was just out of their reach. To pull the tray to them and get the food, each rook needed to pull on the strings at either side of the tray. The rooks all worked this out – some immediately and others took a bit longer. The rooks’ understanding of this “need for team work” is said to be as good as that of chimpanzees. Here’s the film clip of the dexterous rooks.
Rooks and crows are both in the corvid family, along with jackdaws, jays, magpies and ravens. These birds have long had a reputation for being clever and researcher Nathan Bird at the University of Cambridge said: “I would rate corvids as being as intelligent as primates in many ways.”
Date, time and venue:
Thursday 25 June 2009
7.00pm – 9.30pm Prince Albert Suite, ZSL London Zoo, Outer Circle, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY
Jane Goodall and friend. Image (c) Michael Neugebauer
Dr Jane Goodall’s pioneering studies of wild chimpanzees revolutionised our knowledge about the sentience of these amazing animals.
This event is an exciting chance to meet Dr Goodall, hear more about her fascinating life and work, and take part in an informative question and answer session. Tickets are £20 for members of the Jane Goodall Institute and £40 for non members.
Mockingbirds can quickly recognise individual humans who seem to be a threat to their nest. After only a short time, the birds recognise someone who has bothered them and make big efforts to drive them away. But they ignore other passers-by or nearby strangers.
This research took place at the University of Florida, where Professor Doug Levey, a zoologist, is reported as saying:
Mockingbirds can quickly learn to recognise individuals
“We don’t know whether it’s unique to mockingbirds, but it does suggest these birds are a heck of a lot more intelligent than people have ever given them credit for. People have known for a long time that crows and parrots for example have a lot of intelligence. But these birds are fairly small. … It’ll change the way people view the intelligence of birds like this.”
The mockingbirds live in what is considered to be a natural environment, and researchers say their scientific paper will be the first published research to show that “wild animals living in their natural settings recognize individuals of other species.”
These clever birds show us yet again that we need to respect animals’ abilities when human actions affect their lives.
Snowball, a cockatoo who lives at a bird rescue centre, seems to love to dance. This clip shows us that Snowball can keep time as well as many humans!
Scientists looked at YouTube videos to see which animals could do this. Alex the African Grey parrot was famous for his abilities to count and to distinguish between colours and shapes – and he could also keep the beat. In fact, the video search found that 14 different species of parrot who kept time to music.
The scientists said: “Our analyses showed that these birds’ movements were more lined up with the musical beat than we’d expect by chance. … We found strong evidence that they were synchronizing with the beat, something that has not been seen before in other species.”
They suggest that the parts of the brain used for copying sounds are also involved in this ability to keep in time with the beat.
Jane Goodall’s observations of chimps revolutionised our knowledge of them as sentient beings. Chimps have strong family bonds and are skilled at using tools.
Santino, a chimp who is in a zoo in Sweden, has attracted huge media interest by his planning for the future. Chimps in zoos are known for throwing stones at visitors. But Santino has been searching his enclosure for stones and loose concrete. He has been both storing these up, and making discs out of concrete, to later throw at visitors to the zoo during what are called “dominance displays” (perhaps when he is stressed or fed up at being stared at).
Santino - a very clever chimp
The signs are, then, that chimps can plan for the future. Previously scientists had thought only humans were capable of planning ahead in this way, but based on these kinds of observations, it is likely that other animals can too. Dr Osvath, Santino’s researcher, is reported as saying: “I bet there must be a lot of these kinds of behaviours out there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we find them in dolphins or other species.”
What’s more, planning is not the end of Santino’s abilities, as the article tells us:
“Most interestingly, Santino seems to have learned how to spot weak parts of the concrete “boulders” in the centre of the enclosure. When water seeps into cracks in the concrete and freezes, portions become detached that make a hollow sound when tapped. Santino was observed gently knocking on the “boulders”, hitting harder to detach bits that were loosened and adding those to his stashes of ammunition.”
You can see Santino on the film clip below. Lives of Animals.org has some concerns with this clip. Firstly, it is entitled “Naughty chimp’s human ways”, when Santino is not “naughty”. The report says that if he carries on his “naughty ways”, staff will keep him indoors. Santino already has a far from natural life and it’s important to seek a better answer such as enriching his environment, rather than restricting it further.
Zoo staff are said to be calling Santino "The Thinker."
Animals are capable of experiencing a rich quality of life and Santino’s story shows us how clever they can be. In our treatment of animals, we need to pay attention to their quality of life.
