Stark Raven Mad

 

In other blog posts, I have told of the intelligence of ravens, crows, and other corvids. These birds have been shown to use tools, create tools, and communicate danger to others in their area. Recently, another study has shown greater detail on the communication abilities of these remarkable birds. The study shows that when one raven dislikes its food choices, this mood toward food can be passed along to others such that they have a negative expectation of their food choices as well, even before the naive ravens had any idea of what might be in a food box. Thus, the “glass half-empty” attitude was communicated and transferred to other ravens who had not yet had a reason to be pessimistic. The “how” of this empathy transference is unclear but it is likely the same mechanism used to warn fellow crows about dangerous individuals on a university campus. More studies are needed to bring light to the amazing social communication of these birds. Watch this blog and Science News for more developments.

Plan Like a Raven

Many will know of my fascination with crows, ravens, and other members of the Corvidae family. This group of birds also includes the jays, magpies, and whisky jacks (grey jays). I have previously described (blog posts here and here and my favourite here) the great intelligence of these birds (specifically the Corvus moneduloides or New Caledonian crow) and so it comes as no surprise that a recent study[1] links one member of this family to the ability to plan for the future. A group of common ravens (Corvus corax), studied at the Lund University of Sweden, was found to be at least as good as small children and apes at “flexible planning.”[2]

A series of behavioural experiments revealed that the ravens were capable of planning for the future beyond common instincts they would have experienced in the wild. Some of the behaviours exhibited included the ability to select a rock that was useless to them then but proved to be useful in getting a food treat later. They could also delay gratification by choosing a useful rock, over an average treat, which would later allow them to retrieve a spectacular treat. There were further ways in which useful tools were purposely set aside for later use.

Seeing this intelligence in these birds causes some to marvel at the mystery of the universe and see a natural progression of intelligence in evolutionary systems. For others, it results in praise for the Creator’s perfect intelligence that bestowed upon these beasts a portion of intellectual prowess. For some of us, it does both.

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[1] C. Kabadayi and M. Osvath. Ravens parallel great apes in flexible planning for tool-use and bartering. Science. July 14, 2017. Vol. 357, p. 202. doi:10.1126/science.aam8138

[2] https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ravens-pass-tests-planning-ahead-unnatural-tasks

Otters, Shells, and Genomes

Science News is asking questions about animal intelligence in an article about otters and tool use in a March 21, 2017 article. The article entitled, “Tool use in sea otters doesn't run in the family,” suggests that using rocks to crack open snails and other shells to get at the rich food inside, may truly be a learned behavior that each generation must discover.

Those who read this blog regularly will know that I am fascinated with the intelligence of animals. (You can read a quick summary here and find links to other articles on this subject in the same place.) Most of the writing and reading I have done on this subject has emphasized the learned aspect of such behaviour. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that crows teach other crows the techniques related to breaking open mussel shells and staying away from strangers. So, it is not surprising that researchers are having a difficult time finding the gene responsible for tool use in otters. However, I would caution us that just because a gene carrying this propensity has not been found, does not mean that the gene does not exist. The author of the paper even admits this when she suggests that “sea otters may all be predisposed to using tools because their ancestors probably lived off mollusks, which required cracking open.” Could it be that all otters carry the gene for tool use and only use it when necessary?

I am thankful for authors who give us interesting summaries of research papers. At the very same time, I am cautious about how that data is characterized. I encourage us to read with great discernment, “wise as serpents and gentle as doves.”

Animal Intelligence

I am fascinated by the intelligence of animals. On the farm where I grew up, we often had Border Collie dogs who were intelligent working dogs. They were exceptional herders and one dog was capable of finding the milk cows in the field and herding them into the barnyard on his own. Our daughter and son-in-law have an intelligent Border Collie family pet who knows the names of several of his toys and will go and find the “Star” or “Chain” or another toy when asked. Border Collies are thought to be one of the most intelligent dog breeds; yet, compared to other animal species, dogs may not even be the most intelligent animals on the planet.

Previously, I have written about the intelligence of crows. One of the more interesting studies reported that crows had the ability to recognize “bad guys” and communicate this information to other crows. New Caledonian crows have been shown to have the ability to make tools to aid them in foraging for food (see this article as well).

Dolphins, another intelligent species, appear to have methods of communicating with each other that humans cannot yet understand. They have been shown to create tools such as bubbles blown from their own bodies for hunting and play. They will also use naturally occurring sponges as tools for digging for buried fish.

Some apes have been shown to have complex thinking that allows them to guess where another ape will look for hidden food. They have the ability to deceive other apes for their own benefit.

Of course, the most intelligent of animal species is still very limited in how far this intelligence can develop. Even intelligent dogs may be more intelligent than very small children, but the toddlers eventually surpass the intelligence of even the smartest of dogs. Yet, it is fascinating to see that humans are not the only species on the planet with some measure of communicative and problem-solving intelligence. 

For a summary of some of the research on animal intelligence, you might want to read an article that appeared in the March, 2008 issue of National Geographic.




Collection of links used in this article:

http://hungerandthirst4.blogspot.ca/2013/11/avian-einsteins.html  

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/crows-share-intelligence-about-enemies-1.1014915. 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/different-kind-smart

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/297/5583/981

http://aquaticmammalsjournal.org/share/AquaticMammalsIssueArchives/1989/Aquatic_Mammals_15_2/Gewalt.pdf

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/these-genius-dolphins-are-using-sea-sponges-as-tools/361168/

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/chimps-other-apes-take-mind-reading-humanlike-level

 

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/animal-minds/virginia-morell-text

 

Tools and Tool Management

Those who regularly read this blog will know that I have a fascination with crows. I have repeatedly sung their praises as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet (see here; here; and here). So, when I read another paper about crows and tool use, I naturally wanted to write about it here.

The results of a study published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B1, show that not only do New Caledonian Crows use tools, but they also store them for future use. Crows who use sticks to extract food out of holes in the ground or holes in trees will sometimes set the stick aside in a safe place to ensure that the tool is available for the next time it is needed. The authors suggest that the birds are being protective of their tools. We might compare this to the way some humans protect and organize tools in their garage.

While reading this paper I followed some of their references and was surprised to find another paper that referred to a number of aquatic species that use tools. I did not know that there were so many animals capable of tool usage. There are species of dolphins that “wear sponges for protection during foraging;” sea otters that use kelp as a net to trap prey; other sea otters that use rocks as hammers to open shells; and hermit crabs that “carry anemones for protection from predators.”2 It seems that tool usage is a well-documented phenomenon in a number of species. I look forward to better understanding this behavior in the future as we continue to be surprised by the world in which we live.

1 Context-dependent ‘safekeeping’ of foraging tools in New Caledonian crows
Barbara C. Klump, Jessica E. M. van der Wal, James J. H. St Clair, Christian Rutz; Proceedings of the Royal Society B; June 2015; Volume: 282 Issue: 1808; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0278 Published 20 May 2015
2 Tool use by aquatic animals; Janet Mann, Eric M. Patterson; Proceedings of the Royal Society B; November 2013 Volume: 368 Issue: 1630; DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0424 Published 7 October 2013

Avian Einsteins

You may already know of my interest in crows, jays, and other intelligent bird species. (If not, you can catch up by reading previous blog posts here and here.) Today I want to share with you another interesting study that suggests that crows have the ability to teach other crows to avoid dangerous human individuals. Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have performed a fascinating field study in urban Seattle. The "dangerous person" researchers put on "cave man" masks and then engaged in threatening behaviours with the crows of a certain area of the campus: they trapped, banded, and released the crows while wearing the "dangerous person" mask. Later when researchers walked about in the same area of the campus, wearing the "dangerous person" mask, crows scolded them from tree-tops and other safe distances. The crows did not react to other persons wearing different but similar masks. Their eye for detail made the scolding very specific. Both crows that had been "threatened" (trapped, banded, and released) and those that had not been threatened engaged in the scolding. This indicates that the crows are capable of communicating the danger of certain individuals to companion crows and family members. The researchers showed that it was not simply one type of mask that got a response from the crows by repeating the experiment in different regions using different masks for the "dangerous persons" and "safe persons."

This research suggests a couple of things. First, crows are intelligent enough to know a person who has done something scary to them. They recognize individual people and can tell us apart by facial recognition. Second, they can communicate information about individual people to each other. Even crows that had not been scared by certain individuals knew the particular face that belonged to a person who was a potential threat. This suggests that their communicative powers are better than we might have expected. Whatever the mechanisms, the communication methods are sufficient to communicate complex information about facial characteristics.

I am inspired by the intelligence of both the birds and the researchers. The researchers carefully designed their field research and were alert to test alternate theories. As the researchers readily admit, it is field research, as opposed to the controlled setting of a laboratory, and is therefore messy; but by not over-interpreting the results these investigators have contributed to the scientific knowledge base. The crows have once again shown themselves to be intelligent, protective, and communicative. This is another testimony to the glory of our God who created birds with intelligence. This inspires me to praise men, crows, and God.

"Crows Share Intelligence About Enemies;" CBC.ca/Technology and Science; June 30, 2011 (accessed 2013-11-17) http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/crows-share-intelligence-about-enemies-1.1014915.