Turtle Recall
Despite a reputation for being slow, giant tortoises from the Galapagos and Seychelles Islands can demonstrate remarkable memory skills over time, according to the results of a new study. The massive reptiles are not only capable of learning new tasks quickly but can remember their training nearly a decade later, say researchers.
Read my post about the study on my Animal Minds blog: Turtle Recall.
Empathy as a 'Danger Antenna' in Rats
Rats are social animals, exquisitely attuned to the emotions of the rats around them. In a new study published in PLoS Biology, researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience show that rats may use this sense of empathy as a way to gauge danger.
Read the whole story at my Animal Minds blog: Empathy as a 'Danger Antenna' in Rats.
Delay of Gratification in Kids and Crows
One measure of self-control is the ability to delay gratification; namely, the ability to wait in order to obtain a more valuable outcome in the future over a less valuable immediate one. In children, the capacity to delay gratification develops between the ages of three and five years old. In a new study, researchers used a rotating tray apparatus that allowed them to test both three- to five-year-old children and New Caledonian crows.
Read my post about it on my Animal Minds blog: Delay of Gratification in Kids and Crows.
Dogs Demonstrate Episodic-Like Memory
In humans, episodic memory refers to the recall of a specific autobiographical event – a memory of what happened, where it happened, and when it happened. It was initially assumed that episodic memory is unique to humans, but more recent evidence has brought that assumption into question.
Although we can’t know whether an animal travels back in time in their mind to subjectively remember specific events, like humans do, experiments have revealed memories for what-where-when in animals such as birds, rats, and nonhuman primates -- and now a new study suggests dogs should also join the club.
Read the whole story at my Animal Minds blog: Dogs Demonstrate Episodic-Like Memory.
Vampire Bat Friendships
Mutual grooming and blood regurgitation form the basis of vampire bat friendships, which can last for years. And new research shows that relationships forged in captivity can persist once bats are back in the wild.
Read my latest Animal Minds post: Vampire Bat Friendships Persist from the Lab to the Wild.