Is It More Than Animal Instinct?

The oldest bird on record is a Manx shearwater that lived to be approximately 55. These foot-long birds have an average wingspan of 33 inches. They live in colonies of hundreds or thousands; and when they nest, they burrow into sand or dirt to hatch their eggs underground. Shearwaters spend much of their day foraging for food from the ocean – sometimes flying as far as 600 miles from their nesting grounds. More amazingly, shearwaters migrate from the UK to their winter home off Brazil’s coast – 5,000 miles a year. Because of their accuracy, however, these birds of a feather flock together.Researchers flocked together at a symposium on “Animal Smarts” to discuss the latest discoveries showing that human abilities are expressed in other species. Although the ability to plan ahead was thought to be uniquely human, crows stash food for the next day and protect it from being stolen. Baboons can distinguish which pictures show similar objects, demonstrating the ability to handle concepts. Macaques monkeys can sum up sets of objects without counting them, demonstrating a sense of numbers. Experiments are now being done to see if these monkeys can understand the concept of zero – an important concept for human animals to understand in a down economy. Bonnie, a 32-year-old orangutan at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., knows how to whistle. Bonnie wasn’t taught to whistle. She learned by imitating zookeepers who whistled when they worked near her compound. When Bonnie hears a short whistle, she can respond with a short whistle. When she hears a long one, she can respond with a long one. Primate researchers believe this is strong evidence apes can re-create sounds of other species. They also believe Bonnie’s musical abilities can lead to a better understanding of how human speech evolved. So while Bonnie whistles, researchers work.Of course, not everything animals teach themselves to do is considered a scientific breakthrough. A tiny, two-spotted, female octopus at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is known for being curious. She taught herself how to pull out the valve in her tank, flooding the building with hundreds of gallons of sea water. Although no sea life was harmed, the brand-new, ecologically designed floor might have been damaged by the water. If an octopus can teach herself to pull out a valve, why can’t human animals teach themselves to pick aquarium flooring than can’t be damaged by water?