Ducklings are much smarter than we think

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by Plazma Inferno!, Jul 15, 2016.

  1. Plazma Inferno! Ding Ding Ding Ding Administrator

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    Researchers from the University of Oxford revealed ducklings can understand the concepts of 'same' and 'different', a capability only observed in intelligent animals like primates, crows, and parrots.
    Young animals typically learn to identify and follow their mother through a kind of learning known as imprinting, which can take place in less than 15 minutes after hatching. Imprinting is a potent kind of learning that helps ducklings to follow any moving object, provided they see it inside the 'sensitive period' for imprinting.
    In this new study, published in the journal Science, hatchlings were shown a pair of items moving in a circular path that were either the same as or different from each other, in form or in color. This was designed to 'imprint' these pairs of moving items on the ducks.
    Interestingly enough, the ducklings tested understood these concepts inherently, while the other animals had to be trained through reinforcement.

    http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113415023/ducklings-intelligence-071416/
     

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