|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 0:51:04 GMT -5
www.futurity.org/intelligence-brain-size-1095812-2/ Polar bears prove smarter animals have bigger brains Posted by Layne Cameron-Michigan State January 26th, 2016 Scientists have suspected that brain size is linked to intelligence, but there’s not been enough evidence to show that a bigger brain predicts cognitive ability. To gather the evidence,researchers traveled to nine US zoos and presented 140 animals from 39 different mammalian carnivore species with a novel problem-solving task. The study included polar bears, arctic foxes, tigers, river otters, wolves, spotted hyenas, and some rare, exotic species, such as binturongs, snow leopards, and wolverines. Each animal was given 30 minutes to extract food from a metal box, closed with a bolt latch. The box was scaled to the animal’s size and baited with each study animal’s preferred food—red pandas received bamboo and snow leopards got steak. “Does a larger brain imply greater intelligence?” asks George Gilchrist, program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Environmental Biology, which helped fund the research. “This is a key question for those studying brain evolution. “These researchers devised a clever puzzle that could be presented to multiple species—and discovered a strong correlation between relatively large brain size and problem-solving ability.” 70% success rate for bears Overall, 35 percent of the animals successfully solved the problem. The bears had an almost 70 percent success rate, and meerkats and mongooses were the least successful, with no individuals from their species solving the problem. “Our results are robust, showing that having a larger brain really does improve the animal’s ability to solve a problem it has never encountered before,” says Kay Holekamp, Michigan State University professor of integrative biology and the paper’s senior author. “This study offers a rare look at problem solving in carnivores, and the results provide important support for the claim that brain size reflects an animal’s problem-solving abilities and enhance our understanding of why larger brains evolved in some species,” says Sarah Benson-Amram, University of Wyoming scientist and first author of the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study also showed that neither manual dexterity nor living in larger social groups improved problem-solving success. “A hypothesis that has garnered much support in primate studies is ‘the social brain hypothesis,’ which proposes that larger brains evolved to deal with challenges in the social domain,” says Holekamp. “This hypothesis suggests that intelligence evolved to enable animals to anticipate, respond to and perhaps, even manipulate the actions of others in their social groups. “If the social brain hypothesis can predict success at solving nonsocial problems, then we would expect that species that live in larger social groups should be more intelligent. However, we did not find any support for that prediction in this study.” Scientists from the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota were also part of this research team. NSF’s Divisions of Biological Infrastructure and Integrative Organismal Systems also provided support. Source: Michigan State University Original Study DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1505913113
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 0:52:44 GMT -5
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120829-black-bears-cognition-animals-science/ Black Bears Can "Count" as Well as Primates By Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News PUBLISHED AUGUST 31, 2012 Do black bears count in the woods? Possibly, according to a recent study that shows the mammals are as smart as primates. In experiments, captive bears showed that they could perform numerical tasks, including distinguishing the number of dots on an image. Even though bears have the largest relative brain size of any carnivore (still not as big as primates), surprisingly little research has been done on their cognitive abilities, according to the study. (Read "Animal Minds" in National Geographic magazine.) The new research shows for the first time that "bears and other animals that have been neglected by cognitive scientists ... may show abilities similar to species more like humans," study co-author Jennifer Vonk, a comparative psychologist at the University of Oakland in Rochester, Michigan, said by email. Will Work for Food For the experiment, three black bears in their enclosure in Alabama's Mobile Zoo were given the opportunity to approach a touch-screen computer on a rolling cart. The large carnivores, which are generally "motivated to work for food," proved willing participants, Vonk said. When a bear walked up to the computer, the screen flashed two images—for instance, a set of large dots and a set of small dots, which were both randomly colored black or red. Each bear was already trained to touch the computer with its nose or paw, and would do this to choose an image, according to the study, published in June in the journal Animal Behaviour. If the bear touched the "correct" category—randomly determined by the scientists—the computer beeped melodically and the animal got a food reward. If the bear touched the incorrect category, the computer buzzed and the next pair of images was shown. To show if the bear had learned what image was correct (say, a high or low number of dots), the scientists showed them a new set of images that were of the same type as the previous ones. The results showed all the bears were able to choose the correct image that got them food. It set the stage to look closer at their ability to "count." (See National Geographic's bear videos.) "Counting" Bear A further experiment discovered that one bear, named Brutus, could also discriminate numbers. Brutus was shown two images—one with a set of large dots and another with a set of small dots. This was followed by another two images, in each of which the dots were moving and placed on a background of a different size than the previous images. The bear still chose the correct image despite these "conflicting cues," suggesting he can "count" the dots to distinguish the one to get him a treat, Vonk said. (Watch video: "Smart Animals.") Even so, "it's too early to call it counting per se," she noted. Because the task was voluntary, Vonk struggled with the bears all trying to participate at once—knowing a treat was imminent. "The hardest part was giving only one access to the screen," she said. (See bear pictures.) Dave Garshelis, who was not involved in the study but serves as bear project leader at the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources, said that the bears may have found it relatively easy to respond to the color of the dots because they resemble berries, one of the black bear's main food sources. For instance, black bears are able to discern the preferred ripe blackberries—which are black—from unripe blackberries, which are red. He also added that the experiment was geared toward visual acuity—the most comfortable sense for humans, but not so much for bears, whose sense of smell is a thousand times greater than a person's. In the experiment, "you've actually stripped them of their main sense that they make decisions by, which is their sense of smell," he said. Garshelis suspects the bears would have performed even better on the tests if there'd been smells emanating from the screen. Bears Evolved Smarts to Find Food? It makes sense that bears would be smart—as loner omnivores, the animals must problem solve to root out a variety of food sources, the authors noted. (See "Fish as Good as College Students in Numbers Test.") Garshelis agreed that bears' cognitive abilities may result from them having to respond to rapidly changing food sources. "Imagine if you were on a buffet line and you're moving through and making the choice of what to put on your plate, and the people who set the food up are constantly changing it in front of you and you never know what's coming," he said. That's what bears face when finding fruit each summer, which can be abundant one year but scarce the next, he said. Roger Powell, a bear expert at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, agreed, adding via email, "All I can say is that from over 20 years of doing research on bears, I was constantly impressed with their intelligence. "They are highly adapted to find new foods that become available and to take advantage of foods that are very different and that must be acquired in new ways the bears have never used before," said Powell, who was not involved in the research. Overall, the finding may open up possibilities for comparing the cognitive abilities of bears and primates, Vonk said. Primates have been performing computerized tasks for decades. "It is exciting to consider," the study said, "that such divergent species can be tested in the same way to promote a fuller picture" of animal smarts.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 0:54:59 GMT -5
arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/social-carnivores-arent-smarterits-all-in-the-relative-brain-size/ SCIENTIFIC METHOD — Social carnivores aren’t smarter—it’s all in the relative brain size Despite their bulk, bears are the champion puzzle solvers. JOHN TIMMER - 1/28/2016, 12:07 PM Animal intelligence varies widely. Some have cognitive abilities that were once thought to be limited to humans, while others seem to act purely on instinct. It's not simply a matter of having large brains; birds don't have especially large ones, but they can master complicated problems or learn the solution from others in their social network. So what can explain animal intelligence? One general trend that has been noted is that the size of the brain relative to the rest of the body seems to matter. Birds may not have big brains on an absolute scale, but their brains are relatively large compared to their body mass. Others have also noted that lots of the animals we consider smart seem to operate in social groups. These include birds, primates, elephants, and dolphins. A new study looks at problem-solving across a wide range of carnivores and finds mixed support for these ideas. Belonging to a social group didn't seem to make a difference, but having a large brain to body ratio did. The surprising (or perhaps worrying) thing is that the brain to body ratio was high in some of the biggest carnivores tested: bears. The approach used here was simple, if limited. Researchers had devised a metal puzzle box that they could put food into. They took versions of this box, scaled for animal size, to zoos, where they handed it over to 140 different carnivores, which collectively represented 39 different species from nine families. They then tracked how long the individuals took to solve the problem (if they did at all), along with a variety of other measurements. Over all, 23 of the species represented managed to solve the problem at least once, with 35 percent of the individuals being successful. Within that average, however, were some clear winners and losers. Befitting their reputation for having a "will do anything to get food" attitude, 70 percent of the bears managed to solve the problem, an average brought down by the southeast Asia's sun bear, the smallest of the lot. Raccoons and their kin also performed well, with half of them successful; weasels of various sorts managed just under half. When looking for smarts, however, you can skip the mongooses, which completely failed to get at the food even once. (Enigmatically, nine animals managed to open the box but didn't bother to take the food inside it. Eliminating these cases did not change the results.) One of the striking things about that is that the mongooses were a social species. Other social species (like wolves) did reasonably well, but in the end, it was a wash: social species had no advantage in this test. Rating the species for manual dexterity, which might make the task easier, showed no correlation. What did matter was the brain size relative to body mass. You'd think something as large as a bear might need an enormous brain to compensate, but that's apparently not the case. The authors tested the volumes of some individual brain regions but found none of them showed a statistically significant connection to the success of the animal. And the weak correlation between absolute brain size and success wasn't significant when relative brain size was taken into account. These findings are in keeping with a number of past studies outside the carnivores. It also makes sense in terms of a general trend among the carnivores: there's no relationship between relative brain size and a tendency toward forming social groups among these animals. There are a number of limitations to this study. As the authors note, they're testing a small number of animals and subjecting them to only one test—they're not capturing all the dimensions of intelligence. But within the limits, the experiments were remarkably thorough. Zoos can also have very different environments and enrichment programs, which could affect these outcomes, but the authors included a variable that tracked the zoo in their statistical model and found it had no predictive value. Still, the results raise some questions about the relationship between intelligence and social interactions. And some of the researchers are testing the puzzle against carnivores in the wild, which could help avoid some of these limits. PNAS, 2015. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1505913113 (About DOIs). Promoted Comments Schizoid Ars Praefectus et Subscriptor JUMP TO POST MisterAlex wrote: Did they record/publish any footage of the animals at work? I'd love to watch them "figuring out" the puzzle box. I wonder how complex it was. Yes ... go to site given.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 0:57:52 GMT -5
I don't know of any other animal other than some humans and the grizzly that has an eye for beauty. Grizzlies have often been observed simply sitting and enjoying a picturesque panorama of natural beauty. The eyesight of bears is not so bad as once thought to be. In fact, most experts now believe that a bear's eyesight is very similar to that of a human, including color vision. The night vision of a bear is similar to that of a wolf or a dog. To enjoy beauty one must possess a high level of intelligence.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 1:09:12 GMT -5
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/arctic-bears-bear-intelligence/779/ Held in awe by Native American Indians, classic characters in folklore, feared, trapped, hunted, displayed in zoos and made to perform in circuses, the bear has long had a complicated relationship with humans. The bear intimidates with its size and strength, but it may be the bear’s undeniable intelligence that causes us to revere the creature even as we fear him.Considered by many wildlife biologists to be one of the most intelligent land animals of North America, bears possess the largest and most convoluted brains relative to their size of any land mammal. In the animal kingdom, their intelligence compares with that of higher primates. As highly evolved social animals, bears form hierarchies and have structured relationships with each other, sometimes even sharing resources. In fact, the polar bear, typically thought of as solitary, actually lives within a community of other polar bears and never loses track of other members.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 1:18:49 GMT -5
www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2010/11/28/animal-iqs.html 3. Draw: Grizzly Bears vs. Polar Bears Climate change is pushing these two species together into a battle for resources and wits—and most scientists’ money is on the grizzlies, whose stronger teeth and skulls will help them win a potential battle for scarce food. Disappearing Arctic ice, on which polar bears depend for hunting, will force them to turn to vegetarian food sources—something grizzlies are better designed to do. Grizzlies also have been found to have the largest and most complex brains of any land mammal relative to their size; they can recognize other animals they’ve seen as long as 20 years before. But don’t count out polar bears: There’s no scientific agreement on which species has the higher IQ, but some researchers believe polar bears have an intelligence roughly equal to the smartest primates.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 1:20:23 GMT -5
wherethebearwalks.blogspot.com/2010/04/bear-intelligence.html SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010 Bear Intelligence Because of the slow, plodding nature of bears, they're not really thought of as being all that intelligent, even though circus bears are trained to ride bikes and roller skates, play musical instruments, and other routines of such remarkable complexity that no other animal could master them. Most people overlook this instead of realizing that it speaks to a high level of intelligence and cognitive ability within the bear. In fact, they've been found to have a brain almost as convoluted as that of a human being and many biologists readily admit that bears are equal to the great apes and even dolphins in their intelligence. Some take that a step farther and claim that some bears have the IQ of a three-year-old child. What's most interesting is that this level of intelligence and cognitive reasoning is not often observed among bears in the wild. A possible explanation for this is that a bear in the wild is so driven by the single-minded purpose of survival and finding enough food before the onset of winter that the full scope of what they're capable of must often take a backseat to wild instinct. Researchers like Else Poulsen and Doug Seus have shown that when a bear is kept in captivity, well-fed, cared for, and given a stress-free life, the other side of their nature becomes more apparent and takes precedence over instinct. Doug Seus has worked with grizzlies for 33 years and says that never a day goes by when he's not amazed by what they're capable of. He says that his Kodiak Bart the Bear was at least as intelligent as a chimpanzee and was still not that remarkably intelligent as grizzlies go. He recounts a story in which a flash flood had washed a Coke can and a thorny hawthorn tree into a ditch alongside his Utah home. Bart attempted to retrieve the can but was deterred by the sharp thorns. Looking back and forth from the can to a two by twelve plank lying nearby, Bart picked up the plank and used it to press the branches down so he could retrieve the can. Else Poulsen witnessed some of the most amazing evidence of intelligence while working with captive bears as a rehabilitator for a zoo. A grizzly would run her paws over herself in a washing motion to indicate that she wanted a bath and would use her nose to point to the part of her body that she wanted washed. If in pain, the bears would point with their noses to whatever it was that hurt and would then bite down on their paws to indicate pain. One young bear - shunned from play by two older bears - did the same thing, apparently to indicate emotional pain. The polar bears showed the greatest intelligence, one very pointedly demonstrating to Poulsen why frozen chickens don't make good toys: they thaw out in water! Likewise, Charlie Russell's bear Chico seemed to understand Russell's interest in bears and taught him a simple greeting that they shared only between each other. Lily the Black Bear was seemingly smart enough to associate her den cam with Lynn Rogers. Whacking it with her paw during play, she gazed wide-eyed at the camera, sniffed it, licked it, and cooed reassuringly at it in the same way that she would to calm her cub, all of this apparently an apologetic gesture. Larry Kaniut's Alaska Bear Tales tells the story of a hunter who encountered two grizzlies. He shot and killed one and pursued when the other one, a female, ran. He cornered the grizzly in a river trying to climb a steep embankment, but the slope was too muddy and she kept sliding back into the water. Trapped between the slope and the man, the hunter said the bear moaned and wailed when he raised the gun. Surprised, he lowered the gun....and then raised it again. He did this repeatedly, getting the same reaction each time the weapon was raised. Finally, he says that the bear lowered her head into the water and drowned herself. As disgusting and horrifying as the story is, if it's true it says a lot about a bear's cognitive ability and - for me - explains why some attacks against humans are so aggressive and merciless. In Stephen Herrero's Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, the story is told of a radio-collared black bear being tracked on foot by a researcher while the man's father patrolled overhead in an airplane. In order to throw off his tracker, the bear built several nests in different locations, then entered a stream, backtracked 50 yards, and slipped into thick foliage. The man refused to give up and by late afternoon, the sun was melting the snow and rocks appeared. The bear used this to his advantage, stepping from rock to rock, leaving no trail behind. Finally the researcher picked up the tracks again and followed them until they stopped, disappearing into thin air. This time the bear had walked backwards, placing his feet precisely into his tracks, and went back in the opposite direction, eluding the man. Ben Kilham's Among the Bears recounts his experiences raising several different sets of cubs in New Hampshire. Not only did his work show how impressionable they are in their youth and how one bad experience during that formative time can scar them for life, but also that they're capable of altruism, a quality that was previously only thought to be found in human beings. But not only did they show altruism for other bears, but for other forms of life that they encountered! They demonstrated how clever, intelligent, and adaptable to changes in their environment they really are. Testing that intelligence, Kilham presented them with a mirror, hoping to find evidence of self-awareness. In every case, the young bears reacted as if they were meeting another bear, but after sniffing the mirror and running circles around it to find the other bear, they seemed to decide that they were looking at their reflections. They were observed dragging objects in front of the mirror and playing while watching themselves. Kilham concluded that it would never be enough to convince most scientists, but it seemed to him a demonstration of some level of self-awareness. Perhaps the best and most famous example of this level of intelligence being observed in the wild was with the Mud Creek Grizzly of Glacier National Park. The bear had been captured twice by biologists over a two year period for research purposes. Finally the bear decided he'd had enough of that and began to fight back. After a trap site had been set up with bait and cameras, he would sneak into the area, tear down the plastic strips that marked the trail to the site, set off the traps with rocks and sticks, steal the bait, gnaw on the camera until it popped open, remove the film cartridge, and smash it on a rock. This happened several times before biologists decided it best to leave the animal alone before it started taking its frustration out on people....as one research bear did in 2003. This bear was first captured by biologists during the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska and was tracked down, tranquilized, and captured every summer thereafter. When released for the last time, the researchers reported it as exhibiting "strong, abnormal aggression towards human beings" (Gee, I wonder why). A short time later, the bear was killed and identified as being responsible for the deaths of Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend. That should be a very clear warning to biologists and researchers whose actions towards an animal that they don't fully understand could end in disaster somewhere down the line. Unfortunately, it's a warning that I don't think many will even bother to acknowledge. These are just a few of the countless examples of bear intelligence and cognition that are out there, so the next time someone says you're smarter than the average bear, you can rest assured that you're pretty well off.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 1:22:49 GMT -5
Here are two young, highly intelligent mammals.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 22, 2017 6:06:19 GMT -5
The Grizzly by Enos Mills.
Grizzlies often show courage and strategy by hiding and lying in ambush for a pursuing hunter. On one occasion I had been following a grizzly for a number of days, trying to get his photograph at short range. He knew I was in pursuit. Finally, he doubled back on his trail a short distance and crouched behind a log. His tracks as I followed them passed along the other side of this log, and continued plainly ahead of me across the top of a snow-covered moraine ( Webster - moraine - a mass of rocks, sand, etc. left by a glacier ). But as I approached the log, the wind stirred the bear's fur and gave me warning.
A grizzly appears to understand that his tracks reveal his movements. I was once following one that had been wounded by a hunter to see where he went and what he did. He circled from his trail and came back to it over logs and rocks, which left no markings, and hid in a clump of fir trees. On seeing this possible place of ambush by the trail, I turned aside and climbed a pine to reconnoiter. When the bear realized that I had discovered him, he made off in anger.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 22, 2017 6:09:49 GMT -5
MAN MEETS GRIZZLY - Gathered by F.M.Young - 1980. It is the conclusion of all who have studied this bear that the development of the repeating rifle, with its long range and massive power, limited the story of the white man and the grizzly bear to one century. Yet even during one hundred years of hunting and destruction of the bears, continuous and mounting conflict with settlers, and shrinking wilderness preserves, as ranchers took over the ranges, the grizzly has managed to survive by his skills. Enos Mills claims that the grizzly developed the trait of concealing his trail, and thus eluded pursuit, out of necessity, after coming into contact with the white man and the repeating rifle. There might be truth to this, because it is common knowledge that the grizzly bear fears only man and other grizzlies. His resourcefulness, historically, has enabled him to survive in areas where other animals have become extinct, as the Tar Pits of Los Angeles testify.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 22, 2017 6:15:03 GMT -5
As hinted at in above post, I believe that the small numbers of bear fossils as compared to the large number of wolf and big cat fossils are a testimony of the bear's intelligence. Perhaps a bear is capable of perceiving the hidden dangers of a tar pit. Consider that the bear, having a greater sense of smell than a big cat or even a wolf, could locate the abundance of carcasses trapped in the sticky tar. Yet, bear fossils in the tar pits are rare.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 24, 2017 12:07:59 GMT -5
Brains and Brawn is better than Brawn alone.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Apr 20, 2017 16:25:23 GMT -5
The Bear “reached even deeper into his bag of tricks and came out with something new-backtracking,” relates American lack bear biologist Gary Alt, in Stephen Herrero's Bear attacks, “...suddenly, his tracks simply vanished. There were no rocks, no water, nothing to conceal his tracks. I went back to his tracks. This time I noticed there were toe marks at both ends, even though there was no evidence...to indicate the bear had turned around. I followed them back about 50 yards and found where the bear had jumped off the main trail, walking away in a direction perpendicular to his old tracks.” Strong circumstantial evidence has existed for over two hundred years that polar bears use ice blocks or rocks to kill seals. Bear biologist C. Jonkel tells of polar bears using small rocks to spring traps. Studies at the University of Tennessee psychology department indicate that American black bears are very intelligent, probably more so than many other mammals of the world. They open door latches and screw-top jars, recognize uniforms and vehicles. On one occasion, two five-year-old American black bears ran to a group of humans for security when a larger bear arrived. Enos Mills noted in The Grizzly-Our Greatest Wild Animal
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Jan 9, 2018 5:59:42 GMT -5
IMO - I believe that, not only the grizzly but bears in general are highly intelligent animals. Which bear species is the smartest is up for grabs. I believe that bears rank on an even keel with the elephants and great apes; probably just below the corvus ( ravens and crows ) and the whales and dolphins.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Jan 10, 2018 16:17:36 GMT -5
From page #1 of this topic: Considered by many wildlife biologists to be one of the most intelligent land animals of North America, bears possess the largest and most convoluted brains relative to their size of any land mammal. In the animal kingdom, their intelligence compares with that of higher primates.
|
|
|
Post by Polar on Jan 10, 2018 22:32:42 GMT -5
I'd actually put bears (and most mammalian carnivores) closer to primates, humans, elephants, dolphins, and ravens in intelligence.
After all, intelligence is very very hard to assess and captive animals prove this very well.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Jan 11, 2018 2:42:51 GMT -5
I believe that it takes greater intelligence to be a large omnivore than to be a pure-predator. More skills involved. Besides that, I have read reliable reports of bears doing amazing things that no wild cat or wild dog would ever conceive of. Such as a bear hiding his tracks by stepping only on rocks and log-tops where snow has already melted. Or a bear in snow back-tracking, placing each foot into a track thus hiding his real direction. Or, the mama bear who slices ridges into the side of a deep dried-up creek for her cubs to use as a ladder. Or, how about the grizzly who figures out how to kill the electricity of an electric fence so as to get to a dumpster. Another thing is learning about natural medicine - thus the Indian legends of the medicine bear. Other intelligent animals manage to learn about numerous herbs, roots, etc. and precisely which remedy to take for what sickness or problem. Elephants, great apes, and bears are all well known for this. No, foxes, wolves, wild cats and other members of Carnivora are smart; but bears are miles ahead of them.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 12, 2018 3:24:25 GMT -5
By Louisa Willcox - www.grizzlytimes.org/ I am part of the dominant white culture that displaced and killed the first Americans, took their land, their wealth, their buffalo and gave them disease instead. I grew up in the land of the Leni Lenape and now live on what was an Indian summer camping area north of Yellowstone Park. Shoshone, Bannock, Blackfeet -- lots of tribes passed through. I would love to have seen it back then. And woolly mammoths too. We all have much to learn and relearn from ancient cultures and their complicated relationships with wild animals. Where the grizzly bear lived, traditional people told stories about the grizzly bear as a relative, healer, mentor and guide. Everywhere people and bears crossed paths similar stories were shared about their interdependence. This makes sense: bears are so much like us. They stand up on hind legs like we do. They eat the same things that we do (fish, nuts, meat, berries, roots). They nurture their young for years and teach them just about everything they need to go about making a living in the world. They are smart, powerful, resourceful, intelligent, with incredible memories and problem-solving abilities. Even their bare feet look like ours. Who learned what from whom about what was good to eat and what was good for medicine? We were, undoubtedly, watching each other closely. As scientists now know, the grizzly bear is an animal that can doctor itself (for example, by eating dirt in Yellowstone to clean its system out and replenish depleted potassium in the spring), and selects certain plants at specific times of year. Of course people wondered at such behavior, checked it out, and passed lessons on to the next generation. And bears may well have done the same as they watched people.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 15, 2018 17:28:01 GMT -5
There were fewer American lion fossils found in the La Brea tar pits than saber-toothed cats or scimitar cats. Why? ( IMO ), the same reason there are fewer bear fossils. Panthera atrox was the smartest of all known cats ever. Intelligence pays off.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 20, 2018 3:14:13 GMT -5
I have, for many years now, considered bears to be up near the top when comparing animal intelligence. Measuring intelligence is not an exact science, but I would place the bear on an even keel with the elephants and great apes and perhaps ( maybe ) surpassed by a few bird species such as crows and ravens and the whales and dolphins. No other members of the Carnivora can compete. www.organicspamagazine.com/bears-are-smart/ The Average Bear is Smarter than We Thought. Bears can count, use tools, solve problems and communicate—with us. The more scientists learn about animals, the more it seems that every species—from forager ants (who have demonstrated self-awareness by recognizing themselves in a mirror) to humpback whales (who compose lengthy, stylized songs that contain rhyming phrases)—has its own kind of sentience and intelligence. Even familiar animals, such as dogs and cats, are constantly surprising us with their emotional sensitivities and cognitive abilities. Dogs have shown us that they have a sense of fairness and are capable of understanding not only words, but even conceptual categories. Cats—despite their reputation for being disinterested and aloof—seem to be able to read our moods and look to us for clues about how to respond to novel situations. Another animal whose intelligence is finally being recognized is the bear. It seems strange that scientists have only recently started to explore bear intelligence because wild bears have long been known for their problem-solving abilities that enable them to get into “bear-proof” trashcans, open door latches, and manipulate other barriers to reach food. Captive bears have demonstrated an even greater capacity for learning, and have been trained to ride bikes, roller skate, play musical instruments and engage in other complex tasks. For a long time, one of the hallmarks of intelligence was tool use, and both wild and captive bears have been observed using objects as tools. In the wild, grizzly bears have been seen using branches as back scratchers and rocks and shells to scratch their faces. Captive bears are no less resourceful. Animal trainer Doug Seus once saw a captive grizzly use a plank of wood to create a bridge over a patch of thorny branches so that he could traverse the spiky terrain without injury. A few years ago, researchers at Washington State University’s Bear Research Education and Conservation Center decided to conduct a formal study of tool use by grizzlies. The researchers hung donuts out of reach and left a stump nearby, on its side. To access the donuts, the bears needed to figure out how to roll the stump directly under the suspended donut, flip the stump onto its flat side to create a makeshift footstool, and then use it to reach the donut. One bear, named Kio, was the first to figure it out. Biologist Lynne Nelson, who directed the study, said that Kio clearly demonstrated that she understood how to manipulate an object in order to achieve a goal, which qualifies as tool use. Nelson and her colleagues also observed grizzlies using other objects in tool-like ways, including using a single claw in a key-like manner to try to open locks. Else Poulsen—a biologist who devoted her life to the care and study of bears—witnessed compelling evidence of bear intelligence throughout her career. Poulsen described one grizzly who developed a gesture for requesting a bath. When this grizzly wanted to bathe, she would run her paws over her body in a washing motion. According to Poulsen, other bears communicated by gesture, too. When in pain, some of the captive bears would point with their noses to the part of their body that hurt and then bite their paws to communicate to Poulsen that they were hurt. Grizzlies are not the only bear species whose intelligence has surprised scientists. Psychologist Jennifer Vonk taught three American black bear siblings—named Bella, Brutus and Dusty—to use a touch screen computer by touching it with their noses or tongues. Vonk taught the bears to use it to find out if bears could differentiate between quantities, or count. So bears aren’t just smart—they are really smart: They can count, use tools, solve problems, communicate across the species divide, and more. And they are emotionally complex, too. Poulsen told another story about captive bears communicating with gestures. In the same group of bears that communicated physical pain by pointing and biting, there was a young bear that was repeatedly shunned by the other bears in her enclosure. When this bear wanted to play with the others and was rejected, she used the same gesture, biting on her paw, to indicate that she was in pain. There was nothing physically wrong with the bear, so Poulsen interpreted it as the bear’s way of communicating emotional pain. Poulsen’s story reminds us that there are far more commonalities of heart and mind between humans and other animals than we ever imagined.
|
|