 (Bihar Times) Many people would argue that the human capacity to understand numbers is one of the abilities that sets our species apart. But research indicates that all animals can do the same and often make lifesaving decisions based on numerical ability: To fight or to flee based on how many predators they encounter; or pick an area with more food.
Can animals "count", or make choices based on number ?
Research at the University of Tokyo, Japan showed an Asian elephant named Ashya’s skill at addition. When a trainer dropped three apples into one bucket and one apple into a second, then four more apples in the first and five more in the second, the elephant recognized that three plus four is greater than one plus five, and chose the first bucket.
Horses count too as experiments showed the horses could keep a tally of how many apples were going into the containers before deciding which bucket to investigate.
Wild lions use a numbering system to handle approaching lions. Biologist Karen McComb of Sussex University used a loudspeaker and recordings of male lions to experiment. She observed that, if they hear the roar of one individual male lions will send two or three females to investigate the stranger. If there are two approaching lions they keep their number advantage by sending a welcoming committee of four. The lions were skilled at working out the exact numbers in other prides and when their own members were missing.
Studies at the Brandeis University in Massachusetts suggest that some birds may have a better grasp of numbers than the average three-year-old child even comprehending the concept of zero—an abstract notion that human children rarely understand until around four years of age..
During an experiment Alex the African Grey was presented with blocks in differently colored sets of two, three, and six. When researchers asked Alex which color group had five blocks, he answered, "None." The researcher set up tests in which the parrot consistently identified zero quantities of objects with the label "none." Alex had never been taught to use "none" to indicate an absence of a quantity—that idea he came up with by himself in indicating his understanding of zero.
In an experiment, a pigeon was offered one grain at a time. All the grains were edible, but the seventh grain was always stuck to the dish. the pigeon quickly learned to count to six grains, and when the seventh grain was offered it refused to peck at it.
Bruce Lyon, a biologist at the University of California discovered that coots can keep a reckoning of the eggs they lay. Like the cuckoos, the coots lay eggs in other nests of their own species . Females usually stop laying when their overall clutch reaches a certain size. The host birds lay one fewer egg for each parasitic egg received indicating a counting mechanism is in place. Visual egg-counting is a skill common to many birds.
A test on crows’ counting ability was done by having people enter a room, then leave. Crow behaviour showed that with up to seven people involved, they knew when there was someone still in there.
Cormorants ,used by Chinese fishermen to catch fish ,that were given every eighth fish as a reward keep count .In one experiment on the Li River, it was observed that, once their quota of seven fish was filled, the birds stubbornly refused to move again until their neck ring was loosened so that they could eat the eighth fish. They ignored an order to dive and resisted a rough push, sitting motionless on their perches. Other birds that had not filled their quotas continued to catch fish as usual.
In one experiment pigeons and budgerigars were trained to eat only a given number of seeds from a much larger number they saw. Seeds were delivered one at a time down a chute into a dish. The time interval between deliveries was varied to prevent the birds estimating the time rather than the number of items taken. The birds rarely went wrong..
According to researchers in Germany, bees can count. Honeybees were first trained to forage at a feeder after they had flown over a certain number of yellow tents in a longer line of such landmarks. When the spacing of the landmarks was changed, the bees flew down to land on the feeder after they had flown over the critical number of landmarks, whether or not the landmarks were closer together or further apart.
In an experiment two rhesus monkeys were shown 35 sets of images on a screen. Each picture contained a different number of different objects, for example, one triangle, two bananas, three hearts and four apples shown in random position, colours and sizes . When the monkeys touched the pictures in ascending order up to nine, they received a prize. If they made an error, a new trial began with different pictures. The monkeys did consistently well.
To test whether the monkeys understood non-consecutive numbers the researchers showed the monkeys one picture with five large circles and another containing seven small circles and asked them to grade the order with the lowest first. Both responded correctly even when the number of objects in the pictures exceeded four.
An authority on animal thinking, Hauser knew that primate experts such as Jane Goodall had observed male chimpanzees in their home territories attack chimp intruders from other communities—but only when the odds favored them at least three-to-one. These observations implied that chimpanzees knew how to count. To find out if the animals truly heeded the numbers, Hauser traveled to Uganda’s Kibale Forest and set up a loudspeaker inside a known chimp territory. The researchers broadcast a recording of a foreign male’s “pant-hoot” vocalization, simulating a newcomer in the neighborhood. When female chimps heard the recording, they remained silent and even moved away. If one or two males heard the interloper, they also kept quiet. But when a group of three or more males heard the call, the balance tipped, and the neighborhood vigilantes erupted in fierce screams, crashing through the jungle toward the source of the sound. For the scientist, this was concrete evidence that numbers matter.
If you want to find the world's greatest mathematician, just visit the ocean or look up at the birds in the sky. Nature has endowed many animals and plants with built-in mathematical abilities that, from a human perspective, are truly remarkable
Keith Devlin , professor of mathematics at Stanford University has written about the innate mathematical abilities of animals. In his book “ The Math Instinct “ he describes the lobster, which has a navigational system that humans can match only with trigonometry, the most sophisticated global positioning systems, timekeeping devices and computer power. A lobster senses variations in the Earth’s magnetic field to determine its location and find its way back, even after being taken out of the ocean, driven in circles and dropped in a new location.. .
Another intriguing example of navigation is provided by the Tunisian desert ant. This tiny creature wanders across the desert sands for fifty meters until it stumbles across the remains of an insect, bites off a piece and takes it directly back to its nest -- a one millimeter hole. How does it find its way back? For humans, this requires arithmetic, trigonometry, a sense of speed and time, and a good memory. Human mariners and lunar astronauts navigate by charts, tables, measuring instruments, and mathematics. The tiny desert ant has none of these. Which means that they calculate the horizontal projection of the distance traveled, estimate the slopes, multiply the traveled distance by the cosine of the angle of inclination to work out the ground distance.
Mathematician Tim Pennings, was at the beach when he discovered that his dog could do calculus. When he threw a ball into the water, his dog ran along the beach and then jump into the water and swim at an angle toward the ball. This he realized was a good strategy . Swimming is slow compared with running, so swimming all the way to the ball would take longer even if the route is more direct. On the other hand, running along the beach adds to the total distance the dog must go to get to the ball. The best bet is a compromise between the two—running a certain distance along the beach before plunging into the water. Pennings collected 35 sets of measurements, went home and used calculus to find the fastest route. It took him about an hour to come up with the same solution that the dog could figure out in a fraction of a second.
What more proof do you want that each species is exactly alike and that when you use them badly and eat them, this is not a human eating meat but an act of cannibalism ?
Comments...
It’s a very good article by Ms Meneka Gandhi. Her articles are value addition in today’s world. We all thank her for her time and incredible writing on issues concerning Bihar.
Gopal
Melbourne
email - Gopal.Keshri@team.telstra.com
To join the animal welfare movement contact gandhim@nic.in |
