TIL: #anthropodenial

Frans de Waal has studied the behavior of primates for five decades. Some of his many important observations center around the evolution of morality and just how much we have in common with the animal kingdom.

The idea that animals are always in conflict with one another and competing for resources is “totally wrong,” de Waal says.

Other primates, specifically chimpanzees and bonobos, have demonstrated a range of traits and tendencies typically regarded as human, including empathy, friendship, reconciliation, altruism, and even adoption.

#animal_cognition #animalcognition

https://bigthink.com/the-well/primate-behavior/

#animal_cognition

Orangutans use slang to ‘show off their coolness’, study suggests

Primates come up with new ‘kiss-squeak’ alarm calls that spread quickly through communities, research says

[…]

The team found high-density communities of orangutans used a wide range of novel calls, but with a high turnover, meaning many rapidly fell out of use. By contrast small groups came up with new calls less frequently, but tended to retain novel calls when they occurred.

[…]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/21/orangutans-use-slang-to-show-off-their-coolness-study-suggests

#animal_cognition #animalcognition

https://twitter.com/horacezhl/status/1503436584212828164

#animal_cognition

Research: Horses exhibit their cognitive skills by asking humans for help with a problem

Japanese study offers evidence of how horses use visual and tactile signals to get humans' attention and action

[…]
The study also suggested that horses alter their communicative behavior based on humans’ knowledge of the situation, and that they do use visual and tactile signals to communicate their need.

https://equusmagazine.com/blog-equus/horses-exhibit-cognitive-skills-human-problem-54757/