Who ever said Mr. Fix-it had to be human?
They say humans are toolmakers, but crows may be just as handy. The birds are known to pry out grubs buried inside trees with twigs. Theyâll then strip off the twigâs bark and bend the end, turning it into a hook to dig out food. (Humans are the only other animals that use hooks!)
To test whether hyenas were team players, researchers built a rig with two dangling ropes. When both ropes were yanked at the same time, a trap door opened, revealing a stash of food. Not only did hyenas work together to pull the ropes, they did it without training (monkeys, on the other hand, needed lots of help from humans to pass the test). Experienced hyenas even taught rookies in their pack how to do it.
Honeycombs are the most efficient structures in nature. They use the least amount of wax for their size, and the hexagonal design makes the structure amazingly strong. It took humans over 2000 years of puzzling to figure that out!
Research shows that cows can feel emotions like fear and anxiety (and they even worry about the future). Cows also love to fix problems. A 2004 study found that when young cows solve problems, their heart rates increase. They even jump and kick when arriving at a solutionâtelltale signs that cows love having Eureka moments as much as we do.
Pretend itâs errand time. You have to visit the supermarket, the pharmacy, and three other stores. All five are at separate locations. Whatâs the most efficient way to get to each one? Mathematicians call this âthe traveling salesman problem,â and itâs harder than you thinkâit can even stump our best computers. However, itâs a snap for Clarkâs Nutcrackers. Each year, these birds collect thousands of pine nuts and bury them in small stashes. When they return to pick up the goodies, not only do they remember where everything is, they can also calculate the fastest route to get them.
When scientists built a snout-controlled game in which pigs had to move a shape across a computer screen and match it with a corresponding shape, they were naturalsâthey even performed better than some monkeys. Pigs are so smart that European regulators require pig farmers to provide âmentally-stimulating activityâ for their swine (boredom makes pigs aggressive), and researchers designed a special video game to keep European pigs busy.
Parrots arenât capable of language, but they are good at imitating it. A parrot named Alex actually learned 100 English words, many of which he picked up without the motivation of food. Amazingly, Alex was able to make up words, too (he called apples âBanerriesââa blend of bananas and cherries). One time, when another parrot mispronounced a word, Alex yelled, âTalk clearly!â
When researchers mapped the brain of pigeons, they discovered the areas for long-term memory and problem solving were wired just like a humanâs. Pigeons are also better at game shows than usâstudies show that pigeons play Monty Hall at a significantly higher success rate than humans.
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