Giraffes make decisions based on statistical information.
Journal
Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
Titre abrégé: Sci Rep
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101563288
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
04 05 2023
04 05 2023
Historique:
received:
10
11
2022
accepted:
30
03
2023
medline:
8
5
2023
pubmed:
5
5
2023
entrez:
4
5
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The ability to make inferences based on statistical information has so far been tested only in animals having large brains in relation to their body size, like primates and parrots. Here we tested if giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis), despite having a smaller relative brain size, can rely on relative frequencies to predict sampling outcomes. We presented them with two transparent containers filled with different quantities of highly-liked food and less-preferred food. The experimenter covertly drew one piece of food from each container, and let the giraffe choose between the two options. In the first task, we varied the quantity and relative frequency of highly-liked and less-preferred food pieces. In the second task, we inserted a physical barrier in both containers, so giraffes only had to take into account the upper part of the container when predicting the outcome. In both tasks giraffes successfully selected the container more likely to provide the highly-liked food, integrating physical information to correctly predict sampling information. By ruling out alternative explanations based on simpler quantity heuristics and learning processes, we showed that giraffes can make decisions based on statistical inferences.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37142606
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-32615-3
pii: 10.1038/s41598-023-32615-3
pmc: PMC10160108
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
5558Subventions
Organisme : Fundació Barcelona Zoo
ID : PRIC 2019
Organisme : Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
ID : FPU19/06208
Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s).
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