Giraffes are many things. Elegant. Enigmatic. Tall, obviously. But maths nerds?
Well, a team from Barcelona Zoo argues they can use basic statistics by predicting the odds of getting their favourite snack, proving they have brains and beauty.
The ability to make statistical inferences is considered a highly-developed cognitive function, but has only previously been studied in large-brained animals such as primates and parrots.
Testing the abilities of two male and two female giraffes, the team showed each individual two containers containing varying proportions and amounts of their preferred snack, carrot sticks, and less-preferred courgette sticks.
The researcher then covertly picked up a treat from each container in a closed fist so the giraffes could not see what had been selected – although the see-through containers were still in view – and held out both options for them to choose from.
In at least 17 out of 20 trials, the giraffes were reliably able to select the container that was more likely to produce their favoured carrot sticks.
The authors used control conditions to rule out whether the giraffes were using other information such as smell, and eliminated alternative explanations based on learning processes.
First author Alvaro Caicoya, a PhD student at the University of Barcelona, said: ‘The results of the study suggest that large relative brain sizes are not a necessary prerequisite for the evolution of complex statistical skills.
‘Statistical abilities might provide crucial fitness benefits to individuals when making inferences in a situation of uncertainty, and it should not be surprising if these abilities are widespread across animal taxa.
‘For example, the savannah environment in which giraffes live is characterised by widely spaced trees. Therefore, being able to identify from a distance which trees have the best proportions of leaves and flowers that the giraffes want to consume likely provides an evolutionary advantage.
‘This ability allows giraffes to conserve energy by avoiding unnecessary travel to less desirable food sources, and instead focus their efforts on reaching the trees that provide the most beneficial nutrients.’
Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the team added: ‘Giraffes were surprisingly fast at solving the first experimental task, requiring on average 1.2 sessions to reliably select the correct container in at least 17 out of 20 trials. In contrast, keas tested with the same procedure required an average of 3.9 sessions, and up to 11 sessions, to solve the task.
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