Keas Perform Similarly to Chimpanzees and Elephants when Solving Collaborative Tasks.

ABSTRACT: Cooperation between individuals is one of the defining features of our species. While other animals, such as chimpanzees, elephants, coral trout and rooks also exhibit cooperative behaviours, it is not clear if they think about cooperation in the same way as humans do. In this study we presented the kea, a parrot endemic to New Zealand, with a series of tasks designed to assess cooperative cognition. We found that keas were capable of working together, even when they had to wait for their partner for up to 65 seconds. The keas also waited for a partner only when a partner was actually needed to gain food. This is the first demonstration that any non-human animal can wait for over a minute for a cooperative partner, and the first conclusive evidence that any bird species can successful trac

SUBMITTER: Heaney M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5310852 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature