Problem solving in European bison (Bison bonasus): two experimental approaches.

ABSTRACT: The ability to solve novel problems is crucial for individual fitness. However, studies on problem solving are usually done on few taxa, with species with low encephalization quotient being rarely tested. Here, we aimed to study problem solving in a non-domesticated ungulate species, European bison, with two experimental tasks. In the first task, five individuals were presented with a hanging barrel filled with food, which could either be directly accessed (control condition) or which could only be reached by pushing a tree stump in the enclosure below it and stepping on it (experimental condition). In the second task, five individuals were repeatedly fed by an experimenter using a novel bucket to retrieve food from a bag. Then, three identical buckets were placed in the enclosure, while t

SUBMITTER: Caicoya AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8080012 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature