Tag Archives | smart fish

Can Fish Use Sign Language?

May 7, 2013

(ANIMAL SCIENCE) Two types of fish—grouper and coral trout—have been found to use sign language to help out their hunting buddies. A study published in the journal Nature Communications discovered that the fish are able to “point” their heads toward prey to alert their partners in crime where their next meal is hiding. After studying gesturing grouper in the wild, researchers found that when the prey fish escaped the hunting alliance, a grouper would sometimes move to where the victim was hiding and “signal” the others. Coral trout practice similar gestures, and as a matter of fact, this is the first time “sign language” has been found to occur in animals other than ravens and primates. Read on for more on these signing creatures and this enlightening study. — Global Animal

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Chimps Put Human Memory To Shame

April 11, 2013

(ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE) Evidence is starting to prove that we have seriously underestimated our animal friends’ intelligence as we often test them in ways that work for humans but not with other species. Scientists are finally seeing eye to eye with animals’ intellectual aptitude in both scope and scale while taking into consideration an animal’s anatomy and special abilities. As researchers begin to think about tests from the animal’s perspective, they are finding out that chimps have a better memory than humans among other surprising discoveries. Read on to learn more about how this shift in research is fundamentally reshaping our understanding of animal intelligence. — Global Animal

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Fish Show Intelligence With Tool Use

September 22, 2011

(ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE) AUSTRALIA — Intelligence has often been a trait reserved for animals. However, new evidence suggests that our underwater friends have some tricks – and some tools – up their sleeves. The Tusk fish, a large species of fish found in the Great Barrier Reef, was photographed smashing a shell against a rock on the ocean floor, a clear example of tool use, scientists say. Earlier studies have already proven that fish feel pain. See how this Tusk fish finding is forcing scientists to reevaluate the intelligence and presence of tool use in underwater species. — Global Animal

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Dolphins: Smarter Than Your 3-Year-Old?

February 22, 2011

(ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE) Dolphins are brilliant — the second smartest beings on the planet. Scientists have just declared that dolphins are so intelligent that they should be treated as “non-human persons.”  As such, to exploit them in amusement parks or slaughter them (remember Taiji?) is as morally atrocious as slavery and torture. Read on to learn the implications of this fascinating and important discovery. — Global Animal

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