The Lake Country Echo, MN
04-04-07
Inside the Outdoors: 'Dumb animals' are smarter than we think
By Mike Rahn
Columnist
Few would argue that humans are kings of the hill, the "big dogs" among the
creatures with whom we share the planet. ItÕs not that we are important and the
rest are not. But, thanks to a brain with capabilities well beyond our non-human
neighbors, we - for good or ill - have gained dominion over the earth.
But we may be selling our fellow creatures short if we presume that we're the
only species with genuine problem-solving abilities. Publications like "Scientific
American" and professional journals like "Current Biology" have recently
presented some compelling evidence. This may not come as a complete shock
to hunters and anglers, who, all too often, find ourselves outsmarted by creatures
whose brains are the size of a pea or a marble. This has been happening for as
long as there has been hunting and angling.
So what's this new evidence of intelligence? The April issue of "Scientific
American" describes some amazing problem solving by ravens. The raven, like
its very close relative the crow, is widely considered to be among the most
intelligent of birds.
Researchers tied a tidbit of food to a string, and suspended it from a perch used
by the ravens. The ravens didn't dive or fly at the food, or hover in an attempt to
seize it. They lifted the string with their beak, then held it with their foot until they
could shift their grip on the string, and lift it higher. They repeated these steps
until they could seize the food. Pretty shrewd!
Another example was published recently in the scientific journal "Current
Biology," which is written for professionals in that field. Researchers from Iowa
State University and Cambridge University in England described never-beforepublicized observations of chimpanzees, living in the African country of Senegal.
Chimpanzees have commonly been seen using small sticks to probe rotting
wood for termites. This is not unique; some birds use sticks, or thorns, to find
insects, too. But the researchers found these particular chimps sharpening sticks,
which they used to impale a smaller primate, called a "bush baby" - a staple in
their diet - in the holes in trees where they hide. Maybe Planet of the Apes was
not so far-fetched after all.
Closer to home
You don't have to go to Senegal to see survival creativity in wild creatures.
Anyone who has ever tried to foil a squirrel that is raiding a bird feeder knows
how resourceful these bushy-tailed rodents can be. They can climb down chains
and cables headfirst, spring laterally from adjacent limbs or tree trunks, or chew
through rope or cord to drop a feeder to the ground for an easy meal. I won't
even get into what they can do when they take up residence in your attic. Little
wonder that there is - honest - a squirrel control Web site.
In waters where most fish we catch must be released, anglers often find that
success becomes markedly more difficult over time. Once they've survived the
less-than-pleasant experience a few times, fish may become shy of certain lures
that are in common use. No one knows this better than the trout angler who
fishes on no-kill waters. Certain flies and lures that initially are effective often lose
their appeal. This happens with other fish, as well.
Similar stories come to us from the history of upland bird hunting. A classic
example begins with the release of ringnecked pheasants in New England in the
first quarter of the 20th century. When first hunted, the birds were dumb as
doorknobs. In fact, they were shot virtually on rural doorsteps. But that soon
changed, and the ringneck of today - wherever it is hunted - is considered one of
the most wary and resourceful birds.
Ruffed grouse, too, have changed their behaviors over time. In the days of the
market hunter, grouse generally would "lie well for the dog." This meant that
when a pointing dog approached a grouse, it would generally sit tight rather than
run or fly. When the gunner came up to his dog on point, he could expect to find
the bird hiding anxiously in the underbrush, somewhere within scenting distance
of the dog.
Today ruffed grouse are still successfully shot over pointing dogs. But many birds
will not sit tightly for a dog, and will run - the bird's preferred mode of travel - or
fly, rather than crouch and wait. The grouse today is clearly not the grouse of our
great-grandfather's day. It is much tougher to bag.
Some of these changes in wild creatures' behavior are due to natural selection;
the more wary, or innovative, survive and pass on their modified behavioral
tendencies through their genes. Other changes, such as when fish become more
wary after being caught over and over, are simply conditioning.
But the point is that creatures far below our level of intelligence are nevertheless
capable of some pretty sophisticated - some might say amazing - adaptations. As
students of nature have long known, those who use the expression "dumb
animal" do so at their own peril.