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Cognitive scientists from the University of Osnabrück and the Max Planck Society compared the physical and social abilities of common ravens with those of chimpanzees and orangutans. Crows at the age of four months were shown to already produce intellectual performance comparable to that of great apes. The study was published in the journal “Scientific Reports”.
The test was originally used for primates
The research team used an experimental test originally developed for primates and adapted it to ravens. Scientists wanted to find out, for example, whether crows know where to find food. To do this, they hid treats in a cup that was hidden among other cups and moved back and forth like a game of shells. The crows pointed to the correct cup and pecked at it.
“By the age of four months, the raven children are already relatively independent and are beginning to take an interest in non-reproductive associations,” said research director Simone Pika from the Institute of Cognitive Sciences at the University of Osnabrück. These are loose swarms of up to several hundred animals. As a result, young crows would have to be cognitively prepared for these new challenges.
Spatial understanding and social behavior
A total of eight crows aged four, eight, twelve and 16 months were assessed in various task areas, in which, for example, spatial understanding or social behavior such as communication were assessed. They mastered the tests to understand quantities, chains of cause and effect, social learning and communication as well as chimpanzees or orangutans, the scientists found.
More tests will now be developed, which will also include species-specific abilities.
