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Animal Learning and Animal Culture: Some Examples

Here's a list of examples of animal learning and animal cultural behaviors:

  • Dogs can learn word meanings after a single exposure (called fast mapping, which is how children pick up vocabulary so quickly) and fetch specific objects from verbal commands only.
  • Chimps, bonobos, and gorillas, with a lot of training, can learn to associate some words with some objects. (However, they don’t even begin to “get” the symbolic essence of language.)
  • Capuchin monkeys can learn to use money. Male capuchins even purchase sex with money.
  • Ravens and apes deliberately cheat or fool each other when it’s advantageous.
  • Chimpanzees use tools and teach tool-making and tool-use to other chimpanzees.
  • Crows make and use tools without being taught by other crows or by humans.
  • Male zebra finches are aware of the social relationships of others of their species, and modify their relationships with females accordingly.
  • Baboons can transmit local baboon cultural practices to outsider baboons who join the troop.
  • If you whisper the right things in your horse’s ear, you can lead him to water and make him float on his back.

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