Fascinating study. It really triggers questions around how animals' memory work - short term vs long-term, trauma vs joy, etc. I have a 2-year French shepherd (Beauceron) who, while being smart, has a very limited long-term memory. I am almost convinced that he cannot make the difference between waiting for me 5 minutes and 5 hours. At the same time, his trauma or joy memory works incredibly well: he perfectly remembers people he only saw 2/3 times when he was 2 months or objects that hurt him. I always feel like animals are trapped between an absolute lack of time and space consciousness and an incredibly sharp conscious of feeling
When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
101–110 of 242 posts
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
What most people don't realize is that most live forms lower on the chain can read our minds. So if the crow's reaction was different based on what you wanted to throw, it's because it knew what you wanted to do before you did it. It was reading your thoughts. Dogs and cats do it too. A few years ago I went to a farm to buy a goat. The younger goats did not know why I was there, but when an older goat saw me and our…
Okay, so these are the kinds of things that definitely need a citation ;) In what sense do you mean reading minds? Genuine mind reading, or basically a kind of intuiting about human intention based on say, body language?
Intuiting is pretty well described in the case of the Clever Hans horse (googleable).
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#103Scientists? Or WITCHES!?!?!?
Seriously though, the human behavior study on this is as fascinating as the animal one, and would be really hard to explain in a Salem courthouse.
And the picture of the masked scientist holding a dead crow? Add that to the library of images that my subconscious will use to manufacture nightmares.
Edgar Allen Poe would be proud if he could see this masterpiece of creepiness.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
You realize you're not supposed to toss around garbage in the national park?
Biodegradable apple cores that he was feeding to birds? I think that hardly qualifies.
I'm not sure about Yosemite or even nature in the US so maybe this wouldn't be an issue, but even biodegradable things like apple cores or egg shells can spread diseases to local populations of trees or birds. That's a real thing to take into account in natural parks with endemic species at least.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#105So here's a story for the books. I live in Sri Lanka and we have massive numbers of crows always flying around in the urban areas causing quite the racket too. They are exceptionally intelligent and have been witnessed hitching bus rides regularly from one town to another. But the story I have happened at a school water polo match. The location the match was being played at had a standard pool and a shallow junior po…
> I assume these were crows who had forever lived
> in urban areas and probably never been shot at
> let alone seen a gun.
- Your assumption that crows don't range outside the urban area is false.
- It would have only taken one crow in the group to be familiar with a gun
- That single individual recognizing it and flying off in a panic triggers the rest to fly off, a behavior typical of herd/flock animals.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
Biodegradable apple cores that he was feeding to birds? I think that hardly qualifies.
Well, ideally "leave no trace" and "don't mess with wildlife" are adhered to when in nature edit: it's also illegal in national parks, carrying up to a $5000 fine and six months in jail
Yes, I have spent a lot of time out in nature and parks, and I generally am aware of not leaving a trace or litter. However, with something like a banana peel, I'd rather it end up as tree food the in a landfill, so I usually toss them in bushes.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#107So fascinating! There is a young girl in Seattle who made friends with the local crows by feeding them, they soon were bringing her regular gifts in exchange for her snacks - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026 I tried to do the same thing in my backyard for about three weeks until one day my wife caught me putting little pieces of bread on our porch railing. She asked what I was doing and I explained making fr…
Perhaps you can change her mind with this:
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Biodegradable apple cores that he was feeding to birds? I think that hardly qualifies.
I'm not sure about Yosemite or even nature in the US so maybe this wouldn't be an issue, but even biodegradable things like apple cores or egg shells can spread diseases to local populations of trees or birds. That's a real thing to take into account in natural parks with endemic species at least.
Huh. I didn't know. Do you have a link on that?
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#109So fascinating! There is a young girl in Seattle who made friends with the local crows by feeding them, they soon were bringing her regular gifts in exchange for her snacks - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026 I tried to do the same thing in my backyard for about three weeks until one day my wife caught me putting little pieces of bread on our porch railing. She asked what I was doing and I explained making fr…
To put the story you linked in context, it's less "little girl feeds a couple of crows" and more "large scale feeding operation" that pisses of the neighbors: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Neighbors-sue-to-stop...
The problem I see with "little girl feeds a couple of crows" is that the "couple of crows" will inevitably grow to a larger number...
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#110So here's a story for the books. I live in Sri Lanka and we have massive numbers of crows always flying around in the urban areas causing quite the racket too. They are exceptionally intelligent and have been witnessed hitching bus rides regularly from one town to another. But the story I have happened at a school water polo match. The location the match was being played at had a standard pool and a shallow junior po…
> I assume these were crows who had forever lived > in urban areas and probably never been shot at > let alone seen a gun. Easy explanation for this that's probably correct: - Your assumption that crows don't range outside the urban area is false. - It would have only taken one crow in the group to be familiar with a gun - That single individual recognizing it and flying off in a panic triggers the rest to fly off, a…
My assumption might be false. It doesn't necessarily have to be false. Our urban area is fairly large.
I agree it would take just one crow to be familiar with a gun. But at the same time, there was no displaying of the gun. The crows weren't in the immediate vicinity. They were mostly on the trees two houses away. The recognition that I had brought out a dangerous object took just a few seconds from the moment I stepped through the door. Even if my assumption is wrong about their past, the fact that some crow(s) took the sight of the gun in so quickly is still pretty darn amazing