tall and smart! Science discovers the remarkable ability of giraffes | capital Cities

A new study published in a scientific journal indicates that giraffes are able to make decisions based on statistical information

Known for their massive necks, giraffes outshine other land animals—quite literally. However, the species does not stand out only for its height. A study released Thursday (4/5) indicates that large mammals are able to make decisions based on statistical information.

Research published by the journal Scientific reports, that giraffes are able to choose, from several options, the container containing their preferred food, based on statistical concepts. Previously, only large-brained animals, such as monkeys, had highly developed thinking abilities.

“Large relative brain sizes are not a necessary condition for statistical skills. The ability to make statistical inferences could be widespread in the animal kingdom,” said study author Alvaro Kakuya of the University of Barcelona.

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In the experiment, a male and two female giraffes were placed in front of two transparent boxes with vegetables. They each had different ratios of zucchini and carrots, the latter being the preferred choice for the mammals. Soon after, the researchers took a little bit from each pot with their hands, without even seeing it.

The animal then indicates which hand it wants to eat from, using only the recipients’ information. In 17 of the 20 trials, giraffes reliably chose the hand with the highest number of carrots.

In the second test, the amount of carrots was the same in both bowls, but the correct choice had fewer zucchini slices. Once again, the mammals managed to choose correctly. They also did well on a third try.

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You don’t need a big brain to think

The giraffes’ decisions were based on the relative frequencies of the food in the containers, rather than on other information such as smell. Because the animals were successful in all three tests, the researchers concluded that they used statistical concepts.

“The results of the study suggest that relatively large brain sizes are not a necessary condition for the development of complex statistical skills,” Alfaro stressed, suggesting that the ability to think may indeed be pervasive in the animal kingdom.