Science
Giraffes combine quantities similarly to addition
Key Points
In addition to humans, some species of primates and birds have demonstrated under experimental conditions their ability to manipulate quantities in tasks that require combining or separating them, in a manner similar to addition or subtraction. Now, a study by the University of Barcelona, published in the journal Scientific Reports, reveals that some giraffes are also capable of deciding which of two options contains more food after mentally combining two quantities, a process comparable to...
In addition to humans, some species of primates and birds have demonstrated under experimental conditions their ability to manipulate quantities in tasks that require combining or separating them, in a manner similar to addition or subtraction. Now, a study by the University of Barcelona, published in the journal Scientific Reports, reveals that some giraffes are also capable of deciding which of two options contains more food after mentally combining two quantities, a process comparable to simple addition. These results suggest that giraffes possess a cognitive foundation that could support more complex arithmetic skills.