Captivity and habituation to humans raise curiosity in vervet monkeys
Curiosity in the american black bear
American black bears (Ursus americanus) were tested to quantify their response to novel objects placed in their environment. The results indicate that the level of orientation may be greater in the black bear than in other North American carnivores. The exploration of objects by the black bear is characterized by a high degree of contact […]
Some like it varied: Individual differences in preference for feed variety in dairy heifers
Motivation to explore is believed to be widespread among animals, but exploratory behaviour varies within populations. Offering variety in feed is one simple way of allowing intensively housed dairy cattle to express exploratory foraging behaviour. Individuals’ exploration of different feed types, as with other new stimuli, likely reflects a balance between exploratory motivation and fear […]
Curiosity boosts orang-utan problem-solving ability
Investigating the mechanisms underlying individual variation in cognitive performance is a crucial step towards understanding the structure and evolution of cognition. In this study, we investigated phenotypic plasticity of 61 Bornean, Pongo pygmaeus, and Sumatran, Pongo abelii, orang-utans to gain insight into how rearing history shapes problem-solving approaches. We first examined the determinants of an […]