9 years ago
3
Timid rats use the buddy system
A friend can make even the shiest creature bold. Rats usually fear strange open spaces, but having a companion by their side makes the rodents more intrepid, scientists report in the current issue of Animal Cognition. Researchers tracked rats’ exploration of a large, unfamiliar room, first alone, then again 2 days later either alone or paired with a familiar cagemate. On their own, rats made short, hesitant forays into the open space before darting back...
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http://news.sciencemag.org
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Those are mice in the picture. When I had pet rats, I had two brothers who would team up together to push the two larger rats out of the way to get the best food bits.
Hah, my friend had a couple of rats a while back and they were super smart. One would help leverage this hanging object so the other could climb up on it and get to the food, once one got to the food, the rat then reached down and helped the other rat up onto the stage. It was fascinating to watch how they teamed up to solve problems.
WOW! I'd love to have seen that.