Natures wonders: kangaroos, like dogs ask for help (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 21:10 (1436 days ago) @ David Turell

Just observed:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2263145-kangaroos-can-learn-to-ask-for-help-from-h...

"Kangaroos in zoos and sanctuaries use body language to ask humans for help, much like horses and dogs do, which suggests that even wild animals can learn to engage in interspecies communication just by being around humans.

"This overturns previous theories that animals’ ability to communicate with humans resulted from domestication, says Alan McElligott at City University of Hong Kong.

***

"McElligott and his colleagues studied 16 kangaroos of three different subspecies living in captivity in Australia. Using methods similar to those used in previous studies on horses, dogs and goats, the scientists first trained the kangaroos to find a tasty treat – bits of carrots, corn or sweet potatoes – in a small box. Then they closed the box in a way that made it impossible for kangaroos to open and observed how the animals responded.

"Like their domestic counterparts in earlier experiments, the kangaroos consistently turned to a nearby human for help.

“'They’d look straight up at my face, like a dog or a goat would do, and back at the box, and some even came up and scratched my knee like a dog pawing [for attention],” says McElligott. This happened across the range of subspecies, from the typically “friendly” western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) to the generally more “skittish” eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and red kangaroos (Macropus rufus).

“'I was really shocked,” says McElligott, referring to the less docile eastern species. “I didn’t even think we would get through the training protocol with them.”

"Although little is known about social behaviour and cognition in kangaroos, it is possible that living in social groups makes them more likely to reach out for help, even to someone outside their own species, he says."

Comment: this is just domestication. Newborn horses want nothing to do with us, and we have to teach them we are OK