Goats are much smarter than previously thought.

After experiments on monkeys, scientists took up the goats. The new study showed that the goats are not such stupid animals, as previously thought - they know how to cope with difficulties and can remember the solution of a complex task after at least 10 months. This explains the ability of these animals to adapt to harsh living conditions.

According to PhysOrg, scientists at Queen Mary University of London, University of London, trained a group of domestic goats to get food from the container in several successive steps. To accomplish the task, the animal first had to pull the lever with its mouth, and then lift it to get an edible reward. After not one, but even ten months, the goats were able to recall the process of performing a specific task. The animals memorized the solution in 12 attempts, and remembered it in less than two minutes.

The speed at which the goats performed the task 10 months after the training demonstrates excellent long-term memory, says study co-author Dr. Elodie Brifer, who now teaches at the Swiss Technical High School Zurich (ETH Zurich).

Before each attempt, some goats were given the opportunity to observe how another horned research participant performs the same task. It was found that the goats, who did not take an example from another animal, showed the same results as those who had such an opportunity. This suggests that goats prefer to learn from their experience, rather than follow the example of others.

A goat intelligence study was conducted for the first time. The results obtained refute the common misconception that these animals are not smart. The study showed that goats have the ability to learn and have a good memory. Scientists say that this may explain the ability of goats to adapt to new living conditions, although they point to the need for a similar study involving wild goats.

It should be noted that goats are not the only intelligent animals. For example, it was recently established that African elephants understand human speech, and giant snakes remember the way home.

The article is based on materials https://hi-news.ru/research-development/kozy-gorazdo-umnee-chem-schitalos-ranee.html.