Animal Intelligence Essay Research Paper Often those — страница 2

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bending its body this way and that. Within seconds, that rat is chewing on the food pellets that are its reward. A rat and a bee-one an insect performing its natural behavior at home, the other a mammal conquering a problem set for it by humans in a laboratory-what, if anything do they have in common? And what does this tell us about their mental ability?At first glance, the behavior of the bee looks remarkably intelligent. A dead bee could carry a disease that might spread through the hive, so the body should be removed to maintain colony health. Dead bees emit and odor that triggers removal behavior by workers. If the chemical that releases the odor is touched to anything, it is discarded as well, even another live bee may be thrown from the hive. This is purely instinct.The

rat, on the other hand, had been through the maze before. The first time, it had no clue about which direction to go to find the food; only blind, random stumbling led it eventually to success the first time. But the rat remembered part of the route so that the next time it could reach its reward more quickly, and soon it could zip through the maze with no hesitation. The rat?s conquering of the maze is a good example of learning.Learning and instinct are two different kinds of intelligence, one animal is not strictly on or the other but a complex blend of the two vital components. And within the last twenty years scientists have finally begun to see how these two potent forces interact in determining the behavior of all animals. Carl Sagen says the diferance between humans and

animals is intelligence. I have shown without a doubt that animals, which humans are a sub group in, have intelligence.