A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University has discovered that Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) possess surprisingly complex cognitive abilities, similar to those of humans.
These flying mammals not only They are able to remember the location of fruit treesbut they can also plan your foraging routes in advancemaking smart decisions based on past experiences.
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, was based on monitoring the behaviour of bats during their nightly flights in search of food. The scientists attached small GPS trackers to each bat to record their movements accurately.
Episodic memory and planning for the future
The results of the study revealed that bats possess two key cognitive abilities: episodic memory and future-oriented planning.
Episodic memory allows them to remember specific events from the past.such as the location and time when they found a fruit tree.
Forward-looking planning, on the other hand, allows them to use this information to decide which trees to visit on the following night, prioritizing those that are most likely to have fresh fruit.
Researchers found that this ability to “mental map” time and space improves with experience.
Older bats, which have had more time to explore their environment, were more accurate in their predictions about fruit availability, avoiding trees that were no longer productive. Young, inexperienced bats, on the other hand, tended to visit these trees unsuccessfully, suggesting that the ability to plan ahead develops over time and through learning.
Bridging the gap between humans and animals
“This study is an important milestone in our understanding of animal cognition,” said Yossi Yovel, lead author of the study. “It shows that Bats, like humans, are able to think about the past and plan for the future, skills previously considered exclusive to our species.“.
A complex brain at the service of survival
The advanced cognitive abilities of fruit bats are essential for their survival. Navigating an environment with dispersed and changing resources, these flying mammals need to optimize their foraging routes to maximize their energy intake. Episodic memory and forward-looking planning allow them to do this efficiently, ensuring a steady supply of food and, ultimately, their reproductive success.
Beyond bats: Implications for other species
The findings of this study have important implications for our understanding of animal intelligence in general. It is possible that other species besides bats possess complex cognitive abilities that we have not yet discovered.As we continue to investigate animal behavior, we are likely to find more examples of evolutionary convergence, where different species have developed similar solutions to similar adaptive challenges.
A promising future for research
This study opens new avenues of research into animal cognition and brain evolution. Scientists can now focus on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying bats’ memory and planning abilities, and explore whether these abilities are present in other species.
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