Thursday, May 07, 2020
Speaking of MAKEFORCE....
Via Eurekalert, a sharp observation about otters. The proposed theory is probably wrong, like all theories, but the correlation speaks for itself.
Zoo visitors are often enthralled by the otters' playfulness. Surprisingly, very few studies have investigated why otters are so keen to juggle stones. Our study provides a glimpse into this fascinating behaviour. While hunger is likely to drive rock juggling in the moment, the ultimate function of the behaviour is still a mystery." The team found that both juvenile and senior otters juggled more than adults. The authors suggested that the function of the behaviour may change over an otter's lifetime - aiding development in juveniles while potentially keeping the brain active in seniors. Otter parents may have been juggling less as they did not have the time while looking after their pups. However, rock-juggling frequency did not differ between species or sexes. Crucially, otters juggled more when hungry, indicating that juggling may be a misdirected behaviour in anticipation of feeding time.Every intelligent creature finds ways to exercise its mind. Youngsters do it for development, oldsters do it for survival. In the middle, there's no need to spawn new neurons. Foraging and reproducing and caring for kids are all the exercise you need. In the zoo situation, hunger is the only source of anxiety. The play serves to use up anxiety so it won't consume you. It's not about hunger, it's about anxiety. = = = = = Incidentally, here's a new and excellent article on the whole subject of brain plasticity and fresh neurons.
Labels: coot-proofing, Make or break
¶ 1:14 PM
