Captive hyenas outfox wild relatives

Captive hyenas outfox wild relatives
MSU researchers show that captive animals solve problems faster than their wild cousins. Credit: MSU

(Phys.org)—When it comes to solving puzzles, animals in captivity are, well, different animals than their wild brethren.

Testing animals' ability to solve new problems has been historically conducted on animals in captivity. Only recently has a shift been made to run these tests on animals in their . In a study appearing in , however, researchers at Michigan State University found vast differences in the problem solving skills between captive and wild spotted hyenas.

Applying lessons learned from is potentially problematic because they may not accurately portray how respond to novel challenges, said Sarah Benson-Amram, former MSU zoology graduate student and the study's lead author.

"We have to be careful when interpreting results from captive animals, as there may be extreme differences between how animals behave in captivity and in the wild," said Benson-Amram, who is now a research fellow at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland). "An animal that is successful at solving problems in the comfort of its cage may be unwilling to engage in similar problem-solving behavior in the wild."

Benson-Amram presented wild and captive with the same novel problem – a steel puzzle box containing meat. Captive hyenas were significantly better at opening their boxed meals than their wild counterparts. The encaged mammals also were less afraid of the manmade puzzle, and they also were more creative, trying a variety of solutions.

"It doesn't appear that these differences result from captive hyenas having more time or energy," Benson-Amram said. "We conclude they were more successful because they were more willing to tackle the problem and were more exploratory."

Journal information: Animal Behaviour

Citation: Captive hyenas outfox wild relatives (2013, January 7) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2013-01-captive-hyenas-outfox-wild-relatives.html
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