Animals with larger brains are better problem solvers

Washington: When it comes to brains, size matters! Scientists have found that carnivores that have larger brains relative to their body size perform better in problem-solving tasks. The researchers travelled to nine different zoos in US and presented 140 animals from 39 different mammalian carnivore species with a novel problem-solving task.

The study included polar bears, arctic foxes, tigers, river otters, wolves, spotted hyenas and some rare, exotic species such as binturongs, snow leopards and wolverines. Each animal was given 30 minutes to try to extract food from a closed metal box.

To access the food, an animal had to slide a bolt latch, which would allow a door to open. The box was baited with the favourite food of the study animal, so red pandas received bamboo and snow leopards got steak.

The main result is that species with larger brains relative to their body size were more successful than species with relatively smaller brains. "This study offers a rare look at problem solving in carnivores, and the results provide important support for the claim that brain size reflects an animal's problem-solving abilities - and enhance our understanding of why larger brains evolved in some species," said lead author Sarah Benson-Amram, assistant professor at the University of Wyoming in US.

"Overall, 35 percent of animals (49 individuals from 23 species) were successful in solving the problem. The bears were the most successful, solving the problem almost 70 percent of the time," said Ben Dantzer from the University of Michigan. "Meerkats and mongooses were the least successful, with no individuals from their species solving the problem," Dantzer said.