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Bacteria may allow animals to send quick, voluminous messages

Twitter clips human thoughts to a mere 140 characters. Animals’ scent posts may be equally as short, relatively speaking, yet they convey an encyclopedia of information about the animals that left them.

In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a Michigan State University researcher shows that the detailed scent posts of hyenas are, in part, products of symbiotic bacteria, microbes that have a mutually beneficial relationship with their hosts. (more…)

Hyenas that Think Outside the Box Solve Problems Faster

By Guest PostAugust 9, 2012Nature, Sciencebeacon center, benefit, hyenas, innovative problem, kay holekamp, Kenya, large brain, michigan state university, risk taking, sarah benson amram, solution, spotted hyenas, steel puzzle boxes

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Innovative problem solving requires trying many different solutions. That’s true for humans, and now Michigan State University researchers show that it’s true for hyenas, too.

The study, published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, presented steel puzzle boxes with raw meat inside to wild spotted hyenas in Kenya. To get the meat, the hyenas had to slide open a bolt latch. Even though most of the animals had many opportunities to open the box, only nine out of 62 hyenas succeeded. The successful hyenas tried more solutions, including biting, flipping or pushing the box, than the ones that failed, said MSU zoology graduate student Sarah Benson-Amram. (more…)

Tag Archives: hyenas

Bacteria may allow animals to send quick, voluminous messages

Hyenas that Think Outside the Box Solve Problems Faster