Humans have always assumed that there is a huge gulf between animal behavior and human development. However, recent research into animals shows that animals are continuously designing innovative methods to finish their tasks. Examining the nature and results of their creativity can help us to understand evolution.
Research shows that animals too can be creative. By inventing new behavioral patterns and adjusting their behavior to new contexts, as well as to changes in social and ecological environments, researchers show that animal innovation too can be diverse. For instance, orangutans use tools such as sharp spines and stalks to remove the hearts of palm vegetables from trees. Herring gulls found out quite a grisly way of killing rabbits - drowning them in the sea.
Animals too are innovative, but novel behavior cannot be recognized unless 'normal' behavior is studied. Researchers can now count and document the innovations that have been created by species, which would help them to quantify their creativity. Studies also show us that all animals are not equally inventive, while birds and primates tend to be more innovative due to their bigger brains, according to The Conversation.
Interestingly, innovations in animals also lead to new species, as creativity paves the way for new niches and evolution. For instance, in the Galapagos islands, the diversity of finches led to the Darwinian theory of evolution. Finches are members of an "innovative superfamily" of birds called the Emberizoidea. This group of birds grew into diverse species, even as various birds developed innovative methods for feeding.
A number of survival techniques too have been built up due to creative animal behavior. Innovative species tend to survive when they enter new places, migratory species are not as innovative as non-migrant birds, and birds with small brains are not as likely to survive as avians with bigger brains.
The greatest scientific significance has been the innovation shown by animals such as apes, capuchins and macaques among primates. These species of primates possess the biggest brains in proportion to their body sizes. They are also heavy tool users. Their broad diets and complex forms of learning are also insightful. They indicate an evolutionary tactic that gave them new solutions to life's challenges.
However, even if these animals show innovativeness, they do not have the ability to improve upon solutions of others. According to some mathematical analyses, it is important to develop a "cumulative culture," according to Science. Unless they share information accurately and replicate each others' inventions, their creative inventions are likely to vanish before they can be innovated further.
This ability can be managed only by humans. As we are able to build on shared knowledge, we can take technology forward. Otherwise, animals might be innovative and creative but cannot pool their knowledge and build further upon them.
YouTube/Wiz Science
