Does an animal really think? Can they make decisions based on information? Sometimes we wonder about these questions, but it’s difficult to get clear answers. For years, scientists have debated these questions. The author of “Animal Thinking” believes that some animals have the brain power to understand new situations, make decisions, and plan ahead. Many researchers apply the animal behavior to human. Because, it’s not only just about an animal. It is a mirror that reflects us to understand of human identity and nature of intelligence.
Animals can use a tool and think. The sea otter can plan ahead to use a tool. For example, the otter get a shellfish which is tough to loose with claws and teeth. They find appropriate stones. Then dive to use suitable stones to hammer the mollusk loose. Although the otter can not modify shapes of the stones, they do choose their own tool size and weight. And frequently keep them for a long time. Not only sea otters but also other animals are capable of using a tool. I read a newspaper about dogs that saved their endangered master. When he fell down to the ground, his two dogs barked as hard as they could and shined a flash light to get help.
In animal thinking, Heinrich also found that animals seem to learn to adapt to a new some ravens can learn how to get foods that are hard to get such as suspended foods from a string. The birds were clearly interested in the meat but not able to reach it. After a while, one raven landed, reached down with its bill and pulled up a loop of the string, stood on it, pulled up another loop, and repeated this until it had the meat. Also, vervet monkeys have at least three different categories of alarm calls, which are for leopards, martial eagles and snakes. On hearing a leopard alarm, the monkeys climb out small and weak branches. On hearing eagle alarm, they hide under a tree. On hearing snake alarm, they stand on their hind legs and survey the surrounding grass. So, we can see that they can communicate each other.
In conclusion, an animals do have thought and feeling. As we have seen, there is one difference. That is that humans can identify themselves and reflect. We have to open our minds to animal existence and dismiss the idea that we are special. And then, we can totally understand the characteristics of a man better than before.