After repeating the exercises with 28 wolf pups, the researchers found that the dogs were twice as good at finding food as their canine cousins. Hannah Salomon“Cognitive skills in dogs, understanding such tasks as pointing and the purpose behind people’s movements, appear to be an innate ability,” says one of the study’s authors.
In 2017, a different group of researchers, including Brewer, conducted an experiment Shaking the cup containing food designed Both dogs and wolves correctly identified the cup containing food; But when the researchers shook the empty cup, the wolves did not react; While the dogs were still looking for the cup. According to Brewer, this experiment showed that wolves have a better understanding of cause and effect than dogs.
Brewer says that wolves have adapted to their environment and to the forest in which they must hunt. They are responsible for finding their own food. Humans do not feed wolves; Therefore, the study shows that wolves’ understanding of causality is acquired based on adaptation to the environment.
to believe Frederick Ringe, animal researcher and founder of the Wolf Science Center in Vienna, the mentioned studies are just a few of the many tests to measure the cognitive skills of wolves and dogs. Wolf Center researchers constantly measure the natural and social skills of dogs and wolves, and have concluded that, in general, wolves are more adept at interacting with each other. This is despite the fact that dogs usually do better in interacting with humans; Because the domestication of dogs has brought a very different image. Dogs are no longer dependent on interaction and cooperation with their own kind.
According to experts, however, these tests are not used to categorize dogs or wolves as being smarter than the other; Rather, it is only used to better understand their life skills in this world.
“Trying to rank intelligence is really pointless,” says Salomon. Even for humans, this definition is not simple. It’s hard to say whether Van Gogh was smarter or Einstein, only their skills were completely different. It is exactly the same with animals.”
