Stingrays Demonstrate Their Cognitive Abilities

In December, scientists studying the cognitive abilities of South American freshwater stingrays identified the fish’s ability to use tools. Researchers provided the stingrays with a plastic pipe, sealed at one end and containing hidden food, to document how the animals would attempt to retrieve the food. All five stingrays quickly learned to use jets of water as a “tool” to dislodge the food from the pipe. The results of the study, published in the journal “Animal Cognition,” provide interesting insight into the evolution of cognitive functions in humans and other higher vertebrates.