Goats have more memory than previously thought.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London, They have discovered that domestic goats have a better memory than previously thought.

According to the study, These mammals solve complicated tasks quickly, They remember them for a long period of time and prefer to learn on their own.

The study published in the revista Frontiers in Zoology reveals that domestic goats son able to learn and remember cognitive tasks complicated for at least 10 months.

The scientists of the Queen Mary University of London, who lead the work, They believe this would explain their special ability to adapt to hostile environments. “Goats are very selective herbivores that often face difficult situations to access food.”, particularly when located in mountainous or arid areas. As a result, They have become invasive species in many countries, explains Elodie Briefer, coauthor of the study, currently in the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich.

The English team trained a group of twelve domestic goats to find a reward – food – inside a box.. The task consisted of two steps: First they had to push a lever with their mouth and then they had to lift it to finally access the prize.

In the experiment, Nine of them completed the challenge successfully and most collected the food on the twelfth attempt.. After one and ten months the researchers reproduced the exercise. On these two occasions, It took the goats less than two minutes to get their hands on the reward..

According to the authors, how quickly these mammals completed the task at ten months indicates excellent long-term memory.

Also, Another part of the test was that before each training session, some of these mammals had the opportunity to observe other goats perform the same task. The results of this test revealed that the goats that had not seen their companions were as fast as the others..

According to researchers, this shows that They prefer to learn by themselves. “We believe that they lack social forms of learning, because simple and individual mechanisms are probably more efficient for their survival and reproductive success.", indica Briefer.

In future experiments, scientists believe that they should carry out tests with wild goats to find an explanation for the ability of these animals to colonize new spaces. “Wild goats could be better at exercising than domestic ones due to their need to adapt to the wild environment.”, instead, "They would be worse if the fear of the new held them back.", explains the researcher.

And concludes: "Anyway, “Experimenting with wild animals is sometimes impossible because they are not used to interacting with humans.”.