Self And The Phenomenon Of Life: A Biologist Examines Life From Molecules To Humanity

The Animal Self: Neurobehavioral Correlates 151

“9x6” b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity

Fig. 7.15. A chimpanzee getting banana by stacking boxes. It does this by reasoning
and succeeds on the first try. [See Note 37; courtesy Dover Publications.]

elaborate procedures to retrieve food. Food-storing birds can remember
the numerous sites where they hide their food. What is more interesting
is that these birds steal food from one another. For example, if bird A
watches bird B hiding its food, bird A will steal it while B is not around.
However, if bird B notices that it has been watched by bird A when hid-
ing the food, B will guard against the encroachment of A, or move the
food to a different place before A has a chance to steal it. Meanwhile,
bird B will ignore the approach of another bird (C), which did not know
the whereabouts of the food. The ability to recognize the mind of other
individuals and to anticipate their future actions puts the intelligence of
these birds on par with the great apes, despite the birds’ small brains.^20