Subscription Center
Plenty of nonhuman species give each other gifts. Here's a holiday selection
December 29, 2011 | 3
In many species of birds, the male presents gifts of food to the female during courtship. But a 1998 Brock University and McMaster University study of common tern courtship feeding seems to suggest that gifts don't necessarily correlate with copulation—perhaps a sign of a more nurturing relationship....[More]
A 2009 study of primates tested their ability to give tokens that had no value to them but that their partners could exchange for food. The orangutans so far outstripped chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas in gifting the tokens directly to each other (as opposed to passively dropping them in their partners' cages)....[More]
The male scorpion fly lures his mate with salivary masses she consumes during mating. He has to keep giving at a steady pace , however; otherwise, the party's over, and his chances of fertilizing a larger proportion of her eggs plummet. ...[More]
Domesticated felines are among those rarest of creatures that gift outside of their species . That mouse dropped on your doorstep is likely your cat's way of taking care of you—hunting for you because you just do not seem to be able to hunt for yourself....[More]
Sometimes his gifts are for real, but sometimes the male nursery spider acts as a mix of scrooge and Svengali , presenting the object of his desire with silk-wrapped gifts that are duds—inedible seeds or already-eaten carcasses....[More]
Long before nurturing, caring vampires became a TV and cinema sensation, scientists were exploring similar traits in vampire bats—specifically, their altruistic tendency to share blood with roost mates ....[More]
Bonobos will voluntarily offer their food to neighbors by unlocking a door between cages to share a meal, Duke University researchers found ....[More]
A human outpouring of generosity to complete strangers was in evidence this season, as mystery donors stepped forward to pay off Kmart customers' layaway balances . The same spirit of giving cropped up in a 2007 study of rats, which found that rodents who were helped by a stranger to obtain food (the helper rat pulled a stick to release the treats) were themselves more likely to help another unknown rat gain food....[More]
Our list of gift-giving creatures is by no means comprehensive—if there are any generosity-prone species you would like to add to our list, please list them in the comments below....[More]
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
Fossils Indicate Common Ancestor for Old World Monkeys and Apes
Rise in Roadkill Requires New Solutions
Minoan Civilization Originated in Europe, Not Egypt
Tiny Plants That Once Ruled the Seas
Moth Smashes Ultrasound Hearing Records
Mercury in Seafood Diet Linked to Fox Die-Off
All in the Family
Did Asteroid Impacts Spark Life's "Left-Handed" Molecules?
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
3 Comments
Add Commenthttp://www.ted.com/talks/paul_nicklen_tales_of_ice_bound_wonderlands.html
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisleopard seal doing the cat thing with a scuba diver. Watch this vid and skip to 10:53 to hear the guy talk about it.
Praising a cat for its kill is likely to reinforce the behavior. To stop the gift-giving, some cat experts say to just ignore the gift and neither praise nor punish your cat.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIndoor cats are more Santa-like: one of mine used to leave his favorite stuffed toy duck or mouse in my bed.
I've suspected this for years. It reinforces my belief that cats consider humans hopelessly stupid dispensers of kibble and warmth. That's why they domesticated us in the first place.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this