591
better than half our interns (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
136 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
Twitter post from Moonlit Sentences Arizona DOT installed a wildlife camera at Route 87's pedestrian crossing outside Payson last September. Standard deer migration count. After six months, they had footage of zero deer and 147 clips of the same coyote pressing the crosswalk button with its paw at sunrise. The animal waits for the walk signal. Steps into the road. Crosses at a trot. Every single time. Biologists believe it learned by watching hikers at the adjacent trailhead. "It's not random," said the lead researcher. "That coyote understands cause and effect better than half our interns." DOT voted unanimously to keep the camera running. The coyote hasn't jaywalked once.
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 7 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Coyotes are smart.

I've watched a crow check both ways for traffic before flying low across the road.

It's not implausible at all. Are you familiar with the idea of a cargo cult?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    Nah, come on. Don’t be ridiculous. Looking for traffic is one thing - checking an arbitrary box for a specific image just because humans do and understanding it immediately and without mistake is another. I don’t doubt it is possible to train a coyote to understand this, but there’s just no way this happened as stated in the post.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent