Teaching Crows New Tricks

We only think about the animal species threatened with extinction. For example, the polar bear has even more reason to be the mascot of anti-climate change forces, now that the White House has proposed to add them to the endangered species list, the first time a species was listed because of global warming.

But hacker and writer Joshua Klein notices the creatures that proliferate amongst us: rats, cockroaches, pigeons, squirrels... but especially crows. He's fascinated by them, and the way they've adapted along with human behavior. Rather than barely holding on, like polar bears, the number of crows is growing exponentially.

At a terrifically engaging talk he delivered at the TED conference earlier this year, Klein described a vending machine he had designed for crows. He explains how crows were trained to drop a coin in a machine, in order to extract a peanut. Their level of intelligence and adaptiveness is remarkable. It's enough to make you believe Klein's assertion that a new, mutually beneficial bond could be formed between animal and human. One in which we don't feel threatened by any animal not deemed domestic or for human consumption.

Click here to watch Joshua Klein's talk. We promise you will never think about crows in the same way. Or watch the video below:

(Photo by Marko Kivelä)