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Do Kangaroos Really Communicate With Humans? Published December 17th, 2020 - 12:12 GMT
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Highlights Their gaze was pretty intense, said co-author Dr Alexandra Green, a post-doctoral researcher in the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at University of Sydney.
Kangaroos intentionally communicate with humans in similar way to pet dogs and other domesticated animals, using an intense gaze , a new study claims.
Aussie and UK researchers found kangaroos gaze at humans when they re having trouble accessing food, as if to implore us to help.
In experiments, the experts tested kangaroos at various wildlife sanctuaries down under, by putting their food in a closed plastic container.
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IMAGE: A kangaroo displays gaze alternation between the transparent box with food inside it and with a human. view more
Credit: Dr Alexandra Green
Animals that have never been domesticated, such as kangaroos, can intentionally communicate with humans, challenging the notion that this behaviour is usually restricted to domesticated animals like dogs, horses or goats, a first of its kind study from the University of Roehampton and the University of Sydney has found.
The research which involved kangaroos, marsupials that were never domesticated, at three locations across Australia , revealed that kangaroos gazed at a human when trying to access food which had been put in a closed box. The kangaroos used gazes to communicate with the human instead of attempting to open the box themselves, a behaviour that is usually expected for domesticated animals.
AustraliaSydneyNew-south-walesUnited-kingdomRoehamptonWandsworthLondonCity-ofAustralianAlan-mcelligottCity-university-of-hong-kongEnvironmental-sciencesKangaroos can communicate with humans despite never being domesticated, according to a new study.
Researchers say their findings challenge the notion that this behaviour is usually restricted to animals like dogs, horses or goats.
The research looked at kangaroos at three locations across Australia and found that the animals gazed at a human when trying to access food placed in a closed box.
The kangaroos used gazes to communicate with the human instead of attempting to open the box themselves, a behaviour that is usually expected for domesticated animals, the scientists say.
Lead author Dr Alan McElligott, who conducted the study at the University of Roehampton (now based at City University of Hong Kong), said: “Through this study, we were able to see that communication between animals can be learnt and that the behaviour of gazing at humans to access food is not related to domestication.
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It s already known domesticated animals like dogs and even horses are resigned to using powerful eye contact due to their inability to point with arms or legs like primates.
Now, this study shows kangaroos – marsupial mammals that have never been domesticated – do the same. Their gaze was pretty intense, said co-author Dr Alexandra Green, a post-doctoral researcher in the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at University of Sydney. We’ve previously thought only domesticated animals try to ask for help with a problem, but kangaroos do it too. If they can’t open the box, they look at the human and back to the container.
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