Australian Cockatoos are learning how to open garbage bins

[Catherine]

The Sulphur crested cockatoos  in Sydney Australia have been learning for each other how to open the lids of big wheeled garbage bins.  Before 2018 just a few birds in a few areas knew how to open the lids. The knowledge is spreading from one place to another. The birds learn from watching.  It is now being studied because researchers are curious about how fast and how far the knowledge will travel.
They are asking for the public to observe the birds and let them know what the birds are doing. Do they open bins or not.


https://www.theguardian.com/environment/...tudy-finds

This is interesting. Animals do learn from each other. If one learns a skill, others of the species  will learn from observation.
Watching the progress of this knowledge spread could teach us about how animals learn and about animal social interactions.
Perhaps in a few years we will be reading about how cockatoos all over Australia  have learned how to open the bins.

I think Toronto raccoons all know about the garbage bins. The are pretty good about opening windows and they know what to do once they are in your kitchen.
Mother raccoons pass the knowledge on to their babies. My friend woke up one summer night to find a mother and four baby raccoons in her kitchen having a feast. Mom showed them how to open a window. She carefully cut the screen so the could all go in and have fun.

Who knows what the cockatoos will learn. They are very smart birds.