The civet is open to hunting class

Young civet do not learn to eat dangerous prey like scorpions, but they are taught by adults.

Owston's civet reaches the age of independence at 3 months of age.(Photo: BBC) Researchers found large civet to bring the prey to their young. As the baby grows older, the older one will help the child disable the prey. And finally, they guide the young ones to hunt for themselves.

Researchers believe that the civet is the second species that does not have such a flexible way of teaching children. Other species are known to have teaching behavior as ants, when helping other people find places to eat.

The group at Cambridge University, he spent several years studying wild sheep civets in South Africa. They live in groups of 40 in very arid climates.

Most of the animals in the group have a surname with the leader. The "teachers" will slowly give young people access to the prey.

"So when the juveniles are young, dead bait masters, such as scorpions, lizards and spiders; when they are older, he will bring his prey, for example, if it is a bug. The scorpion will bite the venom before bringing it to his students, " said lead scientist Alex Thornton.

"Eventually when the offspring come to their own age, adults will bring live food to force them to handle it themselves."

Teaching can benefit from evolution because it conveys skills and information to help young people survive, but it also hurts adults. Teachers take time and effort to find their own food. Therefore, scientists have found that teaching is only available when young children find it difficult to acquire information by following up.

MT