Yet most intelligent species?

The sticklebacks are small but really ' geniuses ' in the fish world, because they can draw from the mistakes of others.

According to the Telegraph , the scientific world has long argued that only animals with large brains (such as humans) are able to learn from mistakes.

But experts from Durham University (UK) found that sticklebacks can determine where the most abundant food source is by observing other fish. The team put some sticklebacks into the cage and put them in the tank. Two people standing at the two ends of the tank. One person threw a lot of worms into the tank while the other just threw a few.

A spiny fish.
(Photo: Aquabird.com.vn)

Experts drop other species of fish into the tank. They quickly beat the worms, while the sticklebacks observe from a distance. After picking up the fish, the team opened the cage door to feed the sticklebacks. Results showed that three-quarters of sticklebacks swim towards people throwing more worms.

The test was repeated a second time, but this time the two threw the worm to the position. After observing the other fish, the sticklebacks still came towards the person who threw more worms, although this person no longer stood in the same position.

Previously, the team believed that sticklebacks (less than 7 cm in length) were forced to become smarter than other fish because they were the prey of many aquatic predators. For sticklebacks, finding food is like a gamble with death and they can lose at any time.

Dr Jeremy Kendal of Durham University said that sticklebacks not only mimic the behavior of other species, but they also know how to use that ability to find food.

' Sticklebacks have a very small brain, but they still possess many incredible thinking abilities. They mimic behaviors that yield better results than their behavior. Thanks to that, sticklebacks are always able to adapt to new environments. They are not related to humans, but their ability to draw experience is not less than ours , 'Kendal said.

Professor Kevin Laland of the University of St Andrews also participated in the study. " Perhaps the sticklebacks are one of the smartest animals in the fish world," he said. What is remarkable is that they learn from the way that humans have applied for thousands of years . '

This finding, published in Behavioural Ecology, shows that big brain ownership is not an essential element to create a creature that learns from reality.