Document type: article published on theINRAE website
Author: INRAE
Preview: 1 - Sheep learn how to undergo MRI scans while awake!
To study the brains of sheep and understand how they react to certain sounds, scientists need to put them through MRI scanners. To avoid the need for a general anaesthetic, our teams successfully trained the sheep to go through the machine while still awake and unrestrained! This shows the incredible power of the human-animal relationship and the ability of sheep to learn complex tasks. Read more
2 - Chickens blush with emotion
Six Sussex hens aged 3 to 4 months were observed and filmed for 3 weeks in a variety of situations. Analysis of 18,000 images showed that hens blush according to their emotional state. Not in response to compliments, though, but by being placed in more or less pleasant situations. For example, when they were given palatable food, such as mealworms, the hens would blush a little. But when faced with a negative situation, such as capture, they turned scarlet. Conversely, when they were resting, their skin appeared much lighter. This research will help to improve hen welfare on farms. Read more
3 - Horses can recognize human faces
Can you recognize animals you met months ago just by looking at their photos? Well, horses can! A study has shown that they are able to recognize humans based solely on a photograph of a face. Even better: they remember human faces months after they've seen them! How did the scientists test this ability? They used a touch screen! Two faces appeared simultaneously on the screen: the face of a known person and that of an unknown person. The horses then had to touch the known face to obtain a reward. Read more
4 - Rainbow trout can pick out fish from multiple images
Fish can recognize other fish! To reach this conclusion, scientists trained rainbow trout. First, when shown an image of a fish, they obtained a reward via a food dispenser. Once this training was over, the exercise could begin: the scientists would show them several images and they had to pick out the image of a fish to obtain the reward. The results were unequivocal: the trout were able to identify a fish from images of objects of different shapes and colors. The study also showed that they were unable to distinguish a trout from another species of fish. The researchers hypothesized that this was due to the two-dimensional nature of the photos presented to the trout. These results could be used to improve animal welfare on fish farms.Read more
5 - When pigs tell you what they like
What do pigs seek to express through growling, squeaking or squealing? An INRAE research team investigated the emotions associated with these different vocalizations. They sought to establish whether piglets would react in the same way to other pigs, humans, or simple everyday objects. Although the piglets showed a preference for other pigs, being around the people who look after them on a regular basis turned out a real source of comfort - much more so than being around objects! The scientists didn't stop there: they developed a tool to translate pig emotions by analyzing their vocalizations. Using a library of 7,400 vocalizations and artificial intelligence, they have developed a tool to detect negative or positive emotions in pigs with 91.7% accuracy. This will certainly be useful in improving pig welfare on farms. Read more
From the INRAE website
