An African lion gazes up at a suspended wood box. Inside is a hunk of raw beef. To enjoy the snack, the lion needs to yank on a rope descending from the box, which is attached to a spring-loaded door latch. The scheme: to test the charismatic cat's cognitive abilities.
The social intelligence hypothesis posits that having to navigate a complex communal life, which involves challenges such as keeping track of who is a friend and who is an enemy, has pushed group-living animals to evolve the mental machinery required to solve and remember mental tasks such as the box puzzle. In other words, social complexity leads to cognitive complexity.
Researchers have long explored this idea by observing animals such as chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants, but biologist Natalia Borrego of South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal focuses on big cats. “You have a lot of closely related species with these diverse ecological challenges and different social systems,” she says.
Systematics Russian name – the Crocodile or the spectacled CaimanLatin name-Caiman crocodilusEnglish name – Spectacled caimanClass-Reptiles or Reptiles (Reptilia)Squad-Crocodiles (Crocodylia)The Family Of The Alligators (Alligatoridae)Rod – Spectacled Cayman (Caiman)Stands out 3-4 subspecies, differing in color, size and shape of the skull. Conservation status By international status it belongs to the category of species whose existence in nature causes the least concern. However, the species is Included in Annex II of CITES, i.e. the crocodile Cayman trade must be controlled. The number of different subspecies varies from country to country. Crocodile Caiman is protected in Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela, hunting for it is limited in Colombia and Panama. View and person Like most crocodiles, the crocodile Caiman is extracted for the famous "crocodile skin". However, because of the abdominal scutes (osteoderms) for the manufacture of good leather only on the sides of the animal, and saved Caiman crocodile from extinction. Intensive hunting for these caimans began after the 1950s, when other species of crocodiles were almost destroyed. Now crocodile Cayman successfully bred on farms. Currently, the natural population of crocodile Cayman is quite stable due to the high adaptability of the species, extermination of other crocodiles (enemies and competitors) and increase the area of artificial reservoirs. Distribution and habitats The area of the crocodile Caiman is much wider than that of all other members of the alligator family. It is Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil and Peru. There are introduced (imported) populations of crocodile Cayman in Cuba and the United States (Florida).This Caiman prefers quiet lakes, marshes, the banks of the tributaries of large rivers with slow flow. Does not avoid salty waters, which gave him the opportunity to settle on the Islands of the Caribbean, including the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Appearance Crocodile Caiman-medium-sized alligator, with a fairly long narrowed muzzle and large teeth (they can be from 72 to 78 ). Length males are 1.8-2 m, females to 1.2-1.4 m. Maximum recorded size is 2.2 m. the body Weight of adult individuals varies from 7 to 40 kg. Skull similar in appearance to the skull of these crocodiles, what Cayman got its name. Bone protuberances on the head between the eyes and around them remind glasses that gave the second name of this Caiman. Almost all skin on a body of the crocodile Caiman is covered with dense rows of large boards. This "armor" protects the caimans and from predators and from man. Because this leather is very difficult to fabricate, crocodile caimans destroyed less than other crocodiles.Young spectacled Caiman are yellow with black spots and stripes all over the body, adult – olive green. They are able to slightly change color with the help of special cells in the skin, for example, in cold weather, the Cayman become darker.
The social intelligence hypothesis posits that having to navigate a complex communal life, which involves challenges such as keeping track of who is a friend and who is an enemy, has pushed group-living animals to evolve the mental machinery required to solve and remember mental tasks such as the box puzzle. In other words, social complexity leads to cognitive complexity.
Researchers have long explored this idea by observing animals such as chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants, but biologist Natalia Borrego of South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal focuses on big cats. “You have a lot of closely related species with these diverse ecological challenges and different social systems,” she says.
Russian name – the Crocodile or the spectacled CaimanLatin name-Caiman crocodilusEnglish name – Spectacled caimanClass-Reptiles or Reptiles (Reptilia)Squad-Crocodiles (Crocodylia)The Family Of The Alligators (Alligatoridae)Rod – Spectacled Cayman (Caiman)Stands out 3-4 subspecies, differing in color, size and shape of the skull.
Conservation status
By international status it belongs to the category of species whose existence in nature causes the least concern. However, the species is Included in Annex II of CITES, i.e. the crocodile Cayman trade must be controlled. The number of different subspecies varies from country to country. Crocodile Caiman is protected in Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela, hunting for it is limited in Colombia and Panama.
View and person
Like most crocodiles, the crocodile Caiman is extracted for the famous "crocodile skin". However, because of the abdominal scutes (osteoderms) for the manufacture of good leather only on the sides of the animal, and saved Caiman crocodile from extinction. Intensive hunting for these caimans began after the 1950s, when other species of crocodiles were almost destroyed. Now crocodile Cayman successfully bred on farms. Currently, the natural population of crocodile Cayman is quite stable due to the high adaptability of the species, extermination of other crocodiles (enemies and competitors) and increase the area of artificial reservoirs.
Distribution and habitats
The area of the crocodile Caiman is much wider than that of all other members of the alligator family. It is Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil and Peru. There are introduced (imported) populations of crocodile Cayman in Cuba and the United States (Florida).This Caiman prefers quiet lakes, marshes, the banks of the tributaries of large rivers with slow flow. Does not avoid salty waters, which gave him the opportunity to settle on the Islands of the Caribbean, including the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
Appearance
Crocodile Caiman-medium-sized alligator, with a fairly long narrowed muzzle and large teeth (they can be from 72 to 78 ). Length males are 1.8-2 m, females to 1.2-1.4 m. Maximum recorded size is 2.2 m. the body Weight of adult individuals varies from 7 to 40 kg. Skull similar in appearance to the skull of these crocodiles, what Cayman got its name. Bone protuberances on the head between the eyes and around them remind glasses that gave the second name of this Caiman. Almost all skin on a body of the crocodile Caiman is covered with dense rows of large boards. This "armor" protects the caimans and from predators and from man. Because this leather is very difficult to fabricate, crocodile caimans destroyed less than other crocodiles.Young spectacled Caiman are yellow with black spots and stripes all over the body, adult – olive green. They are able to slightly change color with the help of special cells in the skin, for example, in cold weather, the Cayman become darker.