[Animals] How for some animals fire can become their best ally

[#Wittels-]

Wolves and some birds especially gain advantages from associating with burned landscapes. Wildfires clear space, making it easier to find food

Crows possess extraordinary technical prowess (Getty)
The discovery of fire was key in the transformation of the human race. The earliest evidence of human use of fire dates back to East Africa, 1.5 million years ago, and it is believed that forest fires would have been the ones that sparked curiosity about this phenomenon.

Those who controlled the fire first were already used to seeing it accidentally consume vegetation. On the other hand, it seems that it was not only humans who knew and handled fire.

There is increasing evidence that other animals are capable of carrying out the behavioral and cognitive skills necessary to harness the potential of fire.

Without a doubt, the fundamental role of fire in human culture is cooking. As an axiom says: "The kitchen made us human." In addition to this, fire provides light, food preservation and protection against predators.

Many species benefit from a lack of vegetation cover and easy prey visibility (Getty)
While animal responses to fire are varied, some gain advantages from associating with burned landscapes. It is surprising to note that animals living in fire-prone environments do not necessarily prevent wildfires and can actively associate with them. Such is the case of wolves, which benefit from the reduction of vegetation cover and the increase in the abundance of prey, which are attracted by the new shoots that take root.

Wildfires open up the landscape, making it easier to find food.

Multiple suggestions suggested that great apes can at least understand the dos and don'ts of fire. Some birds can do it too.

Complex cognition can manifest itself in relatives as distant as birds. Crows sometimes hide lighted candles in the litter; they press smoking sticks against their plumage and light matches by striking them with their beaks. These birds possess extraordinary technical dexterity and densely po[CENSORED]ted brains despite being evolutionarily and phylogenetically far from us. Many primates and birds of the raven family possess in their behavioral genetic background all the necessary requirements for pyro cognition.

Crows sometimes hide burning candles in the litter (Getty)
Perhaps our ancestors also traveled and foraged near wildfires, as did savanna chimpanzees and vervet monkeys. When they found tasty morsels after the wildfires, they may have learned to travel to burned areas. Later, they could have been opportunistic cooks by placing raw food in wildfires or embers.

The handling of fire seems not to be unique to our lineage, as the apes and crows show in some patterns of their surprising behavior.

* Prof. Dr. Juan Enrique Romero @drromerook is a veterinarian. University Education Specialist. Master in Psychoimmunoneuroendocrinology. Former Director of the Small Animal School Hospital (UNLPam). University professor in several Argentine universities. International speaker.

 

Link: https://www.infobae.com/america/perrosygatos/2021/12/20/como-para-algunos-animales-el-fuego-se-puede-convertir-en-su-mejor-aliado/