City slickers not smarter than bog trotters,
Urban foxes may be bolder than their country cousins but city life has not made them cleverer, according to researchers who set puzzles for dozens of the animals.
A team from the University of Hull spent two years studying wild foxes in 104 locations in England and Scotland by leaving them tasks to do for rewards.
Psychologist and animal behaviourist Blake Morton, who led the research, said they found that urban foxes were more prepared to physically touch the puzzles but they did not show any greater inclination than the rural dwellers to try to get inside.
We found that urban foxes were more likely to behave bolder than rural populations in terms of their willingness to physically touch the puzzles, but they were not more motivated to try to gain access to the rewards inside
Animal behaviourist Dr Blake Morton
Dr Morton said: “For years, researchers have claimed that urbanisation is making wildlife bolder and smarter due to the challenges they face from ‘life in the city’.
“In our study, we tested this hypothesis in wild red foxes by giving them unfamiliar puzzle feeders to see how they would react.
“We found that urban foxes were more likely to behave bolder than rural populations in terms of their willingness to physically touch the puzzles, but they were not more motivated to try to gain access to the rewards inside.”
The foxes had to use simple behaviours to gain access to the food, including biting, pulling, or lifting materials with their paws and mouth.
The study, published in Animal Behaviour, found that foxes from 96 locations acknowledged the puzzles, but foxes from only 31 locations touched them and foxes from just 12 locations gained access to the food.
https://www.ireland-live.ie/news/uk...everer-than-rural-cousins-study-suggests.html
