Overview
- The study, reported between June 29 and July 1, tested four giraffes at the Barcelona Zoo with a task that showed two food piles, concealed them, then altered one pile so choices required mental updating.
- Two of the four giraffes chose the larger quantity after the hidden addition, while none succeeded at subtraction or sequential transfer tasks.
- Researchers emphasize the method used brief visible presentation and concealment to rule out simple visual comparison and strengthen the claim that choices required internal counting.
- Authors argue that dispersed food resources on the African savanna could drive evolution of numerical estimation in giraffes, but they note that the small sample and zoo setting limit species-level conclusions.
- Media reports disagree on the journal venue, with some outlets naming Scientific Reports and another naming Nature, and the team says follow-up work on risk preference and learning is underway.