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Mule cognition: a case of hybrid vigour?
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posted on 2023-06-08, 10:38 authored by Leanne Proops, Faith Burden, Britta OsthausThis study compares the behaviour of the mule (Equus asinus Equus caballus) with that of its parent species to assess the eVects of hybridization on cognition. Six mules, six ponies (E. caballus) and six donkeys (E. asinus) were given a two choice visual discrimination learning task. Each session consisted of 12 trials and pass level was reached when subjects chose the correct stimulus for at least 9 out of the 12 trials in three consecutive sessions. A record was made of how many pairs each subject learnt over 25 sessions. The mules performance was signiWcantly better than that of either of the parent species (Kruskal- Wallis: Hx = 8.11, P = 0.017). They were also the only group to learn enough pairs to be able to show a successive reduction in the number of sessions required to reach criterion level. This study provides the Wrst empirical evidence that the improved characteristics of mules may be extended from physical attributes to cognitive function.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Animal CognitionISSN
1435-9448Publisher
Springer VerlagExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
12Page range
75-84Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-21Usage metrics
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