Thursday, September 23, 2010

Do They Truly Learn?

I picked up this photo (along with two others) yesterday and had a good laugh. This protective cage has been in place for many months, but the tree rats continue to test it. Unsuccessfully, I might add. In almost a year of use the cage has never been breached once. So why do the rats persist? Plainly they remember good eating spots. After all, they bother me continually. But they can't seem to reason through failure. I wonder how long squirrels would come by if I put away every feeder. Months? Years? And thus we must ask if they truly learn. A key piece would be the cessation of unproductive behavior. I suppose this is a question for the field biologists. For my part, all that matters is putting out enough roadblocks to frustrate the twisted little minds of the local tree rats. But... oh my. Suppose I am engaging in my own unproductive behavior... am I learning?

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