Moscow's Stray Dogs Evolving Greater Intelligence, Including a Mastery of the Subway

[polaris93]

Popular Sciencehttp://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-01/moscows-stray-dogs-evolving-greater-intelligence-wolf-characteristics-and-mastery-subwayRead more... )

Comments

[hannahsarah]

Ferrets and cats are nocturnal, dogs are diurnal. The ferrets and cats will divide up the world to rule by night, and the dogs will rule by day, along with the pigeons. Cockroaches will come and go as they please.

[polaris93]

Yes, but what about the tax collectors? ;-)

[sekhmetsat]

i am not surprised about how intelligent they are turning out to be... i'm not a ferret fan. so i say dogs and cats will divvy up post-human earth.

[polaris93]

Ferrets are more than intelligent enough. They use their front paws as hands, they untie complex knots, they will fold and put away their cloth toys in dressers provided for them -- I'm not kidding, they actually do that. And they do it of their own initiative. They have exactly no common sense, but a pack of them could easily bring down a dog -- or cat not nimble enough to get out of their way fast enough. So they'd be contenders.

[polaris93]

Without hands and the ability to control fire, they really wouldn't be able to take our place. If they revert to a flightless existence, freeing up their wings to become hands, maybe they could, but only then.