NEW YORK (AP) – Remember that raven in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem that kept saying, “Nevermore?” Now it turns out that real-life ravens think about the future.
In experiments reported Thursday, ravens showed they could plan ahead by setting aside a tool that would get them a tasty treat later. They prepared for future bartering, too. And they passed up an immediate reward if they knew they could get a better one by waiting a while.
The study shows a general planning ability that previously had been documented only in people and great apes.
The study authors, from Sweden, figure that ability must have evolved more than once.
Their paper appears in the journal Science.