Mom says to do it, and although it's studying that I dislike, it looks fun like a game when I see my friends doing it. The child mimics the study a friend was doing with the teacher. Animals are no different. The parrot, famous for mimicking human speech, also imitates how its peers learn. While cases of animals learning survival skills from family or peers have been observed multiple times, this is the first time it has been revealed that they can learn by watching the learning process of other peers.
Dr. Auguste von Bayern and his research team at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in Germany reported on 4th in the international journal 'Scientific American' that the blue-throated macaw (scientific name Ara glaucogularis) can learn new behaviors by observing another bird learning human actions.
◇Observations of third-party imitation in animals for the first time outside of humans
Animals learn survival skills from their parents when young. As they grow, the adult members of the group become their teachers. This research team found that the parrot can acquire new knowledge just by watching a peer learn, without receiving direct instruction. This learning method, known as 'third-party imitation,' has now been observed in animals outside of humans for the first time.
The researchers conducted experiments with two trained parrots that were instructed to perform specific actions based on human hand gestures and eleven other untrained parrots. The two trained parrots were rewarded with food when they responded in alignment with the researcher's gestures. Raising the second finger would prompt them to lift a leg, while bringing the thumb, index, and middle fingers together and pointing down would make them turn their bodies.
Of the parrots, six observed the trained parrots performing five actions, such as lifting one leg, rotating, and flapping wings, from across a glass window. Five did not see those actions. Later, when another researcher gestured, the parrots could receive food by imitating the trained parrot.
The results showed that the parrots that observed their peers learning learned more actions more quickly than the others. They responded with double the accuracy to commands such as lifting one leg compared to peers who were doing it for the first time. Some even spontaneously imitated actions before receiving hand gesture commands or rewards.
Third-party imitation is the ability to learn by passively observing the interactions of others without direct teaching. The researchers noted, "The human ability for third-party imitation is related to the transmission of cultural practices and social norms," adding that they hope this result aids in explaining the blue-throated macaw's unique group behaviors.
The blue-throated macaw lives in groups and maintains a monogamous relationship, staying with one partner for life. It is also known for its various sounds and gestures to communicate. A typical example is its loud call at sunrise to signal each other's locations.
◇Orangutans advancing learning content by imitating teachers
Animals' direct educational learning from peers also evolves over time, similar to humans. Young orangutans learn how to build nests high in trees from adults. Scientists have observed that the nest-building education of orangutans deepens as they grow, akin to how education changes as humans mature.
Dr. Caroline Schuppli and her research team at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior stated on the 29th that they have demonstrated that young orangutans acquire night nest construction skills through observational social learning in the international journal 'Communications Biology.'
Nest building is an essential survival skill for orangutans that live in trees. Nests protect these primates from predators and help maintain body temperature, and they have even been found to deter mosquitoes. However, how orangutans acquire this complex skill has not been well elucidated.
Sumatran orangutans build two types of nests. The nest built during the day is simple in structure, while the night nest has a pillow, blanket, mattress, and roof structure, all situated 20 meters high in the treetops. The researchers have confirmed that after observing their mothers building nests, young orangutans engaged in intentional peering behavior to watch how the mother constructed the nest. The young orangutans observed adult nest-building and practiced on their own.
As orangutans grow, their observational targets expand. They begin to observe other adults in the group beyond their mothers, and the trees used for nesting change as well. Dr. Schuppli noted, "Young orangutans seem to learn not only 'how to' build nests but also 'what to' use as materials. While those watching their mothers used the same trees, as they grow, they also experiment with other trees used by other adults."
◇Orcas attacking blue whales and even fishing boats
Animal learning has long been an ongoing behavior. However, that does not mean they only learn the same content. Just as human education evolves with changing curricula over time, learning content changes as ecosystems transform. The killer whales that hunt in groups in the sea, similar to wolves on land, serve as a prime example.
A research team from Oregon State University announced in 2022 that orcas hunt the blue whale, the largest animal on Earth, in groups. Orcas also hunt fish like salmon and tuna and marine mammals like seals and dolphins. However, recent observations have shown that orcas are hunting large animals like blue whales and sharks, and even ramming fishing boats to sink them.
The research team first observed orcas attacking blue whales off the southwestern coast of Australia in March 2019, and subsequently observed them hunting blue whale calves and juveniles twice more. This was not a one-time action but a continuing behavior.
The researchers explained, "The newly recorded hunting behavior of orcas serves as an example of social learning, where tactics are shared and passed down from adult orcas to their offspring," adding that "everything learned by the leading females is passed on to their descendants."
There was a consistent pattern in which parts of the prey were fed on first. When a blue whale was captured, the tongue was eaten first, and when a whale shark was killed, they looked for the liver. The behavior of eating a shark's liver was confirmed to be learned behavior, as it was observed similarly off the coasts of South Africa and Mexico.
Humans have also intervened in the learning of orcas. With increased vessel traffic and fishing activities, interactions between orcas and humans have become more frequent. Since the 1990s, orcas have increasingly exhibited behaviors of stealing fish caught in fishing gear from boats. Previously hunting seals and penguins, orca pods have begun to prefer the toothfish caught by humans. The action of ramming fishing boats has also been interpreted in the same light.
Human-induced warming has also changed the educational curriculum of orcas. In Antarctica, orcas hunt by plunging Weddell seals resting on ice into the water. As the ice in the Antarctic waters has decreased due to warming, orcas have developed new hunting techniques to capture more aggressive species of seals. Animals that once learned and thrived on their own in the sky, land, and sea may now be looking towards humans, pondering what will be taught next.
References
Scientific Reports(2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11665-9
Communications Biology(2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08217-2
Marine Mammal Science(2022), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12906