Alex and a chimpanzee named Sheba are the only non-humans that have so far been shown to represent the numerical value of a summed set, an ability once thought to depend on language. Pepperberg doesn't have a video of Alex's final experiments, but this video shows Alex adding up objects under two cups. This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature.
The article was first published on February 21, Ewen Callaway trabaja para la revista Nature. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. From Nature magazine Even in death, the world's most accomplished parrot continues to amaze.
Fine," Pepperberg says. Labs Scramble to Find Out. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. When Alex was presented with an object, say a three- cornered green wooden block, he could identify its shape, colour, or material, he could label it correctly. He knew that a key was a key whatever size or colour it was. Irene points out that incorrect responses were like that of a toddler who gets bored. Pet Parrot use of language Parrot owners report that their birds often use language meaningfully but these are anecdotes and not accepted generally as scientific proof.
Here are three examples. The vet had euthanized a Parrot in the hospital room of his surgery. Paula Feldman is an English professor. I particularly liked this one. Was the question pure chance or was Alex asking something that implies a lot of awareness. Alex coined words. During one training session, Alex repeatedly asked for a nut, a request that Pepperberg refused work comes first. Perching near a veterinary assistant, Alex repeatedly enquired whether she wants a nut, wants corn, wants water.
Alex and Irene During their years together their interactions evolved into a close, loving and collaborative relationship. Alex could show jealousy of the other Parrots who were added to the laboratory. Sometimes he plucked.
Was this a result of Irene leaving the laboratory on outside trips and going abroad? Concept of none or zero Once, Alex was given several different coloured blocks two red, three blue, and four green—similar to the picture above. Pepperberg asked him, "What colour three? However, Alex had been asked this question before, he seemed to have become bored or grumpy. He answered "five! This suggests that Parrots, like children, get bored.
He also seemed to manipulate Irene into asking the question he wished to answer. Preliminary research seemed to indicate that Alex could transpose the concept of four blue objects balls of wool on a tray to four notes from a piano. Pepperberg was also training him to recognize "4" as "four". Alex also showed some comprehension of personal pronouns; he used different language when referring to himself or others, indicating a concept of "I" and "you".
In July , Pepperberg reported that Alex understood the concept of zero. If asked the difference between two objects, he also answered that; but if there was no difference between the objects, he said "none", which meant that he understood the concept of nothing or zero.
In July , Pepperberg discovered that Alex's perception of optical illusions was similar to human perception. Alex died on 6 September , at the age of Alex's death shocked us all. An African Grey can live to 50 or 60 years. The Alex Foundation posted the pathology results on October 4: Alex died quickly. He had a sudden, unexpected event associated ith arteriosclerosis "hardening of the arteries". It was either a fatal arrhythmia , heart attack or stroke, which caused him to die suddenly with no suffering.
There was no way to predict his demise. Alex's last words to Pepperberg were: "You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you. How much he understood of those concepts open to interpretation.
I choose to believe that he understood what he said. Sceptics of Pepperberg's findings, consider Alex's communications as operant conditioning. There is some debate over whether he simply imitated his teacher. For example, when he was shown keys in different sizes, shapes, and colors, Alex had no problems with identifying the object. He had learned that his color is gray after being told six times.
Until today, Alex is the only animal which posed a question about itself. Here is another fun read from us:Medieval animal trials in Europe — A pig sentenced to death by hanging for murder. Alex died suddenly in , at the age of On the contrary, she claimed that it would be a setback. The lab has two other birds, yet not as comparable to Alex.
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