Media release

From: The Royal Society

The ability to learn through observing other individuals (social learning) can reduce the costs associated with individual trial-and-error learning. This social learning may be contributing to trap and bait avoidance in invasive species like the Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand. By using ‘demonstrators’, who had to learn how to solve a puzzle device containing an attractive food reward, and ‘observers’, who were able to watch these demonstrators learning and were then presented with the puzzle themselves, we provide strong evidence of social learning by common brushtail possums – the first of such findings.