Domestic rabbits can count their treats and will spontaneously choose a larger pile of food without any training at all.
These common prey animals demonstrate a natural ability to distinguish between different quantities of food. Researchers found that rabbits consistently pick the bigger portion when given a choice between two amounts. This reveals a fundamental cognitive skill that was previously undocumented in this species. People often view rabbits as simple creatures with limited intelligence. These findings suggest that the basic building blocks of mathematical thinking are present in animals we usually ignore.
Spontaneous quantity discrimination in domestic rabbits
SSRN · 6664558
Quantity discrimination (QD), the ability to distinguish ”more” from ”less,” is widespread across taxa and supports ecologically important decisions, yet domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) remain unstudied in this domain. As prey animals whose foraging choices must balance intake and safety, rabbits are an important but overlooked model for assessing QD. Here, we used welfare-forward methods to ask whether rabbits spontaneously prefer a larger over a smaller quantity of food when presented