The koala wanted to move to a different tree but didn't seem to want to get wet.
"It would surely be interesting to do some more work with them." "The koala example perhaps includes problem-solving as well as an element of future thinking," Mike says. You'd think that the calm, chilled-out koalas would be the perfect model for living in the moment, but what if they also predict what is going to happen next, based on what's happened in the past, and make plans for the future? The koala in the canoe certainly seemed to do this. We are constantly rehearsing scenarios in our minds, revising and refining our responses to interactions, events and conflicts, so much so that an entire "mindfulness" industry has sprouted to help us stop our whirlwind mental activity and focus on living in the moment. Not to mention imagining things that might never happen at all. I send a link to the video to Mike Corballis, a professor of psychology in New Zealand, who has done a lot of work on foresight and the capacity of animals to " time travel mentally." Humans regularly do this-we spend much of our life thinking about what happened in the past and planning for what might happen in the future. If you've ever had to rescue a pet from an awkward place-a cat up a tree, a dog stuck in a drain or a horse trapped in a fence-you will know that they very rarely show any inkling that your actions might assist them, let alone co-operate with you. Both the koala and the students presumably parted company well pleased with the outcome, but I wonder what the koala was thinking-how it was thinking-about that situation. As soon as the boat touched the ground, the koala climbed into the bow before leaping out and strolling off into the trees. The students slowly turned the boat around, keeping their distance from the animal, until the bow nudged the bank. Standing in the knee-deep water, the students spun one end of the canoe towards the tree, where the koala was waiting on a low stump for transport.Īs the boat touched the tree, the koala immediately clambered on board.
KOALA BRAIN FREE
They have been known to haul themselves aboard passing canoes-content to take a free ride to the other side, without showing any concern about where they might be taken. If a boat is offered, however, they will readily accept the more comfortable mode of transport. They are capable, if not elegant, swimmers who launch themselves into rivers and swim with an effective doggy paddle to the other side. The koala could have swum ashore if it had wanted to-it was close enough, and koalas are not particularly bothered by rain or water. "It almost looked as though he was sussing out if he could jump into the canoe," one of the students reported later.
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