did you know Bears know how to count

The researchers tested the numerical abilities of three American black bears, Ursus americanus, by presenting diagnostic tasks on a touch screen computer.

Studies on bear cognition are missing from the literature comparing different animals even though bears have relatively large brains and an interesting omnipresence status that faces complex challenges and at the same time lacks a complex social structure. The current study is the first demonstration of the ability of quantitative estimation in bears.

Even more impressive than the bears' size is their high level of intelligence. Bears can learn to ride bicycles, use tools and even, as the researchers show in the current study, count. The researchers tested the numerical abilities of three American black bears, Ursus americanus, by presenting diagnostic tasks on a touch screen computer. The American black bear is common in North America, Canada and 40 of the US states, and its population currently numbers about 600,000 individuals.
The researchers trained three American black bears to distinguish between groups of dots on a computer touch screen. Two bears learned to choose the group with the lower number of points while a third bear learned to choose the group with the most points.
In some experiments the group with the lowest number of dots occupied more space in the space; In other trials, the dots moved. All three bears were able to use the number of dots to guide their choice in the experiment, but the bear trained to choose groups with more dots showed a higher level of performance in the tests and also demonstrated an ability to distinguish the larger number of dots even when the dots moved. Bears seem to use primarily the spatial cue (wider distribution of points in space) but can also use counting as a cue.
The researchers reported these findings in the journal "Animal Behavior" in the June 4, 2012 issue.
In general, the bears' performance matched that of monkeys in previous studies, and hence it is suggested that animals can develop impressive cognitive abilities even when they do not live in large social groups. The researchers also suggest that bears probably have additional forms of sophisticated quantitative abilities.
An example of an experiment to test the numerical abilities of the black American bear. In each trial the bears chose between two options (squares with dots) that were displayed side by side on a computer touch screen, like the squares shown here.