Being Small and Smart

Dr Anne McBride | BC2024

40 minute video - Certificated at 1 hour of CPD

We keep small animals as pets, in zoos, for research, for their fur and feathers (or clothes and human & pet toys) and to feed other animals. Smallness is associated with cuteness, but not with smartness. We accept their sentience – able to experience pain and pleasure, but not always their cognitive abilities: problem solving, learning and memory abilities.

In this talk what it means to be small and some attributes these animals have will be considered. Though drawing primarily on rodent research, the principles relate to other taxa that are smarter than we may think: birds, reptiles, and even fish.