It is commonly believed that planning for the future is a skill unique to humans. Could other animals, even those as evolutionarily distant as western scrub-jays, share this skill with us? Can it ever be said that animals plan ahead? Animals do show behaviour that prepares them for the future, but in general that behaviour reflects unlearned or conditioned responses to predictive cues. For example, a swallow flying south or a marmot entering hibernation is reacting to a cue that has foretold the seasons for its ancestors. A hungry rat pressing a lever that provides food in ten seconds, rather than a lever providing food later, does so because rewards are more effective after short than after long delays.
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