Ars Technica has a wonderful write-up today of new research from Science discussing research into rat empathy. The full article is at arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/12/rats-show-empathy-will-come-to-the-aid-of-other-rats.ars.
Essentially, rats were placed in a pen that had a rat trapped in a center cage. The rats were able to free the trapped rat by rotating a door. Researchers also placed rats in the cage when the center cage was empty. Over a 12 day period, researchers were able to study the actions of each rat and observe any changes in action that developed during that time.
I am fascinated by the end findings. The loose rats were visibly upset when they were in proximity of the trapped rats, and by the end of the trial 100% of female rats and 70% of male rats became door openers. Overall, the trapped rats were released 77% of the time, yet when the center cage was empty, the door was opened only ~13% of the time. This suggests it was the presence of the trapped rat that led the free rats to release the door.
Check out the full article for more details on the study, including how things changed when chocolate chips were introduced.
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