Is man’s best friend also the most intelligent of the
animals? Do goldfish really have a three second memory? Following
a similar idea to Test the Nation, the BBC’s new series Test
Your Pet (airing 1 May) will pit domestic animals against a
series of interactive challenges to test memory, perception and
initiative. The programme is the brainchild of Dr Tim Guilford, Oxford
University’s leading animal behaviourist, who was recently
cleared of failing to acknowledge other scientists’ research
in his investigation of how pigeons use the road network to
navigate. Speaking to Cherwell, Dr Guilford said the aim of the
experiments was to “get people to think differently about
how their pets view the world around them,” and that the
study will provide “a huge amount of interesting information
that may well be of use to scientists of various sorts.”
Pets whose owners have Digital TV will be able to watch Pet TV,
looped images designed to examine animals’ response to
stimulus. The study has the potential to be one of the largest
performed, as an estimated 7.5m cats and 6m dogs are kept as pets
in the UK. With the majority of research focussing on wild
animals, it is hoped the study will be entertaining, as well as
providing an interesting insight into a neglected field of animal
behaviour.ARCHIVE: 0th week TT 2004
Professor’s ‘Test the Pet’ quiz
