What the simple mathematical abilities of animals can tell us about ourselves

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

We often think of mathematical ability as being uniquely human, but in fact, scientists have found that many animal species—including lions, chimpanzees, birds, bees, ants, and fish—seem to possess at least a rudimentary counting ability or number sense. Crows can understand the concept of zero. And a study published in April found that both stingrays and cichlids can take this rudimentary "numerosity" to the next level, performing simple addition and subtraction for a small number of objects (in the range of 1 to 5).

The latter study's conclusion doesn't surprise cognitive psychologist Brian Butterworth, an emeritus professor at University College London and author of a new book, Can Fish Count? What Animals Reveal About our Uniquely Mathematical Minds.

"There are lots of animals that can do addition and subtraction," Butterworth told Ars. "Bees can. Bees can represent zero as well. So it's not surprising to me that stingrays and cichlids can do it." His book explores how the ability to process mathematical information and extract numerical data from their environment is critical to an animal's ability to survive and thrive. In fact, there might just be an innate understanding of math at its most basic level that was passed down the evolutionary chain from our most distant common ancestors.