Why we do what we do: New research on animals gives clues

Time of India

26-05-2025

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Bengaluru: Ever found yourself scrolling endlessly on your phone, only to realise the longer you indulge, the harder it is to stop? Evidence from animals suggests there may be a common pattern across species that explains why we get stuck in these loops.
Researchers sought to identify these 'general principles' that govern behaviour across species. They began by investigating why an animal decides to switch from one behavioural state, like walking, to another, like standing or lying down or running. An international team of 14 researchers, led by Karnataka-born Pranav Minasandra, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, recently published its findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The team discovered similar patterns in the daily behaviours of three species on different continents—meerkats in the Kalahari Desert, coatis in Panama's rainforest, and spotted hyenas in Kenya's Savannah.
Minasandra explained: "A meerkat, a small burrowing animal, might lie down for 10 minutes, then briefly stand up to look around for 20 seconds before moving around to search for food for another few minutes. We studied millions of data points over days and found patterns in behaviour."
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Among the possible reasons why these animals continued to partake in an activity was positive feedback. "The longer an animal remains in a state—say, lying down—the more likely that staying put is chosen, whether because it's warm, safe, or socially reinforced. Behaviour becomes self-reinforcing," he explained.
Another reason would be different cues overlapping with its own tempo. These cues could be internal hunger, external threats, or social context.
The researchers also observed patterns in hyenas (large carnivores) and coatis (raccoon-sized tree-dwellers).
Accelerometers on the animals measured posture changes, and the high-resolution motion traces were then classified with machine learning into behavioural states like lying, foraging and walking.
While future studies may explore whether these patterns hold in other animals beyond the three mammals in the study, researchers believe this could be the first step to understanding behaviour patterns across species.