Posted on 02/03/2022 4:03:13 PM PST by nickcarraway
Crows in Sweden are being trained to pick up cigarette butts that are littering the streets.
In Södertälje near Stockholm, the birds are being recruited to help with this persistent waste problem. A device designed by startup Corvid Cleaning rewards crows with a small amount of food for every butt they bin. It provides positive reinforcement that encourages these intelligent birds to repeat the behaviour.
Crows can do jobs, share knowledge and even mourn their dead. Some studies suggest that they could be the smartest animals on the planet besides primates with a level of reasoning equal to a seven-year-old. They were chosen for the job precisely because of their intelligence, the man behind the innovative idea, Christian Gunther-Hanssen told Swedish news agency TT
“They are easier to teach and there is also a higher chance of them learning from each other. At the same time, there’s a lower risk of them mistakenly eating any rubbish.”
He goes on to add that the wild birds are taking part in the trial on a “voluntary basis.”
Why are scientists bringing woolly mammoths back from extinction? Australia’s fuzzy insect companions offer hope for a threatened species This Mexican town declared independence to protect its forest from avocados The most prolific form of plastic pollution Cigarette butts are the most abundant form of plastic pollution in the world. Currently, The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation says that these persistent pieces of plastic pollution make up around 62 per cent of the litter.
The city of Södertälje alone spends roughly 20 million Swedish Kroner or €1.9 million on street cleaning every year. Günther-Hanssen believes training the crows could cut the cost of cigarette cleanup in the city by up to 75 per cent.
Pixabay Cigarette butts are the most abundant form of plastic waste.Pixabay The estimated cost of picking up each butt is around 12 cents, he says that using the crows instead would reduce this to just 3 cents.
And it isn’t the first time crows have helped with a waste problem. In 2018, the Puy du Fou theme park in the west of France taught crows to pick up cigarette butts and other small pieces of litter in return for food.
The idea stemmed from the park’s falconry display where the birds picked up roses and brought them to a ‘princess’ in a castle.
At the time Nicolas de Villiers, head of the park, told AFP that it was also about showing “that nature can teach us to take care of the environment.”
We need to put a nickel deposit on cigarette butts and they would never be thrown away again, or if they are, someone will pick them up. Worked for bottles for years.
I seen a horse fly. I seen a house fly. But I ain’t ever seen no elephant fly!!
thought this thread was about the view...... carry on
Crows, not hens.
Better yet, just ban filters on cigarettes.
Let me know when they stop pooping on cars.
I dunno. Crows are smart. They might just pick up similar things (a bit of twig) to get the food. ...Or folks might simply start dumping butts accumulated in their homes or cars to “help ‘em out.”
Neat idea, though! Curious to read how it all shakes out when it its tor-real.
One morning on my way to work there was a crow on the power line holding a flip top cigarette box in his beak!
And yet not one Pic. at the link with a Crow with a blunt in it’s mouth. So get back to me....
“...[crowd] could be the smartest animals on the planet besides primates with a level of reasoning equal to a seven-year-old.”
Joey feels his job is in danger.
Does not work at Aldi grocery store. There is requirement to deposit a quarter to obtain a shopping cart. But I see many carts abandoned in parking lots. For many it is not worth the walk back to store front to retrieve their quarter.
They need to make it a Kruggerand, right?
(I love Aldi’s and now I have one 2 miles away)
In other news, there is an epidemic of lung cancer among crows….
For many it is not worth the walk back to store front to retrieve their quarter.
***********
So those who don’t get their quarter back have made a contribution
to ALDI’s net income thus helping pay salaries.
O.K., way out in left field. Over 60 years ago, I saw a short film, all the characters were ravens/crows, they were on a miniature set, sidewalks, buildings, etc. I was obviously amazed because I still think of it today.
Tried to search for it online. Not successful. Anybody remember such a film?
PETA says cruelty to animals.
Beak cancer on the rise.
Some kid could make some real money on Saturday.
On a similar note. I don’t go into grocery stores where the shopping carts are abandoned in the parking lot, because it has the type of clientele I do not want to be around.
The quarter does not go back to Aldi. It goes to the next person who grabs the unattended cart, shops with it, and then returns it to the cart-barn to retrieve a quarter.
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