The relationship between flight initiation distance and cognition of urban-living yellow mongooses, Cynictis penicillata

Abstract

Reduced flight initiation distance (FID) enables urban-living animals to forage closer to humans, while improved cognitive abilities may be beneficial in assessing the level of danger. We assessed whether yellow mongooses, Cynictis penicillata, which are more tolerant to human disturbances, are also better problem-solvers. Mongooses in two locations (), differing in levels of human contact, were presented with a puzzle-box containing a food incentive. FID was longer in the location with more human contact, but reduced at sites closer to humans. With greater human contact, mongooses fled further from the puzzle box and took longer to recover. Despite differences in tolerance to human disturbance and the subsequent recovery, location did not affect problem-solving efficiency. However, the fear response and recovery time decreased in mongooses with lower tolerance of humans, whereas problem-solving decreased in mongooses that were more tolerant to humans, possibly a result of habituation to the humans.