Ravens can plan ahead just like humans and great apes

Ravens are known for being remarkably intelligent. Now a new study has revealed that these clever birds plan for the future, just like us. They can imagine future events via'mental time travel' and are capable of exercising self-control to delay gratification, researchers found. This skill of future planning was thought to be exclusive to humans and great apes. As ravens and great apes have not shared a common ancestor for more than 300 million years, these results suggest'planning' abilities evolved independently of one another.