• Question: Can animals perceive time?

    Asked by Eva to Carrie, Ellen, Rupert on 17 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Rupert Marshall

      Rupert Marshall answered on 17 Mar 2017:


      Yes. Like us, many animals have an internal body clock so they know what time of day or year it is. It is kept on time by what is going on outside its body, like day length or temperature. Some animals also have a tidal clock so they know whether it is high or low tide.

    • Photo: Carrie Ijichi

      Carrie Ijichi answered on 17 Mar 2017:


      Probably because time regulates lots of important behaviour but their perception might be very different to ours. For example, if you watch a flock (or murmuration) of starlings make tight turns through the air it unbelieveable that they don’t all crash into each other in a bit pile up. One possible explanation for how they can do this is that they have a more sensitive sense of time and what is a split second for us feels longer to them. Sense of time in animals needs a lot more research – maybe you’ll go on to do it?!

Comments