Comments by "Joe Blow" (@JoeBlow_4) on "We Love Animals" channel.

This has been debated and studied for decades There is an excellent paper in 2021 on the topic. The level of memory of various animals has been studied quite a bit and based upon the animal, the depth and type of memory skill allegedly varies. Humans are capable of recalling what is termed "episodic memories". That is to say, people can recall specific events that occurred in the past. Most animals it is believed are capable mostly of "procedural memory", which is recalling those things that help it in performing motor skills (llke climbing and running, etc). Many animals though, are thought to have "episodic memory" skills, but they may be rudimentary. My point is, no, science on the subject suggests that animals generally don't "remember everything....good and bad". It allegedly may come down to the hippocampus in an animal's brain. That is allegedly where episodic memory originates.
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@splitters2477 Honestly, It is something I love to learn but only because I want to dispel any thought that animals are mindless creatures. i had a professor in college tell us that ducks fly south for the winter but they don't know why they fly south for the winter. That suggests a level of "procedural memory" because it caused them to not freeze. But I thought they may actually "remember" being cold. It's such a deep topic because it suggests the animal cannot reflect and see in its mind's eye the past. I didn't believe it. I've found they do remember attachments. They do remember what we call "love". I've found they aren't empty slates. But I've also found they don't remember like we do. We can create an entire visual perception of something that isn't what is occurring now. So far, I think us and elephants are the only mammals who can visualize the past. I appreciate your interest. To me, that is why elephants understand death like us. There are some heart-wrenching studies with elephants unlike other animals. They understand death kind of like we do, while most animals don't. It's pretty mind-boggling when you start diving into what other animals might "know" or "think".
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@splitters2477 I appreciate that. Your initial post caught my eye because I've watched elephants "mourn" the death of a member of the family. It opened my eyes. But memory is such an intricate thing. We can close our eyes and "see" the past. According to the zeitgeist, animals can't, but I can see traces of real "memories" in many species. They are all different but elephants are closest in that we can prove that they can recall pictures in their mind's eye. Many (most) other animals don't recall $#!+ like we do. I really appreciate the discourse.
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2020 called, they want their post back.
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@splitters2477 No, I just read a lot and was wondering my whole life because I always felt my cats and my dogs had varying levels of recollection. Turns out scientifically speaking, they do. ;)
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Who's a good boy? ;)
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