Orangutans can predict cocktail preferences

Scientists have discovered that orangutans have the ability to predict their cocktail preferences and have a taste memory thought to be exclusive to humans.

As reported by the New Scientist, Naong, a male orangutan at a Swedish zoo was presented with different bottles containing cherry, rhubarb and lemon juice, along with cider apple vinegar and a straw to drink them with.

He was given each of the four to try individually, and each possible flavour combination combining the liquids. Researchers found that he not only remembered each flavour combination, but could predict whether combinations he hadn’t tasted before would taste good.

While cherry juice was his favourite, he disliked lemon juice and cider vinegar, though liked them both when combined with cherry juice.

“It has been thought that only humans can make predictions in this way, but we showed that an orangutan was able to predict whether never-before-experienced mixes would taste good or bad, and he could do this as well as humans,” Gabriela-Alina Sauciuc of Lund University in Sweden told New Scientist.

This ability to predict whether a situation will be pleasant or not by remembering previous experiences is known as “affective forecasting”. Naong stuck with his favourites 88% of the time when offered them in three further trials.

Researchers repeated the experiment with dyes to alter the colour of each juice, but Naong’s decisions were based on taste rather than colour.

“Our study strengthens the view of orangutans as possessing advanced mental capacities and flexible cognition,” said Sauciuc, who thinks cows may have a similar ability and has already had “positive results” with chimpanzees.