Learned behavior in animals can occur through various forms of conditioning, as well as observation and reasoning. Animals are able to learn behaviors that help them adapt to their environments and ensure survival. Learning allows animals to be more flexible than if they relied solely on innate behaviors determined by their genetics. The types of learning include habituation, classical and operant conditioning, observation, food hoarding, imprinting, and insight learning. An animal can only learn behaviors that its physical form allows, as a dolphin cannot ride a bicycle due to its lack of legs and fingers.

2. Learned Behavior in Animals
Muhammad Ahmed Baig

3. Learned Behavior
• It is a behavior that is shaped through
experience (through conditioning,
punishment, reward).
• Animals are born with some genetic programs
while some behaviors are learned through
experience.
• Compared with innate behaviors, learned
behaviors are more flexible.

5. Conti…
• Learning behavior ensure survival of animal.
• An animal’s genetic makeup and body
structure determine what kinds of behavior
are possible for it to learn.
• An animal can learn to do only what it is
physically capable of doing.
• A dolphin cannot learn to ride a bicycle,
because it has no legs to work the pedals, and
no fingers to grasp the handle bars

7. Conti…
• An animal learns and is able to respond and
adapt to a changing environment.
• The animal is forced to change its behavior by
change in environment, so that it can survive
in changed environment.

8. Types of Learning behavior
• Habituation
• Classical conditioning
• Observation
• Food hoarding
• Imprinting
• Reasoning and Insight learning
• Operant conditioning

9. Habituation
• Habituation is a simple form of learning in
which an animal stops responding to a
stimulus, or cue, after a period of repeated
exposure.
• Prairie dogs typically sound an alarm call
when threatened by a predator, but they
become habituated to the sound of human
footsteps when no harm is associated with
this sound; therefore, they no longer respond
to them with an alarm call

10. Classical Conditioning
• In classical conditioning, a behavior is paired
with an unrelated stimulus; in operant
conditioning, behaviors are modified by
consequences.
• Example is, a dog to whom before giving food a
bell is rang every time and it salivate
automatically when bell is rung.

11. Observation
• The learning of behaviors by observing the
behavior of others.
• An animal copies what is happening by other
organisms around him.
• When a grizzly bear catches a fish in presence
of cubs, cubs will observe and learn to catch
fish.

14. Food hoarding
• Hoarding or caching in animal behavior is the
storage of food in locations hidden from the
sight of other animals.
• The purpose of hoarding or caching is to store
food in times of surplus for times when food is
less plentiful.
• This behavior is seen in animals like squirrel
and some birds.

16. Imprinting
• The process by which young animals attach to
those who are present at their first sight.
• It assures that young stay closed to their
mother for protection and as a source of food.

17. Reasoning and Insight learning
• It is based on past experience and reasoning.
• It is animal’s capacity of solving a problem or
going through hurdle.

18. Operant conditioning
• It is a type of learning in which an animal
learns (or, is conditioned) from its behaviors as
it acts (operates) on the environment.
• e.g a woodpecker finds a particular tree that
offers an especially abundant supply of the
bird's favorite bugs. The woodpecker is likely
to return to that tree again and again.

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