Many Animals—Including Your Dog—May Have Horrible Short-Term Memories
Dogs may forget an event less than two minutes after it happened, according to a new study.
The next time your dog happily greets an old friend, remember this: Your pup likely can't remember the last time they met.
We often say someone has "a memory like an elephant," or, if it's a forgetful person, "a goldfish." But in comparing our memory with that of animals, what's the truth? (Read "Animal Minds" in National Geographic magazine.)
A recent investigation of short-term memory suggests animals don't remember specific events much at all—instead, they store away useful information about what could help them survive.
Covering 25 species that ranged from dolphins to bees, the study found the average short-term memory span of animals was 27 seconds (which was the midway point before the memory is lost), according to a team
