Animals do all kinds of amazing things—and how they learn do to them has long intrigued scientists.

Some knowledge is inherited: Monarch butterflies, for instance, migrate from Mexico to Canada using a roadmap in their genes. Other species mimic skills and behaviors, like a gray wolf cub observing its pack hunt an elk. And still others learn how to survive via trial and error, such as the New Caledonian crows that figured out dropping pebbles into a pitcher raises its water level.

But among non-humans, the true teacher is a rare breed, with only a handful of species, such as some birds, primates, and insects, making the grade.

For a