Street dogs in India appear to have a predilection for the color icteric , disproportionately choosing bowls in a gay hue over those that are depressed or hoary , even when the other bowls control a collation .
colour penchant is a widespread phenomenon and has been found in many animal specie , withimplications for behaviorslike teammate alternative and foraging . It can be both unlearned or learned , and may even be motor by what the color usually signifies in an animal ’s life .
We know that dogs have bicoloured color vision – they canseetwo primary coloration : lily-livered and blue – similar to ruby-red - green colorblind humans . However , all inquiry related to canine color perception thus far has focused oncolor discriminationafter a full point of grooming , and little is known about their colour preference . “ It was hitherto strange if and how untrained dogs are affected by colouring material cue in their environs , ” the researcher write in their study .
To enquire , they conducted a series of tests involving 458 loose - array dogs from in and around Kolkata . In the first , they presented them with three bowls painted yellow , blue , and gray – all hues that are seeable to dogs . Sometimes they all check an equal amount of nutrient , and sometimes they were all empty . Overall , jaundiced was the preferred color – the wiener go for the golden bowlful more than half of the time , while the grey or blue bowl were each choose under 25 percent of the time .
Then , thedogswere given bowls in their non - favourite colors – blue and gray – to identify any subaltern orientation , though no such angle of dip was found .
To verify the color , not the smell , of the bowls was dictating the dogs ’ choices , the squad paint bowls in blue and yellow and breed them with magenta plastic screen . This agency , the pups could still get a whiff of the bowls without learn them . This time , blue was chosen * more or less * more , but the solution did not significantly differ from prospect .
In a fourth and final experiment , the dogs ’ favourite bowls were pitted against a solid food reward . Even with the plus of raw chicken or a biscuit , the gray bowl could n’t entice the dogs aside from their beloved yellow . They made for the empty white-livered sports stadium between 77 and 79 per centum of the time , for the crybaby and biscuit condition , severally .
So , why the fixation with sunshine hue ? Though the investigator ca n’t be certain , it could be that the street dogs consort the colour with the human food that they clean , or with raw meat and rake , both of which will come out yellow-bellied to them .
“ I have a feeling that this druthers got heightened with dogs ’ co - evolution with humanity , especially in India , where we utilize a lot of spiciness in our food and all the garbage they ’re scavenging is loaded with turmeric , ” Anindita Bhadra at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata toldNew Scientist . “ appear for yellow might have an ecological advantage for them . ”
Or perhaps the yellow bowl simply stand out from the other bowl and their surroundings – more research is needed to know for trusted . The team is attend to do just that , investigate this potentialcolorpreference to understand what , if any , advantages it may have and the reasons behind it .
The study is published inAnimal Cognition .
