this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2024
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I know the title is poorly worded but I can't really think of how exactly to word the question.

I was watching a cat try to find a place to sit that wasn't covered in snow and it made me think about how humans wipe off snow covered seats or just dirty seats in general.

Is that a uniquely human thing or are there other animals that exhibit similar behaviors?

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[–] Tenthrow@lemmy.world 117 points 11 months ago (4 children)
[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 84 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Is that why that video of the raccoon losing cotton candy in a stream exists?

[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 45 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.works 37 points 11 months ago (2 children)

He was given more cotton candy and eventually figured out that it can't go in water and ate some dry.

This story had better be true Mister!

[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 9 points 11 months ago
[–] Oisteink@lemmy.world 34 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Literal translation of the Norwegian word for raccoon is Wasing-Bear

[–] Retiring@lemmy.ml 23 points 11 months ago

The German word for raccoon is Waschbär

[–] tunetardis@lemmy.ca 18 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Same in Japanese. araiguma translates as washing bear.

[–] wh0se@lemmy.world 21 points 11 months ago (2 children)

On the contrary, in French it is raton-laveur, which translates to washing baby rat.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

French is clearly more correct than German here. They are rats not bears

[–] Doublepluskirk@startrek.website 5 points 11 months ago

Since they belong to the super family musteloidea, Wash Weasel seems more accurate. Definitely still closer to bears than rodents though.

[–] NoIWontPickaName@kbin.social 5 points 11 months ago

It makes sense. How else could you be a chef if you didn’t have opposable thumbs

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[–] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 6 points 11 months ago

They don't clean it, at least that's not their intention. They don't have saliva, so they're really just trying to get it wet.

It's more like those hot dog eating contests where they dunk the whole thing in water.

[–] numberfour002@lemmy.world 70 points 11 months ago (1 children)

"Wipe" is a bit of a stretch and a bit specific when it comes to animal behavior, but many animals do clean their food or clean their living quarters in a variety of ways.

In addition to the other examples already given, I'll toss Eusocial Insects into the ring. This includes groups like bees and ants that live collectively in colonies. For example, honeybees will clean their colony's comb to keep it free of debris. Leaf cutter ants depend on a specific type of fungus that they cultivate for food, and they spend a lot of effort keeping their farmed good nice and sanitary.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 25 points 11 months ago

Ngl my brain excludes arthropods from the animal kingdom so I almost never think about them when asking these questions 😂

[–] seathru@lemm.ee 46 points 11 months ago (1 children)

My cat wipes the condensation off windows so she can look out.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 45 points 11 months ago (2 children)

That sounds fuckin adorable.

Mine just scream at me until I clear the window for them 💀

[–] Vilian@lemmy.ca 7 points 11 months ago
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[–] SonicBlue03@sh.itjust.works 36 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Dogs get ready for bed by clearing their sleeping area or arranging to their liking.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I've seen that before but don't really feel it's the same. Like if the area was covered in snow or dirt would they clear it out or just lay in it?

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

Once I dumped out a cooler of ice in the lawn and my dog arranged herself a bed in the ice and laid down in it.

[–] SonicBlue03@sh.itjust.works 7 points 11 months ago

What if the dogs were using brooms? Mine has never "asked" to use one but seems to have a lot of interest in them.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 4 points 11 months ago

Pigs decorate their bed with flowers.

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 34 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Cats will 100% "wipe off" a place to sleep or shit or be adorable little assholes. If something is in their way, they will move it out of the way. Same with brushing dirt/dust/litter out of the way

Snow is a special case because it is cold and wet. Moving the snow out of the way will still leave them with a cold and wet place to sleep.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I've seen them play with small objects or push things off counters but never seen them fully clean an area of small particles.

Maybe I just never really paid attention ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[–] Cinner@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

To add the opposite of this, cats do cover up their feces in the wild very well, and housecats will in a litterbox too instinctually. To hide their scent so they don't get eaten.

It's all about needs. Humans became the top of the food chain and stopped needing as much, so we started doing other things. Also in the wild if there's wind then there won't be as much on things, dust really only starts to gather once walls are built (or in caves I suppose.)

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 6 points 11 months ago

I mean, most humans aren't going to fully clean off all the small particles. Brush enough so that they aren't in the way/aren't immediately visible and move on with life.

[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 27 points 11 months ago (2 children)

maybe Birds of Paradise

They carefully weed, groom, and remove any debris from their courtship grounds to ensure a spotless area for their performances. This ensures that the females are not distracted by dirt and debris, allowing the males to show off their dazzling colors and elaborate dances without interruption.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's actually pretty interesting. I've heard of birds setting up areas for courtship but never really saw it as cleaning.

[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 10 points 11 months ago

Have to wonder how many dances end with the female being like “your performance was excellent but, unfortunately, you missed a spot.”

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[–] otter@lemmy.ca 19 points 11 months ago

I couldn't think of something right away, but this might fit

White spotted puffer fish build mandalas in the sand, for courtship reasons

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nKyv4ef0Xzw

I'd also look into orangutans. I don't know for sure, but they seem to learn and mimic human behaviour quite a bit. So even if they didn't do so by themselves, they may copy the person in pushing snow away

[–] cactusupyourbutt@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

not gonna lie I thought this was gonna be about shit

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[–] jandar_fett@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There is a primate that washes their fruit off and it is a learned behavior. They have taught all the other in the species to do the same thing.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

I've heard of a group of monkeys that are regularly given potatoes/sweet potatoes and they started dipping them in saltwater for extra flavoring but I never thought that it could've originated from just trying to wash them.

[–] Drusas@kbin.social 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I've seen a video of an orangutan wiping stuff off with a cloth.

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[–] set_secret@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

it's because of clothes. All animals wearing clothes will do this.

[–] PumaStoleMyBluff@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

Deer will "scrape" a patch of dirt clear of leaves, sticks, and snow, and then use several types of scent markers to mark the area.

It's a minor misconception that they use this area to sleep; they don't scrape their beds.

[–] JustZ@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

My dog would like a word.

Edit: And that word is Taylor Swifting.

[–] BustinJiber@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That would double it's vocabulary.

[–] warbond@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Then we can finally find out what he's been trying to say!

"Rough what, boy? Rough what!?"

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[–] besmtt@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (4 children)
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[–] moshtradamus666@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Cats are known for being pretty clean animals. Their spiky tong helps a lot with that.

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[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Depends on how you define cleaning or wiping. Few animals can actually wipe stuff, but some exhibit cleaning of one sort or another. I'm going to remove self-cleaning and grooming out of the list. You mean cleaning objects or their environment.

The already mentioned raccoon is one example but with food only. If you accept that, then Ibises have also been seen washing toxic frogs before eating them to remove the skin toxins.

I'm half hearted about the bird of paradise example, since that's a mating visual display only... But hey, many birds actually clean the interior of their nests. They pick up their chicks droppings and toss them out. It's not wiping or brushing but it surely is cleaning for the sake of hygiene.

Spiders remove debris from their webs, does that count?

I've never seen cats or dogs brush or wipe stuff away either. Cats may toss or brush away things out of boredom, curiosity or simply to reach whatever is underneath provided it's a few particles and not really digging.

For cleaning like humans do, my money would be on the monkeys though, personally, I haven't seen or heard much about that happening spontaneously in wild or feral monkeys.

[–] Pepsi@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago

some dogs absolutely “clean” their bed before laying down

[–] johnlobo@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

my cat "dig" the place they want to sit on. i saw a monkey "wipe" the place it want to sit on

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Raccoons wash things. Does that count?

Edit: Forgot dogs. Dogs wipe their ass. Usually on the carpet.

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