Abstract

Foraging innovations can give wild animals access to human-derived food sources 1 Reader S.M. Laland K.N. Animal Innovation. Oxford University Press, Oxford2003 Crossref Scopus (250) Google Scholar . If these innovations spread, they can enable adaptive flexibility 2 Aplin L.M. Understanding the multiple factors governing social learning and the diffusion of innovations. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 2016; 12: 59-65 Crossref Scopus (18) Google Scholar but also lead to human-wildlife conflicts 3 Barrett L.P. Stanton L.A. Benson-Amram S. The cognition of 'nuisance' species. Anim. Behav. 2019; 147: 167-177 Crossref Scopus (61) Google Scholar . Examples include crop-raiding elephants 4 Chiyo P.I. Moss C.J. Alberts S.C. The influence of life history milestones and association networks on crop-raiding behavior in male African elephants. PLoS One. 2012; 7e31382 Crossref Scopus (67) Google Scholar and long-tailed macaques that steal items from people to trade them back for food 5 Brotcorne F. Giraud G. Gunst N. Fuentes A. Wandia I.N. Beudels-Jamar R.C. Poncin P. Huynen M.C. Leca J.B. Intergroup variation in robbing and bartering by long-tailed macaques at Uluwatu Temple (Bali, Indonesia). Primates. 2017; 58: 505-516 Crossref PubMed Scopus (40) Google Scholar . Behavioural responses by humans might act as a further driver on animal innovation 2 Aplin L.M. Understanding the multiple factors governing social learning and the diffusion of innovations. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 2016; 12: 59-65 Crossref Scopus (18) Google Scholar ,6 Beck K.B. Firth J.A. Animal behavior: Innovation in the city. Curr. Biol. 2021; 31: R1122-R1124 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar , even potentially leading to an inter-species 'innovation arms-race' 7 Dawkins R. Krebs J.R. Arms races between and within species. Proc. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci. 1979; 205: 489-511 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1461) Google Scholar , yet this is almost entirely unexplored. Here, we report a potential case in wild, urban-living, sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita; henceforth cockatoos), where the socially-learnt behaviour of opening and raiding of household bins by cockatoos 8 Klump B.C. Martin J.M. Wild S. Hoersch J.K. Major R.E. Aplin L.M. Innovation and geographic spread of a complex foraging culture in an urban parrot. Science. 2021; 373: 456-460 Crossref PubMed Scopus (21) Google Scholar is met with increasingly effective and socially-learnt bin-protection measures by human residents.