You should be happy when you meet a hoofed friend. Especially if that friend is a goat.
Because, it turns out, goats can read human moods and are more drawn to people who look happy.
SEE ALSO:A Baby Goat-Sheep Hybrid Is Your New Favorite AnimalAccording to a new study recently published in the journal Open Science, goats prefer "positive human emotional facial expressions." That's smiling faces, to you and me.
Researchers set goats free to explore a closed-off test area with two black and white photos of a human face – one smiling and one angry – posted at goat eye level.
The researchers found that that the goats preferred to approach the photo of the smiling face.
The results suggest that goats -- who have traditionally been domesticated for the purpose of food production and not companionship -- have the ability to read human facial expressions.
Mashablereached out to one of the researchers behind the study, Carine Savalli Redigolo of the Federal University of São Paulo, who has PhDs in Statistics and Ethology.
According to Savalli Redigolo, the findings "should raise discussions about how we manage and treat these animals."
"These findings challenge the idea that such complex ability is limited to companion or working animals," says Savalli Redigolo.Savalli Redigolo explains that while companion animals are still more skilled at reading humans, the study proves that goats are able to tell if humans look happy or not — and that "they prefer happy faces."
"Dogs are very skilful at perceiving human communicative cues, and they can also integrate visual and acoustic emotional information," says Savalli Redigolo "Horses also seem to perceive and differentiate emotional valences from human faces."
The results were most significant when the photo of the smiling person was placed on the right side of the test space. But according to Savalli Redigolo, the researchers believe this to is due to the asymmetry of the goat brain.
"For dogs, for example, the left-hemisphere of the brain process more positive emotions which can induce to a right gaze bias. This could have happened also with these goats," she said.
Get out there and smile at a goat if you get the chance!
TopicsAnimals
(责任编辑：焦點)
MashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?
‘Yellowjackets’ episode 7: What does the morse code in Misty’s dream sequence mean?
Video games and mindfulness have a surprising history
Masturbation May: Queer people aren't afraid to talk selfNancy Pelosi warns colleagues after info hackedThis German startup wants to be your bank (without being a bank)
BERLIN -- “That is f*cking clever,” said Ben Floyd, 33, as we sat in a trendy cafe in Be
...[详细]Saturn once again reigns supreme with most moons
Jupiter briefly stole the limelight in February when new research revealed the planet had so many mo
...[详细]Houston vs. Miami livestreams: How to watch the Sweet 16 matchup
It’s sweet on Friday too!With one night of the Sweet 16 in the books, the NCAA men’s bas
...[详细]'The Mandalorian' brings Lizzo and Jack Black into the Star Wars universe
After cameos from Ahmed Best and Zeb Orrelios, you'd be forgiven for thinking the weekly cameos in S
...[详细]How Hyperloop One went off the rails
In December 2014, an engineer with the unlikely name Brogan BamBrogan was in the driveway of his cla
...[详细]That Ahmed Best Jedi cameo in 'The Mandalorian,' explained
When a series has been around as long as Star Warshas, fun cameos become almost as essential to the
...[详细]Eric Sedeño takes the cringe out of Choosing Joy
There's a myth that crows and magpies love to collect small, shiny silver objects, like the rings th
...[详细]'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for March 26
If Quordleis a little too challenging today, you've come to the right place for hints. There aren't
...[详细]Aly Raisman catches Simone Biles napping on a plane like a champion
Simone Biles is exhausted. She won five medals at the Summer Olympics in Rio, posed for selfies with
...[详细]'Wordle' today: Here's the answer, hints for April 18
It's Tuesday, and there's a new Wordle! (Sidebar: Was anyone a little disappointed that puzzle #666
...[详细]
