Are animals able to plan hunts, give tasks if they do it in groups and fulfil it adapted to the current situation? Do they use unique tactics for special circumstances (e.g. based on experiences) or they just act from instincts?
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2the size of the animal's brain is a factor here I think. ants vs wolves and dolphins are a spectrum of scenarios in the ability to plan I'm sure. – shigeta Mar 13 '14 at 17:04
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Do some research on wolves hunting. They certainly have tactics that change depending on the prey that they're hunting, the terrain, danger posed by other members of the prey's herd or family (if any), etc. They're very capable of learning, and use fairly complex communications. They run in packs, live with their mother for a number of years, and have a rather involved family structure that allows for the passing on of behaviors learned from previous generations. It would be difficult to tease out exactly which behaviors are instinctual, and which are learned, but you could say the same of humans as well.
MattDMo
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