>>106220756
i wouldn't say the crow fucking with cats is a sign of conciousness or intelligence. i mean, it's fundamentally not intelligent behavior, it's not a fitness maximalizing behavior. the cat can shred the bird to pieces if he gets the bird in his grasp. i don't think the bird understands that. maybe there's a territorial reason for the bird's aggression. or maybe he just likes fucking with them. we've observed monkeys fucking with tigers, a very similar scenario.
i just don't know... maybe an animal amusing itself comes before conciousness. amusement is hacking the brain in a sense, in order to get those good chemicals. the bird does not gain a fitness advantage from getting within the grasp of the lethal predator, but maybe it amuses the bird.