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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[–] 117 points 2 years ago (4 children)
  • [–] [S] 83 points 2 years ago (2 children)

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

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  • [–] 45 points 2 years ago (2 children)
  • [–] 34 points 2 years ago (3 children)

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

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  • [–] 18 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Same in Japanese. araiguma translates as washing bear.

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  • [–] 21 points 2 years ago (2 children)

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

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years 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.

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  • [–] 70 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    "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.

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  • [–] 46 points 2 years ago (1 child)

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

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  • [–] 36 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

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

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 2 years 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?

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  • [–] 34 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 2 years 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⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

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  • [–] [B] 13 points 2 years 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.)

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  • [–] 27 points 2 years 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.

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    [–] 19 points 2 years 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

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  • [–] 19 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    not gonna lie I thought this was gonna be about shit

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    [–] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 2 years 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.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years 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.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (1 child)

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

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    [–] 9 points 2 years ago

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

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago* (4 children)
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    [–] 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

    My dog would like a word.

    Edit: And that word is Taylor Swifting.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (1 child)

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

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    [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    Raccoons wash things. Does that count?

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

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

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

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