Discussion Questions: Smart Sea Lions

Describe the "reasoning" task that Colleen planned for Rio.
Do you think this is a simple or complicated reasoning task? At what age do you think a human could reason in a similar way?
Give an example of how this kind of reasoning is used in everyday life.
In what ways are the skills that Rio demonstrates related to language?
Do you agree with the scientist's statement that there are no traits that are uniquely human? Or, in other words, that there are no traits that are not shared to a greater or lesser degree with other animals? Explain.