Rats will learn to open a trap to free a squealing cagemate, with no reward for themselves

Researchers trapped one rat in a clear restrainer inside a cage while a second rat ran free. The free rat learned to open the restrainer's door and reliably did so, even when a separate test showed it would open an empty restrainer far less often — and it kept helping even when a dish of chocolate chips was available for itself instead.

— Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal, Jean Decety and Peggy Mason, Empathy and Pro-Social Behavior in Rats — Science, 2011

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