Are humans supreme at "hand-eye coordination"?

[IsaacKuo]

Off the top of my head, I can think of animals which are greatly
superior to humans in strength, speed, or quickness of reaction
time. There are animals which can leap higher, pull harder,
or lunge faster. But when it comes to precision, or balance,
most animals seem pretty clumsy compared to us.

Is that right?

Is there another species which can throw something more
precisely than a human? Is there another species which
can do something skilled like riding a bicycle better than a
human? Is there another species better at catching balls
or frisbees?

Isaac Kuo

[r***@netscape.net]

Post by IsaacKuo
Is there another species better at catching balls
or frisbees?

Dogs can be good at this. Having said that, it wouldn't be eye hand
coordination.

[Dean White]

Post by IsaacKuo
Off the top of my head, I can think of animals which are greatly
superior to humans in strength, speed, or quickness of reaction
time. There are animals which can leap higher, pull harder,
or lunge faster. But when it comes to precision, or balance,
most animals seem pretty clumsy compared to us.
Is that right?
Is there another species which can throw something more
precisely than a human? Is there another species which
can do something skilled like riding a bicycle better than a
human? Is there another species better at catching balls
or frisbees?

I think that if you are asking about a single physical action then you will
find an animal with better ability, humans are the best generalists IMHO.

--
www.deanwhite.net

[Benjamin B]

It depends on what to mean by "hand-eye". Birds can do some absolutely
amazing things when it comes to timing and coordination. Once saw a
relative of the emu that hunted cobras with its feet. Whenever the
cobra rears up, the bird stands on one leg and hits the cobra's head
multiple time with the other foot without ever missing or getting
bitten. Had to see it in slow-motion to appreciate the precision,
speed, and balance.

Saw a documentary on forest hawks that was pretty amazing as well. The
authors set up an obstacle course to some food. The hawk flew thru it
so fast that it needed slow motion to see what happened. The hawk took
flight, flew under a tree limb about 4 feet off the ground, flapped its
wings once for momentum boost and to adjusted its direction, folded its
wings in-flight to squeeze through a tiny net hole barely larger than
its trunk, unfolded its wings in-flight after clearing the hole, and
landed dead on the bait, without ever blinking an eye or breaking a
sweat. Ultra-coordination.

Felines are masters of coordination and balance as well. Saw a zoo
keeper playing with its leopards once. He threw a ball over the
leopard's head once to let the leopard know what to expect. Tried it a
second time and the leopard leaps 10 feet off the ground, twist upside
down and catches the ball mid-air in its paws, twist back around in the
air, and lands on its feet with ball held in between its pawns.... was
amazing.

Humans are best at manipulating tools, rocks, sticks, etc. That's
about it really.

[Par]

Post by Benjamin B
second time and the leopard leaps 10 feet off the ground, twist upside
down and catches the ball mid-air in its paws, twist back around in the
air, and lands on its feet with ball held in between its pawns.... was
amazing.

Housecats (of the right breeds) do this regularilly (perhaps not the 10'
part, but the technique). IIRC, lions have been filmed swatting crows
out of the air...

/Par

[Howard Brazee]

Post by IsaacKuo
Is there another species which can throw something more
precisely than a human? Is there another species which
can do something skilled like riding a bicycle better than a
human? Is there another species better at catching balls
or frisbees?

With their hands? No. But humans aren't the best at catching
balls with our mouths, feet or our noses. We aren't most
coordinated at catching herrings while swimming. We're not the most
coordinated at diving from high altitude and hitting a rabbit on the
ground.

[Peter D. Tillman]

Post by IsaacKuo
Is there another species which
can do something skilled like riding a bicycle better than a
human?

I remember being quite impressed, many years ago, by the bicycle-riding
parrots at Parrot Jungle, near Miami FL....

OTOH, Lance Armstrong has little to fear from Joe Parrot.

Cheers -- Pete Tillman

[m***@yahoo.com]

I have seen slow motion video of a bat picking grapes out of the air. I
do't think I could do that.

A lot of animals would have trouble with a bicycle, mostly because they
can't afford a custom built cycle. Circus bears however do it all the
time.

I watch in my backyard dailt the birds swooping down and landing by the
feeder. They do not seem at all clumsy.

Seals will catch a ball on their nose.

Falcons have better vision, can swoop at high speed and grab a mouse
off the ground.

As other posters have pointed out, many animals do not have hands. You
really need opposable thumbs for a lot of the catching and throwing.

Many monkeys or apes could be talented but it might be difficult to
explain why they should. Could you teach a gorilla to be a good
football quarterback ?

[Erik Max Francis]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Many monkeys or apes could be talented but it might be difficult to
explain why they should. Could you teach a gorilla to be a good
football quarterback ?

Judging by some of the teams this year, maybe ...