Hidden up in the Berkeley Hills is a little-known research site, once home to the villains of Disney’s The Lion King. The UC Berkeley Field Station for the Study of Behavior, Ecology and Reproduction (FSSBER) stands out from other animal behavior study sites by maintaining a natural environment for its subjects. It was established by faculty from various departments at UC Berkeley, including the Departments of Anthropology, Psychology, Zoology (now Integrative Biology), and the College of Natural Resources back in the early 1960s. As with so many UC Berkeley projects, the FSSBER was meant to provide an alternative approach, in this case to behavioral studies. It aimed to provide its subjects with enough free space to behave as they would in the wild. Professor George Bentley, a researcher in the integrative biology department who used the field station for past research, describes it as “a unique facility” that “allows us to perform experiments in what we call a semi-natural environment.” As he explains, “The main thing is space.”

The field station represents a new age of perspectives on animal behavior and intelligence. Many attempts have been made throughout history to separate humanity from other species. Morality, tool use, language, and sapience, among other characteristics, have all been suggested to be human-specific, yet scientists have never been able to find a single defining trait. In fact, while ethology—the study of animal behavior—has certainly revealed just how unique each species’ way of life can be, it has also shown that humans are not as unusual as we might like to think. To paraphrase Charles Darwin, the difference between humans and other animal species is not of kind but of degree. Other species can and regularly do demonstrate intelligent means of survival. Crows use objects such as stones to raise the water level in a container; chimpanzees can fish for termites with twigs; palm cockatoos have even been observed to drum on trees with sticks crafted by their own beaks from branches or seed pods.

Much of this fascinating research into animal behavior began relatively recently. There are many reasons for this. Chief among them was a genuine belief that non-human animals were simply incapable of feelings or rational thought. The philosopher René Descartes famously described animals (other than people) as mere machines, reacting physically to outside stimuli but experiencing no emotional responses. This view persisted for centuries, and it still exists to some extent as modern scientists attempt to prove that different animals can feel pain. The more foreign a species is to humans, the more difficult it is to consider how that animal experiences life. Another reason for the comparatively slow progression in ethology is that it is hard to study. Creating an experiment to allow you a window into another species’ hearts and minds, metaphorically speaking, is no small task, and taking this idea too literally hurts both the study and the subject. In contrast, ethological studies that are solely observational in nature, while more ethical, are also more expensive and difficult to maintain. Laboratories are the standard setting for so much scientific research. It is easy to imagine that ethological studies, like other biological science, would take place in such a facility. Lab research is less messy, and with some rarer species involved in behavioral research, you would be lucky to even spot an individual out in the field. In a lab, you can control many more variables, and, perhaps most importantly, you can keep the subjects under observation for as long as you need. It would seem to be the most logical place for an ethological study.

But studying an animal in a lab is not the same as observing it in the wild. Many species are unable to survive in captivity, let alone live normally. Professor Bentley agrees that there are uses to lab experiments, but as he explains, “You can’t get the full gamut of natural behaviors if [subjects] are housed in unnatural environments.” Outdated lab research has resulted in unnatural behaviors being recorded for exactly this reason. The “alpha wolf” is perhaps the most infamous case. Modern studies have shown that wild wolf packs are more akin to a family, where there is a complicated dynamic between members that is flexible, unlike the rigid hierarchy first established by observations of a captive wolf pack. And yet, this myth of the “alpha wolf” has persisted for decades. Lab and field experiments: are they the same animal? by Professor Bentley and Dr. Rebecca Calisi lists many more examples. There are “examples as extreme as some animals being diurnal in one environment and nocturnal in another,” says Bentley. The main purpose of the FSSBER is to avoid misleading conclusions based on unrealistic environments by exposing the subjects to their natural habitat, or as close to it as the hills of Berkeley can be.

Past research: what about that shadowy place?

The field station occupies 29 acres and has been host to several unusual species over the years. Studies conducted at the FSSBER range from the social interactions of macaques to the maternal behavior of rattlesnakes, but the most famous residents were a herd of hyenas imported from Kenya that served as artistic inspiration for Disney’s animated classic The Lion King. The original colony of 20 spotted hyenas lived at the field site for almost 30 years. Virginia Valentine, lead animal keeper at the Oakland Zoo, explains, “A lot of common hyena behavior is highly social and revolves around maintaining the social hierarchy;” a hierarchy which, in this case, is female led. She continues, “Every female in a clan is more highly ranked than any male, so demonstrations of dominance and submission are common. They have elaborate greeting ceremonies and have memorized the status of every individual in the clan.” The Berkeley study, led by psychologist Laurence Frank and the late Professor Stephen Glickman, observed this fascinating behavior from various angles. They focused on the biology and neurology underlying the hyenas’ interactions, even examining vocalizations. The project continued until 2014 when it was shut down due to a lack of funding. Five of the remaining hyenas were relocated to the Oakland Zoo, while others were sent to such far-flung areas as Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. Two of the Berkeley-born hyenas, Harley and Ozzie, remain in Oakland; according to Valentine, they are “17 years old and living their best lives.” The experiment was unprecedented in terms of location as well as in length and size (at one point there were 43 hyenas living in the hills). It resulted in fascinating studies on hormones, bone-cracking jaws, and vocal communications (the famous giggling).

Recent research: charms of finches and a filth of starlings

Another recent study at the FSSBER aimed to create a complete database of the various vocalizations performed by zebra finches (flocks of which are known as “charms”). Researchers from the Theunissen lab in the Department of Psychology systematically recorded calls from adult and fledging finches of both sexes to build a repertoire categorizing not only the acoustic properties but also the behavioral context of each sound. The resulting catalog allowed further research into vocal recognition amongst finches and the neurophysiological processes underlying each type of vocalization. This research has since been expanded to other birds. “They’ve actually got canaries up there now,” says Professor Bentley.

The Theunissen lab is not alone in studying zebra finches at the FSSBER. Zebra finches are “really easy to keep,” resulting in them being the “number one bird in laboratories around the world,” says Bentley. They are opportunistic breeders; as Bentley explains, “as long as conditions are right…they’ll breed.” It’s no wonder: they’re from Australia, so they evolved in an unpredictable environment and breed in response to rainfall. Bentley’s lab has conducted experiments on these helpful little songbirds to examine how diseases can modify behavior. “This is where the environment they’re housed in is really quite important. A lot of studies on sickness behavior in animals have been done in a lab, with animals in cages, housed alone…[It’s] easier to analyze. [But there’s a] lot of evidence, not just from us, that that kind of environment doesn’t necessarily produce natural behavior.” Zebra finches are gregarious and do not like being isolated. Their personalities affect the results of lab experiments, where the birds are typically kept alone in a cage. Taking advantage of the field station, Bentley’s lab performed an experiment where they activated the birds’ immune system by injecting them with the cell wall of the bacterium Escherichia coli. The birds’ natural defenses recognize this as a pathogen even though there are no active bacteria within them. Despite the immune response, Bentley says, “Present [the male finches] with a female, and they’ll pretend that they’re not sick.” The reason behind this behavior is unclear. You would expect a species to select for the healthiest individuals, but perhaps the birds are simply trying to pass on their genes until their final moments. Bentley wonders, “Would a longer-lived species do that?”

In other experiments conducted at the field station, Bentley has researched European starlings (a group of which is unfortunately termed a “filth”) to examine social cues involved in reproduction. In this case, the unique setting of the field station is crucial. Bentley explains, “When I came here, everyone in my research community said, ‘You’ll never get starlings to breed in captivity.’” Starlings are intelligent, suspicious birds that are very responsive to their surroundings. The neurons associated with ovulation are sensitive to stress, and according to Bentley, captivity induces moderate but long-term stress that can inhibit reproduction. However, with the field station, he was able to establish one of a few captive starling populations that could breed reliably. Bentley used this colony to study what makes birds ovulate. The results of this study could be used to control pest species and in conservation efforts for endangered species. “I’m also interested in how the environment controls their reproduction,” says Bentley. Starlings are “periodic animals…[their] reproductive system responds to changes in day length. We can manipulate [their physiology] by changing day length in the lab.”

Bentley used the FSSBER to monitor starling behaviors including nesting and egg laying, setting up a “large aviary with natural dirt floor [containing] a lot of green foliage they like to line their nests with” to make the birds feel more at home. These aviaries were subdivided, with females in one subsection and males in another. They were able to see and even touch each other through the fencing, but nothing more. “Females built most of their nests in provided nest boxes,” reports Bentley, but the birds left them uncompleted. Once the males were added, females produced eggs within 46 hours. This kind of experiment is “impossible to do in the wild … in a totally natural environment,” he says. “[You] can’t manipulate such an environment… [It’s] just guesswork.” That’s not to say the field station experiment was perfect. “Catching starlings can be a real challenge,” he laughs. When gophers burrowed under the fence between sections, male starlings would follow them through, spoiling some of the results. Even the famous peregrine falcons of the Campanile pose a threat to the starlings. Research in a semi-exposed field station is “harder to do, actually, because it’s a less controlled environment,” Bentley says, “but I think it’s worth it; it’s more rewarding.”

The field station itself: a more natural approach

None of this research could have been done without the FSSBER, but the station’s significance has been somewhat underappreciated. “If an animal is removed from its habitat, they can lose the connection to the many other parts of their natural ecosystem … If we can study what their lives are supposed to be like, then we can provide better care for every aspect of their lives,” argues Lead Animal Keeper Valentine. Behavioral studies can also be linked back to humans. Professor Bentley adds, “It turns out that if you enrich the environment for rats, they have a denser cerebral cortex,” which “is important for humans too, to think about the developmental environment for kids … [The environment is] so important for brain development.”

The location and structure of the FSSBER allows for a more realistic approach to animal behavior studies, but the field station remains unusual. Bentley could only recall a few other stations that were at all similar: one at Indiana University and another at UC Davis, the condition of which he was unsure of. “Animal facilities are always under pressure,” he says. “We’re really lucky in that we have the NSF—National Science Foundation—in this country that will fund basic research … Some of the biggest breakthroughs in biology have come from basic research.” Because of the expenses associated with housing a wild animal population in a sufficiently large area to allow the subjects to behave more naturally, lab experiments or field studies are still more common. Sadly, much of the FSSBER was built around the now defunct hyena project. As the director, Dr. Greg Lawson, explains, “When that project died, the field station kind of fizzled … It’s not what it used to be.” The field station is now a collection of wire-fenced pens; its main building—that used to contain signed prints from The Lion King—is currently unused and in disrepair, shrouded in fog on the morning of my visit. However, Lawson has hopes for the future. He aims to convert a small portion of the building into a primate sanctuary and explained that studies on rodents (tuco-tucos, to be specific) continue to be done at the FSSBER certain times of the year. Goats, along with a single llama, now roam the former hyena pens, and roosters patrol the starling aviary. As he says, “There’s still animals up there.” The FSSBER remains an underappreciated marvel for scientific study that UC Berkeley has to offer. We can only hope that professors and other researchers will continue to make use of the unusual setting to provide further insight on what is really going on in the minds of other species.