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> I'm not aware of any reliably documented case of animals communicating abstract concepts.

I guess this is difficult to prove. I'm not sure if it matches with the definition of "abstract concepts" but I was reading earlier today that Bottlenose Dolphins "transmit cultural knowledge across generations".[0] So maybe yes?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottlenose_dolphin#Tool_use_an...

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As far as I can tell from that section this is more about show-and-tell. There's a difference between demonstrating something to teach it (mimicry) and using language to teach it (explanation).

If I tell you that you can put a stick in a certain tree and get honey out, that's different from me bringing you to that tree, putting a stick in it and showing you the honey (while being swarmed by angry bees but I digress).

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