ROVER stares up at you, apparently yearning for a pat on the head. But behind those endearing doggy eyes, his mind is whirring, recalling the excitement of yesterday’s walk: long grass, a sloping field falling away into woodland and a rabbit running for safety. With a gentle wag of his tail, he smiles at the memory, then wonders if he’s got time for a nap before today’s outing.

An animal couldn’t do that, could it? For most of us, the instinctive answer is no: the ability to reconstruct past events in our mind and imagine ourselves in future scenarios is something we can do, but other creatures cannot. And yet, while there is no evidence that dogs can think in this way, recent studies have suggested that some birds, great apes and a few species in between are not “stuck in the present” after all, but may be capable of thinking backwards and forwards in time.

Some birds, great apes and a few species in between may not be stuck in the present

The issue is getting researchers of human and animal minds rather hot under the collar. Critics argue that what looks like memory or forward thinking is nothing more than instinct or learned behaviour, and insist that there is no convincing evidence that non-human animals can remember their past or contemplate the future. As a result, every paper claiming to demonstrate the ability in animals is fiercely debated.

The idea builds on the work of renowned neuroscientist Endel Tulving, who pioneered the study of human episodic memory – the recall of our autobiographical past. Tulving wrote in 1983 …